Comments by "John D" (@johnd8892) on "Ed's Auto Reviews" channel.

  1. Even in Australia Jawa carved out a niche as a high performance racing dirt bike for a while. Heard of and seen the motorcycles but not the cars.
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  2. The Oldsmobile version of the 215 V8, with the extra head stud for turbocharging , was the engine block chosen by Jack Brabham and Repco in Australia to develop the Repco F1 V8 that helped Jack Brabham win the 1966 F1 championship and was further developed to help Denny Hulme win the 1967 F1 championship in a Repco Brabham. Pretty good for a rejected GM engine basis.
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  3. Might add that lots of cars on Australian roads thought of as US models were Canadian imports or more commonly assembled from Canadian sourced parts and designs Back to the first Australian model T Ford's from 1926. Kept the names for some like the Pontiac Parisienne and Fargo and Maple Leaf trucks Big part was the tax advantages of Commonwealth preference.
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  4. A good starting point of the cars story and travels : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trf6fxT-DGE
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  5. No one copied the BMC idea of putting the gearbox in the engine sump. It took Fiat to develop the now widely used format of the gearbox separate with the Autobianchi A112 and the Fiat 128 and not making the extreme compromises of the Mini. Not even the first transverse front engine front wheel drive. The 1931 DKW F1 car likely the first with Issigonis likely knew of that car.
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  6.  @Wayne_155  Until about 1962, most cars that looked like US car model sold here were assembled from Canadian parts due to Commonwealth country favourable import tax rates. Our early model T Ford's were mostly Canadian. Cars like the Pontiac Parisienne and further back my father had a Maple Leaf truck.
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  7. Figaro likely too big for a Kei.
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  8. Same in Australia. Rambler being a nearly affordable, thanks to local assembly compared to high tariff imports, American luxury car with higher power than most initially. Preferred as a police pursuit car by New South Wales Police. Upmarket locally sourced trim mostly.
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  9. The Mazda R360 Coupe was also sold in small numbers in Australia from about 1962. A survivor one at Mazda Australia head office. They may also have one of the 1959 tiny Mazda three wheeled trucks that Mazda in Australia started with. Some of the other more recent Kei sports cars made it to Australia to be sold in small numbers. Helps that we drive on the left with steering wheel on the right like Japan, so no special model needed.
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  10. Australia should provide a similar experience but with lots of cars from General Motors Holden division, Ford Australia and Chrysler Australia with some US sounding names but evolved differently cars. As well as lots of Euro and Japanese cars not seen in the US.
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  11. On my trip to Europe in 1980 I was surprised to see how many Chrysler Valiants were being driven around. Numbers, although still rareish, were far in excess of any other US car of the era. Yet Chrysler canned it as Ed said.
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  12. US cars are so expensive to convert to right hand drive for Australia that the few available struggle to get into the top 100 best selling models. Hard to think of any car make that does not have right hand drive available ex factory. Even exotics like Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche.
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  13.  @punkinhoot  The North American Ford Fairmont just shared the name. After the US dumped the Falcon about 1970, the Australian Falcon and the Fairmont higher trim version shared close to no parts with the US Fairmont cars. The Falcon was not just Australian with New Zealand being another big market for Australian Falcons over the years. The Hubnut one in this vid spent most of its life in New Zealand where it was sold new there.
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  14. Some 105E Anglias seemed to have made it to the US with either the 1 litre or 1.2 litre motor. Saw one on a J.F Kennedy documentary parked outside an Alabama University related to the desegregation upheavals of 62 or 63. Not sure if it was a private import or a local Ford dealers sold one. I would be interested to know more about that small Ford sales that early. Even in the late forties and early fifties the earlier flathead four Anglia was US sold. Many ended up as the bodywork for very high powered drag cars. Was it Jesse James Monster Garage that controversially destroyed a survivor Anglia by trying, unsuccessfully, to make a drag car out of it.
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  15. The Centura at 2:46 . The Australian Centura was different to allow the Australian 3.5 to 4.0 litre hemi sixes to be installed. Australians did not like the small four cylinder engines of the base models.
