As an Aussie who lives in Indiana at the moment and owns a commodore back home, it is amazing to know someone in the same state has a collection of them. Amazing Travis.
I live in Australia, these cars are a dime a dozen over here. Love to see it on the channel and glad you like it!! I’ve had two Holden utes, an absolute Aussie icon. Wish you were keeping it!
Had a mate with a 'Marloo', on the phone to the office from the Goldie (Gold Coast), a surfie came up and said..."Win a Raffle Mate?"....funniest phone call ever....
As an Aussie VE Ute owner the part behind the cab is the “Tub” not bed or tray. A tray is usually a flat surface with drop down sides, usually aluminium. Love the Videos.
yeah, thats just stuff you made up. different manufacturers called different styles different things, but definitely not "tub". i would say tray or bed, or even tonneau before tub. tub is what you do to your rear end to fit drag racing wheels.
can confirm, if its a style side tray, its called a tub, if its a drop down side, steel or alloy its called a tray. owned a holden vz ute, and now have a holden colorado ute
The reason there is such competition between Ford & Holden Fans in Australia, is because of decades of competition in the Supercar race Series, namely Bathurst
It predates Group A. Before Group A there was Group C, and before group C it was something else. Probably just touring cars. It goes back to the mid to late 60s, when Ford and Holden began putting V8s in their racing cars and also the cars they sold to Bob and Marg in Moonee Ponds. The touring cars resembled the cars people could buy, and the people became passionate about it. That passion is in its death throes now, as Holden doesn't exist.
NASCAR has had the Ford v GM war for a little bit longer than we have here in Australia, so I think the Americans understand just how big of a rivalry it is here, when back in the 2000s the fights between the Fusions and the Monte Carlos on track were about as heated as, let's say, Skaife v Ambrose.
It's so silly too, because for decades, the V8 supercars only relationship to the street going versions was the shared the chassis - almost every other part was different.
I worked at Holden at the time. There were plans to launch this Ute in the US but GM shelved the program due to govt CAFE regulations. Essentially every V8 Holden Ute sold would have sacrificed revenue on one of their full size pick ups. Same reason the later SS sedan wasn’t actively promoted by the US resulting in poor sales. Aussies know how to engineer and build awesome cars. Shame that GM didn’t give their customers what they want and prioritise profits over everything else. RIP Holden.
Here in Oz we call that a "tub" (as in bathtub) not a "tray". A tray sits above the wheel arches giving you a bigger platform for load. Fun fact, the rarest modern Holden (excluding a few unicorns) we have here is the 2 door Commodore known as the Monaro that sold in the US as a Pontiac GTO, the rarest being the AWD version known as the Coupe 4.
As an Aussie it makes me proud to see how much you guys like our cars, we used to make some of the best cars in the world. Now we mostly import cheap junk from China.
@@dmacpher Yeah, and they wrecked it. 80's was the best because it was the wild west of cars, holden complained about being at the bottom of the grid to the governing body and had all the other cars removed (Ford cosworth 500's, nissan skylines, mini's you name it) instead of creating something that could compete. That is why I have an eternal hate for Holden, Tav should have imported an XR6 turbo as they are WAY more interesting not to mention they handle SO much better than those Holden boats. Also the Barra is an icon here in Australia not the million year old LS, the IRS in the Falcon is a chefs kiss also.
22:09 Actually when it's that style (attached to the cab) we call it a tub, when it is separate from the cab and made from aluminium or steel, then it's called a tray.
TRON and Galaga. Two of my all-time favorite arcade games ever. I spent SO much money on those games. LOVE IT! The neon signs are great, too. Makes me wish I lived near by to all of this. All he needs now is the huge smoked glass office desk, with an LCD display under it that displays a keyboard, and says, "End of line."
You are absolutely right. In Australia it used to be that you were either a Ford Fan or a Holden Fan. I was a Ford Fan and my brother was a Holden Fan, which made for fun times every year during our biggest Turing car race, Bathurst 1000. Unfortunately these times are now over 😞
Ex VF SS Ute owner here ... 21.50 - 22.25 ... The back area of 'a' ute can be a tray (usually an aftermarket flat bed mounted on a Cab-Chassis vehicle - sometimes with fold down edges) Pre-formed body types are generally referred to as a 'Tub' and the plastic protective bit inside is a 'Tub Liner'. Most utes were sold without any rear cover at all ... but the 'sports' types SV6 or SS or SS-V were mostly sold with a soft tonneau cover ... a hard tonneau cover (or hard lid) being a factory optioned upgrade - except in cases where they were offered as part of a promotional package ... and yes there are plenty of aftermarket ones available.
What a banger of video, totally loved this new video, Rex getting hooked up to arcade games, Travis's in depth knowledge, and looking at his Game mahal was awesome. loved Ute so much, looking forward to your journey modifying it and bringing it to modern era
In Australia the split actually boils down to race drivers popularity, especially from the 70s leading into the 80s , it wasn't so much Ford vs Holden as Brock v Moffat or Johnston.
Nope GM/Holden complained they couldn't compete with the competition, had them removed. Anything else you here is complete BS to cover their bogus shite (Holden was government funded if ya didn't know)...
