We’ve reached a milestone edition 25 of this series. To celebrate, here’s an invitation to take a walk down Australia’s thunderstruck memory lane.

FEELING ready for a nostalgic road trip to revisit those icons (and failures) that graced our showrooms until the axe fell on Australia’s car manufacturing in 2017? 

The Cars that Made Australia podcast aims to be just the ticket to rekindle those octane-fed memories.

https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/cars-that-made-australia/

The podcast is a relatively new kid on the block, with weekly episodes that dive into Australia’s car-building heritage. Fronted by Aussie comedian, radio host and television presenter Tim Ross (inevitably aka ‘Rosso’), the premise is to deliver the stories, controversy and love affairs that transformed the humble automobile into an integral part of Australia’s (and arguably, also New Zealand’s) culture.

Every episode is themed around a specific Australia-made car, with cleverly choreographed narration accompanied by the voices and soundtracks that once made television adverts the key medium that lured punters into yesteryear’s motoring icons. 

Red-blooded loyalists will love the history covering the Holden Torana, Commodore and the legendary Peter Brock. Yet, arguably, the episodes dedicated to the off-beat outliers will have you hooked the most. 

Coming to think of it, off-beat is probably stating it too kindly. Remember the infamous Leyland P76? Many of you will for all the wrong reasons. This writer enjoyed Rosso and guest motoring scribe Tony Davis take a nostalgic trip through all the rust, leaks and smouldering carpets that once became the 1973 Wheels Magazine Car of the Year. The P76 was as fascinating as it was hilariously bad.

Ford’s Australian-designed and assembled Capri of the 1990s also gets an honourable dissection for being equally as awful, yet the episode covering the Mitsubishi Magna (also produced in V6 form as the V3000 and Diamante in New Zealand) caught this reviewer’s attention for more heart-warming reasons. 

For all the ferocious firepower Mitsubishi’s 2.6-litre Astron ll-propelled Magna never delivered, one owner joins in on the dialogue with fond memories of the Mitsi large car. Perhaps those flashbacks resulted from carbon monoxide poisoning, but they highlight a very valid point – motoring is more than the car itself. It’s the ownership, driving experiences and associated retrospection that form these unlikely loyal bonds. 

The mighty Magna was never a Bathurst contender, yet it won front-row billing for dependable family transport. Who knew a front-drive appliance challenging Commodore and Falcon sales would have coined loyal enthusiasts? What a weird and wonderful world we live in.  

Overall, this podcast is worth checking out if you love nostalgic Australian heritage overlayed with well-polished narration. Its narrow appeal won’t appease all, yet its warm-hearted dialogue makes it worth the subscription on all good podcast platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The Cars That Made Australia Homepage: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/cars-that-made-australia/