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Statesman (automobile)
Encyclopedia
Statesman was an automotive marque created in 1971 by General Motors Holden
(GM-H), the Australia
n subsidiary of General Motors
. Statesman vehicles were sold through Holden dealerships, and were initially based on the mainstream Holden HQ
station wagon platform, thereby providing more interior room and generally more luxurious features than their Holden sedan siblings. Production ceased with the last of the WB series cars in 1984.
GM Holden re-introduced 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, the long-serving Statesman name was unceremoniously consigned to history. Holden's long wheelbase contenders are now branded as Holden Caprice and Holden Caprice-V.
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The original HQ series Statesman sedans were released on July 22, 1971 as a replacement for the HG series Holden Brougham
, although drawings exist of an HQ Brougham, albeit in short-wheelbase
guise. The first Statesmans were based on these short-wheelbase HQ variants. Statesman was initially offered in two specifications, an upmarket Statesman de Ville and a basic Statesman Custom. Engines ranged from a 202 cubic inches (3.3 l) Red six-cylinder, a 253 cubic inches (4.1 l) V8
, a 308 cubic inches (5.1 l) V8 and a 350 cubic inches (5.7 l) Chevrolet
Small-Block V8, however the de Ville featured the 308 engine as standard equipment. Compared to the short-wheelbase Holden HQ models, the Statesman featured a wheelbase extended by 3 inches (76.2 mm), totalling 114 inches (2,895.6 mm), in common with the HQ range of Holden station wagons. The extra length was incorporated behind the rear doors to allow for additional rear seat legroom.
The Statesman was intended as a rival for Ford Australia
’s successful ZA Fairlane
, first introduced in 1966. The Ford car had created a new and exclusive category of Australian-made prestige cars. The Fairlane was derived from the Falcon
, with an extended wheelbase and unique front-end and rear-end styling to differentiate the car's appearance. At the time, this category of vehicle proved to be very profitable, in that the sale price was significantly higher than the base car from which the prestige model was derived, and the additional costs of production were only moderate. GM-H went to some length to set the new luxury Statesman marque apart from the Holden equivalent in their sales literature. for the new models, totally avoiding the presence of the name "Holden", even to the extent of using the term "General Motors" in lieu of "General Motors-Holden's". Advertisements in newspapers among other mediums followed the same format.
Statesman HQ models were marketed in South Africa
as the Chevrolet Constantia
and the Chevrolet de Ville and were exported to many other countries as the Chevrolet 350. From 1973 to 1976 HQ and HJ models were exported to Japan as the Isuzu Statesman De Ville. Isuzu sold 246 De Villes between late 1973 and 1976.
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General Motors–Holden’s updated the range in 1974 with the HJ series, 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 308ci (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 and 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 had upped the ante in the Australian prestige car stakes when they unveiled the LTD. This was a Fairlane which had the wheelbase extended again – to 121 inches (3,073.4 mm) – making it the only Australian car which fitted into the US full size category. The LTD was a significant success for Ford, both in terms of sales and profits, as well as making a statement regarding their prowess as a manufacturer.
From March 1976, late in the HJ series, an electro-mechanical rear drum
anti-lock braking system
(ABS) was made available on the Caprice. This system, a Delco-Moraine
unit, carried over to the subsequent Statesman HX models, but after the introduction of rear disc brakes on the Statesman HZ series, ABS was not seen on another Statesman or Holden model until the Holden Calibra
coupe and Holden VQ Caprice in 1991. This new ABS system was the electronic Bosch
patent system operating on all four-wheel discs
.
HJ Statesman de Ville and the HJ Statesman Caprices were sold in South Africa
as the AJ series Chevrolet Constantia
sedan and the Chevrolet Caprice Classic, respectively.
_01.jpg)
In 1977, General Motors-Holden's introduced the HZ Statesman, 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.
The previous Director of GMH Engineering, 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 "egg-crate" grille
.
The final series to be marketed under the Statesman marque was the WB Statesman of 1980. As with previous Statesmans, GMH did not use the Holden name in the badging or the official sales literature. 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 antecedent HZ model.
Mid-term 'Series II' revisions came in 1983 before production ceased in 1984 when GMH announced they were vacating the luxury and commercial vehicle fields to build more variations of the lighter, smaller Holden Commodore
. Well kept used models were changing hands in the mid-1980s for more than their final list price.