You’re taking me back Travis. Spy Hunter is my game. We had it in the pizza place i worked at in hs. Back then I could play for 2 hours on a quarter. Thanks for keeping the classics alive. Happy New Year everyone!!
I like all different brand's, i don't understand how some people are just one brand and that's it. I can understand somebody who worked for one of these company's for 20 year's, and just have that kind of up close hands on with the brand, especially back in the 50-80's. I do have a friend who is marriedto an engineer for chrysler, but he drives an old ford full size van from the mid 90's, he retired ten year's ago, and they gave him a mini van that he gave to my friend, and keeps driving the ford. Keep the color of this yute, it looks good, and not a color you see everyday. I think ylu donating it to the give away to help Travis is so awesome, because he is so kind. I think him donating all the proceeds to the 17 year old fella who is disabled was really a true gift that helped him and his family. I struggle with progressive MS, and have muscle wasting on my entire left side, which causes weakness and loss of feeling. My left side muscles are over half the size smaller than my right side. I know the struggle to try and be active through a lot of pain because i don't want to end up in a wheel chair. I feel like my struggles are much less than that young man, but his story really touched me, because i can relate to him. I worry about the brain volume loss i have, and memory issue's, and know he has brain function issue's, so it just really hit home. Tell Travis he did such a great thing, and if more people were like him, the world would be a better place. G-d bless, and happy new year from. an old girl in Michigan.
I love this 80-s nostalgia stuff. I felt just the same this summer when I went to deliver a motorcycle and the guy shows me his garage where he has like 100 bikes from my youth, a ferrari testarossa, a lamborgini countach, tons of posters, models of cars and bikes and a bunch of other nostalgio stuff. I was like :o the whole time.
I love the geo! I had a Sidekick black in 97 it was a 89 lowered with a speaker box 2 18's taking up the hole back seat. I love seeing your yellow beauty it takes me back!
2varish, we had more than 2 local car manufactures in Australia until recently, Holden, Ford, Toyota & Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi was the first to stop local production, then ford, holden and toyota was the last to stop production, which sadly means we don't have cars manufactured locally in Australia. All cars for Holden are GM rebadged cars, Ford, Toyoya and others are imports. In the last few years we have started to have alot of Chinese (Crap) coming into Australia.
No excuses, Rex. You should feel shame 😢 . That place is priceless. I came to be in 75, and that place is my childhood and most of my adult life as well. It's so amazing. This is my 2nd commitment so far. It just keeps getting better and better!!
I wish I had the photo, but I remember being at EPCOT in the 80s when GM had a display of their concepts. One was a purple Chevy El Camino XT2….your Ute immediately reminded me of that car.
The best video ever...felt like I was with old friend talking about old times....also he haas all the cars I wanted as a young adult and couldn't afford. Pontiac G8, Chevy SS and the Holden SS
(for)Travis, the tray is not only called a tray. It is generally referred to as a "Tub". You can line it with plastic and fill it with water, and make your own Hot Tub. :D
Travis seems like a great guy, he's obviously a true crazy enthusiast of so many things and it's priceless to know someone like that! Those 2016/17 Holden Commodore's are amazing. I remember Chris Harris driving one in Aus (it's on TH-cam) and he loves them too... Those cars really are unobtanium. Being literally a performance car with a flatbed, it's surprising they didn't continue to bring these 'yutes' to the US market despite Pontiac going bust. If the rear suspension and shock setup is the same as a regular road car it's probably a big limiting factor for how practical they are for carrying loads, but still a really cool niche vehicle.
Working as a contractor for Holden at the now closed Lang Lang proving ground,I can say 100% with an unofficial photo to back my claim that the Monaro,a 2 door commodore had a Pontiac front end left hand drive and was coded a Pontiac G8 Monaro,so yes I can say it was for the US Market. I've also owned a 2003 ba xr6 turbo sedan that has a bullet proof 4.0lt 6 with simple mods can easy push over 600hp and a standard bottom end. Good to see our Aussie engineering hit the states
The Lumina made me think of a friend of mine. I worked at a Staples when I was a teen. Worked with this awesome dude. He was the type that could fix anything. He would fix the tv remote or something before getting a new one. He drove a Lumina. That thing was like 3 different colors with 2 of the colors trying their hardest to match. The guys name was Weldin. And he does weld. A lot. Like a whole lot. He would buy used Lumina's to hack at and weld to fix his current Lumina. Don't know what he did to it...but that car was fast. I mean all cars were kinda built back then. Not saying you could take your family sedan to run the quarter mile. But back then...cars had a pedigree behind them. You might get a car model and not know that thing done seen some ground. My mom had a Aerostar van. For some reason Ford put a 4.0 V6 in it. We had a Mercury Sable. Light blue. Family sedan liike a mofo. The thing had a 3.0 L DOHC Duratec V6. They really built them back then. This video made me think of some good times I had. Kudos
My Father still owns my VY SS Commodore Sedan. Block was from Canada but everything else was Australian engineering. Rare as hens teeth now anywhere in the world, but trust Tavarish to get his hands on one. Pickles has some awesome cars too
I may be a 15 yr old, but Forza horizon 3 showed me the best of Aussie cars. It presented me a green Holden ute as a starter car in the game. I've always wanted one ever since.
