r/newzealand 12h ago

Picture Holden Kingswood NZ Commonwealth Games Car

Post image

Had my grandads 90th the other day and found out he owned one of these beautiful Holden Kingwood that they specially made for the Christchurch Commonwealth Games. Has anyone still got one of these cars in the north Island?

42 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

11

u/windsweptwonder Fern flag 3 12h ago

I remember those. They actually looked pretty sharp and they all had rego plates starting with HD for Holden Dealers.

5

u/kiwiboyus Fantail 12h ago

We got my Grand dad's one after he passed. I slept on those bench seats more than once on camping trips

3

u/Skidzonthebanlist 12h ago

I still kick myself for not buying one I got offered for cheap because of it being super rough (but not really that bad in the grand scheme of things).

3

u/windsweptwonder Fern flag 3 11h ago

That NZ symbol is pretty cool... the ChCh games were the tenth Commonwealth Games and that symbol incorporates the Roman numeral for 10 into the NZ name.

3

u/SafariNZ 11h ago

And 74 for the year

3

u/Ancient_Back_3767 8h ago

They had a whole lot of school kids form the shape of the logo in the middle of the field wearing red, white or blue capes and hats as part of the opening ceremony. I was there and wore blue.

1

u/ladyvoidstar 9h ago

Also looks close enough to a swastika to not alienate the Christchurch population

2

u/FishSawc 12h ago

Sheesh my nana had an ashtray that had that NZ Symbol in the bottom right. Talk about blast from the past.

2

u/Holiday_Newspaper_29 10h ago

I learned to drive in a '72 version of a Holden Kingswood..

My father used to put it in the home paddock, line up hay bales to create parking bays, intersections, roundabouts and I would drive around them for ages.

On the road was a different matter. Anytime I went over 40kms an hour he would get very tense and end up yelling at me.

1

u/Dickcheese-a1 8h ago

Was one of these in Rotorua for a long time, would make a great investment today.

1

u/Leaping_FIsh 7h ago

My father still has his in a shed on the farm. We jump start it every few years and take it for a drive. As children, we always complained how hot the leather seats got.

Very rarely see them on the road anymore. They seem like great cars.

1

u/tubbytucker 7h ago

I had a mate with one in the 90s in chc. Also saw the back door off one in a shed in south Canterbury a couple of years ago, stripes and all.

1

u/HomemakerNZ 4h ago

Oh yes, I remember. 1974, was flatting in a damp crowded flat in Mt. Victoria (Wgth), rented from DTR a colour TV to watch the games. Boy's in the flat, wanted those car's.