Leon Miller arrived at a car dealership on Friday in one of Holden's earliest models. He drove away in one of its last.
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Mr Miller has owned about six Holdens in his days, and nowadays still wouldn't dream of driving anything else.
He said it all started with his first utility vehicle in the 1950s: "It was a small truck in those days."
When General Motors announced earlier this year that it would exit the Australian market and cease producing Holdens, Mr Miller knew it was time to purchase his last new car from the iconic Australian brand.
"I have had Holdens all my life and I said 'I'll get the last one', they are still a good car," he said.
To mark the occasion he parked the new Equinox hatchback alongside his 1952 Holden FX at Warrnambool's Callaghan Motors' showroom, where dealer principal Steve Callaghan said it was the oldest vehicle to be displayed in the room.
Mr Miller bought the FX in 2010 from a Port Fairy owner and has since restored the classic car.
"I had it re-chromed and the upholstery in the seats redone," he said.
"There's no comfort like the new cars, but it's just something, I just like driving it. It's the thrill of driving an early model Holden."
"I have always liked the Holdens and I said if I come across an FX one day I'd buy it."
The FX, also known as a 48-215, was the first General Motors car in Australia to have the Holden name.
Mr Miller said he was "disappointed" that the Holden brand would disappear, but he wasn't shocked.
"Holden has been around a long time and people saw overseas cars coming and they were probably more comfortable and they just decided to change. But in the early days you only had Holdens and Fords," he said.
"Australia will lose all the work, the money that comes in. All that unemployment that comes from it."
Mr Callaghan said sales of Holdens had been "out of control" during March following dramatic markdowns.
"We only have about 15 left. They are good value," he said.
He said Holden had a heritage with more affinity to Australian buyers than any other badge.
"Its first roots were always Australian. It was fully manufactured in Australia in 1948 and finished in 2017."
Despite now owning one of the last Holdens, Mr Miller joked that he didn't expect the new purchase to also become a collectors vehicle anytime soon. "It takes a few years before they get into the collecting stage," he said.
Jackson Graham
Jackson is a reporter for The Standard.
Jackson is a reporter for The Standard.