When Travis was on VINwiki he said he was able to import the body and graft it onto a G6. Now he’s saying you can just import a whole one. Something doesn’t add up.
Freddy how exciting to see an Australian car on your channel. Utes of course until our car industry collapsed were a staple here in Aus. My friend just traded in his SS for a 4wd. He bought it brand new in 2008. I am a ford girl at heart as you can see from my profile. I have had a few fords over the years including a Ranger that broke a couple of years ago. Travis your car collection is amazing there would be many a man here in Aus that would be envious. GM broke Australia when they decided that Holden would no longer be a brand here in Aus. These cars are now being written off because there are no spare parts for them. Its sad to see our icons dissapear.
dude as an aussie... youve won the lottery atm.... a morpheus utse with an l98 and series 2 fg xr t....lol we used to be like that know we just thrive on whats left.. but ls all day. Found. On. Rubbish.. dump Lol well love the barra.. its named after a fish thats how simple we are 😊 xx.. omg i continued watching... this guy knows his shit bro... holden would be proud.. there some premium vf commodores and he really respects them... so much love ❤❤❤❤
That purple Holden commodore ve series 1 ssv ute is an absolute bargain. It looks like it was once loved as it has a full exhaust system, oil catch can, possible cam work, OTR cold air induction and mafless tune. All very common on ls powered commodores and is far from stock in terms of power and performance but unfortunately another common aspect of these cars are that they were owned by idiots with more money than sense and were thrashed and abused as evidenced by the drive train issues and front end damage. Burnouts and wannabe drifters killed alot of these cars and sadly the same goes for the equally legendary Ford xr6 turbo variants. I have huge respect for people like Travis. Not only does he seem like a super nice dude but he's a genuine enthusiast who loves and appreciates his cars and takes meticulous care of them. Im glad to see some nice examples be owned by him, especially those vf series 2 ssv commodores. They were Holdens Swan song cars complete with an ls3 engine. Holden got it so right with their final locally produced model and was a fitting end albeit a sad one. Any ls3 powered commodore will be worth alot of money in years to come.
Towards the end, the Holden Commodore Ute was the "showpony" sports car and the Ford Falcon was the work horse. Of course, there was some crossover, but you rarely saw a late model working Holden Ute. But, what a beast!
@Emfourayone Yes, but very few compared to Falcons. The Standard model sales compared to SS and various HSV were very small. The Ford was also starting to head in Sports model sales, but not anywhere to the same degree. The last Ford Utes still had leaf sprung solid axles and a greater towing and load limits. The last Commodore Utes were basically sports cars.
That FORD IS AWESOME!! Never could understand why other countries have cars like this made by American companies but we never get the cool cars in America
In the case of ford it’s a Ford Australia production. Locally designed and produced for the local market. Where you lost out was we also got the Ford F series but you didn’t get Australian designs because the parent company’s focus was the F series
34:47 When you asked what Rex should get if he gets the high score, I said "A WEDGIE!" and then you said it!!! Spy Hunter was my favorite game in your room there, immediately followed by Galaga. I think PlayStation 2 has Spy Hunter or it might be on the Xbox 360, I can't remember. Almost as good as the arcade.
I'd love to get my hands on a Maloo UTE. I have a 2015 Caprice now with Holden wheels, grille and badges. OTR intake and a Tab exhaust but that's it so far. The 6.0 l needs to get rid of the AFM and DOD. It needs some cam and maybe forced induction of some sort. I'd like to convert it to a 6 speed manual too. It's a lot of fun for sure.
Ok, just when I thought finding Holden & Ford utes in America & appreciated was the best this video could do you show one of the greatest Man Caves on the planet, well bloody done !. P.S I'm a Holden man myself, the main reason could be stated in one name... Toranas, happy new year for 2025.
This whole bit about importing Holden's into America as Pontiac's and later Chevy's actually started with GM's Bob Lutz falling in love with the new Holden Monaro about 24 years ago and insisting that it be imported to America. That car went on to become the revived Pontiac GTO (they were built in my home town of Adelaide in South Australia). And things went from there with the Pontiac G8 and Chevy SS also being different versions of the Holden Commodore (the Monaro/GTO was essentially the coupe or 2 door version of the Commodore which was a 4 door family car).
There was something in between Holden and Ford in Australia, Chrysler Australia had a good muscle car showing in the 60's and 70's. I had a 1971 VH Ranger with a 360cui V8. Was one of the best cars I have owned in my life.
Fun fact: Holden Commodores were badged and exported as Chevrolet Lumina's to the middle-east (Saudi, Qatar, Bahrain & UAE). Holden also had limited edition Commodore's badged as Lumina in the domestic market.
@@matheusppjedi Opel/Chevy Omega is a different car but is it the base car platform frame that Holden used for the Commodores. They just made it stronger to handle the many other things that they made on that platform mainly the Utes.
04-06 we had the Commodore as the Pontiac GTO. Then as the Pontiac G8 for a couple years and finally as the Buick LeSabre GS. For some reason Americans don't buy many Buicks.
@@greyfox78569 are you sure man? I mean, i saw a bunch of these 07-08 omegas here in the Brazilian streets, an I can almost 100% confirm that the headlights and grills are just like the ones on tavarishs car.
