The Holden Sandman is a sports

coupé utility A coupé utility is a vehicle with a passenger compartment at the front and an integrated tray#cargo tray, cargo tray at the rear, with the front of the cargo bed doubling as the rear of the passenger compartment. The term originated in the 19 ...

produced between 1974 and 1980 by

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

' Australian subsidiary

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was ...

and became known throughout the 1970s as "Shaggin' Wagons", given their popularity amongst teenage couples, identified by their bright paint jobs and distinguishable stripes, and later the colourful "SANDMAN" lettering covering the tailgate, the Sandman was Holden's answer to a Panel Van and Utility variant of the popular

GTS GTS may refer to: Organisations * Game Technology Solutions, a Sri Lankan game development studio * Game Theory Society, a society for the promotion of research, teaching and application of game theory * GTS (company), Global Trading Systems, an A ...

variants of the Sedan and Monaro Coupé, The sandman came standard with the GTS' sports style gauge cluster, sports steering wheel, bucket seats, along with a fully furnished interior, and the exterior consisting of rally wheels, GTS style guards, "Sandman" Logo painted on B pillars for utes and in approximately the same spot on panel vans and exclusive vinyl stripes, the Sandman came with a standard 173 cubic inch "red" inline 6, however most were optioned with either a 253, or 308 cubic inch Holden V8 (as

Chevrolet small-block engine The Chevrolet small-block engine refers to one of the several Gasoline engine, gasoline-powered vehicle engines manufactured by General Motors. These include: * The first or second generation of Chevrolet small-block engine (first- and second-gener ...

s were not an option, unlike their GTS counterparts), backed by either a 4 speed manual (Standard) or 3 Speed 'Tri-Matic' Automatic, both controlled through a console mounted floorshift.

Ford Australia Ford Motor Company of Australia Limited (known by its trading name Ford Australia) is the Australian subsidiary of Automotive industry in the United States, United States–based automaker Ford Motor Company. It was founded in 1925 as an Austral ...

released its XB Falcon Surferoo and Surfsider and later a range of Sundowner vans to try and take a share of the Sandman's popularity, however did not succeed. Valiant-Chrysler Australia also released its CL Valiant Drifter, to similar praise. The Sandman is often referred to among enthusiasts by its Production Order (PO) code, "XX7".

Holden Commodore Sandman

In 2015, the Sandman nameplate was revived with a limited edition version of the

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

SportWagon and Ute decorated with HX-HZ style stripes, a custom "Sandman" dashpad, 20inch Baretta wheels and sheepskin seat covers, The Sandman was available in SV6 or SS V Redline spec, with a Holden High-Feature " LFX" V6, or for the latter, a

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

" LS3" small-block V8.

References

{{reflist Holden vehicles General Motors vehicles