Aussie Car Culture

V.I.S.I.T – Australia Car Culture Traffic spotting

Joel Strickland

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After reading Kamil’s V.I.S.I.T., or Vehicles I See In Traffic post featuring his recent Peugeot spotting, I have been a little more aware when driving around my local area keeping an eye out for something V.I.S.I.T. worthy. I want to share some Aussie car culture. So I thought it would be worth posting this photo of a recent lineup of cars I saw in traffic which my very helpful passenger managed to capture. It goes to show that car culture is alive and well in Australia and this was just during the week and not even on a way to an event.

Now to to break down what you are looking at from left to right:

  • A red Holden Commodore SV6 Ute.
  • The next lane over there is a red Holden Commodore SSV
  • In front of the red SSV is another SSV in the cool colour name of Light My Fire. Both are V8 powered 4 door sedans. Both a VF models, which were the last model of the now-deceased Holden Commodore.
  • Next to those is a Porsche 944 S2
  • Followed by a VW Golf GTI and Mazda Rx8

So as you can see we have a rather good variety of vehicles on our roads here in Australia.

What have you seen recently in your local area that keeps your faith that Car Culture is not dying?

About

Joel Strickland

Joel Strickland

Australian Based contributor for Hooniverse. Car guy who creates content with his camera.

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6 responses to “V.I.S.I.T – Australia Car Culture Traffic spotting”

  1. OA5599 Avatar
    OA5599

    Dunno whether I consider it “car culture”, but yesterday I saw a Dustbuster minivan (first generation Olds) in the hardware store parking lot. The paint was still glossy with clearcoat remaining wherever the factory applied it, and the van generally looked like it had spent its life indoors.

    Reply
    1. Joel Strickland Avatar
      Joel Strickland

      Yep, that’s Car Culture, someone has definitely cared for that van.

      Reply
  2. Neight428 Avatar
    Neight428

    The ubiquity of the bro truck around here (Texas, but they’re widespread across the Sun Belt) shows there’s still a heavy dose of irrational interest in cars. Some modified for performance/off road capability, others purely for looks, but at least they care.

    We also have a small “Mexico Racing League” subculture in/around the area. They’re mostly driving stuff that is probably pretty damned fast if they get everything to work on the same night, but won’t ever pass tech at a legit venue. They’re strangely endearing.

    Reply
    1. Joel Strickland Avatar
      Joel Strickland

      Yep trucks generally seem to win out in Texas. Utes/Pick ups are strong in Australia. Toyota Hilux and the Ford Ranger are the biggest selling vehicles in Aus right now. So its nice to see a change from them on our roads. That’s cool regarding Mexico Racing League, I like their enthusiasm.

      Reply
  3. crank_case Avatar
    crank_case

    Love how mixed Australia and New Zealands car culture is.

    Local to me, someone keeps a lovely AE86 on his driveway. Mostly original apart from a nice exhaust and lightweight wheels. It’s mostly a see of blandness here, but there’s a surprising amount of gems tucked away here in Ireland. They’re not garage queens, it’s more that the situation here is more friendly to keeping a classic on the road (especially over 30 years old) than to newer stuff.

    Very little interesting that’s not electric will be registered here from here on in, and insurance on daily driven performance cars can be unreasonable (insurance is also mandatory), but the older stuff is kept and on a decent day, used properly.

    Reply
  4. outback_ute Avatar
    outback_ute

    The Porsche still has the original registration plate, indicating that it’s been registered continuously which is not bad for a 30 year old car, and not a personalized plate that you often see on these (or SSV Commodores).

    Despite there being as many bland cars as anywhere you can guarantee seeing some interesting cars every day, last one I noticed was a late model Land Rover Defender 110 single cab pickup – pretty rare.

    Reply