The cars of the 1970s and 1980s convey a feeling of nostalgia and simplicity.
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In that era Australians manufactured things, kids played outside, the days seemed longer and life was simple.
Thousands of Australian-made Holdens and Fords were also rolling off the assembly lines at factories in Elizabeth, Dandenong and Broadmeadows – to name a few.
For about a decade, Holden’s E and H series and Ford’s Cortina were the go-to choices for many Australian families.
In 1971, the HQ series was launched as the first ground-up redesign of the Holden since it was introduced in 1948.
Almost 500,000 of the cars were produced by the end of 1974.
One of those was a pickle-green GTS.
Now housed at the National Automobile Museum of Tasmania, the two-door coupe was left hanging on the edge when the Tasman Bridge collapsed in Hobart during January of 1975.
For a few years after production of the HQ ceased, the HJ series was Holden’s premier car.
Between the H Series and Holden’s smaller Gemini – was the Torana.
Torana, from the Aboriginal meaning, ‘to fly’, was a mid-sized hatch made famous by Peter Brock’s efforts at Bathurst.
In the 1970s they could be purchased for only a couple of thousand dollars – depending on the model.
Earlier this year an original 1977 SS A9X sold for a record $260,000.
But Holden’s crusade into the hearts of Australians was set on the right track with the premier of the VB Commodore in 1978.
The first Commodore featured Holden’s six-cylinder and V8 engines and quickly sold well in the Australian market.
But sales of the VB Commodore was hampered by its narrow width when compared to its Ford rival – making the back seat less comfortable for passengers.
For three decades Holden’s Commodore would lead market sales and ensure the manufacturer’s position as a great Australian icon.
It is a similar story for the blue oval.
In 1971 Ford Australia launched the XY Falcon GTHO Phase III.
Back then you could pick one up off the factory floor for a measly $5302.
They are now the most highly sought after cars, regularly fetching more than $400,000 at auctions around the country.
Ford’s flurry of Falcons continued to be built for a generation – providing a genuine alternative for people not wanting a Commodore.
These days, the classic cars of the 1970s and 1980s are revered.
There is an appetite of people to again own their first car – the one they went on a driving holiday in, had their first kiss in, or the one they first crashed.
Tasmania has a fascinating obsession with historic and home-grown cars.
Dozens of car shows across the state are attended by thousands of people and are often a town’s largest annual event.
The state’s love of cars could stem from its stellar motoring history.
In 1959 and 1965 the who’s who of the racing world descended on Longford for the Australian Grand Prix.
The Australian Touring Car Championship also raced at Longford in 1962, long before Supercars made Symmons Plains its home.
In Tasmania, there are 6044 Special Interest Vehicles registered.
These are the cars used for the Sunday drive, specially registered and permitted to use only a handful of times each year.
The common cars of suburbia a generation ago are now collectables.
So what drives our love of classic machinery?
National Automobile Museum Tasmania manager Philip Costello could probably answer that question more accurately than anyone.
He believes the Holdens and Fords on display emulate a sense of nostalgia among museum patrons.
“There’s always a lot of interest in Australian cars, in particular, muscle cars,” Mr Costello said.
“The typical profile of visitor here is your middle-aged family man with kids.
“Those people typically have grown up through the 60s and 70s with those Australian cars.”
In Tasmania, there are 6296, pre-1983, Holdens and Fords registered.
Many of them are parked on football ovals, city blocks and town streets.
“You’ve only got to look in Tasmania at the amount of car shows that there are,” Mr Costello said.
“Once upon a time there were probably four or five main shows, whereas now every second little town has a car show.
“Some of them are quite successful and very popular.”
Mr Costello believes the rising rarity and value of the cars is partly behind the growing interest in them.
“The spike in the muscle car values in 2010, that certainly had a big effect, particularly in Australia,” he said.
“Suddenly, the Torana that somebody might have paid $5000 for was now worth $50,000 or $100,000.”
During summer the museum holds the “tried and true formula” of an Australian display to lure visitors.
“We have on occasions deviated from that and paid the price as far a visitor numbers go,” Mr Costello added.
The growing interest in the cars of yesterday has had a benefit to the museum’s coffers.
In Mr Costello’s 12 years at the museum, the number of paid staff has grown from one to three.
It is the second-highest paid attraction in Launceston ranked on Tripadvisor.
“It does quieten off, but certainly not to the extent it used to,” he said.
The feeling of control and simplicity offered by an old beast is also appealing, Mr Costello said.
“Modern cars become more and more different – you don’t even really drive them much anymore,” he said.
"They’re not like an old car when you’re more part of the car – there are so many electronic over-riding things that stop you.”