By Jerram Watts
The Folden is probably the un-holiest of unions.
The endeavours of Robert and Jono from The Rock to fuse a Ford and a Holden defy nature; it goes beyond normal.
Called a “mechanical Frankenstein” by NZV8 magazine’s editor Todd Wylie, the act of marrying these motoring powerhouses seems on par with asking two southern men to hold hands – it just wouldn’t happen without a fight.
So why do it?
“It was all born from the idea of sticking two things together,” says Robert Taylor, one half of the Robert and Jono duo.
“What we do is find different angles; a lot of what The Rock does is born from motorsports. A lot of our listeners are car enthusiasts; what would happen if we stuck half a Ford and half a Holden together? Would it bridge the gap between the two camps once and for all? No is the answer.”
It’s a resounding ‘no’ at that.
The comments and feedback from listeners has been very polarising.
“Mate this car shouldn’t have been made! It’s going against Mother Nature her self. Fords cannot compare to Holdens they just don’t go together I live and breathe Holdens all my life. I and a lot of other people in this world hate Fords [sic],” reads one post on the Folden forum.
“To be honest boys I think what you’re trying to do here is fit a round peg in a square hole, YOU CAN’T FIT THESE CARS TOGETHER!! I hope you’re prepared to take the blame when this all goes sour, because rest assured that the fallout from this Frankenstein effort of yours with be nothing sort of catastrophic!![sic]” reads another.
To find out more about the Folden - on The Rock's website - click here.
The debate has been good though, says Robert.
“It has divided the nation,” he says. “It’s a very polarising thing for the Australian and New Zealand communities. Any guy from my generation, and I’m under 40, is involved in the Holden/Ford debate.
“What we wanted to capture was the imagination of New Zealand, and we did. The percentages are stacked against us, I guess in that way its ok, it’s creating the talk, not that we are looking for attention, its debate – and why not debate the stupid things in life?”
The Folden project is well underway, Rock listeners have decided on a front end – a 1969 Ford Mustang – and a 1975 HQ Holden saloon rear end.
With such different car styles and flavours, the campaign has, from the start, run the risk of producing a heinous trash heap.
“We went into the project thinking, ‘if we’re going to pull this off, we’ve got to make it look cool, it can’t look like a bitser, if it looks like a bitser its going to be a joke’,” Robert says.
However, he is confident they have the recipe right – so far.
“We think we’ve got a fairly good marriage, all be it a bastard of a child. Time will tell.”
NZV8 editor Todd Wylie is the project manager of the Folden and reckons the public will be taken with the final product.
“It’s going to be the centre of a lot of controversy, once people see the final result they are going to have to like it,” he says.
“The car is going to be built properly; it’s going to be full-on professionally built.”
Panelworks in Matamata are the hands behind the Folden – building the beast from scratch depending on public voting.
The next stage of voting is underway, listeners can vote on paintwork, mags, engine, interior, logo and extras.
Some ideas bandied about have included a pie-warmer in the backseat – the project is backed by Big Ben Pies after all, and the Folden catchphrase is “A finger in both pies”.
The project has a few weeks left before completion – upon which the Folden will be taken on a two-week tour of the country.
Robert calls the idea “stupid”, based purely on the extremist support for both car camps – he concedes victory is not assured, or even likely.
“It’s ridiculous, it’s wrong – and how can it be right?” he says.
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