And, he says, dealers across Australia have jointly appointed a legal firm to take over negotiations for a severance package currently on the table from the US-based General Motors.

A parliamentary committee is also looking into the exit, as car lovers across Australia vent their anger over the decision.

Mr Todd sold his interest in the Port Macquarie franchise in 2006 but has a remaining interest in the Holden dealership in Kempsey.

He believes Holden and its legion of fans have been short changed by the announcement and that the company could have been saved.

"I couldn't believe it when Holden announced they were pulling out," he said.

"You could see what was happening though with GM pulling out of Europe and the UK and then selling off their Thailand factory, which was the nail in the coffin.

"I am also disappointed in the way they went about the decision (to shut down Holden).

"They should have given the dealers more chance to talk about it. We could have helped them," he said.

Mr Todd also raised his concerns about the compensation being offered by General Motors to end the franchise agreements.

He says the agreements are only halfway through their five year course.

"The severance package being offered won't even cover the redundancy of the Kempsey general manager," he said.

"His redundancy payout will be higher than what is currently being offered."

Mr Todd arrived in Port Macquarie as the new owner of the Holden dealership which was sited on Clarence Street.

He had previous stints with the company in Sydney and Orange.

"I've been with Holden all my life," he said.

"I started selling cars in 1960 - the first new Holden I sold was an FB.

"The purchase of the Port Macquarie dealership came with a BP service station, a panel shop, a workshop and a new car showroom.

"But we quickly outgrew the site and the panel shop was moved out to Blackbutt Road, where it remains till this day.

"At its height, we were selling about 50 new Holdens a month on average."

Port Macquarie boasted a population of just 8000 people - it was smaller than Wauchope at that stage - with Holden grabbing around 40 per cent of the market share in motor vehicle sales.

The choice of vehicle was confined to Hillmans, Austins, Ford or Holden - "there was nothing else," Mr Todd says.

That compares to the 50 or 60 brands currently available on the market.

Mr Todd says there were a number of reasons why Holden failed to keep pace with its competitors, including Australia's high wages compared with other manufacturing countries.

He pointed to the decision to remove tariffs which helped maintain Holden's price point as another reason, although he said Holden failed to realise that the driving public was about to fall in love with the SUV.

"Holden was just too slow to pick up on what people wanted in a car," he said.

"When Toyota - the new market leader in Australia - came into the market they were very smart too.

"They sold their vehicles cheaply but realised they could make up the financial shortfall by ensuring that the Toyota spare parts were much more expensive.

"It was a great business model."

The former Port Macquarie dealership owner also said Holden made an error when it decided to change the margins available to dealers and salespeople.

"It was a wrong decision," he added.

While disappointed with the decision by General Motors, Mr Todd says he continues to be proud of his association with Holden.

"The Commodore was the best car we ever had," he said.

"We were able to achieve a 45 per cent repeat customer rating - which was remarkable.

"I had the best time ever with Holden."

Mr Todd eventually sold the dealership in 2006 and successfully moved into property development.

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