Holden revive the Director badge

[FGX-351]

Didn't they run the tyres at a lower pressure due to that silly polariser? lol

[FTE]

Originally Posted by tranquilized

Brock imported a fully independent rear end from the related Opel and had them fitted to the Director. It really had a lot of engineering put into it over and above the standard VL.

This was the biggest issue for Holden back in the day, there was no proof of engineering and/or crash testing for that IRS. He also told GM in the USA that the Polariser was tested by Holden and approved - which it wasn't .
Holden were already at the end of their tether with Brock and Peri-integration (a company Brock started with his Brainwashing "healing" friend)
Last nail in the coffin was releasing that car.

[commodorenutt]

Originally Posted by FTE

Holden were already at the end of their tether with Brock and Peri-integration (a company Brock started with his Brainwashing "healing" friend)
Last nail in the coffin was releasing that car.

Exactly. It was a whole lot of things.

Just wish those self-certified journo hacks had bothered to ask the knowledgeable people (not the trolls) who have posted in this thread, and those who were around in the day for the facts, not the generated rubbish that the Director was THE only cause.

[Express]

Originally Posted by FTE

This was the biggest issue for Holden back in the day, there was no proof of engineering and/or crash testing for that IRS. He also told GM in the USA that the Polariser was tested by Holden and approved - which it wasn't .
Holden were already at the end of their tether with Brock and Peri-integration (a company Brock started with his Brainwashing "healing" friend)
Last nail in the coffin was releasing that car.

Yes the polariser was only the excuse to break the relationship that also had the added advantage of showing Brock as a bit of a nutter and therefore giving Holden the moral ground.

The real issue was he was out of control and Holden try as they did couldn’t reel him back in.

They were terrified about numerous issues with cars that were being sold under their brand that didn’t meet ADR’s and that they may ultimately be held responsible if the brown stuff hit the fan.

Apart from the IRS there were the build what the customer wants engines that didn’t meet emissions and in the end Holden used the polariser to deflect from the real issues as a means to not draw attention to the vehicles that had already been sold.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by FTE

This was the biggest issue for Holden back in the day, there was no proof of engineering and/or crash testing for that IRS. He also told GM in the USA that the Polariser was tested by Holden and approved - which it wasn't .
Holden were already at the end of their tether with Brock and Peri-integration (a company Brock started with his Brainwashing "healing" friend)
Last nail in the coffin was releasing that car.

From what I remember Holden said to Brock, if you release this car you are finished, we will stop supplying cars to you. They gave him the ultimatum and he did it anyway. A really stupid decision he made. Problem was he had so many people blowing smoke up his *** and believing he was some kind of god, that he probably thought he was untouchable

[Sprint]

Its ironic the directors badge was born to disown Holden's when brock and the company had different paths to follow, now they want to cash in on a badge that was really brocks spat.

[BFGasUte]

Hello,

I remember things a little differently. Brock was " re-manufacturing " Cars, and as such was a large Car maker in effect. Holden saw how big a market he had and wanted it. Walkinshaw came on board, and they needed an excuse to get Brock out. Energy polariser was it. He also did Lada's and Falcon's.

[lra]

IF, a big IF, I bought one it would be for the extra goodies added to the Calais, not the 'Brock' factor or the 'Director' name. Really, it is a resurrection of the Calais Redline that was available later in the VE series.

The older of us who were around during the polariser debacle will remember why it all happened, as others have written, it was not just one instance which caused the split.

For those on the forum who still had pushbikes at the time, try to get a copy of "The Rise and Fall of Peter Brock" by Bill Tuckey for a very informative history read.

[Express]

Originally Posted by BFGasUte

Hello,

I remember things a little differently. Brock was " re-manufacturing " Cars, and as such was a large Car maker in effect. Holden saw how big a market he had and wanted it. Walkinshaw came on board, and they needed an excuse to get Brock out. Energy polariser was it. He also did Lada's and Falcon's.

That was always Brock’s official statement on the breakup and Holden also always had their own.

But most Motoring Journalists and Dealerships of the time have a more complicated story.


To Quote David Morley:

Brocky was definitely not averse to giving the public what they wanted.

In fact, it was this attitude that was a large part of the reason for the rather messy divorce of Holden and Brock in 1987.

As far as Holden was concerned, HDT just couldn’t be relied upon to stick with the engine specification that had been tested and certified for road use.

Holden’s view was that HDT was banging out all sorts of hot-rods and, since they were being sold through Holden dealerships, GM could be left holding the baby if anything went wrong and somebody got hurt by a car that, when subsequently tested, didn’t comply with all ADRs.

In fact my mail suggests that while the polariser thing was indeed an issue for Holden, it also served as a pretty handy smoke screen for attempting to bring Brock to heel on the former subject.

Brock and Holden bust up
Bill Tuckey.

Peter Brock's introduction to crystal healing marked his entry into car energy fields -- and his departure from Holden.

It began, as business failures often do, in a small way. In September 1984, Peter Brock told his friend, Holden executive Grant Steers, that a Victorian schoolteacher-turned-chiropractor who styled himself Dr Eric ("call me Ric") Dowker, had exorcised him of the spirit of a flag marshal killed during the Le Mans 24-Hour race.

