AUSTRALIA built cars for 120 years and, in 2017, it all ended with the closure of Toyota and Holden’s manufacturing plants – 12 months after Ford’s production lines stopped rolling.

It was a “heartfelt sense of loss” at the end of local automobile production that spurred insurance company Shannons and its executive manager of marketing Mark Behr to reconstruct this important part of Australian history.

“It wasn’t just the loss of the vehicles, it was an emotional loss,” Mr Behr told GoAutoNews Premium.

“There would be no more iconic cars that were the pavement for our automotive road through history.

“We then knew that the Commodores and Falcons and all the other exclusive Australian cars would slowly disappear. There were heavy hearts in the car enthusiast community.”

Mr Behr said the end of local car production was felt by a variety of people and businesses.

“I felt the impact to Shannons as it was a brand that represented the enthusiast element,” he said.

“I see this series as being important not only for the record of the industry for all Australians to feel proud of, but in a way to capture interest in the products and make them remembered.

“It would also bring some more value to these cars and is good for Shannons which would be a beneficiary of more active car collectors. Interest in these cars will preserve them for many years ahead.”

Shannons’ four-part series, ‘End of an Era’, opened on September 1 and will be released each fortnight.

“The series was to build a record for all time and show the contribution the Australian cars made to the way of life of all Australians,” Mr Behr said.

“A lot of material is mine. I spent a long time working at Mitsubishi, then nine years at Holden and two at HSV and some time with Ford – so over the years I covered our ‘Big Three’.”

Mr Behr said he contacted people who worked with these companies through the years.

“Many of these people we at Shannons have dealt with more recently so we have kept in contact, including Paul Berenger (Toyota design), Leo Pruneau (Holden design), Tony Hyde (Holden engineering), Allan Moffat (racer) and lots more,” he said.

“There a couple that didn’t want to be involved, but generally it was a great effort of getting the facts down by a group of people who made the Australian car industry.

“We had a group of guys to write the script – including John Wright, Mark Oastler and myself – and delivered by Shane Jacobson. The production was by Rohan Robertson, executive producer at The Media Mix.

“It was certainly a team effort and we made sure we dug deep, that we didn’t just present a superficial view of the industry.

“The series is over four parts and I am particularly proud of the last edition, ‘A Legacy Lost (2000-2017)’, which of course shows the end of local manufacturing and is one that is a real tearjerker. That one’s not to be missed.”

Shannons’ ‘End of An Era’ fuses a history and personal reflection over four parts:

Part 1: From Goldrush to the Early Years (1900-1959)

Part 2: The Swingin’ Sixties to the Love Generation (1960-1979)

Part 3: Eighties Big Hair to the Beginning of the End (1980-1999)

Part 4: A legacy Lost (2000-2017)

The series is exclusively available for viewing on the Shannons Club.

Click here to view

By Neil Dowling