XD Falcon 1979-82

Holden decided to ditch its Kingswood in the late 1970s. There was a world oil crisis, and the decision was made to redesign the smaller, lighter, more fuel efficient Opel Rekord from Europe.

But the upcoming XD Falcon proposal was another big Ford; it was high waisted and had lots of steel. So Ford considered existing European and American cars, but they were unsuitable. The decision was made to reskin the XC Falcon, which was yet to be unveiled. It was known as the Blackwood project, and had the same floorplan and front suspension as the XC. In order for XD to compete with Commodore, every effort was made to use lighter parts and no expense was spared. Aluminium was used wherever possible, as was lots of plastic, notably for the energy absorbing bumpers, grille and fuel tank. A world first for a mass produced car, the plastic fuel tank shaved several kilograms off the car, and could be moulded into any shape.

The car, featuring popular European styling, was much smaller than its predecessor, however the interior had the same amount of space due to a more efficient layout.The dash was made from plastic with a simplified layout, there was a new electronic cableless speedometer and fashionable see-through head rests. Carried over was the unloved umbrella handbrake as well as the horn button on the steering column stalk.

A lower waistline gave the car a big glasshouse look. Even though the Falcon was Australian designed, the grille and headlights were taken straight from the European Granada.The model line-up was simplified to the GL, Fairmont and new upmarket Fairmont Ghia sedan, which had alloy wheels, velour upholstery and full electrics. A local first, the wagon got a rear windscreen wiper as standard. The new ute and panel van were introduced six months later.

A popular seller, the VB Commodore was shorter, narrower and lighter than the XD. But despite all this, the Falcon’s fuel economy was better. This was because Holden hadn’t significantly improved their engine - they thought they had already beaten Falcon. Even so, it would still be a couple of years before Falcon became number one.

The XD was upgraded in June 1980, known as XD 1/2. The main feature of this model was electronic ignition and an alloy cylinder head, engineered by Honda. It was 22 kilograms lighter than the old iron head and fuel economy was greatly improved. XD 1/2 can be identified by Alloy Head badges on the front fender.

At the same time, the European Sports Pack (ESP) Falcon was released, considered to be a modern version of the GT. Based on the GL, the ESP came with fog lamps, low profile steel-belted radials with 15 inch Globe alloy wheels, body coloured grille and a front spoiler. There were suspension modifications, limited slip differential, and four wheel disc brakes, and the standard engine was the 4.1L 4 speed. Performance was respectable (from the 5.8 V8), but didn’t match the GT-HO. Not long after, the ESP was based on Fairmont Ghia.