Car number 18, the 1975 Holden Gemini was an enigma.  It is the only brand new car we had ever purchased and arguably the worst.

The Gemini was advertised as GM's World Car, it was made by Isuzu in Japan and assembled in Acacia Ridge, Brisbane. Termed the 'World Car' because General Motors had this grand plan to have their vehicles produced in one or two central locations and then shipped in a CKD state (completely knocked down)  to assembly plants in the country where they were to be sold,  variations of that original plan operate today by most major manufacturers.

Our Gemini was a 1975 model, one of the first 'World Car'  produced, and at the time I was to learn there was a lot of 'trial and error' involved...everything that could go wrong with that car did go wrong!!

Mostly minor things fortunately, for example the windscreen wiper arms were secured to the drive arms simply by friction fit, no splines, the slightest amount of strain (like when the screen was not totally wet) would see them slip,  the clutch action was such that it was virtually impossible to achieve a smooth start, the clutch was replaced under warranty but soon deteriorated again. The cabin and boot seal rubbers did not do their job, and a puddle on the floor in both areas was ensured after rain.

Sadly, the less said about this car the better. I did learn that subsequent Gemini models were greatly improved and it went on to be a very popular car

We only had the Gemini for twelve months and, despite losing money of course, traded it on a Ford. It would be 45 years before I again purchased a new car.

PS;  The poor quality photo on the right was taken in 1975 in the front yard of our Woody Point (Queensland) home, a youngish looking Pammy there too. The left photo is a better one, not ours but a better photo albeit a slightly different shade of yellow.