Memory Lane: When used cars ruled Warrnambool's roads

Our family car I remember most was a Holden Special, the stereotypical 1970s Holden car that back then was run of the mill, but now is a classic.

Dad later was able to get himself a ute of a similar make and condition.

I can also remember a couple of Kingswoods along the way.

They were all, as well as every other car we had growing up, used cars.

To see a new car on the road in the late 1970s and early 1980s was a rare sight indeed.

As it always has, Warrnambool was well stocked with car dealerships at the time.

There were the big names: Parker Brothers, Callaghans, Wil McKenzie Cars, Southwell Ford, Pat Gleeson Nissan, Nu-Brent Ford, Doug Drinnan Cars and E.A. Wright Motors.

Then there were smaller enterprises that popped up, including Major Motors Toyota in Lava Street, Peter Earls Cars, Dennington Car Sales and David Luke Mazda.

These smaller yards almost exclusively sold used cars, the perfect place for the 18-year-old searching for a first car for example.

The bigger yards had a combination of new cars, newer used cars and older used cars.

The majority of cars at the front of the yard fell into that newer used car category.

This was the most popular, but out the back wasn't far behind, with many of the average families of the times on the hunt for the car that would carry their crew safely, without breaking the bank.

These may have been used cars but looking back, they were beastly machines.

They were solid steel, leather seats, motors with big hearts.

The armour-like bodies on these cars helped make up for what was a lack of safety features, by modern day standards, inside the car.

Airbags were non-existent, seatbelts were there - three in the back, three in the front, catering for six people. But like many families, we had a two-parent-five-children-clan, meaning seatbelts were shared, or the smallest child usually just sat at the feet of the older siblings.

And then there were the times when there was a baby on board - which was usually a bassinet simply sat unrestrained on the back seat. Luxury features were rare. There may have been a fan but no air-conditioning.

On a hot day an open window was the standard cooling down procedure.

A radio was the only form of entertainment - but it was normally crackling and hard to hear with the wind rushing in from the open windows.

There were ashtrays on every door and at least one adult in the car would be a smoker, putting it to good use.

The popular cars of the day were Toranas, Escorts and Corollas.

The high-end cars were the new sleek Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons.

And in a league of its own was the Holden Sandman panel van.

This vehicle was without any doubt the height of coolness, it made a statement like few others. It was a very different landscape on the road compared to 2024.

To see an older used car on the road now is highly unusual, they stick out like a sore thumb, with the vast majority of vehicles looking very shiny and new.

Of course back in the day it was the total opposite.

Another huge change is the height of the cars. When it was released in the early 1980s, the Toyota Tarago broke new ground.

Until then all the cars, except the odd Volkswagen Kombi Van, were all the same standard sedan height.

With the Tarago, drivers were all of a sudden elevated above the throng of normal traffic, it was rarefied air.

What was happening on the road in the 1970s and 1980s was being influenced by what was happening on the racing track. It was a time when car racing in Australia hit a crescendo of popularity.

The biggest race of the year was the classic at Bathurst, which for those who grew up back in the day, was affectionately known as the Hardie-Ferodo.

Even if you didn't follow the car racing, as our family didn't, the Hardie-Ferodo was still all the talk in the week leading in. And on the day it was all eyes on the television for the big race.

The two biggest names were Allan Moffat and Peter Brock.

Moffat was a bespeckled Canadian, and for many was the anti-hero to Peter Brock, the all-Aussie champion. Moffat drove a Ford, Brock a Holden, and the supporters on each side of that divide were maybe the most passionate of any group of sports fans in the country.

Brock, in his famed 05 car, won a record nine times between 1972 and 1987.

Moffat won the iconic race four times, between 1970 and 1977.

My dad always had a thing for rooting for the underdog, so he was a Moffat man.

He didn't like Brock's brashness and swagger.

It was ironic then that all our family cars I can remember as a kid were Holdens.

It appears Dad's disdain for Brock did not affect the Holden brand in his eyes.

But to be honest, like most working class families of the time, Dad just wanted whatever car fitted the needs at the time.

It had to be affordable and reliable, with mod-cons not coming into the equation.

It was a practical time.

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