The last Holden rolls off the assembly line

The last Holden rolls off the assembly line

HOLDEN has handled its manufacturing wind-up pretty well, many of its employees say, but there’s just one tremendously symbolic detail that bothers them.

They don’t think the now-former carmaker should put the Commodore badge on an imported car.

The next Commodore will be a German-built, front-wheel-drive Opel and while it might be a good vehicle, many think the name is exclusively Australian and therefore should be retired.

“That is probably one of the biggest sore points with us,” said retiring forklift driver Peter Clarke, 61.

“Calling it a Commodore just doesn’t sit well with us,” he said. “It’s not going to be a Commodore any more.

“We no longer have jobs there building Commodores, but they’re still calling it a Commodore and bringing it in from somewhere else and that doesn’t sit well with us.”

Meanwhile, a former employee who now spends a lot of time in a Commodore, as a policeman, agrees.

“If it’s no longer Australian made, the name should probably go,” said Constable Sean Smith, 46, a northern suburbs boy who also owns a VE model and who was by chance assigned to traffic duties at his old workplace’s closure on Friday.

He was able to catch up with a few old mates as he worked and also inspected a former VK-model patrol car restored by Allan Plenty.

Constable Smith said he had teared up a little as he waved the employee buses leaving the factory on to the Philip Highway.

“I could see the faces of people I knew through the windows ... it’s very emotional,” he said.

And if you’ve ever wondered, he can confirm that the Commodore is a very good police car.

“They take a good beating,” he said. And from time to time, they probably really do.