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  16. Seems some even smaller UK Fords may have been sold in the US , but hard to find information on them. Some 105E Anglias seemed to have made it to the US with either the 1 litre or 1.2 litre Kent engine. Saw one on a J.F Kennedy TV documentary parked outside an Alabama University related to the desegregation upheavals of 62 or 63. Not sure if it was a private import or a local Ford dealer sold one. I would be interested to know more about small Ford US sales that early. Even in the late forties and early fifties the earlier flathead four Anglia was US sold. Many ended up as the bodywork for very high powered drag cars. Was it Jesse James Monster Garage that controversially destroyed a survivor Anglia by trying, unsuccessfully, to make a drag car out of it.
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  17. No. From around 4:35 the 1955 Suzuki Kei car was much earlier, then other Japanese Kei competitors followed. Even the first 1959 Mini had an engine over twice the size allowed and then they got even larger. Mini dimensions may also be too large in some of the key sizes.
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  18. Some of the story and issues also describe Australia, far away from Europe. A big cost is needing to have the car converted to right hand drive for our driving on the left. An issue for most American cars except the Ford Mustang and Corvette C8 that are available in right hand drive from US factories.
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  19. Before the Holden Ute, general motors Holden in Australia made Chevrolet utes beginning in 1935. Possibly Pontiac and Oldsmobile versions too. Mainly based on GM Canada parts. Some made it back to the US lately as per this Autoweek story https://www.autoweek.com/a2008626/1952-chevrolet-ute-gms-early-australian-import/ Well before the El Camino.
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  20. Rambler did not do the assembly in Australia. It was Australian Motor Industries (AMI) at their Port Melbourne assembly factory with some local content input. Australian Motor Industries (AMI) were , at that time, the only Australian owned car company and you could buy shares in them on the Australian stock exchange , unlike Holden , Ford , Chrysler, BMC and the rest. Since AMC was so close to sounding like AMI the AMC make name did not get used in Australia. Also since it took a while to establish the Rambler name as a prestige car for the Australian market. Hence even the Javelin and AMX were the Rambler Javelin and Rambler AMX car in Australia. Australian Motor Industries (AMI) also assembled lots of other makes starting with the Standard Triumph and Ferguson range. Later as well as Standards and Triumph cars they assemble led the Mercedes Benz 220 fintail range and then being the first to assemble Toyotas outside Japan. Toyota liked what AMI produced so much that they bought the company and expanded full production to Altona North. In that process Toyota became the largest Australian exporter of Australian made cars.
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  21. Thumbnail is the first Holden badged car. Internal code 48-215 later called the FX unofficially. Lots of it developed from an experimental 1941 Chevrolet comparison of a light unibody car with a 2.2 litre four or six. The six was much better. To get Holden cars off the ground by 1948 they refined the body a bit. First tested on Michigan plates in 1946. Size chosen to be affordable to the average Australian family then. History of Holden search will give more detail with eighties documentary.
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  22. More detail here , some of which may look familiar : https://youtu.be/IR8BhiiAWTo There is a part two on the same channel. A very iconic car with years long waiting list to buy when new.
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  23. He is ignoring torque. The 1.2 would make the Granada a slug due to its low torque despite its higher power. Not as simplistic as he suggests.
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  24. The 1955 Citroen DS could be thought of as a concept car on release , but went straight into production. Especially when they had the revised faired in late sixties headlights they still looked like something from the future. Often used in Sci Fi films of the future.
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  25. The North American Ford Fairmont just shared the name. After the US dumped the Falcon about 1970, the Australian Falcon and the Fairmont higher trim version shared close to no parts with the US Fairmont cars.
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  26. Yes the Falcon finished in the US by 1970, but kept being developed in Australia up to the last Barra engined 2016 models.
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  27. One of the last 1976 Rambler Matadors assembled in Australia : https://youtu.be/REJRKCa1_Hw By this time Ramblers here were getting far less sales as they got uglier and more expensive. The rise of locally made cars with V8 options on long wheelbase floor pans to make the bigger looking luxury version satisfied most of the demand for larger cars. Toyota taking over AMI sealed the fate of Rambler in Australia.
