50 years today March 22 1968 when GMH first widely distributed the Monaro name in Engineering Technical Documents.

Monaro replaced Kingswood Coupe.
Monaro GTS replaced GTS coupe.
Brougham replaced Premier Brougham (was an option pack on Premier prior).
Kingswood Utility becomes 80380 (was an option pack on Belmont ute prior).

The real date will probably be in February when the revised pages of the Engineering Technical Specs were first penned, but today 50 years ago is when the whole document was distributed.

Where did it come from Warren? It was sent to me yesterday, but I saw it or similar stuff a fair while ago.

Must have been sent to me lifted off Facebook - I don't/won't use Facebook.

The pages in the Engineering Dept Technical Data Section (specifically 0-1) dated 2/68 is the one that shows the name change.

From memory that AJC meeting ended up getting moved to the same time as the release anyway due to petrol strikes! Petrol strikes was how Charlie McCarron ended up with my yellow GTS327, he did a fuel deal with Sydney dealers at the dealer release a week before the press release to get the car.

To put it in human baby terms, is it really the birthday or celebrating the conception (or perhaps 12 week scan when you discover the sex).

The real birthday IMHO would be later in the year when the first production cars rolled off the line

The embargo date is July 22 and yes the convention started on the 21st, but the official date should be 22/7.

The press test day at Lang Lang was only done as the date was put back, had the press date been the 15th then there would have been no day at Lang Lang.

Production always starts well before release. But these pre production and early production normally vary in specification to the "normal" cars.

And Motor reported a coupe well before that and Wheels stated at HK release in January that the coupe was coming because the reclining buckets in the red V8 Kingswood tilted forward.

Also the article you talk about was on the 17th and the Sydney Morning Herald printed information on the 14th. But none of this information came from official sources, many were spy photos.

By that logic then the HK designation was first released in 1965, making 2015 the 50th anniversary of the HK.

The 14th is the date that the Monaro name was released to the public through the Sydney Morning Herald NOT the 17th through the Melbourne age.

Does the release of the name make the "birthday"? We told everyone that if our first born was a boy his name would be Alex 3 months before he was born, so name day to me has nothing to do with "birthday".

As you say though a cars "birthday" can be any number of days. Any of the following could be construed as the "Birth of the car": (consider the first Holden)

1) the day the management decide they are gong to go ahead with the project
2) when the car is designed
3) when the car is named
4) when the first clay is completed
5) when the first prototype is completed
6) when the first car is mass produced
7) when someone inside/outside the organisation passes info to the press and they "leak" the information
8) when the car is OFFICIALLY released
9) when the car goes on sale

For 99.9% of the people the Birthday of the first Holden is the 28th of November 1948, making number 8 the popular choice. I do not think many would see 3 as the most significant, but have been wrong before.

March 22 is when the engineering update was sent out, the name would have been decided on in late February and all departments, that needed to be informed, would have been well before 22/3. These would have been production so that badges could be designed and made, public relations so that brochures could be adjusted etc etc. None of these people would need to rely on the engineering department to complete their work. A great example is engineering update 9/8/68 it has "radius rods added for 81837 model". But we know that the cars at release had them so this shows that the engineering update dates are NOT the time that everyone is first informed.

Edited by user Saturday, 24 March 2018 10:58:17 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

The 15th was not to meet deadlines, as the September magazine is the one Holden wanted it in. It was for a select number that could not make the 21/22. Those who attended had to have their editor sign a special contract to ensure the embargo was not breached.

Have another date for you to chase.

On 5/7/68 an internal memo states:

"I had a Miss Margaret Monaro aged 24, call me and she was interested to read the name of our new coupe. Her family is of Spanish origins.."

Edited by user Saturday, 24 March 2018 11:51:16 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Another early appearance of the name Monaro, left-hand drive (LD) Monaros?
08/03/1968 in the 'HK Series Introductory Sheet' an intro to the HK 'Engineering Parts List'

Warren

Not the 14th as there was no Sydney Morning Herald on a Sunday. I looked in the Sun Herald on 14th July but don't have an online subscription so cannot see it closely. Monaro doesn't come up in a search for that date.

I also have found printed use of the Monaro name on 23rd June 1968.