It took 2 years to develop the
Bulldog...
 The 4-Cylinder Commodore: Don't put anything
valuable in the back, we may need to jetison
it to get over the next hill...
The VC offered 'Shadow-Tone' colours - the first
time in 20 years...
Amity and Antipathies created a masterpiece... |
Fans of the prestigous Aston Martin marque should not
have been surprised with the release of the Bulldog,
particularly given the futuristic look of the wonderful
Lagonda of 1976. In fact, many credit the Lagonda with
turning around the fortunes of the company, and this
may have led to the bold plan to push foward with construction
of the Bulldog prototype in 1978.
Like the Lagonda,
the Bulldog was styled by Willian Towns, and was the
first ever mid-engined Aston. Most noteable styling
features were the "Gullwing" doors and retracting
bonet to reveal a startling array of headlights. Unfortunately
the Bulldog never made it into production, and it is
rumoured a wealthy Arab businessman purchased this truely
unique one-off Aston.
For Holden, 1980 would see the release of the new VC Commodore. Distinguished by an 'egg-crate' style grille,
the VC was a refinement of the 1978 VB model. Wheels
magazine heralded the launch with the statement: "The
new VC Commodore isn't perfect ... but that doesn't
stop us declaring that it is easily the best Australian
car ever." High praise indeed! As well as refining
the Commodore concept, the VC offered buyers a four-cylinder
engine in addition to the 6 or V8.
The four-cylinder
model, launched four months after the rest of the range,
was powered by the 1.9-litre Starfire engine fitted
to the Holden Sunbird. Acceleration was non-existent,
as was the re-sale value. The concept of better fuel
consumption in a large family car was commendable, but
the lack-lustre starfire engine was simply not up to
the job. We love our Holdens here at Unique Cars and
Parts, but the JB Camira and VC Starfire Commodore sure
tested our loyalty.
But the news was better for those buying the six or
V8 versions of the VC. Engine modifications made them
up to 25 per cent more powerful and 15 per cent more
economical than before, the increased performance and
economy achieved with a redesigned cylinder head, camshaft,
carburettor, inlet manifold and exhaust manifold and
electronic ignition. Another plus was an upgrade of
the suspension system which resulted in further improved
ride and handling characteristics.
The VC range also
reintroduced "shadow tone" (two-colour) exterior
paintwork, a feature not seen on a new Holden for 20
years. Another new Commodore option was cruise control.
The VC kept Commodore in its place as Australia's top-selling
car. Soon after its launch, production of the Holden
HZ range, which had continued alongside the Commodore,
was discontinued. A new range of ''light commercials"
and Statesman sedans was announced at the same time.
In other motoring news, Ford announced it would build
a new small four-cylinder car in Australia - the " Laser"
would go on to become the most popular small car in
the country. Stirling Moss announced a comeback to racing,
driving an Audi 80 in the British Saloon Car Championship.
The NRMA released a report, the findings of which clearly
demonstrated that bad roads equate to poor fuel consumption
- naturally this was ignored by the politicians. In
Formula One, the promising young French driver Alain
Prost crashed and fractured his wrist in the South African
Grand Prix, while in the same race, Australia's Alan
Jones was sidelined with gearbox problems. 
Formula One Championship: Alan Jones
(Australia) / Williams-Ford
1980 Bathurst Winner: Peter Brock & Jim Richards / VC Commodore
NRL Grand Final: Cantebury (18) def.
Eastern Suburbs (4)
VFL/AFL Grand Final: Richmond (23.21.159) def.
Collingwood (9.24.78)
Melbourne Cup: Beldale Ball (J.
Letts)
Wimbledon Women: Evonne Cawley d. C.
Evert Lloyd (6-1 7-6)
Wimbledon Men: Bjorn Borg d. J. McEnroe
(1-6 7-5 6-3 6-7 8-6)
The Movies:
- Raging Bull
- Kramer vs Kramer
- Ordinary People
- Coal Miner's Daughter
- The Elephant Man
- Tess
- Apocalypse Now
Academy Awards:
- Best Picture - Ordinary People
- Best Actor - Robert De Niro (RagingBull)
- Best Actress - Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner's Daughter)
Gold Logie: Mike Walsh (The Mike Walsh
Show, Nine)
The Charts:
- Time Warp - Original Movie Cast
- Shaddap You Face - Joe Dolce
- Turning Japanese - Vapors
- Space Invaders - Player
- Brass In Pocket - The Pretenders
- Starting Over - John Lennon
- Woman In Love - Barbara Streisand
- More Than I Can Say - Leo Sayer
- Another Brick In The Wall - Pink Floyd
- I Got You - Split Enz
Farewells:
- William Douglas (UK singer songwriter)
- Erich Fromm (Psychoanalyst and social theorist)
- Alfred Hitchcock (Genius director)
- John Lennon (The best part of the Beatles)
- Jesse Owens (Coloured sprinter that stuck it up
Hitler during the 1935 Olympics)
- Jean Piaget (Professor of psychology)
- Jean-Paul Sartre (French novelist and philosopher)
- Mae West (German born screen goddess)
- Alfred Neubauer (Arguably the greatest race team manager, who retired after the 1955 Le Mans tradgedy)
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