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The Holden 48-215 is a mid-size, sedan that was produced by the Australian automaker Holden between November 1948 and October 1953. The 48-215 was the first model from General Motors in Australia to bear the Holden name. In mainstream parlance, the official name of "Holden 48-215" was eschewed in favour of the shortened "Holden" designation. Following the replacement of the first Holden, the 48-215 gained the unofficial nickname of Holden FX. This arose as the replacement models were labeled FJ, FE, FC, et cetera, and it was therefore assumed by the general public that 48-215 must have been F-something as well, so the title FX came into use in used car advertisements, the "X" standing for the unknown.〔 "HOLDEN - The Classic Models" by Ewan Kennedy with the Introduction by Peter Brock; From a paragraph on Page 1. First Published in 1997.〕 The design was originally penned in the United States by Chevrolet, but was not used because it was deemed too small for the U.S. market as it developed after the war. Instead the design became the basis of only the 48-215 model. Its American origins are quite apparent, as it closely resembles Chevrolets of the period that did make it to production, particularly the Fleetline Aerosedan and the second generation Deluxe. Development of the 48-215 began in 1944. ==Five prototypes== Three prototypes were built by hand in 1946 by American and Australian engineers at the General Motors workshop in Detroit. Months of durability and performance testing were undergone in the US before the three prototypes were shipped to Australia. Prototype number one was first registered (as a Chevrolet) in Victoria as JP-480 on 12 February 1947.〔Magazine "Restored Cars Australia" Number 106 Sept-Oct 1994, Page 14, article "THE 48-215 HOLDEN PART ONE"〕 The only survivor of the prototypes, it is part of the National Museum of Australia collection. A further two prototypes were built in Australia; all five prototypes were registered as Chevrolets. Only two were used for photographic purposes. They were:〔 *Prototype No.1, JP-480, dark colour—Seine Blue (not Cadillac Blue) *Prototype No.4, KY-442, light colour—Convoy Grey, owned by Australian businessman Peter Briggs between 1980-2013. The car's current value has been estimated to be worth over when it was put up for auction in the Motorclassica auction Melbourne, in October 2013 In the absence of an established supplier base in Australia for auto-making, new forging facilities had to be set up for producing crankshafts and a new foundry was set up for major castings. In order to hasten the project to production some simplifications were incorporated.〔 There were no direction indicators, there was no provision for heating or demisting, and at the rear there was only a single, centrally positioned, tail lamp.〔 Because of the mild climate in most of the populated areas of the country, it was found possible to save weight and cost by using a relatively small 6-volt 11-plate battery.〔 Interior trim was minimised: weight reduction was pursued "with great vigour" and, in view of the weight in "running trim", a success.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Holden 48-215」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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