In the 1920's, General Motors embarked on an aggressive expansion of its international operations including Australia, acquiring Adelaide automobile body manufacturer Holden to form General Motors – Holden (GM-H) in 1931. Emerging buoyant from the Great Depression, GM-H saw rapid growth and in 1938 became one of the first companies in Australian history to post an annual profit of over £1 million. However not all were pleased. Tensions emerged between American and Australian management as the old Holden management resisted the impositions of the new American owners. At the same time, GM-H came in for frequent political attacks, whilst the cultural significance of Holden made perceptions of a foreign takeover all the more fraught. Drawing on the extensive Holden archive, I examine this contested period of the Australian automotive industry, building on the literature of the ‘transnational turn’ which has established the long history of trans-Pacific engagement, exchange and mobility between the United States and Australia. Focusing on the role of the multinational corporation as a key mechanism for transnational exchange, I explore the myriad of tensions within and towards GM-H during the 1920's and 1930's, showing how this contested terrain became a key site in Australia’s realignment towards United States.