Hard cover not hard lid.. the only time we use " lid" is for containers, drinks etc or sometimes used if you roll it and are "slipping down the road on your lid/ roof/ top" nice collection 😉 l🇦🇺
You definitely need to come to Australia at somepoint. We have a great car culture and awesome beaches and a few car channels who would love to collaborate with you I'm sure.
That makes sense, a 'Holden' with a GM US badge! A big Ford fan Australian here, I would have never bought a GM product there, now after living in France for years own two Euro Fords😃
The vehicle was supposed to be the new version of the Elcamino in the US. GM actually made a total mess of it all with the Pontiac brand name in the US. The Ute was also available in South Africa and was known as the Lumina pick up. As in Australia it was hugely popular and you can still find some really neat ones around
Travis has the coolest stuff ever!!! So much from my HS years there that I had totally forgotten about.... BTW, Since Rex has NO IDEA how HAN SOLO is (guy in a chocolate bar).... He Deserves more than a wedgey... he needs to detail my car. When Travis cut the POWER on REX.... He just GREW UP.... OLD MAN. LOL
There's a guy in Raleigh, NC who has a FG Falcon XR8 ute, registered in Indiana. Not sure how he got it here and frankly not my place to ask haha, but definitely always a pleasure to see
Another really rare colour combo is the Voodoo blue VE with the blue interior. (blue seat inserts, blue dashboard) Rare as all feeeeeeck. Has to have the blue dashboard and glovebox.
Amazing. No matter where you are on earth. Mexico is always a 10 minute drive away.
Mexico is HUGE
@@alexander1485not really
As an Aussie who lives in Indiana at the moment and owns a commodore back home, it is amazing to know someone in the same state has a collection of them. Amazing Travis.
I live in Australia, these cars are a dime a dozen over here. Love to see it on the channel and glad you like it!! I’ve had two Holden utes, an absolute Aussie icon. Wish you were keeping it!
Had a mate with a 'Marloo', on the phone to the office from the Goldie (Gold Coast), a surfie came up and said..."Win a Raffle Mate?"....funniest phone call ever....
@@ya33a haha raffles making a killing at the moment!
They won't be a dime a dozen once the septics start importing them
Ha for sure. The first time I went to Australia I was like oooh, what is that crazy car.
Is there still a good aftermarket supplier of interior and exterior parts support for these cars?
As an Aussie VE Ute owner the part behind the cab is the “Tub” not bed or tray. A tray is usually a flat surface with drop down sides, usually aluminium. Love the Videos.
Yep, fix side body panel vs work drop sides.
He was so confident as well 😂
VF ute owner ... And I'll disagree.
I know I, and many in my circles, definitely call it a tray.
Perhaps it's an area thing.
yeah, thats just stuff you made up. different manufacturers called different styles different things, but definitely not "tub". i would say tray or bed, or even tonneau before tub. tub is what you do to your rear end to fit drag racing wheels.
can confirm, if its a style side tray, its called a tub, if its a drop down side, steel or alloy its called a tray. owned a holden vz ute, and now have a holden colorado ute
The reason there is such competition between Ford & Holden Fans in Australia, is because of decades of competition in the Supercar race Series, namely Bathurst
It even predates the v8 supercars, as it started with touring cars (basically group A Touring cars)
one of the best tracks on the planet imo
It predates Group A. Before Group A there was Group C, and before group C it was something else. Probably just touring cars. It goes back to the mid to late 60s, when Ford and Holden began putting V8s in their racing cars and also the cars they sold to Bob and Marg in Moonee Ponds. The touring cars resembled the cars people could buy, and the people became passionate about it. That passion is in its death throes now, as Holden doesn't exist.
NASCAR has had the Ford v GM war for a little bit longer than we have here in Australia, so I think the Americans understand just how big of a rivalry it is here, when back in the 2000s the fights between the Fusions and the Monte Carlos on track were about as heated as, let's say, Skaife v Ambrose.
It's so silly too, because for decades, the V8 supercars only relationship to the street going versions was the shared the chassis - almost every other part was different.
I worked at Holden at the time. There were plans to launch this Ute in the US but GM shelved the program due to govt CAFE regulations. Essentially every V8 Holden Ute sold would have sacrificed revenue on one of their full size pick ups. Same reason the later SS sedan wasn’t actively promoted by the US resulting in poor sales. Aussies know how to engineer and build awesome cars. Shame that GM didn’t give their customers what they want and prioritise profits over everything else. RIP Holden.
The demise of the Australian made car industry is a disgrace.
Hardly a surprise though they weren't making the cars the market wanted @@AnyoneSeenMikeHunt
Yes mate it’s sad so many more great cars could have been made it’s shit not to have Holdens anymore
This is the most unTavarish video of all time but I have to say... Super entertaining. Travis is a big kid. So much fun.
@@garyw4211 we might just convert him to a Barra guy yet 🤙🏻🇦🇺
@HoonTV lol. Maybe. 🤷😆🙏💪🇦🇺
@@HoonTV I did notice your HOONTV sticker on the tailgate 😁 Then realised it's the ute from your channel 😎😎
Here in Oz we call that a "tub" (as in bathtub) not a "tray". A tray sits above the wheel arches giving you a bigger platform for load. Fun fact, the rarest modern Holden (excluding a few unicorns) we have here is the 2 door Commodore known as the Monaro that sold in the US as a Pontiac GTO, the rarest being the AWD version known as the Coupe 4.
