While the early successes of the local manufacturers, especially GM-H, have been widely celebrated, much less is said about the fact that by the end of the 1970s the Australian car industry was on the nose.

Too many car makers were charging way too much money for vehicles that were often inferior in performance, fuel consumption, comfort, reliability and safety to those from Japan and Europe.

They were protected from the world market by high tariffs on the Toyotas, Nissans, Mitsubishis, Volkswagens, Peugeots, Renaults and even Fiats and Alfa Romeos an increasing number of buyers chose.

Taxpayers footed the bill for massive subsidies to US-based corporations that meant the cars they drove were much more expensive than they needed to be.

Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and Senator John Button, all well aware of the hidden impact tariffs had on the family budget, resolved to change this by committing to end protectionism.

They kick-started an era of economic and industrial restructuring that has transformed this nation's economy, much for the better, over the past 40 years.

That continued under a succession of governments, including those headed by John Howard, Kevin Rudd. Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott.

While the wave of nostalgia is understandable, it is important to consider what has happened in context.

The last four decades demonstrated the Australian car industry could not deliver a relevant and affordable product without massive taxpayer support.

Complacency, poor management and an inability to react to changing economic conditions and consumer tastes all played a role.

That said, GM-H's golden age was truly glorious with motoring historian Michael Sedgwick, saying: "The Holden must stand as the classic example of a national car".

It reflected a quantum shift in the way we did things and thought about ourselves and our place in the world.

In 1939 there were 26,941 factories in Australia. By 1952 this had risen to 48,719; an incredible achievement.

The launch of the first Holden coincided with the easing of post-war austerity and a tide of nationalism. It was perfectly timed.

It didn't hurt that by the standards of the cars we were building in the 1970s, the original 48-215 was state of the art. It was light and powerful, and roomy and stylish. We loved it. By 1956 more than 250,000 FXs and FJs had been sold.

Yes, the loss of the Holden name does mark a sad day in the history of Australian motoring. But what was the alternative? We don't have the resources to take on the Chinese, Korean, Japanese and European behemoths.

As a country we need to concentrate on high value sectors where we can be competitive such as education, agriculture and technological research and development.

While GM-H is to be commended for attempting to keep the Holden and Commodore nameplates alive it was always going to be a challenge to sell a European sedan in a market awash with similar product and enamored with SUVs and dual cab utes.

Who would have thought in the late 1990s, when Holden sold 304,000 VT Commodores, that by 2019 a Toyota ute would be the best selling car four years in a row?

That, perhaps more than anything else, explains the demise of the Australian car industry.