An Aston Martin had exploded in flames on the 350kph Mulsanne Straight, killing the marshal and badly injuring driver John Sheldon. For almost an hour, the other cars, including Brock and Larry Perkins in their Bob Jane T-Marts Porsche 956, slowly lapped the black, smoking wreck.

About 2am, 10 hours into the race, a tired Perkins crashed. He was tearful and apologetic back in the pits. I was there when Brock - himself jumpy and stressed-out - tried to console him. When he got back to Australia his partner, Beverley Brock (they never married but she changed her surname by deed poll in 1980), persuaded a gaunt Brock to see Dowker, who had been treating her and Brock's parents, Geoff and Ruth.

Dowker worked what Brock thought was a miracle. His colleagues at HDT Special Vehicles put it down to Dowker getting Brock off smoking (about 30 Marlboros a day, free from one of his sponsors), and easing back his relentless consumption of tea and diet of junk food and mashed potato mixed with lashings of Vegemite.

The miracle cure was to have an all too down-to-earth effect on Brock's future.

The HDT business had started in 1979, not long after Brock's legendary six-lap Bathurst victory, when Holden advised the Holden Dealer Team's manager, John Sheppard, that it was pulling out of motor sport.

This was a time when drivers earned little. Brock went deep into hock to raise the money to buy out Sheppard. Holden stayed in the game with some covert help, and sponsors such as Philip Morris, Castrol and TAA came on board. An influential Adelaide Holden dealer, Vin Keane, came up with an idea to capitalise on Brock's enormous following - a modified "Brock Special" road car to be sold through dealers who contributed to the funding pool. Fifty-seven signed up and HDT Special Vehicles was formed with a working capital of $5000, a $2500 air compressor, some scrounged office gear and a debt of $50,000.

But it was a licence to print money. Keane gave Brock a light blue Commodore SL as the basis for the first performance car. The non-Holden components Brock needed, like special alloy wheels, body kits and premium tyres, would be financed by the dealers. When each car was finished, Brock would invoice for the value-added work. There was no financial risk for HDT and Holden continued its covert design and engineering work, as well as granting access to its Lang-Lang proving ground south-west of Melbourne.

According to his longtime colleague, John Harvey, in 1981 came the first two examples of Brock's impatience with GM bureaucracy that would eventually destroy the business. Both involved fitting parts without engineering department approval, which raised questions about a HDT car's conformity with Australian Design Rules as well as Holden's (and thus General Motors') warranty and insurance liability.

Dowker appeared on the scene in 1984, when Beverley sent a Brock secretary to Dowker to treat her headaches, back pain and sore throats. Dowker worked with crystals, explaining the right one would keep out "negative influences". Brock started wearing one and Beverley began swinging hers over meals. Guests at their home were told crystals were used to purify and heat the water in their swimming pool and spa.

In 1985, Harvey learned Brock was working on a "secret project" involving crystal pieces attached to the engine. No one worried too much, as Brock was always coming up with ideas. Dowker was becoming involved with the team, having "motivational" sessions with Brock and trying to influence the setting up of cars for different circuits. What Brock invented was a device he said used magnets and crystals to re-align and distribute energy - and vastly improve performance. Brock's and Holden's longtime publicist Tim Pemberton told Brock the cigarette package-sized device had to have a name, and suggested "Polarizer". He said later: "Brock shouted: 'You're ********** right! Of course, that's what it is! That's it ... Polarizer, Polarizer!' "

The Energy Polarizer had to be fitted to the engine bay to the millimetre. It couldn't be moved from vehicle to vehicle, and six hours of driving time were needed for the best results. Brock sent one to the CSIRO for testing; it replied it didn't have the equipment. Holden started to get worried. Senior engineer Ray Borrett decided to cut up one and found four magnets wrapped in tinfoil embedded in epoxy resin. Finally, in answer to repeated demands as to what the Polarizer did, Brock issued a statement: "A high-technology energy device which creates a 'polarized' or 'ordered' molecular arrangement as distinct from the normal 'random' structure. This alters the behaviour and characteristics of material and components in the vehicle."

In March 1986, HDT Special Vehicles started advertising a Brock car with Energy Polarizer fitted. Holden was paying the HDT advertising bills through agency McCann-Erickson, and this one used the slogan: "Body by Holden, Soul by Brock" (also a Pemberton-ism). Now Holden had to act. Contrary to corporate policy, Brock had approached GM in Detroit looking for approval. He would claim the Polarizer had passed GM testing (it hadn't) and that the company was considering making it standard fit on the production line.

Holden was getting antsy. When Brock handed Pemberton a press release saying he was handing over day-to-day management of his HDT to executives to concentrate on developing the device, Pemberton said: "Look, Brock, if you want to play Gyro Gearloose, do it out at Eltham, not at Port Melbourne, because that will not hit the spot with GM-H."

In October 1986, Holden wrote to Brock and Dowker proposing a series of tests at Lang-Lang. Brock and Dowker agreed, but after four days of tests the results showed the Polarizer made no difference. Brock replied that the equipment to measure the beneficial effects of the device had yet to be invented.