This guy has my entire childhood in his basement. Also, referring to Daft Punk as The Weeknd was laugh out loud hilarious.
As an Aussie it makes me proud to see how much you guys like our cars, we used to make some of the best cars in the world. Now we mostly import cheap junk from China.
See the sticker on the back
HOONTV
Don't worry bro... Because of 'Net Zero', the whole planet will soon exclusively be importing junk EV's from China...
Yeah you can thank the Libs and specifically Mr Budgie Smuggler for destroying the Aussie car industry.
Amen brother
It was the unions
How much of our money went to both Holden and Ford to try to keep them afloat
Ford v Holden comes from the racetrack. Here in Aus there was always a fierce rivalry. Over the years both brands have stamped their dominance.
Wasn’t it just the two of them in your super car championship for the longest time?
@@dmacpher Yeah, and they wrecked it. 80's was the best because it was the wild west of cars, holden complained about being at the bottom of the grid to the governing body and had all the other cars removed (Ford cosworth 500's, nissan skylines, mini's you name it) instead of creating something that could compete. That is why I have an eternal hate for Holden, Tav should have imported an XR6 turbo as they are WAY more interesting not to mention they handle SO much better than those Holden boats. Also the Barra is an icon here in Australia not the million year old LS, the IRS in the Falcon is a chefs kiss also.
@@adamrandell7946 The 70's was a lot better than the 80's
@@dmacpher yeah now its mainly foreign cars racing
Travis is just living the dream!!!!! What a house full of wonders!!!
You can't have a Holden video without Travis. It just can't happen.
22:09 Actually when it's that style (attached to the cab) we call it a tub, when it is separate from the cab and made from aluminium or steel, then it's called a tray.
Also never heard the lid called anything other than a tonneau cover
Trays have fold down or removable sides to fit canopies and tool boxes on also
should also be called a 1 tonner
@brad4751 it can only take a payload of just over 500kg though, in which case it would be a half tonner.
@@DarkMatter1992 yes you are correct for the ve , but the 2005 single cab tray backs as mentioned have a full chassis so can carry more
TRON and Galaga. Two of my all-time favorite arcade games ever. I spent SO much money on those games. LOVE IT! The neon signs are great, too. Makes me wish I lived near by to all of this. All he needs now is the huge smoked glass office desk, with an LCD display under it that displays a keyboard, and says, "End of line."
You are absolutely right. In Australia it used to be that you were either a Ford Fan or a Holden Fan. I was a Ford Fan and my brother was a Holden Fan, which made for fun times every year during our biggest Turing car race, Bathurst 1000. Unfortunately these times are now over 😞
Very cool boys, and i see the Barra ute still has its South Aussie number plates. Well played good sirs. 👏
I loved seeing the South Australian plates!!
Ex VF SS Ute owner here ... 21.50 - 22.25 ... The back area of 'a' ute can be a tray (usually an aftermarket flat bed mounted on a Cab-Chassis vehicle - sometimes with fold down edges) Pre-formed body types are generally referred to as a 'Tub' and the plastic protective bit inside is a 'Tub Liner'. Most utes were sold without any rear cover at all ... but the 'sports' types SV6 or SS or SS-V were mostly sold with a soft tonneau cover ... a hard tonneau cover (or hard lid) being a factory optioned upgrade - except in cases where they were offered as part of a promotional package ... and yes there are plenty of aftermarket ones available.
You're keeping the spirit of Holden alive!!! Please collect and restore more of these beautiful machines!!!
What a banger of video, totally loved this new video, Rex getting hooked up to arcade games, Travis's in depth knowledge, and looking at his Game mahal was awesome. loved Ute so much, looking forward to your journey modifying it and bringing it to modern era
In Australia the split actually boils down to race drivers popularity, especially from the 70s leading into the 80s , it wasn't so much Ford vs Holden as Brock v Moffat or Johnston.
Nope GM/Holden complained they couldn't compete with the competition, had them removed. Anything else you here is complete BS to cover their bogus shite (Holden was government funded if ya didn't know)...
I'm such a big fan of any "El Camino". Looking forward to seeing how you imported this :)
Man, I love travis! As a guy born in the 70's I really appreciate his collection! So much cool shit😁
Happy New Years from Iraq 🇮🇶!
Amazing car, can’t wait to see the build. Again, thank you Freddy for always giving back.
34:00 I pumped all my money into that game when I was a kid vacationing in OOB, Maine. The campground we stayed at had one, it was so much fun.
You’re taking me back Travis. Spy Hunter is my game. We had it in the pizza place i worked at in hs. Back then I could play for 2 hours on a quarter. Thanks for keeping the classics alive.
Happy New Year everyone!!
I like all different brand's, i don't understand how some people are just one brand and that's it. I can understand somebody who worked for one of these company's for 20 year's, and just have that kind of up close hands on with the brand, especially back in the 50-80's. I do have a friend who is marriedto an engineer for chrysler, but he drives an old ford full size van from the mid 90's, he retired ten year's ago, and they gave him a mini van that he gave to my friend, and keeps driving the ford.
