The 1956 FE Holden Golden Years

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FE Holden: The Golden Years
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Retroautos
By DavidBurrell - 11 September 2025
It is the numbers which tell the story of the FE Holden. Released in late July 1956, the car was an instant hit with buyers.
Their enthusiasm boosted Holdens market share from 29.4% in 1955 to 34.5% in 1956. General Motors Holdens (GMH) 1956 annual report noted:
Customer demand still exceeded the companys ability to supply, and at the end of the year distributors and dealers were holding thousands of unfilled orders.
The FE range pictured outside a house in the Melbourne suburb of Toorak. The house is still there, looking almost the same as it did in 1957.
And there was favourable news in 1957. That years annual report proclaimed Holdens market share was now a massive 42.7% and demand continued to outpace supply. For GMH and its dealers, life was good. These were the golden years.
What new model?
As was typical of GMH back then, in the months ahead of the FEs launch they denied a new model was imminent. There were no pre-release previews for the motoring magazines. They were ignored. What was the point? GMH could sell every car it made. Who needed pesky motoring journalists asking questions? The plan was for the FE to be revealed in Holdens dealerships supported by advertisements in newspapers, radio, cinemas and TV. But not everything goes to plan.
The emphasis was on glamour and colour schemes in magazine advertisements.
The first time many Australians saw the FE was on the pages of one of those ignored motoring magazines. The July and August 1956 editions of Modern Motor carried scoop photos of the car at GMHs Pagewood factory.
Modern Motors August 1956 edition was the first of its BIG cover page scoops. These would become a hallmark of the magazine.
When Modern Motor published these images in its July 1956 edition, GMH denied the existence of the FE.
In the April 1974 20th anniversary issue, then editor Rob Luck, revealed how the scoop was achieved.
Motorists were hungry for news but GMH wouldnt even admit a new model was coming, so we went into their Pagewood factory, got photos and information and came up with Australias first new model scoop. We did it over two issues. In July we published photos of part assembled bodies—all there was at Pagewood. The issue sold like hot cakes, but GMH denied the cars existence and we heard rumbles of doubt among the public. Nettled, we returned to Pagewood every day for two weeks, photographed everything from interiors and suspension details to complete cars and published the lot in the August issue, with the models release then a fortnight away. GMH are still wondering how we did it.
How they did it was to dress as production workers and just walk in the front gates, cameras hidden. How embarrassing for GMH. In the years ahead Modern Motor tormented GMH with its scoop photos of new model Holdens, some still more than 12 months away from release.
More from the pages of Modern Motor, August 1956.
So, who did design the FE Holden?
Stunning art work from the FE brochure.
There has always been conjecture about the origins of the FE design. What was the American involvement? What was GMHs contribution?
Research by Dr Norm Darwin, and included in his book Early Australian Automotive Design, revealed that the general shape of the FE originated in Detroit in late 1952.
Back then Harley Earl was firmly in charge of GMs styling efforts and had been so for 25 years. Earl set the design trends. Others followed.
Harley Earl invented the profession of car design.
Earls focus was the US market. He spent little time considering the styling activities at Vauxhall, Opel and Holden. For that he relied on Glen Smith, who travelled the world to ensure GMs design themes were largely consistent.
The FE began as sketches in Australia and the USA, followed by small scale clay models which were built in Detroit. Dr Darwin says that during February 1953 Smith was in Australia discussing the proposals with Alf Payze and Holden executives.
Five scale models of early design themes for the FE.
The proposals were similar in shape to what would emerge as GMs mid-fifties American range of cars, minus the wraparound windscreen. Hints of the 1953-56 Opel Kapitan also were evident.
Grilles and rear end styling were initially conservative. Nothing eye catching.
By mid-1953 Payze and his team had distilled the drawings and scale model design themes into one full sized two-sided model. The left side had a straight through belt line, while the right side had a small notch at the back door. The notch was a favoured motif of Earl. He used it often in the 1950s.
Payzes first full-sized clay model. The slab-sided styling allowed the spare wheel to stand upright at the side of the boot, increasing capacity.
On the FE it was not a real notch. Rather, it was a simulated version pressed into the rear door panel. Real notches meant costly tooling and Holden liked to keep things simple and cheap.
The chrome trim emphasises the belt line notch on the Special model. No chrome for the Standard/Business sedan.
As the design program progressed, Payze continued to refined the full-size model and gradually the FE shaped emerged.
The FEs lines emerged slowly as the shape was refined.
More refinement of the styling. Note the aircraft inspired art work in the background.
There are still some details to be finalised, including a lower cowl height, but the basic design of the FE is here.
The initial design for the grille took its shape from the 1953-54 Chevrolet with a bit of FJ thrown in. It was staid and uninspiring. During 1954 it was replaced with one that replicated the upcoming 1955 Chevrolet sedan and truck models.
The FE grille and front-end design are almost a match for the 1955 Chevrolet light truck.
A small Chevrolet?
The FE is often described as a smaller version of the 1955 Chevrolet. And to some extent, thats a fair observation. When the 1960 FB was being developed, one of the FE testing prototypes was reconfigured with a wraparound windscreen, highlighting the styling similarities with the Chevrolet.
Take a look at this FB prototype. Using a discarded FE test car, a wraparound windscreen was grafted onto the upper body. The result demonstrates the similarities to the Chevrolet.
No mistaking the styling similarities!
However, to consider the FE as simply a shrunken Chevrolet clone undersells the requirements Payze had to accommodate when shaping the FE.
No longer a basic car, the Holden was transitioning into a consumer product. It had to be stylish, with a sprinkle of glamour. But not too much glamour, because it had to be affordable for most Australians. It had to be reliable and economical to run. At the same time, the FE needed to be robust enough to withstand the rigors of our rudimentary roads. It had to be a car for the city and the country. It had to live up to the claim in the brochure that:
It is the ONE Car designed and engineered for Australian conditions. It is the ONE CAR that can incorporate all the things Australians most want in a car.
The new body hid a modest up-sizing of almost every key dimension which helped make the FE the ideal car for Australias growing families.
Payze successfully negotiated all the variables. The bright two-tone colour schemes, pleated Elascofab vinyl seats, smart new dashboard, full horn rim and restrained use of chrome side trim ensured the FE looked more expensive than it was.
The two final propo…

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