Holden saloon 1966-68

[chriso]

I was just thinking about how much cars have improved over the last 40 odd years, so I googled to see the performance figures for a 1966 Holden saloon that I drove in Australia.
I thought it was quite a fast car, so when I saw the data below I got quite a surprise to see how mediocre it was compared to now.



1966 Holden Special Sedan 161 LC

Specs of Holden Special Sedan 161 LC, manufactured or sold in 1966, version for Australia with 4-door sedan body type, RWD (rear-wheel drive) and manual 3-speed gearbox. Basic specs and characteristics: petrol (gasoline) engine of 186 cubic inch
How fast is that car ? Performance: top speed 146 km/h (91 mph) (theoretical); accelerations 0- 60 mph 14.4 s; 0- 100 km/h 15.6 s
Fuel consumption and mileage: official: , average estimated by a-c: 13.1 l/100km / 21.6 mpg (imp.) / 18 mpg (U.S.) / 7.6 km/l, average estimated combined driving range (km / miles on tank) of this car is 397 km / 246 miles

[Retsum]

In the sixties (if memory serves me right) 'doing the ton' was considered something special. I'm still surprised that 186 cubic inch engine, which I calculate to be just over 3 litres, could only reach 90 MPH. I seem to remember that the Beatles bought a brand new Mini Cooper and ran it up the M1 (before speed limits came in on motorways) at 100 MPH. The engine, of course, seized and was wrecked.

[jarneilh]

Hello Chriso
I have quite a few photographs of you and your 1966 Holden. I can't quite get this Photobucket thing to work, i'll keep plugging away at it.
Jim

[Hughie]

Hi Jim, You might want to try using Imgur. See this tutorial I made. I've got a photo of Chris's car too, somewhere - I had the earlier 1958? FC Holden.

[morag]

When I first saw this topic I had a pic of John Wayne in ma heid, swaggering into Holden's saloon, gunbelt at an angle..feck...it's just a caur! Oh, I know, you men and yer caurs..a wee bit pathetic.

[Hughie]

Never thought of it that way, Morag. But considering that the original Holden company started as saddle makers, John Wayne could perhaps blend into the scene.

GM Holden Ltd, commonly designated Holden, is an Australian automaker that operates in Australasia and is headquartered in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the United States-based General Motors (GM) in 1931. After becoming a subsidiary of GM, the company was named General Motors-Holden's Ltd, becoming Holden Ltd in 1998—the current name was adopted in 2005.

[morag]

Never heard of it Hughie, but see the stuff ye learn here!

[Hughie]

Here's an older topic on cars that might interest: What was your first car?

[Retsum]

I believe that General Motors who own Holden recently announced they were stopping production of the cars in Australia. The brand will still be available but they wont be made there. I think that soon Toyota will be the only company building cars in Oz.

[stivis]

You can buy a NEW Holden in the UK
It's called the Vauxhall VXR V8
a serious piece of kit 350 Injected Small block Chevy optional supercharger when too much is not enough

My favorite was the 1984 Holden raced at Bathurst

[chriso]

It's no match for this.


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[stivis]

I was just thinking about how much cars have improved over the last 40 odd years

Consider this
How good is a Kia ?
7 years warranty
40 years ago would you have bought a Japanese car? You'd have been apprehensive
Now consider Lexus or Infiniti?
There are no bad cars made anymore except Lotus