Statesman (automobile)
Statesman | |
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Overview | |
Manufacturer | Holden (General Motors) |
Also called | Chevrolet Constantia Chevrolet de Ville Chevrolet Caprice Classic Chevrolet 350[1] Isuzu Statesman de Ville |
Production | 1971–1985 |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Holden Brougham |
Successor | Holden Statesman / Caprice |
Statesman is an automotive
GM Holden reintroduced the range in 1990 with two long-wheelbase sedans; however, the cars were no longer marketed as Statesman by brand name, but instead as the Holden Statesman and the Holden Caprice. In September 2010 with the "Series II" updating of the WM series, use of the long-serving Statesman name was discontinued. From 2011 to 2015 Holden's long wheelbase contenders were branded as the Holden Caprice and Holden Caprice V. From the 2016 model year, the Caprice was discontinued leaving the Caprice V as the last remaining Australian build long-wheelbase sedan. The Caprice V was discontinued in October 2017 as Holden shut down Australian manufacturing operations.
HQ
The original Statesman HQ long-
The Statesman was intended as a rival for
General Motors New Zealand assembled the HQ Statesman until 1975, launching it a few months after Belmont and Kingswood assembly began at the Trentham plant, near Upper Hutt in September 1971. Initial build was a single model with 308V8, column shift Trimatic, white headliner, black vinyl roof and electric windows. The only factory options were metallic paint and vinyl roof delete. Only a bench front seat was available and brocade trim options included white, unique to the Statesman. New exterior and interior colours, plus colour matched headliners, were introduced in mid-1973 and, a few months later, separate front seats and T-bar floor shift became a factory option though initially the floor console was black, not colour matched to the rest of the interior. Australian assembled Chevrolet 350s supplemented the locally built cars albeit in low volume. These always had colour matched interiors and had minor styling differences such as the grille, badging and no decorative inserts in the rear bumper. These were also exported to New Zealand and sold alongside the Statesman in Holden dealerships. Unlike the South African built Chevrolet which was spec'd with different engines, the NZ version was only available with the 350 Chev V8.
Statesman HQ models were marketed in South Africa as the Chevrolet Constantia and the Chevrolet de Ville[7][8] The Constantia was fitted with a locally assembled five-litre V8 or 4.1-litre inline-six and was considered locally built. The Chevrolet de Ville, however, used an imported 5.7-litre V8 as fitted to the Corvette and was priced 33 percent higher than a comparable Constantia V8.[9] The de Ville received praise for being considerably more nimble, lighter, more compact and better handling than the American models it replaced without any loss in accommodation.[9] Power for the 350 V8 was claimed at 205.2 and 174.2 kW (279.0 and 236.8 PS; 275.2 and 233.6 hp), SAE and net figures respectively.[10]
The Statesman was also exported to many other countries with a different grille as the Chevrolet 350.[1] From 1973 to 1976, HQ models were exported to Japan as the Isuzu Statesman De Ville.[11] Isuzu sold 246 De Villes between late 1973 and 1976.
HJ
General Motors–Holden's updated the range in October 1974 to create the Statesman HJ, retaining the Statesman de Ville whilst creating a new flagship in the Statesman Caprice, replete with standard luxury features such as air-conditioning and leather seating. Statesman Custom was discontinued with the HJ series and engine availability was restricted to the 308-cubic-inch (5.0 L) V8 engine. Statesman Caprice was the most luxurious car offered by General Motors in Australia at that point, with air conditioning, leather seats, electric locking, power windows, and no fewer than 13 interior lamps all featuring on the standard equipment list.
The Caprice was visually distinctive with a specific radiator grille, Cadillac-style front bumper overriders, lavish fluted hubcaps, whitewall tyres, and a bonnet ornament borrowed from the Chevrolet Caprice.
Once again, the Caprice was General Motors−Holden's response to a new Ford car. In 1973, Ford upped the ante in the Australian prestige car stakes when they unveiled the
From March 1976, late in the HJ series, an electromechanical rear
HJ Statesman de Ville and the HJ Statesman Caprices were sold in South Africa as the AJ series Chevrolet Constantia sedan[12] and the Chevrolet Caprice Classic,[13] respectively.
