Yes Retro, I'll be joining you in raising a cold ale to my favourite Holden ute. Although the Australian public had to wait more than two years (26 months in fact) after the launch of the 48-215 sedan until the 50 Series utility was released in January 1951, the wait was worth it. It shared the same ‘Aerobilt’ fully-welded unitary body construction as the sedan, which was strong yet relatively light compared to the more common body-on-frame utility designs. This resulted in a kerb weight slightly heavier than the sedan of only 1035 kgs. Combined with its rugged suspension, high ground clearance and good power-to-weight ratio, the 50-2106 ute was the right vehicle for its time. It offered excellent performance and fuel economy and the ability to be driven hard over all sorts of terrain, from rounding up sheep in rutted farm paddocks to lugging heavy equipment around building sites. With a maximum payload rating of 7cwt (about 350 kgs) it is well known that many owners regularly loaded them up way beyond that figure, yet these utes always managed to cope. It was almost as though Holden knew that was going to happen and engineered the car in readiness for such abuse. A true legend of Aussie motoring! Below is one of my favourite images of this irreplaceable Aussie icon.