by Kooverji Gamadia – – – If the India of the Raj was identified with the Maharajas and their Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and Daimlers, then independent India was identified with the Hindustan Ambassador, fondly known to two generations of Indians as “The Queen of Indian Roads”. There was no whiff of royalty about her, quite the […]
Chrysler’s downsize disaster
Retro Stories by David Burrell – – – One of the US car industry’s biggest ever mistakes happened in 1962 when Chrysler shrank its large Plymouth and Dodge ranges based on the snippet of an overheard conversation. It is automotive folklore that sometime in late 1959 William Newberg, Chrysler’s newly appointed boss, supposedly overheard Chevrolet’s […]
Brian Lear’s remarkable achievement
by Colin Piper – – – The AMHF houses many treasures, most of which have been donated by enthusiasts, collectors and, let’s face it, hoarders, over many decades. Most of the collection has come from the baby boomer generation who, faced with inevitable choices as to what to do with all the stuff they have […]
Tony O’Donnell’s Life with Cars
by Tony O’Donnell – – – What prompted me to buy an F90 BMW M5 Competition? This question started me thinking about a common theme that might link my motoring choices. I grew up around cars; my father was a panelbeater and he often had small jobs around home. I often “helped” when I was […]
GMH’s first sports sedan: 1962 Vauxhall Victor VX 4/90
Retro Stories by David Burrell – – – Many assume that the 1963 S4 EH Holden was the first “sporty” performance sedan offered by GMH. Not so. It was the 1962 Vauxhall Victor VX 4/90. Built from CKD (completely knocked down) packs by GMH, the VX 4/90 was the sports sedan version of the new […]
The Newman-Freeman “Budweiser” Can-Am Race Car
by Geoff Piggott – – – The Can-Am (Canadian-American) series is simply the stuff of legends. From 1966 to 1974 these were the fastest, most powerful sports cars in the world, running under nominal-rules that allowed much innovation and led to (mostly) hotly contested racing. And they were driven by the best racing drivers on […]
The 1950 Henry J’s Australian connection
Retro Stories by David Burrell Henry J. Kaiser was a self-made steel, aluminium, ship building, health care and construction magnate. And, he wanted to design and build a car for post war Americans. Joseph Frazer was an automotive executive, having held senior roles at GM and Chrysler while still in his twenties and thirties. At […]
Film, Video, DVD and Digital Archives
“Looking to the Future with our Legendary Past” AMHF volunteer Peter Tomlinson, already a collector of motor racing film footage, took on the daunting task of developing what we believe is Australia’s finest archive of our moving visual motoring history. An extensive range of materials has been added to the Archive Database through the development […]
The inspiration for Pontiac’s iconic stacked headlights
Retro Stories by David Burrell The 1963 full-sized Pontiacs are hailed as the cars which first defined Pontiac’s youthful and exuberant image in the 1960s. Long and low, they combined a deeply sculptured split grille, stacked headlights and subtle “coke bottle” hips which proved irresistible to buyers. Work on the 1963s started in late 1960. […]
