CAR-PARK CLASSICS

HUMBLE FLEET CARS ARE ESTABLISHING THEIR OWN NICHE

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BACK BEFORE business vehicles had to evade the grasping tentacles of Fringe Benefits Tax, senior employees drove conventional cars, defining their status in the company.

Today, the car park has hardly a four-door sedan in sight, with the boss driving a kitted out Ranger Wildtrak and the oinks in steel-wheel HiLuxes. The pecking order is maintained.

Head back to the 1980s, when Holden actually used ‘Executive’ as a designation within the Commodore range, and everything available as executive transport was a sedan or wagon; mostly delineated by suffixes like GLX, GXE or EFI.

Most weren’t overly plush, but they weren’t barren either. All of our choices came with power steering and almost certainly would be air-conditioned. Power windows would have been included on some models, with cruise control and a rudimentary ‘trip computer’ option, or not available at all.

Good news for keen drivers was all-wheel disc brakes across the group, with decent tyres and suspension to match.

More than 30 years after the newest of these cars was sold, four of our five selected models still cost less than when they were new, but are expected to hold their own and maybe appreciate.

VL Berlinas are the most expensive, with excellent cars at around $30,000. Back a bit from the Holden’s heels will be the XF EFI Ghia, which when new in 1988, cost $28,782. A sedan today will typically cost less than $25,000, but Ghia wagons are keenly sought and more expensive.

A Cressida Grande and Skyline GXE in excellent condition will likely make $12-15,000, with B230F Volvo models at $10-12,000.

HOLDEN VL BERLINA