Reconditioned ford and holden engines
In Australian racing, the Bathurst 1000 is the race that gets the pulses racing for a vast number of auto fans. It is also the race that gets the rivalry between Ford and Holden owners all fired up again. It has been those two that have dominated the race since its inception in 1960, when it was run at Philip Island. The rivalry between Ford and Holden really hit high gear in 1968, and only really cooled of a little between 1985 and 1992, which was when the International Group A era of the race took place. Holden still managed to grab a little glory during that era, winning the race 3 times.
Once the race became a locals-only event in 1993, the battle for supremacy between Ford and Holden started up once again. The Holden Commodore and the Ford Falcon were the main protagonists of the supercar race, which on turn led to a blue and red divide among racing fans, which still very much exists to this day. It is the Holden crew who hold the upper hand right now, as they have won the race 29 times compared to 14 victories by Ford. The ironic thing nowadays is that the fans of each camp no longer drive the Falcon or Commodore on the city streets, with import vehicles now leading the way in sales.
It is going to be interesting to see what happens to that rivalry, as the face of the Australian automotive industry is set to change dramatically over the next couple of years. Ford will no longer be making the Falcon by the end of 2016, and Holden will make a badge switch to GM, which will include the end of Commodore production by 2017. Once they are gone, fans of the V8 supercars are going to have to be on the lookout for reconditioned Ford and Holden engines. It is also a change that is going to have an impact on the Bathurst 1000 in the coming years.
The outcome of the race often had a major impact on which of the two vehicles sold the best in the days and weeks that followed. That has already started to change, as the glory years for both vehicles came at a time when the Falcon and the Commodore accounted for roughly 50% of all the car sales in Australia. There is the possibility that the same impact could happen for the import automakers who are starting to take part in the Bathurst 1000.
The 2015 race ended with a Holden Commodore victory, breaking up a Ford Falcon win streak from the previous 2 years. You have to go all the way back to 1998 to find the last time that a vehicle other than those two won the race, but it may not be so long before we see a different vehicle take the checkered flag. The good news for fans of the V8 is that reconditioned Ford and Holden engines will be available long after production of both vehicles has stopped.