A full range of Holden WB
models including long-wheelbase sedans and station wagons bearing the Kingswood
and Premier
names were planned, but only the Statesman and the commercial models (ute, panel van
and cab-chassis "One Tonner") went into production. The stillborn sedan and wagon models would have shared the front end of the production WB panel van. The sedan used the HZ Statesman long wheelbase body with different tail lights. The station wagon was to have used the same tail light assemblies as the ute and panel van.
Holden
GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...
(GM-H), the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n subsidiary of General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
. Statesman vehicles were sold through Holden dealerships, and were initially based on the mainstream Holden HQ
Holden HQ
The Holden HQ series is a range of automobiles that was produced by General Motors-Holden’s in Australia from 1971 to 1974. The HQ was released on 15 July 1971, replacing the Holden HG series...
station wagon platform, thereby providing more interior room and generally more luxurious features than their Holden sedan siblings. Production ceased with the last of the WB series cars in 1984.
GM Holden re-introduced 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, the long-serving Statesman name was unceremoniously consigned to history. Holden's long wheelbase contenders are now branded as Holden Caprice and Holden Caprice-V.
HQ
Holden Brougham
The Holden Brougham is a large, luxury automobile which was produced by General Motors–Holden's in Australia between July 1968 and 1971.It was based on the mainstream Holden Premier of the same years, but with a lengthened rear body. The boot was simply extended by rather than increasing the ...
, although drawings exist of an HQ Brougham, albeit in short-wheelbase
Wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
guise. The first Statesmans were based on these short-wheelbase HQ variants. Statesman was initially offered in two specifications, an upmarket Statesman de Ville and a basic Statesman Custom. Engines ranged from a 202 cubic inches (3.3 l) Red six-cylinder, a 253 cubic inches (4.1 l) V8
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, a 308 cubic inches (5.1 l) V8 and a 350 cubic inches (5.7 l) Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
Small-Block V8, however the de Ville featured the 308 engine as standard equipment. Compared to the short-wheelbase Holden HQ models, the Statesman featured a wheelbase extended by 3 inches (76.2 mm), totalling 114 inches (2,895.6 mm), in common with the HQ range of Holden station wagons. The extra length was incorporated behind the rear doors to allow for additional rear seat legroom.
The Statesman was intended as a rival for Ford Australia
Ford Australia
Ford Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and was founded in Geelong, Victoria, in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA...
’s successful ZA Fairlane
Ford Fairlane (Australia)
The Ford Fairlane and LTD are full-size luxury vehicles that were produced in a series of models by Ford Australia between 1959 and 2007....
, first introduced in 1966. The Ford car had created a new and exclusive category of Australian-made prestige cars. The Fairlane was derived from the Falcon
Ford Falcon (Australia)
The Ford Falcon is a full-size car which has been manufactured by Ford Australia since 1960. Each model from the XA series of 1972 onward has been designed, developed and built in Australia and/or New Zealand, following the phasing out of the American Falcon of 1960–71 which had been re-engineered...
, with an extended wheelbase and unique front-end and rear-end styling to differentiate the car's appearance. At the time, this category of vehicle proved to be very profitable, in that the sale price was significantly higher than the base car from which the prestige model was derived, and the additional costs of production were only moderate. GM-H went to some length to set the new luxury Statesman marque apart from the Holden equivalent in their sales literature. for the new models, totally avoiding the presence of the name "Holden", even to the extent of using the term "General Motors" in lieu of "General Motors-Holden's". Advertisements in newspapers among other mediums followed the same format.
Statesman HQ models were marketed in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
as the Chevrolet Constantia
Chevrolet Constantia
The Chevrolet Constantia is an automobile which was marketed by General Motors in South Africa from 1969 to 1978.-First series:The first series Chevrolet Constantia was introduced in 1969. It was based on the Australian Holden Brougham four door sedan, but featured a unique frontal treatment and a...
and the Chevrolet de Ville and were exported to many other countries as the Chevrolet 350. From 1973 to 1976 HQ and HJ models were exported to Japan as the Isuzu Statesman De Ville. Isuzu sold 246 De Villes between late 1973 and 1976.
HJ
The Caprice was visually distinctive with a specific radiator grille, Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
style front bumper overriders and lavish fluted hubcaps, whitewall tyres, and a bonnet ornament borrowed from the Chevrolet Caprice
Chevrolet Caprice
The Chevrolet Caprice is a full-sized automobile produced by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors in North America for the 1965 through 1996 model years. Full-size Chevrolet sales peaked in 1965 with over a million sold. It was the most popular American car in the sixties and early seventies....
.
