Every company issued bulletins to their dealer sales staff, so GMH naturally wrote one against the Freeway. Remember the comparison was with the EK Holden and not the EJ. BMC responded to this and sent a lengthy bulletin to all their sales staff. The first page is here and I have précised part of it for ease of reading. GMH Quote: …. ‘outmoded styling…’ Freeway Fact: Admittedly the Freeway is based on a three year old design. That design was created by Pinin Farina and years before its time. Whereas the Holden’s lines are frankly bulbous and have not greatly altered since 1956 – over six years ago. GMH Quote; ….. ‘lack of room’ Freeway Fact: The actual difference is extremely small, for example - front hip room difference between them is 1’8”, representing .9” on each end of the front seat – less than the diameter of a halfpenny. GMH Quote: Design deficiencies…. No crank handle ….. poor number plate position….. Freeway Fact: Sure, we don’t use a crank handle but neither does Holden. The Freeway number plate mounting (on the boot lid) is far less liable to damage than one mounted in a vulnerable position on the bumper bar. Furthermore it is not illegally obscured by a tow bar. GMH Quote: Heater is not of the blower type. Freeway Fact: The Freeway heater is a very effective unit fitted as standard equipment, whereas with the Holden, one has to purchase at extra cost either the blower or induction type, the same type they criticise. GMH Quote: …..equipment such as heater and demister not needed….. Freeway Fact: In that case why does Holden offer those items as optional extras? Why for years have Motoring Editors as the voice of the public been demanding this equipment not only for reasons of comfort but the additional safety value of demisters and windscreen washers. Other items such as instrument panel padding and safety belt anchorage points are safety value items included as standard on the Austin Freeway. GMH Quote: ….. stress the Australian content of Holden…. Freeway Fact: The Freeway is an Australian car, built by and for Australians. It’s powered by the Australian Blue Streak Six motor designed exclusively for the Australian Market and has an overall Australian content of over 78.7% And so on and on….. Bear in mind, these bulletins are usually confidential for sales staff and should be read with more than a grain of salt and now a sense of humour. Photos of interiors are usually taken showing the seats in the most favourable position and the competition’s giving as little room as possible. Holden said the Freeway had poor ground clearance and yet had measured the Freeway fully laden and the Holden unloaded. The real competition was in the showrooms; all manufacturers swapped cars with each other to save underhand buying through the trade. BMC exchanged a Freeway or 24/80 with GMH for an EJ Premier long before the EJ was released. When GMH rang BMC’s Experimental Department to do some running changes to the car, they were told that the Premier had been completely disassembled. There was a problem with fuel lines not being secured properly; BMC engineers had already discovered this and told them how they had fixed the problem. Many of BMC’s personnel were ex GMH, including some of the engineers, sales director and the people who wrote all the Freeway Facts came from there as well. Bill Abbot, BMC’s Managing Director was with GMH and one of the leading lights in the development of the 48/215. Sorry this is a bit long, but I could have added pages and pages! There followed a comparison of the Freeway, Holden and Falcon (no mention of Valiant), and again, remember that it was with the EK Holden and XK Falcon. Perhaps when David has done the XL Falcon story, I can add to it.