Melbourne International Motor Show

[Syndrome]

When was this event last held and when is it next due to be held?

[EBSXR6]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

When was this event last held and when is it next due to be held?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austra...nal_Motor_Show

[DJR-351]

An old (2015) Drive article explaining the demise of the Melbourne/Sydney International Motor Shows and their short-lived successor the Australian Motoring Festival....

Australian Motoring Festival ends: Too expensive, not enough interest

https://www.drive.com.au/news/austra...ough-interest/

[Poetic Justice]

Once the world of the internet, spy photos, live leaks, cars being unveiled overseas first happened it became a non event.

My recall is that you used to go to these because you'd be seeing cars for the first time - that was as a young bloke.

I'm sure there was probably plenty of people going genuinely to compare cars they were interested in purchasing, too...

[Polyal]

I remember as a kid/teenager going to this and the F1..was a great time.

I actually worked for Ford on the stand one year too which was fun (interesting). I couldnt think of anything better having all those supercars etc there, used to get all the posters and anything that wasnt bolted down.

I have heaps of old photos prior to digital still. Good times, I wish it still was on and I could take my kids but alas we know do historic shows.

Also back in the day when the locals did "concept" cars!

[Bossxr8]

Internationally they are a dying breed as well. Not many left.

Manufacturers figured out that with social media, they can hold their own launch events and get 100% of the focus on them, and not having to share it with all the others.

Once the manufacturers starting pulling out, interest from the public waned, and that was the death spiral.

Used to love going to them.

[DJM83]

I never got to go to one, i wished i had of now.

[arm79]

Originally Posted by DJM83

I never got to go to one, i wished i had of now.

It was the best place to to steal various parts off cars.

A friend wanted an MX-5 and we vowed to steal him one bit by bit every year. Didn't matter we only got 4 or 5 parts in, its the thought that counts. 25 or so years on now and he still has those parts. Never got the MX-5 though.

One year one of us pinched the gear knob. As we were leaving we noticed they were checking bags belonging to the feral youth that attended.

So other mate, who was maybe 12 or 13 at the time, said "give it to me, I'll get it out". So off to the toilet he goes and come out smiling a little while later. We asked where he put it, he said down his jocks. Then we noticed it looked like he was hung like an elephant, this knob (no pun intended) dangling down the front of his pants swinging around between his legs, down near his knees. He just goes "What are they going to do, frisk me. If they do I'll just call them pedos". And out we walked, with the obligatory bag check.

A clean and disinfect of the part later on made other friend very happy.

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I was going to comment along the same lines. All those concepts lead them to where exactly?

An extrememly successfull few years were they were pumping out 100,000 cars a year and making mega profits.

Remember the early 2000's when the only thing Holden had to do to sell a car was stick a Holden badge on it an shove a V8 under the bonnet. The resources and tradie boom, they couldn't build them fast enough. So one eye'd were these buyers hey built the Crewman, with all its flaws, and tried to tell the public real utes have IRS, not leaf springs, and they sold like hotcakes.

Until they quietly put leaf springs back in some of their utes...

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by arm79

Remember the early 2000's when the only thing Holden had to do to sell a car was stick a Holden badge on it an shove a V8 under the bonnet. The resources and tradie boom, they couldn't build them fast enough. So one eye'd were these buyers hey built the Crewman, with all its flaws, and tried to tell the public real utes have IRS, not leaf springs, and they sold like hotcakes.

Until they quietly put leaf springs back in some of their utes...

Holden's best sellers in those days were the V6 Commodores, Calais etc. The TS Astra was the best selling small car for a few years & the Rodeo was a good earner as well.

To be no. 1 car maker you need more than just one car model selling well. Look at Toyota currently & Ford during the 80s. Ford had the Laser etc. to back up the Falcon range.

Crewmans never had IRS & utes (VN onwards) never has leaf rears. Only the Crewmans & One-Tonners got rear leaves. They didn't "quietly put leaf springs back in some of their utes".

