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Early in 1951, country Holden dealer Rex Toop took delivery of his first
Holden Ute. Fifty years down the track, the two of them are still going
strong.
Rex, of Maitland
in South Australia, celebrated this year’s Holden Ute golden anniversary
with a slice of birthday cake and a pat on the mudguard for his trusty
workshop ute.
Australia’s longest-serving Holden dealer, Rex Toop has sold every model
produced, from the first 1948 sedan onwards, but that original utility
remains a favourite.
"This was my demonstrator, and I sold it in March 1951 to a local farmer who
wouldn’t take no for an answer. After that, I sold it twice more around the
district before deciding to hang onto it myself around 40 years ago," said
the 77 year old Holden veteran.
"The old ute’s seen almost as much service as I have - and lasted a darn
sight better," he laughed. "Mind you, it’s had a replacement engine and I
haven’t."
When Holden introduced the original
Coupe Utility, codenamed 50-2106, buyer demand for the tough, economical,
go-anywhere performer was so strong that the waiting list blew out to an
amazing 70,000 by the end of 1951. Although Holden couldn’t produce enough
utes to satisfy that kind of demand, its booming sales, combined with those
of Australia’s Own Car -the 48-215 - took Holden to the top of the market
that year for the first time.
Half a century and 23 Holden Ute models later, how does Rex Toop compare Old
Faithful with the all-new 2001 Holden Ute, which made its showroom debut
this month?
"That’s impossible to answer. In 1951, we thought this was the ultimate; how
could you improve on something so good? Now, of course, it’s history. It was
the same with every new ute Holden brought out. You think it’s the ants
pants, and then something better comes along.
"The new one’s absolutely magnificent. It’s bigger and roomier, it has
independent rear suspension - all the Commodore features my customers have
been asking for in a utility," concluded Rex.