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  28. A Ford internal documentary pre release was not pitching performance. Just the style of it as Falcon derived equivalent of the Karmann Ghia being the stylish equivalent of the beetle. Early Mustangs emphasised the six cylinder versions. Interviews with Caroll Shelby on how he moved a $2395 six cylinder secretary car into a sports car. Saw the dock on TV car channel years ago. Was going to be called the Torino with a bull instead of a horse.
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  29. The North American Ford Fairmont just shared the name with the Australian Falcon based Fairmont trim level. After the US dumped the Falcon about 1970, the Australian Falcon and the Fairmont higher trim version shared close to no parts with the US Fairmont cars. Wikipedia on Australian Falcons from 1960 to 2016 will explain more.
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  30. The North American Ford Fairmont just shared the name. After the US dumped the Falcon about 1970, the Australian Falcon and the Fairmont higher trim version shared close to no parts with the US Fairmont cars. The Falcon kept developing separately in Australia until the last 2017 model.
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  31. G'day Ed. Some more information on the Australian connection. There was also a 1941 version of the Cadet shown in the linked vid. Not quite the Holden Cadet possible connection at 10:51, but the this 1941 car was how Holden came about as a reworking of this earlier 1941 small Chevrolet prototype as shown a bit later in this Holden Story.Made when some of the key people were alive to be interviewed : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOCILCfDo5A&t=1365s Sir Lawrence Hartnett being so upset that GM did not make use of the body that Holden body builders had developed for the car that he resigned. He points of the Holden rejected design was a more modern looking car and Holden had experience knowing how body parts could be designed to reduce production costs. I think the later more complicated Cadet was not used for the Holden due to its higher cost suspension complications. The Holden looks to have used a very similar engine as the Cadet. The Holden motor being a 132 cu in (2,171 cc) GMH '132' straight 6 cylinder. It developed 60 hp. Possibly less than the Cadet to cope with the lower octane fuel in the immediate post war Australia. This "grey motor", as it was called remained the only Holden motor from the November 1948 launch until the last use in the EJ until 1963. Developed over time to produce 75 hp with a tiny engine size increase, higher compression and revised camshaft. 60 horsepower may not seem much now but very competitive at the time especially in Australia. One key advantage was the early use of light unitary construction resulting in a car of just 1010 kg. Much better power to weight than many cars that almost always used a body on frame construction. This was marketed by Holden as an Aerobuilt body to emphasise it was the way of the future. A rocket ship car compared to the previous top selling in Australia, the Austin A40 with 1.2 litres and just 40 hp and only around 50 kg lighter for a smaller car. The Holden was rapidly the best selling car in Australia until the mid 1980s with many months of waiting before your car was delivered for quite a few years. With this level of sales, Holden became the GM division with the highest profit margin for many years. So much that GM was worried that they were being too dominant in the pre 1960 Australian market with an estimated 50% market share for their products. Another discussion here was that the small 1941 Chevrolet was also a test to compare a 2.2 litre four with a 2.2 litre six of the same horsepower. The six cylinder version was better in so many ways that it was the smart choice for Australian conditions for Holden.
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  32. Falcons only sold well in Australia when the make or break upgraded XP model did well after 65.
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  33. So the Gol at first used the beetle air cooled engine mounted in the front. Using front wheel drive or rear wheel drive?
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  34. The North American Ford Fairmont just shared the name. After the US dumped the Falcon about 1970, the Australian Falcon and the Fairmont higher trim version shared close to no parts with the US Fairmont cars. The Australian Falcon kept developing until the last 2016 model.
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  35. There is a comment in reply with a brief list of what that Falcon shares with the Torino and what was unique to that Falcon.
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  36.  @leonb2637  a US dealer documenting the start of US Anglia sales in 1959 : https://youtube.com/shorts/D3UaqVw9xio?si=mCQhXfA9v58PPm5S
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  37. You may also be interested in this even deeper dive in four half hour parts made in Australia so missing a few of Eds errors : https://youtu.be/5tC7yP9LmAE I suppose don't watch the last parts until Ed releases his what happened to.
