Faults:

The HQ 202 tonner was, in my opinion, a bit limp, not quite up to heavier jobs; even a 253 one tonner I used was not as capable as an XB Falcon 250 4 speed I also had was. The Falcon was easily far better, had a much better engine, didn't complain like the Holden, handled far better, towing was a breeze, Ford was much more stable

General Comments:

Best sell your Holden Kingswood ute & get a Ford if you need a tough workhorse.

Faults:

Regular maintenance.

General Comments:

Built for anything the Australian Outback can dish out... and that can be a lot of scary stuff in a huge continent!

Owned the car for about four years, and other than regular maintenance like oils, filter, brakes, coolant etc I haven't needed to do much else to keep it running.

Even if something does go wrong, the replacement parts are cheap!(for now).

Sure, I don't get hybrid car fuel economy and it's a bit noisy (think 100mph farm tractor and you're close), but I have another car that's economical-quiet.

The Holden HQ(1 tonne ute) has been a joy to own and drive on any road, but especially on a long open country road... great car!

Faults:

Back fold-down tailgate rusted out every few years, rusting even faster when living near the sea! (would rust out in six months)

Handle/rear window winder/lock assembly on tailgate broke off regularly (metal looked cast) and essentially cracked in half.

General Comments:

Not a bad car for its time, but did have some quirks. Rust wasn't too bad an issue, just the back tailgate. 3.3L engine needed frequent tuning to keep her from stalling at idle.

Had some odd features, hand brake was beside the driver's seat, seat would sag when the driver sat on it, making using the handbrake inconvenient. Column shift transmission due to the front bench seat. Reversing (in the wagon) was difficult, apparently due to a steering geometry design flaw (the wagon had same the steering geometry as the sedan, despite having a longer wheelbase).

I'm going to give a smiley rating, but if I bought this car today, I wouldn't be very impressed! Car standards have come a long way since the 70s.

Faults:

The car was a typical Aussie Tank; built very solid and a great runner.

The only things that went wrong were minor and annoying such as the starter motor falling on the road.

The car almost got me arrested. Late one night after finishing a late shift at work, I got into it to go home when the gear linkages jammed (an old Holden problem).

That was no problem to me as it had happened to me before; you just have to lift the bonnet and it's just a simple matter of fiddling the linkages with your fingers until they drop into place.

On this occasion I was doing this when I felt a tap on my shoulder; I ignored this as I thought it was one of my workmates. After about three more taps I lost patience and told them to F*** off.

Only problem it was a cop who wanted to know why I had my head under a bonnet on a dark street. After some fast talking and a very red face, he believed me and let me go.

General Comments:

Very well built car from GMH Holden.

Faults:

The diff in the sixes blow way too easily.

The axles snap way too easily.

General Comments:

The car is as tough as nails, but the diff and axles are just too weak. With a conversion to a Ford 9 inch diff with billet axles you will never blow a diff again.