Report: Australian Design And Manufacturing Peaked With The Poison Ivy Maloo

CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT

Nearly 6 years since Australia's favourite domestic car manufacturer discontinued trading at the end of 2020, and a recent report has found that we never knew how good we had it.

In 164 year of Holden, it can be confirmed that the iconic Australian car manufacturer only really started hitting it's straps in it's final decade of local production.

Specifically, the ethereal dark green variation of the Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) - most notably on the 2010/2011 R8 models - with the penultimate model being the E-Series Maloo Ute.

That’s according to a recent report by Australian and New Zealand Guild of Registered Year-Round Motoring Enthusiasts Network (ANGRYMEN).

A recent survey of 100,000 respondents has found that the general consensus is that Australian design and manufacturing peaked with the 'Poison Ivy Maloo'

"This is not simply just nostalgia for a time before high inflation and global uncertainty" says ANGRYMEN spokesperson, Sir Edward Caprice.

"Forget the fact that hundreds of thousands of Australians lost their jobs in the factories. This about design"

The report has found that while EVs and Chinese imports are nothing to scoff at, the fact remains that Australian cars were better because of how they looked and performed.

"Quite frankly, nothing compares to the poison ivy Maloo"

The report found that the uniquely Australian invention of a sedan with utility capabilities was 'as good as it gets' when it comes to 'utes' - and that the modern Americanised 'SUV' simply isn't as good.

Known for it's supercharged 6.2L V8 engine, the Maloo ute served not only as a 'work car' for blue collar industries, but also a race car for young idiots, a trophy car for young bachelors, and a piece of art for connoisseurs of high performance automobiles - right up until the most advanced and final model, the 2017 GTSR Maloo, rolled off the factory floor.

"In terms of sleekness, design, performance and aura - Australia has not come up with anything as beautiful as this since then" reads the report.

"That's when we peaked as a nation. The foreign car-makers that filled the vacuum left by Holden will never come close to the Poison Ivy Maloo"