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  38. Or more likely a 1941 Chevrolet prototype as I pointed to in a vid I pointed to earlier : G'day Ed. Some more information on the Australian connection. There was also a 1941 version of the Cadet shown in the linked vid. Not quite the Holden Cadet possible connection at 10:51, but the this 1941 car was how Holden came about as a reworking of this earlier 1941 small Chevrolet prototype as shown a bit later in this Holden Story.Made when some of the key people were alive to be interviewed : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOCILCfDo5A&t=1365s Sir Lawrence Hartnett being so upset that GM did not make use of the body that Holden body builders had developed for the car that he resigned. He points of the Holden rejected design was a more modern looking car and Holden had experience knowing how body parts could be designed to reduce production costs. I think the later more complicated Cadet was not used for the Holden due to its higher cost suspension complications. The Holden looks to have used a very similar engine as the Cadet. The Holden motor being a 132 cu in (2,171 cc) GMH '132' straight 6 cylinder. It developed 60 hp. Possibly less than the Cadet to cope with the lower octane fuel in the immediate post war Australia. This "grey motor", as it was called remained the only Holden motor from the November 1948 launch until the last use in the EJ until 1963. Developed over time to produce 75 hp with a tiny engine size increase, higher compression and revised camshaft. 60 horsepower may not seem much now but very competitive at the time especially in Australia. One key advantage was the early use of light unitary construction resulting in a car of just 1010 kg. Much better power to weight than many cars that almost always used a body on frame construction. This was marketed by Holden as an Aerobuilt body to emphasise it was the way of the future. A rocket ship car compared to the previous top selling in Australia, the Austin A40 with 1.2 litres and just 40 hp and only around 50 kg lighter for a smaller car. The Holden was rapidly the best selling car in Australia until the mid 1980s with many months of waiting before your car was delivered for quite a few years. With this level of sales, Holden became the GM division with the highest profit margin for many years. So much that GM was worried that they were being too dominant in the pre 1960 Australian market with an estimated 50% market share for their products. Another discussion here was that the small 1941 Chevrolet was also a test to compare a 2.2 litre four with a 2.2 litre six of the same horsepower. The six cylinder version was better in so many ways that it was the smart choice for Australian conditions for Holden.
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  39. A good start , but maybe too much racing detail, might be this on the Ford Falcon GT and GT HO versions : https://youtu.be/sOQd1vT794s Or the Glenn Everett channel : https://youtu.be/VDJwAuMIdjg
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  40. Missed the Australian Leyland P76. More detail here : https://youtu.be/oSwgB_68Duo And also : https://youtu.be/S21P9n2RoBE
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  41. Lots of LHD Holden's from the 1990s exported to the middle east as Chevrolet Luminas when US chev went front wheel drive. Middle East liked the Holden's for quite a while.
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  42. Seems to be a North American 1961 Ford Anglia ad to buy one from Ford dealers : https://youtu.be/lAzHKj0HpYA?si=chDKa1FmATVoBq7V
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  43. He ignores cars that do not fit his preconceived narrative. First Ford Falcons and Mustangs were Ford's biggest sellers per year in history and were mainly small six cylinder economy cars.
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  44. Ford did nothing to help the first 1960 Falcon cope with rural Australian conditions. The backlash against the car falling to pieces nearly had Ford close manufacturing here. Took until the 1964 and 1965 XM and XP models diverging from the US models with lots of compact Fairlane running gear for Ford to start recovering here.
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  45.  @indiekiddrugpatrol3117  many in Australia were amazed to see a few survivors in the recent Hubnut Australia Day at the Ace Cafe vid. Not sure if this Ed channel suppresses links but will try a link.
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  46. All the Japanese makes made small cars way earlier than the late sixties. The earliest were in the twenties and thirties. It is just that they did not make an impact on the US market until the late sixties. Either not sold in the US or not noticed.
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  47. Radial tyres first on the 1948 2CV . Much more affordable than the DS and many more sold over a longer period.
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  48. Because he concentrates on jokes rather than relevant facts.
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  49. What Australians call the Ford Ranger ute is the second largest selling motor vehicle in Australia for the past five or so years. Now not too far behind the Toyota Hi Lux ute at first.
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  50. Mercedes Benz hubcaps were colour coded to the main body colour for all of the sixties at least.
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