I don't remember the Crewman having too many "flaws".

Dr Terry

[arm79]

Originally Posted by Dr Terry

Holden's best sellers in those days were the V6 Commodores, Calais etc. The TS Astra was the best selling small car for a few years & the Rodeo was a good earner as well.

To be no. 1 car maker you need more than just one car model selling well. Look at Toyota currently & Ford during the 80s. Ford had the Laser etc. to back up the Falcon range.

I'm talking about local production. In those times Holden had to increase the capacity of the plant and move to a triple shift to keep up wth demand at the time. Demand sparked by V8's and money from the resources boom and tradies.

I realise that V6's were best sellers, but these buyers work on association. Holden build a car that everyone drools over and aspires to own, but only a few can obtain, to the rest buy what are essentially cheaper less featured copies or models of the same body type to connect with the association. Brand loyalty in essence and thats what drove the mega sales.

Just like when people by FPV's and those who can't afford to buy an XR6 or XR6T and maybe stick FPV bumpers on. in Holdens case it was Chevvy badges.

Originally Posted by Dr Terry

Crewmans never had IRS & utes (VN onwards) never has leaf rears. Only the Crewmans & One-Tonners got rear leaves. They didn't "quietly put leaf springs back in some of their utes".

Long ago the then MD of Holden Peter Hamburgler (or whatever his second name was) was asked why all Commodores and variants used IRS and didn't retain leafs in certain applications like Ford.

His response was somethinng along the lines of leaf springs are ancient technology and this technology has no place in modern vehicles, so we will never again use leaf springs in any of our vehicles. He was having an open dig directly at Ford for using "inferior" technology at that time.

Then they saw an opporunity to steal some sales from Ford and 4WD 4 door tradie/family utes which were slowly becoming popular (HiLux and such) because customers wanted that heavier capacity. So Holden and Hamburgler went back on their word and quietly released a couple of models with leaf spings to meet customer demand.

Attention was focused on the load capacity but not how they made it happen. Wouldn't want to embarass the MD by using "ancient " technolgy he promised would never be under a Commodore again hey.

Originally Posted by Dr Terry

I don't remember the Crewman having too many "flaws".

You've obviously never been forced to sit in the back seat of one then.

Less rear legroom than an 80's Laser, a rear seat back that sat at near 90 deg and tiny rear doors that made it difficult to get in and out of. Most uncomfortable thing I've ever sat in. Only good for babies to 5yo, but even then with so difficult to then them in and out of it it was next to useless.

It was designed and built cheaply with the sales idea surrounding the afforementioned brand loyalty, wanting to be associated with the vehicles they owners really wanted to own.

I said at the time Holden took their development cues from the movie Field of Dreams. "Build it and they will come" and in Holdens case at a running pace. Even if it was the most **** vehicle to ever ride on 4 wheels.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by arm79

His response was somethinng along the lines of leaf springs are ancient technology and this technology has no place in modern vehicles, so we will never again use leaf springs in any of our vehicles. He was having an open dig directly at Ford for using "inferior" technology at that time.

Then they saw an opporunity to steal some sales from Ford and 4WD 4 door tradie/family utes which were slowly becoming popular (HiLux and such) because customers wanted that heavier capacity. So Holden and Hamburgler went back on their word and quietly released a couple of models with leaf spings to meet customer demand.

Attention was focused on the load capacity but not how they made it happen. Wouldn't want to embarass the MD by using "ancient " technolgy he promised would never be under a Commodore again hey.

I think they beat Ford Australia to the punch with electronic climate control as well in one of the Commodores.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by arm79

Long ago the then MD of Holden Peter Hamburgler (or whatever his second name was) was asked why all Commodores and variants used IRS and didn't retain leafs in certain applications like Ford.

His response was somethinng along the lines of leaf springs are ancient technology and this technology has no place in modern vehicles, so we will never again use leaf springs in any of our vehicles. He was having an open dig directly at Ford for using "inferior" technology at that time.


