1984 VK Commodore SS

For the month of March 2021, not one American-brand vehicle was reported among the top-ten best-selling vehicles in Australia. For folks not in the know, that might not seem so strange. Australia is a long way from the U.S., and very close to Japan, a country known for its automobiles. And in fact, except for a single Hyundai model, every vehicle on the Australian top-ten list is Japanese.

However, the Australian auto market wasn’t always like this. There was a time when all of the “Big 3” American automakers not only sold vehicles Down Under, they built them there as well. And, to the delight of auto geeks, those Australian-market cars and trucks were not clones of U.S. models.

Because we miss the diversity that Australian-made cars once brought to the automotive world, we’re looking back at some vintage Aussie machines. Below please find 15 classic car ads, all of which appeared in Australian magazines and newspapers. If you have a favorite Australian car model, tell us about it. The place to leave comments is down below.

More classic car ads

Australian Car Ads

1956 Ford V8 Customline

1956 Ford V8 Customline Ad

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1958 Ford Zephyr-Six

1958 Ford Zephyr-Six Ad

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1958 Volkswagen

1958 Volkswagen Ad

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1964 Chrysler Valiant

1964 Chrysler Valiant Ad

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1964 Ford Falcon Squire

1964 Ford Falcon Squire Ad

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1964 Datsun Bluebird

1964 Datsun Bluebird Ad

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1965 Ford XP Falcon

1965 Ford XP Falcon

Meet The Last Aussie-Built Holden Commodore

1969 Mazda R100

1969 Mazda R100 Ad

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1970 Holden Monaro GTS

1970 Holden Monaro GTS

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1975 Toyota Crown

1975 Toyota Crown

Goodbye Holden: GM Aussie and Kiwi Brand Going Sales-Only

1976 Holden Gemini

1976 Holden Gemini Ad

Cop-Car Walk-around: 2012 Chevrolet Caprice PPV

1978 Chrysler Sigma Scorpion

1978 Chrysler Sigma Scorpion Ad

Chevrolet Captiva Sport: You Can’t Buy One (New)

1978 BMW 320i

1978 BMW 320i

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1984 Holden VK Commodore SS

1984 Holden VK Commodore SS Ad

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Australian Car Ads Gallery

(Click below for enlarged images)

Australian Car Ads

Aussie Unicorn: What, Exactly, Was The Kelpie Kargo?

Australian Car Ads