The Holden FE is an
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
produced by
Holden
Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
in Australia from 1956 until 1958. It was also the first Holden to be assembled in New Zealand, where
General Motors New Zealand built their first example on 31 January 1957.
Overview
The FE models were built on a longer wheelbase than the
FJ series Holdens which they replaced, and they featured totally different styling, the FJ models having used a body shape carried over from the original
Holden 48-215 series introduced in 1948. A single piece windscreen was now fitted and other improvements included a 12-volt electrical system (replacing the previous 6-volt system), improved steering, a front stabiliser bar and wider wheel rims. All models used a 2262 cc in-line six cylinder engine, coupled with a 3-speed manual gearbox. Engine improvements over the FJ included the use of bigger valves and an increased compression ratio of 6.8:1, which increased the power output from 45 kW (60 hp) to 53 kW (71 hp).
Model range
The seven Holden FE models series were marketed as follows:
* Holden Standard Sedan
[Sales brochure for FE series Holden Sedans]
* Holden Standard Station Sedan
[
* Holden Business Sedan][
* Holden Special Sedan][
* Holden Special Station Sedan][
* Holden Utility][Sales brochure for FE series Holden Utility & Panel Van]
* Holden Panel Van[
When introduced in July 1956, the FE range consisted of the Holden Standard Sedan, ]Holden Business Sedan
The Holden Special is a mid-size car that was manufactured by Holden for Australasia. Introduced as the top-level trim in the new Holden FJ range of 1953, the Special was complemented by the entry-level Holden Standard and the mid-range Holden B ...
and Holden Special Sedan, the names designating different levels of equipment and interior trim. The existing FJ series Holden Utility and Holden Panel Van models continued alongside the new sedans, with the FE Utility replacing its FJ counterpart in February 1957. Two station wagon models, the Holden Standard Station Sedan and the Holden Special Station Sedan were released in March 1957, marking the first time that Holden had included a wagon in its range since the marque was introduced in 1948. The FE Panel Van replaced its FJ predecessor in May 1957, bringing the FE range up to its full complement of seven models.[
The FE was also the first Holden to be assembled locally in ]New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, in 1957 and 1958.
File:Holden FE Standard Sedan (1956).JPG, Holden Standard Sedan
File:1957 Holden FE Standard sedan (7761480716).jpg, Holden Standard Sedan
File:1957 Holden Special (FE) sedan (20737186871).jpg, Holden Special Sedan
File:Holden FE Special Station Sedan c.1958 (Australia) (16795545432).jpg, Holden Special Station Sedan
File:Holden FE (15750873457).jpg, Holden Business Sedan
File:1956 Holden FE Business Sedan - NSW Police (5124303650).jpg, Holden Business Sedan
File:1956 Holden FE panel van (5114214272).jpg, Holden Panel Van (with non-standard wheels)
File:1956 Holden FE panel van (5113632933).jpg, Holden Panel Van (with non-standard wheels)
File:Holden Utility (FE) (2).jpg, Holden Utility
File:1957 Holden FE utility (5114248402).jpg, Holden Utility
Production and replacement
After a production run of 155,161 vehicles the entire FE range was replaced by the Holden FC
The Holden FC series is an automobile produced by Holden in Australia from 1958 to 1960. Introduced on 6 May 1958, the FC is a facelifted and improved version of the Holden FE series, which it replaced. Although it is exclusively an Australian ...
series in May 1958.[Norm Darwin, 100 Years of GM in Australia, 2002, pages 228-229]
References
External links
FE Holden at The Sixties Holden Archives
Includes scans of Holden FE sales brochures
{{Holden timeline
Cars introduced in 1956
FE
Cars of Australia