Attention was focused on the load capacity but not how they made it happen. Wouldn't want to embarass the MD by using "ancient " technolgy he promised would never be under a Commodore again hey.

You've obviously never been forced to sit in the back seat of one then.

Less rear legroom than an 80's Laser, a rear seat back that sat at near 90 deg and tiny rear doors that made it difficult to get in and out of. Most uncomfortable thing I've ever sat in. Only good for babies to 5yo, but even then with so difficult to then them in and out of it it was next to useless.

It was designed and built cheaply with the sales idea surrounding the afforementioned brand loyalty, wanting to be associated with the vehicles they owners really wanted to own.

I remember those digs at Ford regarding leaf springs and how inferior they were. And yet, Holden were using and bragging about one of the most basic and inferior versions of IRS in the Commodore, a design that went back two decades and was only used because it was cheaper to make. Oh, the irony. And then backtracking for the One-Tonner and Crewman.

Speaking of the Crewman, my father's company had one on the fleet, what a useless piece of crap that thing was. The tray was useless, the back seat was a token gesture, and it was very poorly built. You mention how cheap it was to build, look at the collection of different panels all joining together at the C-pillar, it's a mess of panel gaps and shut lines, hardly a recipe for a strong body structure. I also had the displeasure of driving this Frankenstein of a vehicle, and what a pig it was, heavy and lumpy steering, terrible turning circle, rough ride. Horrible car.

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by arm79

You've obviously never been forced to sit in the back seat of one then.

Less rear legroom than an 80's Laser, a rear seat back that sat at near 90 deg and tiny rear doors that made it difficult to get in and out of. Most uncomfortable thing I've ever sat in. Only good for babies to 5yo, but even then with so difficult to then them in and out of it it was next to useless.

They weren't that bad. Certainly no worse than any Japanese style crewcab of the era. The rear seat leg room only suffered if the front seats were all the way back. There was so much room in the front that this was rarely necesarry.

Dr Terry

[chevypower]

I used to enjoy going to the Melbourne Motor Show. Utah has one every year. In fact I was there on Saturday. They have 3 manufacturers do test drives outside the venue, making it a little more interactive. I’m surprised the Aussie ones have died off, kinda hard to believe.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by chevypower

I used to enjoy going to the Melbourne Motor Show. Utah has one every year. In fact I was there on Saturday. I’m surprised the Aussie ones have died off, kinda hard to believe.

At least the Brisbane Truck show is still going.

https://www.brisbanetruckshow.com.au/

[Syndrome]

I attended the MIMS in about 1983, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2008. Sad to think they are no longer held.

[kypez]

Used to go to the Sydney one every year till it stopped. As others said, one by one, manufacturers started to not turn up or not bring any new cars. Holden use to have some off concept cars at these shows. Ford did too but I feel Holden made more.

[Poetic Justice]

Originally Posted by kypez

Used to go to the Sydney one every year till it stopped. As others said, one by one, manufacturers started to not turn up or not bring any new cars. Holden use to have some off concept cars at these shows. Ford did too but I feel Holden made more.

Holden absolutely smashed Ford with concepts as best my memory serves:






















Having said that, Ford did bring a few good ones, albeit, not really on the same level:







Although the Coupe wasn't really a Ford thing as much as an aftermarket.











Now that I did that... yep, let me know what Fords I missed because Holdens cracks at it were far more memorable!

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by Poetic Justice

Holden absolutely smashed Ford with concepts as best my memory serves:
!

Which probably proves they were more into spin than substance....sad and definitely harsh by me however they might still be around otherwise...and they received double the government grants Ford or Toyota received in the same 10 year period and still fluffed it.

My best memory of the MMS was when visiting the Ford stand my brother and i were invited for a test drive of an AU Fairmont Ghia which we took down into Port Melbourne along Lorimer St and I was encouraged to manually use the gears to take the sweeping turn and not brake as hard ..somewhere near the old government aircraft factory and ironically near the Holden engine plant....

