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General Motors Holden – Australia’s Ideal Family Car (c.1957)

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'Australia’s ideal family car' education content clip 1

This clip chosen to be G

Clip description

A young family climb into their Holden and drive through the suburbs as the voice-over narration describes the car’s suitability for a family. A close-up of the internal steering mechanism demonstrates the re-circulating ball bearings which make steering smoother. The model’s new features are listed and superimposed over the car – longer wheel base, lower height, wider front track and stabiliser bar. A Holden undergoes steering tests at the Lang Lang proving ground in Victoria. On-screen text reiterates the narration’s emphasis on Holden’s economy, dependability, performance, styling and comfort. The advertisement ends with the slogan 'Holden – Australia’s Own Car’ appearing over the final driving shot.

Curator’s notes

by Poppy De Souza

The opening moments of this clip present Holden as an 'ideal family car’ with a strong appeal to women, who benefit from the smoother, lighter steering and ease of parking. The rise of the suburban postwar family in Australia not only increased the automobile market (in which Holden had the majority stake) but meant that women had greater need for the family car. Everyday shopping trips, such as the one which opens this ad, began to feature in Holden ads to directly appeal to women drivers.

As well as targeting the female market, this ad goes to great lengths to reiterate the key features on which Holden built its reputation – economy, dependability, performance, styling and comfort. Holden advertisements at this time certainly made generalised claims to promote their product but, more often than not, backed them with technical explanations or engineering demonstrations. Here, re-circulating ball bearings are shown in isolation as a car part and then in action with the high angle shot illustrating ease of parking. In case that wasn’t enough, we see the car being test driven at Lang Lang. This method of presenting a thoroughly tested car, tailored and developed to suit the needs of the Australian family, continued to shape Holden ads up until the mid-1960s.

Teacher’s notes

provided by The Le@rning FederationEducation Services Australia

This clip shows a 1957 black-and-white television advertisement with music and narration promoting the Holden FE. In the opening scene, a woman drives her children to the chemist. In the next scene recirculating ball bearings in the steering box are depicted in isolation from the car. Profile and front-on shots of a parked FE on the Lang Lang testing grounds are followed by a test driver undertaking a series of driving tests. The clip ends with onscreen graphics highlighting the FE’s main features. The final graphic is ‘HOLDEN Australia’s Own Car’.

Educational value points

  • This clip indicates that the suburban family was an important market for Holden in post-Second World War Australia. The Holden FE is presented as ‘Australia’s ideal family car’, suiting all of the family’s needs and particularly the needs of women. Throughout the 1950s Holden built a loyal customer base by positioning its cars as locally made and designed, reliable and affordable for the average Australian family.
  • The clip presents the FE as a versatile car that caters for both men and women. The advertisement appeals to women by suggesting that the FE’s advanced steering system and ease of handling makes it easy and safe for women to drive and park. It then appeals to men by emphasising the car’s reliable mechanical and engineering features. These features are demonstrated in an ‘extreme’ situation when a test driver takes sharp turns at a fast speed.
  • The recirculating-ball steering system, a feature of the FE, is a system in which the steering shaft turns a large screw (or worm gear), which in turn moves a toothed metal bow. The recirculating ball bearings reduce the friction between the worm gear and the nut, resulting in smoother steering. General Motors Corporation, the parent company of General Motors-Holden’s, introduced the recirculating-ball steering design in 1939.
  • The language and imagery reflect 1950s attitudes to gender and driving. The narrator says that the ‘graceful steering wheel’ suits ‘even the slimmest wrists’, implying that women would appreciate the attractive design of the car and would be able to easily handle the car without needing physical strength. Conversely, the focus on the stabiliser bar and road-holding abilities are intended to appeal to men by implying that men could control a Holden with ‘strength’.
  • The cinematography used in this advertisement aims to present a dynamic and comprehensive view of the Holden FE by showing it from a variety of angles. The car’s appearance and ease of handling are conveyed through aerial and tracking shots of the car’s exterior on both the road and the testing grounds, while a point-of-view shot from the backseat and close-ups of the recirculating ball system provide detailed views of marketable features.
  • The clip shows footage of Holden’s Lang Lang proving grounds in south-eastern Victoria. The secluded and secure complex, which is closed to the public, is a private testing and development facility for road safety, handling, durability and performance tests. It opened in 1957, covers 877 ha and contains 44 km of sealed and unsealed roads.