Keep the color of this yute, it looks good, and not a color you see everyday. I think ylu donating it to the give away to help Travis is so awesome, because he is so kind. I think him donating all the proceeds to the 17 year old fella who is disabled was really a true gift that helped him and his family. I struggle with progressive MS, and have muscle wasting on my entire left side, which causes weakness and loss of feeling. My left side muscles are over half the size smaller than my right side. I know the struggle to try and be active through a lot of pain because i don't want to end up in a wheel chair. I feel like my struggles are much less than that young man, but his story really touched me, because i can relate to him. I worry about the brain volume loss i have, and memory issue's, and know he has brain function issue's, so it just really hit home. Tell Travis he did such a great thing, and if more people were like him, the world would be a better place.
G-d bless, and happy new year from. an old girl in Michigan.
Shout out for the MKII!! Cool to see Travis' place behind the scenes. Thanks for sharing!
As an Australian it's funny hearing people call these cars rare when half the farms in Australia have one rotting away in a storage barn
I love this 80-s nostalgia stuff. I felt just the same this summer when I went to deliver a motorcycle and the guy shows me his garage where he has like 100 bikes from my youth, a ferrari testarossa, a lamborgini countach, tons of posters, models of cars and bikes and a bunch of other nostalgio stuff. I was like :o the whole time.
I love the geo! I had a Sidekick black in 97 it was a 89 lowered with a speaker box 2 18's taking up the hole back seat. I love seeing your yellow beauty it takes me back!
My first trip to the USA from Oz was to watch the first nascar race at the brickyard. Was cool to see one of the Luminas that raced then.
So we’ve learned that Travis is a massive geek (and I’m all here for it)
The pink van playing Vengaboys is awesome!
2varish, we had more than 2 local car manufactures in Australia until recently, Holden, Ford, Toyota & Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi was the first to stop local production, then ford, holden and toyota was the last to stop production, which sadly means we don't have cars manufactured locally in Australia. All cars for Holden are GM rebadged cars, Ford, Toyoya and others are imports. In the last few years we have started to have alot of Chinese (Crap) coming into Australia.
Travis is an interesting guy to listen to. Good video, very informative.
No excuses, Rex. You should feel shame 😢 . That place is priceless. I came to be in 75, and that place is my childhood and most of my adult life as well. It's so amazing. This is my 2nd commitment so far. It just keeps getting better and better!!
25:31 I remember seeing this at our Auto Show in Pittsburgh. I recognized it right away. 😅
I wish I had the photo, but I remember being at EPCOT in the 80s when GM had a display of their concepts. One was a purple Chevy El Camino XT2….your Ute immediately reminded me of that car.
The more I learn about Travis the more I like him! His collection makes me miss my G8 GT.
The best video ever...felt like I was with old friend talking about old times....also he haas all the cars I wanted as a young adult and couldn't afford. Pontiac G8, Chevy SS and the Holden SS
(for)Travis, the tray is not only called a tray. It is generally referred to as a "Tub". You can line it with plastic and fill it with water, and make your own Hot Tub. :D
Travis seems like a great guy, he's obviously a true crazy enthusiast of so many things and it's priceless to know someone like that! Those 2016/17 Holden Commodore's are amazing. I remember Chris Harris driving one in Aus (it's on TH-cam) and he loves them too... Those cars really are unobtanium.
Being literally a performance car with a flatbed, it's surprising they didn't continue to bring these 'yutes' to the US market despite Pontiac going bust. If the rear suspension and shock setup is the same as a regular road car it's probably a big limiting factor for how practical they are for carrying loads, but still a really cool niche vehicle.
Pretty sure they have load sensing suspension in rear.
What a sik nostalgic time!!! I’m an Aussie, HSV and Holden in America makes me proud…. And all the old-skool games and stuff 🤘😎
I love the way travis explains things
Working as a contractor for Holden at the now closed Lang Lang proving ground,I can say 100% with an unofficial photo to back my claim that the Monaro,a 2 door commodore had a Pontiac front end left hand drive and was coded a Pontiac G8 Monaro,so yes I can say it was for the US Market.
I've also owned a 2003 ba xr6 turbo sedan that has a bullet proof 4.0lt 6 with simple mods can easy push over 600hp and a standard bottom end.
Good to see our Aussie engineering hit the states
The Lumina made me think of a friend of mine. I worked at a Staples when I was a teen. Worked with this awesome dude. He was the type that could fix anything. He would fix the tv remote or something before getting a new one. He drove a Lumina. That thing was like 3 different colors with 2 of the colors trying their hardest to match. The guys name was Weldin. And he does weld. A lot. Like a whole lot. He would buy used Lumina's to hack at and weld to fix his current Lumina. Don't know what he did to it...but that car was fast. I mean all cars were kinda built back then. Not saying you could take your family sedan to run the quarter mile. But back then...cars had a pedigree behind them. You might get a car model and not know that thing done seen some ground. My mom had a Aerostar van. For some reason Ford put a 4.0 V6 in it. We had a Mercury Sable. Light blue. Family sedan liike a mofo. The thing had a 3.0 L DOHC Duratec V6. They really built them back then. This video made me think of some good times I had. Kudos
I need friends like Travis Bell! What an awesome car collection of all kinds and a 80's arcade room and a go-cart track! Brings me back!