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

Which probably proves they were more into spin than substance....sad and definitely harsh by me however they might still be around otherwise...and they received double the government grants Ford or Toyota received in the same 10 year period and still fluffed it.

My best memory of the MMS was when visiting the Ford stand my brother and i were invited for a test drive of an AU Fairmont Ghia which we took down into Port Melbourne along Lorimer St and I was encouraged to manually use the gears to take the sweeping turn and not brake as hard ..somewhere near the old government aircraft factory and ironically near the Holden engine plant....

I was going to comment along the same lines. All those concepts lead them to where exactly?

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I was going to comment along the same lines. All those concepts lead them to where exactly?

Many of them, the Monaro, Crewman & Panel van etc. for example, became production cars.

Dr Terry

[Dr Terry]

I think that they died off because most manufacturers had realised that the cost of putting on the event got so high, their return on investment was very poor. The cost of these venues is outrageous.

With so many more media opportunities these days, the motor shows just weren't worth it.

Besides, if a new car in released at a major international show (say Paris for example) the media is all over it & the cars appear on TV & in newspapers, magazines etc. almost immediately, so why bother putting on a show in Aust. if everyone has already seen the cars.

Dr Terry

[HIPO]

Monaro looked tough!

[Poetic Justice]

Why so negative? lol

[kypez]

Originally Posted by Poetic Justice

Why so negative? lol

Don't mind them. Some people just can't have fun. Whilst they were making these concepts, Holden had Ford over a barrel for years. If you're excited about the direction Ford Australia has gone from awesome Falcons to slow dual cabs, celebrate.

The black edition GT was my favourite until they released it and it missed out on that awesome bar! What a shame.

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

[roKWiz]

Agree. You can like other stuff besides Ford you know.

Loved that Efijy at the time, very ZZ Tops Cadzilla.



The Commodore Sandman was more than just a concept and sold well. Personally not a fan especially considering they then brought out a lame station wagon version at the same time.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by kypez

Don't mind them. Some people just can't have fun. Whilst they were making these concepts, Holden had Ford over a barrel for years. If you're excited about the direction Ford Australia has gone from awesome Falcons to slow dual cabs, celebrate.

The black edition GT was my favourite until they released it and it missed out on that awesome bar! What a shame.

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

I met Alan Moffat and had a poster signed by him as he was standing next to that concept car.



That was a strange and unexpected encounter. At the time, Alan was an FPV ambassador so they must have had him there for promotional purposes. And yet, there he stood with no crowd, everyone seemingly oblivious to who he was. I approached him and said hello, something I never do, especially when there is a large crowd all vying for a celebrity's attention, I hate being another one of "those" people. He was super polite, even noticed and commented on my then new Nikon DLSR camera.

So, while Motor's Shows are an outdated concept, I guess there are some things that a traditional show were good for.

[ford71V8]

From memory that pink Torana concept was a twin turbo 6. I remember wishing at the time that Ford put up something to bring back the Cortina badge. No doubt Holden brought some exciting concepts to the shows.
When Marilyn was shown, everyone was raving about it while caryards were busy swapping out the hideous grilles on all their AUs

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by ford71V8

From memory that pink Torana concept was a twin turbo 6. I remember wishing at the time that Ford put up something to bring back the Cortina badge. No doubt Holden brought some exciting concepts to the shows.
When Marilyn was shown, everyone was raving about it while caryards were busy swapping out the hideous grilles on all their AUs

Yes, a 3.6 Twin Turbo HFV6. That concept was a bit of peak into what the VE Commodore was bringing, design wise at least. It also showed the potential for the new V6, although it never eventuated in local cars.





I was at the show that year and it certainly looked fantastic, pink paint included!

[Fast Eddie]

Understood this is the Melbourne Motor Show thread but I loved the Sydney Show and especially catching up with my friend, Bob Roman from ROMAN Autotek, the importer of RECARO Seats of which he tailor made one for me. I never got to fit it to my MKI Focus unfortunately.