He dug in his heels. Holden called in its solicitors to warn that Holden had an enforceable contract with HDT covering the building of its vehicles. Brock started removing his signature from the HDT steering wheels. In December, Holden issued a "letter of understanding" which banned fitment and promotion of the device on any Holdens. Brock and Dowker formed the Peri Integration System to act as design consultant to HDT, thus hoping to remove the controversy from HDT control.

But in February 1987, Holden advised Brock that it would not warrant HDT cars fitted with the Polarizer or other non-approved items, and HDT dealers would withdraw all financial support from the race team. In late February, Brock started sending out invitations to a black-tie dinner in Melbourne where he would be unveiling a totally new upmarket model - the Director.

It was the first Holden had heard of it, and it demanded details of specifications and design. The Director had no Australian Design Rules certification, no crash testing, no compliance plate - it couldn't be legally sold anywhere in the world. Brock refused to show Holden the car, instead threatening to take the matter to the federal government: "Some boys in Canberra would take a very dim view of a big American company trying to stop an Australian manufacturer having a go."

Holden told Brock that if he unveiled the Director at the dinner, their association was finished. Brock, who still insisted it was a Brock car, not a Holden, went ahead. At the launch he and Dowker pulled a United Nations flag - so much for the little Aussie battler - off the extravagantly styled car. Brock's part in the $10m a year business was over. The licence to print money had been snatched away.

[F6RCD]

Very interesting post, thank you.

[Bossxr8]

Could he have been any more of a brain washed sucker with the whole Polariser thing?

Too bad I didn't know him back in the day, I could have sold him some rocks that keep tigers away.

[Ford17]

Wheels article - link here





Interesting: "Holden applied with IP Australia to register the Director name in 2014 and it was accepted in January this year."

.

[Ford17]

Unfortunately with Brock gone, we only get one side of the story.

However, this 2001 article on the Director does quote Brock on the breakdown of his relationship with Holden:

"Holdens wanted to get quite closely involved in what we were doing, and I felt they wanted to be in charge of saying ‘no’, "Brock said, "so I preferred to keep them in the dark about a lot of things I was doing.

"In hindsight that wasn’t a very wise decision, because I think there were people at Holdens who were enthusiasts and would have been supportive if they had been privy to what we were doing.

"Holdens were saying they wanted to be more involved in what we were doing, and the more they insisted the more I dug my heels in, and the worse things got."

and

It wasn’t until Brock found out by accident that Holdens was negotiating with Tom Walkinshaw to set up what would become Holden Special Vehicles that he realised how far his relationship with the company had deteriorated.

"I flew back from Japan after racing at Mount Fuji and found myself on the same plane as Tom Walkinshaw, who was putting a deal together to build special vehicles, "Brock said. "I knew nothing of it, but it showed how far we’d grown apart in the latter part of 1986."

[Giant Cranium]

Originally Posted by Ford17

Wheels article - link here



image



image



Interesting: "Holden applied with IP Australia to register the Director name in 2014 and it was accepted in January this year."



.

I like it. The ultimate Calais.

[Kingsley]

Not a fan of the VF in general but that one looks good.

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by Ford17

Unfortunately with Brock gone, we only get one side of the story.

However, this 2001 article on the Director does quote Brock on the breakdown of his relationship with Holden:



and

Then Brock lost the plot and made Brock EA Falcons?

[Sprint]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Then Brock lost the plot and made Brock EA Falcons?

Yeah but what if Brock added the polarizer to give holdens the ***** and so he could get out of contract, Bev probably said add that and see what they will do , it sounds like a chicks idea for a car.

Brock and holdens were falling out a few years before the directos badge,

There is a guy making custom Directors holdens already.

[mike_nofx]

Hard to believe a man was driven to madness over some stupid magnets.

What kind of engineering or science degree did he hold which made him think he could invent some revolutionary magnet power?

[Falcman0o7]

Originally Posted by MethodX

I like to promote ford f ups when the constant peanut gallery starts up.

Do you ever have anything positive to say? All you seem to do is bag ford.

[MethodX]

Originally Posted by Falcman0o7

Do you ever have anything positive to say? All you seem to do is bag ford.

All you do is bag GM... despite all the classics they have made and what they have contributed to Aus motoring culture..

[MethodX]

Originally Posted by Giant Cranium

I like it. The ultimate Calais.

Nice way to save money on a Senator.

They might as well do more special editions...
A Gricey one... a Harves... SS group A...
Whatever they can cash in on

[Sprint]

polarization is actually science on the molecular level.

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/clas...1/Polarization

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge-transfer_complex

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarization_(waves)

[Kingsley]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

Hard to believe a man was driven to madness over some stupid magnets.

What kind of engineering or science degree did he hold which made him think he could invent some revolutionary magnet power?

Bev was/is a science teacher and Dowker a chiropractor which was about the limits of any science type degrees.

[blackf6]

The og directors, were a nice bit of kit. This reincarnation will not hold a candle to it. Blasphemy.

[kaniSS]

1FK.5KE - hahahah...