Ok going to upset many here, so bewarned

Old rivet counters i respect you guys were all the same somewhere, some of us born in different generations so have different opinions and seen different changes

Old Holdens never die true, but get harder to find a good one, younger Holdens are getting rare to find unmolsted and original

I was born HJ Series so never seen a new van on the forcourt at my local Holden, like my other passion Minis, I was and still too young for that, but that doesnt stop me having the passion for both of them - Holdens and Minis of that era

Minis I could fix I packed my bags and went to UK before they stop production in 2000 and bought 3 of them, the day I got of the plane and went past the dealer and seen them in a showroom, full of minis I was like a kid, I was back there ready for opening, that day I bought the first one a 2000 model brand new never forget it, 6 months later back there and got another for wife, and just beofre we came home after 4 years bought another with 5000 miles cause hey when would i ever get the chance again

In 2001 Mini were gone replaced with MINI made by BMW, classic Mini owners hated the modern ones, so did I they killed the fashion, they killed the brand, they killed the factory put loads of familes and a village out of work, some been there for 40 years, I really hated them, I was living there and seen the pain

In 2012 I have 5 classic Minis sitting in my shed, I have two kids, slight problem no anchor points in my Minis dont wanna really have them as dailys anymore cause there classic and you cant get them, I dont wanna drive them into ground, my daily is a HZ Premier Wagon, some sernario

I drive into MINI dealer and say wll its grown on the Mini community it has modern features, safety, still has the style of the classic and has way to many great features, and driving it makes me smile and kids love it. 30 minutes later after loving it kids climbing in it and saying MINI for the first time, the passion had flared, the kids had added Mini to there words and they wanted it, SOLD

The reason I write this and say old rivet counters move on, some of us never lived in 70's never could own there dream, H series cars are too hard to find, to rare to drive, Holden still lives in 2012, they gave us modern folk a chance to own a dream share a passion, show our kids what there Pop had, a chance for us newer generation to feel what you had, load it with boards, eskys beach towels and kids and go live the dream, Thats what Holden did in 2004 or what ever.

Its not about what it says on a little tag under the bonnet, it what our it represents, a Aussie Icon, a real option to own the 70s dream, best dam thing on the market I rekon, sadly I would have bought one, I invested time looking at doing the conversion so I could loose the rear ute window put seats in the bck for kids, cause I want that, look at them there rare as hens teath in mint condition and low miles, old real van owners, will stop you at the servo and say 'I had one of these in the 70's good on ya mate", I say real owners not rivet counters like the sour lemon pastel faced guys on here who wanna bang on about shite, the guys that lived the dream, and are chuffed the modern generation are still living the dream

In closing Minis and Holdens are my passion, sheds full of them Old and New, Monaros and Minis, if I find a HZ Sandy I will get a Modern Van happily too,
MINI RE vamped the classic, they couldnt live on with a 41 year old body in modern times, Holden moved with the times and still live, they are just re vamping the classics too, sharing the passion and dreams of the yesterdays,

Anoraks, Rivet Counters, Train watchers live on too cause your interest and passion helps the knowledge and fatcs stay true

Enjoy your weekend folk, im of to enjoy driving cause thats what living the dream is about

SAndy 77