Travis's arcade has got Journey songs stuck in my head now. Love it, super jealous!
Good god, this place is better than Disney Land or any other land... amazing!!!
My Father still owns my VY SS Commodore Sedan. Block was from Canada but everything else was Australian engineering. Rare as hens teeth now anywhere in the world, but trust Tavarish to get his hands on one. Pickles has some awesome cars too
On the black ute I'd call it a tub, not a tray
I think the boom box truck was used for "the Pickle" in Pittsburgh. I remember it running around when I was working for WDVE in Pittsburgh.
“I have played ABBA’s Dancing Queen more than ABBA has played it”
Ahh! The Disco years and a spoon on a necklace....
I may be a 15 yr old, but Forza horizon 3 showed me the best of Aussie cars. It presented me a green Holden ute as a starter car in the game. I've always wanted one ever since.
When Travis was on VINwiki he said he was able to import the body and graft it onto a G6. Now he’s saying you can just import a whole one. Something doesn’t add up.
*g8
Freddy how exciting to see an Australian car on your channel. Utes of course until our car industry collapsed were a staple here in Aus. My friend just traded in his SS for a 4wd. He bought it brand new in 2008. I am a ford girl at heart as you can see from my profile. I have had a few fords over the years including a Ranger that broke a couple of years ago. Travis your car collection is amazing there would be many a man here in Aus that would be envious. GM broke Australia when they decided that Holden would no longer be a brand here in Aus. These cars are now being written off because there are no spare parts for them. Its sad to see our icons dissapear.
dude as an aussie... youve won the lottery atm.... a morpheus utse with an l98 and series 2 fg xr t....lol we used to be like that know we just thrive on whats left.. but ls all day. Found. On. Rubbish.. dump
Lol well love the barra.. its named after a fish thats how simple we are 😊 xx.. omg i continued watching... this guy knows his shit bro... holden would be proud.. there some premium vf commodores and he really respects them... so much love ❤❤❤❤
That purple Holden commodore ve series 1 ssv ute is an absolute bargain. It looks like it was once loved as it has a full exhaust system, oil catch can, possible cam work, OTR cold air induction and mafless tune. All very common on ls powered commodores and is far from stock in terms of power and performance but unfortunately another common aspect of these cars are that they were owned by idiots with more money than sense and were thrashed and abused as evidenced by the drive train issues and front end damage. Burnouts and wannabe drifters killed alot of these cars and sadly the same goes for the equally legendary Ford xr6 turbo variants. I have huge respect for people like Travis. Not only does he seem like a super nice dude but he's a genuine enthusiast who loves and appreciates his cars and takes meticulous care of them. Im glad to see some nice examples be owned by him, especially those vf series 2 ssv commodores. They were Holdens Swan song cars complete with an ls3 engine. Holden got it so right with their final locally produced model and was a fitting end albeit a sad one. Any ls3 powered commodore will be worth alot of money in years to come.
Towards the end, the Holden Commodore Ute was the "showpony" sports car and the Ford Falcon was the work horse. Of course, there was some crossover, but you rarely saw a late model working Holden Ute. But, what a beast!
really? i saw plenty of fleet model ve/vfs being used by tradies plenty of falcons aswell
@Emfourayone Yes, but very few compared to Falcons. The Standard model sales compared to SS and various HSV were very small. The Ford was also starting to head in Sports model sales, but not anywhere to the same degree. The last Ford Utes still had leaf sprung solid axles and a greater towing and load limits. The last Commodore Utes were basically sports cars.
Travis took me right back to my childhood!
Travis is a legendary dude!
Wish I had that collection of Holdens haha
I just sold a 2012 v8 Holden
Hi from Australia!
These were also sold in South Africa as Chevrolet Lumina SS. RHD as well. Also came in these beautiful colors.
As someone who has a turbo falcon ute in north America, its definitely a pain in the ass to bring these over lol
But I bet it's worth it for all rubber necks checking it out
That FORD IS AWESOME!! Never could understand why other countries have cars like this made by American companies but we never get the cool cars in America
In the case of ford it’s a Ford Australia production. Locally designed and produced for the local market. Where you lost out was we also got the Ford F series but you didn’t get Australian designs because the parent company’s focus was the F series
Wait til you see an XR8
LOL..nothing special..turbos eat them!@Siktah
34:47 When you asked what Rex should get if he gets the high score, I said "A WEDGIE!" and then you said it!!! Spy Hunter was my favorite game in your room there, immediately followed by Galaga. I think PlayStation 2 has Spy Hunter or it might be on the Xbox 360, I can't remember. Almost as good as the arcade.
It was the ps2 I had the game as a kid, fun fact I learned today there is also a movie based off the game
I'd love to get my hands on a Maloo UTE. I have a 2015 Caprice now with Holden wheels, grille and badges. OTR intake and a Tab exhaust but that's it so far. The 6.0 l needs to get rid of the AFM and DOD. It needs some cam and maybe forced induction of some sort. I'd like to convert it to a 6 speed manual too. It's a lot of fun for sure.
Love the way you weve in UK 🇬🇧 words and slang. Happy new year fella.
Love the BMW 635CSI...dream car
Ok, just when I thought finding Holden & Ford utes in America & appreciated was the best this video could do you show one of the greatest Man Caves on the planet, well bloody done !. P.S I'm a Holden man myself, the main reason could be stated in one name... Toranas, happy new year for 2025.