Once again, the Caprice was General Motors − Holden’s response to a new Ford car. In 1973, Ford had upped the ante in the Australian prestige car stakes when they unveiled the LTD. This was a Fairlane which had the wheelbase extended again – to 121 inches (3,073.4 mm) – making it the only Australian car which fitted into the US full size category. The LTD was a significant success for Ford, both in terms of sales and profits, as well as making a statement regarding their prowess as a manufacturer.
From March 1976, late in the HJ series, an electro-mechanical rear drum
Drum brake
A drum brake is a brake in which the friction is caused by a set of shoes or pads that press against a rotating drum-shaped part called a brake drum....
anti-lock braking system
Anti-lock braking system
An anti-lock braking system is a safety system that allows the wheels on a motor vehicle to continue interacting tractively with the road surface as directed by driver steering inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and therefore avoiding skidding.An ABS generally offers...
(ABS) was made available on the Caprice. This system, a Delco-Moraine
Delco Electronics
Delco Electronics Corporation was the automotive electronics design and manufacturing subsidiary of General Motors based in Kokomo, Indiana.The name Delco came from the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co., founded in Dayton, Ohio by Charles Kettering and Edward A...
unit, carried over to the subsequent Statesman HX models, but after the introduction of rear disc brakes on the Statesman HZ series, ABS was not seen on another Statesman or Holden model until the Holden Calibra
Opel Calibra
The Opel Calibra, also known as the Vauxhall Calibra in the United Kingdom, the Chevrolet Calibra in South America, and the Holden Calibra in Australia and New Zealand is a sports car engineered and produced by German automaker Opel between 1989 and 1997, but sold until 1999 in the UK...
coupe and Holden VQ Caprice in 1991. This new ABS system was the electronic Bosch
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
patent system operating on all four-wheel discs
Disc brake
The disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...
.
HJ Statesman de Ville and the HJ Statesman Caprices were sold in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
as the AJ series Chevrolet Constantia
Chevrolet Constantia
The Chevrolet Constantia is an automobile which was marketed by General Motors in South Africa from 1969 to 1978.-First series:The first series Chevrolet Constantia was introduced in 1969. It was based on the Australian Holden Brougham four door sedan, but featured a unique frontal treatment and a...
sedan and the Chevrolet Caprice Classic, respectively.
HX
The HX Statesman de Ville and Caprice models were released in July 1976. A more formal grille was adopted and emissions' regulations saw a re-tuned 5.0 litre V8.HZ
The previous Director of GMH Engineering, 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
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
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 "egg-crate" grille
Grille
A grille or grill is an opening of several slits side by side in a wall or metal sheet or other barrier, usually to let air or water enter and/or leave but keep larger objects including people and animals in or out.-Spelling:In the United States, "grille" is used to differentiate the automotive...
.
WB
Mid-term 'Series II' revisions came in 1983 before production ceased in 1984 when GMH announced they were vacating the luxury and commercial vehicle fields to build more variations of the lighter, smaller Holden Commodore
Holden Commodore
The Holden Commodore is an automobile manufactured since 1978 by the Holden subsidiary of General Motors in Australia, and, formerly, in New Zealand. In the mid-1970s, Holden established proposals to replace the long-serving Kingswood nameplate with a smaller, Opel-based model...
. Well kept used models were changing hands in the mid-1980s for more than their final list price.
A full range of Holden WB
Holden WB
The Holden WB series is an automobile which was produced by General Motors-Holden's in Australia from 1980 to 1984. It is a facelifted version of the Holden HZ series, which it replaced. Unlike the HZ and every other full size Holden series before it, the Holden WB was only offered in commercial...
models including long-wheelbase sedans and station wagons bearing the Kingswood
Holden Kingswood
The Holden Kingswood is a full-size car that was manufactured by General Motors-Holden's, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors , from the beginning of the HK series in 1968 through to the conclusion of the WB series in 1984...
and Premier
Holden Premier
The Holden Premier is an automobile that was produced by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors between 1962 and 1980. The Premier was an upmarket version of the:* Holden Standard/Special: between 1962 and 1968....
names were planned, but only the Statesman and the commercial models (ute, panel van
Panel van
A panel van is a form of solid van, smaller than a lorry or truck, without rear side windows...
and cab-chassis "One Tonner") went into production. The stillborn sedan and wagon models would have shared the front end of the production WB panel van. The sedan used the HZ Statesman long wheelbase body with different tail lights. The station wagon was to have used the same tail light assemblies as the ute and panel van.