Abstract:
'She's a Beauty', Prime Minister Ben Chifley famously declared in 1948, admiring the first Holden as it rolled off the production line. More than a mere car, Holden became a national symbol, a status that General Motors-Holden's took care to cultivate. Sixty years later their advertising still claimed that 'Holden means a great deal to Australia'. This slogan alludes to the fact that the Holden was both a symbol and a consumer ware but the Holden's existence owes as much to the United States as it does to Australia. So how did an American-owned company manufacture an Australian national symbol? The answer lies in a combination of international connections, fortuitous timing and, above all, shrewd marketing.