This whole bit about importing Holden's into America as Pontiac's and later Chevy's actually started with GM's Bob Lutz falling in love with the new Holden Monaro about 24 years ago and insisting that it be imported to America. That car went on to become the revived Pontiac GTO (they were built in my home town of Adelaide in South Australia). And things went from there with the Pontiac G8 and Chevy SS also being different versions of the Holden Commodore (the Monaro/GTO was essentially the coupe or 2 door version of the Commodore which was a 4 door family car).
You’re THE MAN always keep your ears open andletthe hands do the Talking Buddy 🎉😊
There was something in between Holden and Ford in Australia, Chrysler Australia had a good muscle car showing in the 60's and 70's. I had a 1971 VH Ranger with a 360cui V8. Was one of the best cars I have owned in my life.
Fun fact: Holden Commodores were badged and exported as Chevrolet Lumina's to the middle-east (Saudi, Qatar, Bahrain & UAE). Holden also had limited edition Commodore's badged as Lumina in the domestic market.
here in Brazil, its was sold as the Chevy omega, as the successor to the OG chevy omega, that had the same body as the Lotus Carlton. Great cars
@@matheusppjedi Opel/Chevy Omega is a different car but is it the base car platform frame that Holden used for the Commodores. They just made it stronger to handle the many other things that they made on that platform mainly the Utes.
04-06 we had the Commodore as the Pontiac GTO. Then as the Pontiac G8 for a couple years and finally as the Buick LeSabre GS. For some reason Americans don't buy many Buicks.
@@greyfox78569 are you sure man? I mean, i saw a bunch of these 07-08 omegas here in the Brazilian streets, an I can almost 100% confirm that the headlights and grills are just like the ones on tavarishs car.
@@matheusppjedi Holden Commodore's had an Omega trim level from the VE model series onwards locally here.
I'm sooo jealous of all those nostalgic stuff he has and everything. He's missing Frogger in the arcade games collection. 😎
I was expecting to see “Out Run”(my favorite)👍
That xr6t 😍 like the LS the barra can achieve cheap hp and are bullet proof ❤
Hard cover not hard lid.. the only time we use " lid" is for containers, drinks etc or sometimes used if you roll it and are "slipping down the road on your lid/ roof/ top" nice collection 😉 l🇦🇺
he definitely know what he doing with that Geo.....the wire rims are classic...i wanted one too and the Suzuki Samurai
Every time Tommy and Rex are together it’s a party 🤣. I freaking love it! 😂😂
As an 80s kid, loved the arcade!
In South Africa those where a Chevy Lumina SSV and we also got the Ford Falcon XR6 car and UTE... Over here called a Bakkie.
Cool cars, a arcade and a jukebox, my dude is living the life. not gone lie I'm a lil jealous.
You definitely need to come to Australia at somepoint. We have a great car culture and awesome beaches and a few car channels who would love to collaborate with you I'm sure.
That makes sense, a 'Holden' with a GM US badge!
A big Ford fan Australian here, I would have never bought a GM product there, now after living in France for years own two Euro Fords😃
I much prefer the Ford. Both are Very cool. I love all the 80's games and memorabilia. This is a Gen-Xer's dream basement. Thank you.
The Han Solo bit had me dying.
The vehicle was supposed to be the new version of the Elcamino in the US. GM actually made a total mess of it all with the Pontiac brand name in the US. The Ute was also available in South Africa and was known as the Lumina pick up. As in Australia it was hugely popular and you can still find some really neat ones around
I remember Justin's video 9 years ago. (Australian)
Aussies love watching Americans fawn over our muscle.
Travis has the coolest stuff ever!!! So much from my HS years there that I had totally forgotten about.... BTW, Since Rex has NO IDEA how HAN SOLO is (guy in a chocolate bar).... He Deserves more than a wedgey... he needs to detail my car. When Travis cut the POWER on REX.... He just GREW UP.... OLD MAN. LOL
There's a guy in Raleigh, NC who has a FG Falcon XR8 ute, registered in Indiana. Not sure how he got it here and frankly not my place to ask haha, but definitely always a pleasure to see
There was a concept boat made by HSV called Response R8 that was featured with a HSV Maloo ute, Awesome looking boat!
Love the South Australian plates!!!!!
Another really rare colour combo is the Voodoo blue VE with the blue interior. (blue seat inserts, blue dashboard)
Rare as all feeeeeeck. Has to have the blue dashboard and glovebox.
Hey Freddie, I own 2 XR6 Ford utes. A non turbo BA and a turbo FG model... they are bloody awesome utes!!!
There is also a Ford Falcon Ute available over here too .
Lol amazing suzuki viatara, I've got in the past a suzuki sj10 cabrio with a big subwooffer !!
OMG Travis is the coolest guy & I so want that Galaga box 👌😁
There are a couple of Trakkers in Prescott Valley AZ still running around 😅
A friend of mine has a think 05 Pontiac GTO, which I wanted badly a few years ago I was gonna get it in supercharge it
Why no info on the crazy pink van? That thing is WILD! 😜🍻
Go look at Japan and you'll see lots of crazy things they do either cars and bikes.