Australian Motoring History Trivia Quiz

Answer: Saddlery

In 1852 James Alexander Holden emigrated to South Australia from Walsall, England, and four years later established JA Holden & Co., a saddlery business in Adelaide. His grandson, Edward Holden, joined the business in 1905 and started undertaking repairs to car upholstery.

The company subsequently became further involved in the motor industry and became noted for building bodies for fitment to other manufacturers' chassis. Holden became a subsidiary of General Motors in 1931. The first Holden car was introduced in 1948. General Motors retired the Holden brand in 2021 and left the Australia and New Zealand market altogether.

Answer: Tarrant

In 1901 Harley Tarrant produced his first Tarrant car in a workshop in Melbourne. It is thought that about 16 Tarrant cars were built between 1900 and 1907. Only one car survives. When it became clear to him that he could not compete with large overseas manufacturers, Tarrant closed his factory and, in 1908, took over the responsibility for the distribution of Ford cars in Victoria.

Answer: Wizard Smith

Norman Leslie Smith was born 13 July 1890 in North Richmond, in north western Sydney. He was a professional motor racing driver, and was known for his speed racing records. After winning the Alpine Rally in Victoria against all odds, Smith became known as "Wizard" Smith or "the Wizard".

Answer: Southern Cross

The Southern Cross was an Australian car produced by a company of which Sir Charles Kingsford Smith was chairman, between 1931 and 1935. It is not known exactly how many were built but it is believed to have been no more than ten, of which none survive. The company failed following Kingsford Smith's death in a flying accident in 1935.

Answer: Zetland

The Victoria Park factory at Zetland occupied 74 acres and was capable of manufacturing complete vehicles. There were four main factories in the complex as well as a number of smaller operations.

Answer: Force 7

The Force 7 coupé was announced in 1974 but the company failed before the car was ready for the market. Only 10 pre-production coupés survived. Of the ten, one Force 7 was in England for secret testing, Leyland Australia kept one other example which they eventually donated to an Australian museum, while the remaining eight were sold to private buyers by auction after the factory closed.

Answer: Hillman and Mitsubishi

The Tonsley Park factory was initially operated by Rootes Australia, the Australian arm of the Rootes Group, a British motor vehicle manufacturer for the assembly of their volume selling car, the Hillman Minx. After 1965, when Rootes was taken over by Chrysler, Chrysler Australia also used Port Melbourne for assembly of the Dodge Phoenix and Mitsubishi Galant from 1971.

The Port Melbourne facility closed in 1972.

Answer: Monaro

The Holden Monaro was a rear-wheel drive coupé manufactured by General Motors Holden from 1968 to 1975 and again from 2001 to 2005. The Monaro was also manufactured as a four door saloon from 1973 to 1977. The third generation of the Monaro (2001 to 2005) was exported under the names Chevrolet Lumina, Vauxhall Monaro and Pontiac GTO.

Answer: Commodore

The Holden Commodore was introduced in 1978. The body was based on the Opel Rekord body shell, but was fitted with the front end from the Opel Senator in order to accommodate the existing Holden six-cylinder and V8 engines.

Answer: Holden Efijy

The Holden Efijy was made by Holden and was inspired by the Australian-built 1953 Holden FJ, the second Holden model. It was designed and built at Holden's design studio and engineering department. The car was based on a lengthened Chevrolet Corvette floor pan and powered by a 6 litre V8 with a Roots supercharger.

It was equipped with a rear-mounted 4-speed automatic transmission and a limited-slip differential and an air suspension system that lowered the car when it was stationary. The Holden Efijy was named the United States concept car of the year for 2007.