Starting with the humble 48-215 on November 29 1948, and progressing through to the world-challenging VE series of Commodores, the Australian motoring public (and a lot of the Middle East, North America, UK and Asia) has seen quite an array of vehicles in this time.

Celebrating their 60th year this year, 2008, its interesting to think about some of the more interesting additions and near-additions to wear the Lion’s marque. Here are just a couple to remember:

The First; FX Holden first seen in 1948 and lasting until 1953

EK: 1961-1962

The Trusty EH: 1962-63

HK (Monaro): 1968

Holden Hurricane: 1969 Design study

Torana GTR-X (Didn’t make it -  so close…so sad!) 1970:

VB Commodore: 1978-1980

VT Coupe Concept (later made into the ‘new’ Monaro): 1997

EFFIGY Concept: 2006 Hot Rod Magazine Car of the Year

And, # 7,000,000: 2008 VE Commodore

Congrats to Holden!!

D.

It’s funny how often history repeats; in the case of the infamous De Lorean, it seems there are a great bunch of engineers, car builders and car enthusiasts in the lone star state of Texas who are working very hard to bring an automotive icon back from the future…or back to the future…or was that bringing the past back from the past to the future, or….anyway I’ll just confuse the issue with trying to incorporate any mention of the ‘space time continuum’ or the inner workings of the trusty ol’ ‘Flux Capacitor’ into this post.

Lets just say that this car has a true legion of fans that wants to relive the 80′s and have these icons back on the streets. I say, all the power to them.

To check out much more information about these cool cars visit http://www.delorean.com/

D.

Will BMW eventually put the BMW M1 Hommage concept into production? Still in need of an interior design and some structural facelifting and body tweaks to fit with regulatory standards of various sorts, this car could really have potential in shaking up the competition and earning some serious supercar cred for BMW.

Here is something I happened across just tonight on another blog (http://www.caradvice.com.au). Could this be the real deal or just a computer mockup? I think its perhaps a very clever mock up, however, if it isn’t I have to say I really like the design direction of this potential M1 reworking:

Time will tell, but it would be fantastic to see a Bee-Ma take it to the best from the rest of Germany and scare the pants off them all.

Feel free to leave your thoughts about this car in the comments section.

D.

Surfing the net tonight I found this wicked looking EVO…with Advan RS rims and a sweet Voltex body kit. Check it out:

Found on http://kultivate.wordpress.com with thanks.

D.

Lotus is getting set to unleash a new car on the world.

In hopes of competing with Porsche (namely, the 911), the Project ‘Eagle’ will be powered by a 3.5 litre V6 out of a Lexus IS 350. Although touted as a ‘friendly’ road-going car, it should still handle a race track with ease, given Lotus’ awesome handling heritage. Look forward to seeing this thing pop up sometime in 2009-10.

D.

A town in Italy by the name of Modena has been turning out exceptionally passion-filled cars with an all too recognisable prancing horse mark for decades; each one a limited and highly collectable piece of machinery, the likes of which always seem to stir rousing emotions out of anyone remotely interested in automobiles.

Of course, I’m speaking of Ferrari. Amongst this prestigious alumni, which includes many classic machines (the 250 GTO, F40 and Enzo immediately come to mind) now resides the 2009 California; a 2+2, all aluminium bodied, direct fuel injected 4,300 cc V8 powered beauty. With a brand new 7-speed dual clutch transmission, it has all the ingredients that add up to an impressive sub four second 0-100kph dash, making it the fastest coupe/cabrio in the world.

Taking some styling cues from one of its past stable mates, the 1961 250 California, the new ’09 Cali if just dead sexy.

Built with versatility in mind, Ferrari no doubt hopes to use the California in part to help boost sales, particularly in the rapidly expanding Chinese market, the world’s second largest. The Ferrari California has the looks, the brand-new technologies and potential to be one of Ferrari’s finest.

I’ll take one in blue, thanks.

D.

http://www.ferraricalifornia.com/webapp/

As this is the first post in the new Garage 77 Blog, I would like to welcome you in. I have created this blog to explore my passion for cars and photography. I will strive to keep it up to date with fresh stuff; ensuring it is always fun and very visual! Enjoy your stay, have a look around and be sure to visit often.

D.