HX
The Statesman HX de Ville and Caprice models were released in July 1976.[14] A more formal grille was adopted and emissions' regulations saw a retuned 5.0-litre V8.
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Statesman de Ville (HX)
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Statesman de Ville (HX)
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Statesman Caprice (HX)
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Statesman Caprice (HX)
HZ
In November 1977, General Motors-Holden's introduced the Statesman HZ, which involved a minor cosmetic facelift. However, it had a significant engineering upgrade, along with the rest of the GMH range, involving the adoption of Radial Tuned Suspension, giving the Statesman better handling. 4-wheel disc brakes were now fitted to all Statesman models.
The previous Director of GMH Engineering, George Roberts had insisted that the Statesman have a high standard of ride comfort (at the expense of ultimate roadholding). (Roberts previously had been the Chief Engineer of the GM Cadillac Division). Prior to HZ, the Statesman's Cadillac style of ride was not to everyone's taste.
The Statesman de Ville and Caprice were supplemented in 1979 by an intermediate model – the SL/E, which was launched with a different "eggcrate" grille.
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Statesman de Ville (HZ)
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Statesman de Ville (HZ)
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Statesman SL/E (HZ)
WB
The final series to be marketed under the Statesman marque was the Statesman WB. Released in May 1980,[15] the WB series was offered in Statesman De Ville and Statesman Caprice models.[15] As with previous Statesmans, GMH did not use the Holden name in the badging or the official sales literature.[16] The WB had a six-light body, with a longer, squared-off roofline. The design was by GMH's Chief Stylist, Leo Pruneau. The styling of the WB Statesman was a compromise between achieving a fresh appearance and minimising the cost of redesign, by using panels from the existing base HZ model. Production comprised 5,450 De Villes and 3,055 Caprices.[17]
WB Series II models were released in September 1983 with fundamentally cosmetic changes, except for the introduction of a front bench seat (six-passenger) option for De Ville buyers.
In addition to the Statesman WB, a range of
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Statesman De Ville (WB Series I)
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Statesman de Ville (WB Series I)
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Statesman Caprice (WB Series I)
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Statesman Caprice (WB Series I)
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Statesman De Ville (WB Series II)
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Statesman Caprice (WB Series II)
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Interior of a 1983 Statesman Caprice
Notes
- ^ a b c Tony Davis, 1971 GM-H Statesman, Aussie Cars, 1987, page 121
- ^ Luck, Rob (September 1971). "Bold New Breed". Modern Motor. Modern Magazines (Holdings): 62.
- ^ Wright (1998), p. 209
- ^ Ewan Kennedy, Ford Falcon, 2nd Edition, April 2004, pages 29 & 30
- Port Melbourne, Victoria: General Motors–Holden's. July 1971. Retrieved 16 March 2008.)
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(help - ^ "The Advertiser". 27 July 1971.
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(help) - ^ Australian Muscle Car, Issue 33, pages 84–86
- ^ 1972 De Ville and Kommando Article Retrieved from www.moby302.co.za on 25 August 2009
- ^ a b Wright, Cedric, ed. (November 1972). "Chevrolet de Ville V8 automatic". CAR. Vol. 16, no. 10. Cape Town, South Africa: Ramsay, Son & Parker (Pty) Ltd. p. 37.
- ^ CAR (November 1972), p. 40
- ^ Bedwell (2009), p. 199.
- ^ 1976 Chevrolet Constantia brochure
- ^ South African 1976 General Motors Chevrolet Caprice Classic Brochure
- ^ Norm Darwin, 100 years of GM in Australia, 2002, page 265
- ^ a b Green Book Price & Model Guide, March – April 1984, pages 79 & 80
- ISBN 0-947079-44-0.
- ^ a b Norm Darwin, 100 Years of GM in Australia, 2002, page 271
- ^ a b Tony Davis, 1980 GM-H Statesman WB, Aussie Cars, 1987, page 162
References
- Bedwell, Steve (2009). Holden vs Ford: the cars, the culture, the competition. ISBN 978-1-921295-17-1.
- Easdown, Geoff (1987). A History of the Ford Motor Company in Australia. ISBN 0-7302-0112-0.
- Wright, John (1998). Heart of the Lion: The 50 Year History of Australia's Holden. ISBN 1-86448-744-5.