Selling Chargers at Commonwealth Motors
What it was like to earn a living selling Chrysler Valiant Chargers in their heyday.
Colin (right) and his son Steve (left)
Meet Colin Colquhoun. Born and bred in Canberra, Colin worked at a Chrysler dealership during the brand’s heyday selling scores of the Australian-built two-doors that still rule the road over 40 years since they rolled off the assembly line.
After hearing about Colin’s stories and trading text messages with his son, Steve, our schedules aligned on a quiet Friday morning. With Steve over to visit, we had the pleasure of sharing half an hour on the phone with Colin in his retirement home in the nation’s capital.
Early Life
Now 82 years old, Colin fielded our first question about his upbringing.
“Well, I was born in Canberra. My upbringing was in an ordinary working family. My father was just an ordinary worker with all the other people who were building Canberra. In fact, Canberra was still being built when I started working.”
We couldn’t help to ask about his first ride.
“My first car was a Chevrolet. It didn’t last for long, I best say! In those days, if you had a car, it didn’t matter what it was, as you could get the birds! It was as good as anything. My first Chrysler was a 1929 six-cylinder. It was as thirsty as buggery.”
The Department of the Interior
The original plan might not have worked out, but Colin’s first step was in the right direction.
“I left school and they said, ‘what do you want to do?’ I said I would like to do an apprenticeship with a car dealership. I didn’t actually end up going to a dealership. I went to the Department of the Interior, which it was called then. They used to run all the government cars, buses and everything. All the automotive stuff was done by the Department of the Interior.”
Hey Charger! Colin driving his son’s Charger at a wedding.
Public to Private
Colin’s public sector stint wound up in 1964 and the dealership ambition became a reality.
“When I left the government, I went to work for a General Motors place called Commonwealth Motors which is still there. Chrysler eventually decided that they wanted the block of land that Commonwealth Motors was on, so they sold out and that was it. We were selling both Holdens and Chryslers, which sounds a bit funny I know, but these days, it’s a lot more common, isn’t it?”
Enter the Charger
After a couple of years shifting the AP5 and AP6 Valiants, Colin recalls the mood in the Chrysler camp when murmurings of Chrysler’s new two-door grew louder.
“We thought the Charger was going to be something new. Holden had the Monaro and Ford had the Capri, but the mechanics were telling us that the Capri wasn’t that sporty at all. In truth, it probably wasn’t. For that reason, when the Charger came along, it was very popular.
“All different types would come and buy them. You would often have older people come in and buy one who couldn’t afford to buy a sports car when they were younger.”
Once a common sight on Australian roads
Magenta to the Rescue
In the thick of the Charger’s production run, Colin came to the rescue for a gentleman tired of teething automotive problems.
“I was working one Sunday and we had a Magenta Charger sitting out the front of the lot. All the dealers were basically in the same street. Anyway, a fella was on his way down one Sunday and from memory, he was some sort of British sports car that had a few problems.
“He came in and mentioned that his wife had said to him, ‘where are you going?’ And he had said, ‘I’m on the way to get rid of this stupid car I’ve got now.’
“His wife had asked him, ‘well what are you going to buy?’
“And he had replied, ‘I’m sure I will find something down there.’
“Anyway, he came in and fell in love with the colour of this car. It had the six-pack triple carbies. I don’t think his wife has spoken to him since! I tell you what, they could bloody go!”
Company Cars
At the helm of one of the leading Chrysler dealers in Australia’s capital, Colin brought some epic machines back home.
“We changed our car every couple of weeks. I had plenty of Chargers. I was Sales Manager, so I normally drove home in the horniest car around!
“Later on, I had a used car yard and when I bought it, there was a Charger in there. I took it home one day and when it came to timing, it would always be pretty tight. As soon as I would get home from work, my wife would go to cooking classes.
“I would pull in and she would race out because I was always late. On this night, she gassed it up like you wouldn’t believe. It was a V8 Charger, not a particularly hot one, but boy, couldn’t it go?
“I said ‘listen, you can’t do that, as I’ve got to sell this!’”
Colin behind the wheel. The closer you look, the broader his smile becomes!
Looking Back
We couldn’t help but to ask Colin if he had a favourite Charger configuration.
“I always liked the V8 Chargers. However, you didn’t want to drive the hottest one around all the time, because they kept selling them on you! You wouldn’t get to drive them around very long as they would almost always be sold underneath you. The standard V8s were plenty fast enough.”
After getting out of the car selling game, Colin become a taxi proprietor. It won’t surprise you to know that he stuck with Chrysler Australia products and was one of the few running Valiants in Canberra. His loyalty was even unwavering when Mitsubishi took the reins.
Colin briefly reflected on the closure of a fallen Adelaide automotive giant.
“To this day, I am still very sorry to see Chrysler go. They made some great vehicles.”
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation took over Chrysler Australia Limited in 1980
We wish Colin the very best of health going forward. A sincere thank you to Colin’s son, Steve (who is also a Charger owner) for making this interview possible and Colin’s nephew, Chris, for alerting us to this story.
If you are a Chrysler Valiant Charger fan, we’ve still got three more Charger Week stories to come. Stay tuned!