I think most people agree that the WB Statesman looks the best and had the nicest interior. Don't know if you can get any Chrysler brochures but would love to see the Charger and the Chrysler by Chrysler infact the whole Chrysler range. Pacer, Regal and Ranger such great times for Australian motoring enthusiasts.
If you search TH-cam for Hubnut Australia Day Ace Cafe You will see a few UK printed brochures for the Chrysler by Chrysler and some well loved examples of when Australian Chrysler cars were sold in the UK. Started with the VC Valiant Regal to replace the Humber Super Snipe but eventually Chargers and the range topper were sold in the UK in small numbers. Ford did much the same but not Holden in the sixties and seventies.
As you noticed the Statesman rode on the longer Station Wagon wheelbase. They were a big, loafing, comfortable loungeroom on wheels. Great for long distance highway driving thou they were somewhat of a barge to drive in congested city environments. Much like the Kingswood / Premier they were a strong, solid car with bulletproof mechanicals although rust was their nemesis. They did like to drink and many were converted to L.P.G (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) or Propane as I believe it is called in other countries to help lower the running costs.
Long wheelbase also shared with the Utility and Panel Van. Clever use of existing floor pan and other standard parts to create a different car. Ford were first to do this and captured the home grown luxury market with the cheaply developed Fairlane then the even more up market LTD.
Cars like these were often purchased by well heeled middle/mature aged Dad's and were the staple of many Aussie families. Cars of this calibre were incredibly comfortable; far more than today. I find your videos incredibly charming. Love watching them Mate.
@@quarterlight No worries. For enthusiasts your content is gold. Car brochures were all part of the car buying experience and some even smelt great! Now the dealers tell you to download them! Back in the day your neighbours would come and check out your new wheels. Now people are antisocial and locked in their houses. A shame really.
One thing about the brochures is that the range ones you have, concentate on the standard equipment for the car. The full brochure from the dealer would list all the extra cost options the dealer would hope to tempt you with. For example both the 4.2 litre and 5 litre V8 engines were optional on even the cheapest Belmont version through to the Premier as well as the utes and panel vans. A big fleet buyer might even convince Holden to lower or raise the specifications to get what they wanted at the right price. This wide range of options started with the 1968 HK model where Holden stated they could option a million Holdens with no two the same from the options list. Attracted some buyers but copped some flak from buyers getting the options they wanted but found the final price was well above the widely advertised base model price with the option prices quickly adding to the total price.
A few years after this, I was doing my gap year, working at a Holden dealership as a duzitall. This included blowing the cobwebs out of used cars of this vintage before the weekend. The job paid bugger all money-wise, but redlining V8s was a redeeming feature. The Statesman seemed huge compared to the VB Commodore.
This was the sunset of Holden's post-war era, where, for a brief period, the Kingswood ran in parallel with Commodore. The Stateman and the ute and the one-tonner kept going for a few years as re WB range, but it wasn't for long.
Had a '71 Stato in the early 90's, 5L V8 good for hooning and did prang into a streetsweeper truck on an unexpected wet road due to grass sprinklers. Good to have a 2 part chassis just replaced the front chassis and got rid of power steering, lowered a bit and now I cry over selling it.
Those wheel trims brought back memories of a Statesman like this parked in the driveway of a modern affluent looking house up the street back in the 80s. They had a Rover SD1 either before or after the Stateman I can't remember which order it was. I can tell you though, it was my first memory of an SD1 and it just screamed to me that this family were quite well off!
Don't me wrong i love Kingswood where it ute or statesmen/Caprice especially model after HZ the famous mighty WB, WB just looks more tuff. But my choice in 79 would be Commodore with top of range SLE especially red exterior n interior with V8, automatic. Kingswood felt like big barge where Commodore was tight well fit boot especially i am not big fella. Having driven Kingswood on my L plate then buying VH Commodore when i was 20 you notice difference. My twin brother had XE falcon with 4.1lt six on road it leaves Holden behind in power.
Very expensive when new, double the price of a Kingswood. About $50000 now for a good one now very much in demand.Had a Premier years ago with an optional 5.0l V8. Very good cars.
As an Aussie always I loved the look of these cars from the1971 HQ model right through to the final WB model in 1984. Very stylish with impressive interiors, a big lazy V8 and bulletproof reliability. Plenty thought otherwise though because Ford's Fairlane (and later LTD) usually outsold them by around three to one and the CH/CJ/CK Chrysler and later CL Regal SE were even further behind. King Ford ruled for sure but that does not mean it was better, just more popular. It was always promoted as being the car of choice for the successful man and people didn't associate it with the Falcon from which it came from enough to tarnish its reputation. GMH had a problem distancing the Statesman from it's Kingswood cousin and nothing they could do would change that. It was perceived as being just a Holden. The WB Statesman changed all of that, but that's a whole other story. For my money though the Statesman was a more honest effort in the luxury market. It's dashboards were a whole lot better than the Fairlane as was it's fit and overall finish. The HZ SL/E Statesman bowed in August 1979 and just made it to the end of the year. It was available in only three colours, had alloy wheels and a different steering wheel and instruments. The funny thing about the SL/E though, was that it had all of the Caprice's equipment but sold for $3,100 less.
Really nice end to this brochure. The Statesman reminds me of the Chevrolet Caprice in the US. Yes i dont ever remember seeing one of these in the UK. I bet they did have enough power to pull pretty much anything you attached to it. Personally i think i would have gone for the Commodore from this brochure as i liked their look and to me were a bit more forward looking than the older designs of the others. Really nice series.
Curious that the SL/E Statesman was mentioned in the brochure, like a regular production model. I thought it was a limited-run 'parts bin' special to use up leftover stocks. If I could, I would like a WB Caprice. Saw a Gemini today. One of the earlier mid 1970s models with the round headlights. A rare sight. I remember a few months ago I saw a car you may be familiar with: 107E Ford Prefect. In metallic burgundy with alloy wheels. The Prefect was manufactured and sold by Ford Australia. Must be extremely rare now.
Rear doors shared with wagons. Bootlid, introduced with HQ Statesman in 1971, was used to facelift the HZ Kingswood sedans - NO new sheetmetal added to any variants after 1974 (except WB Statesman.) HQ based commercials produced until 1985...GMH really did wring every penny out of this body! My choice: GEMINI...all day!
Just saying, back in the early 80’s our CEO sold his Benz and bought a Statesman Caprice to improve his companies image support local manufacturing. Within 3 months the Caprice was gone and he was back in a Benz…
The brochure seems to oversell the car, when by GM's own admission, a world class luxury car should be front wheel drive and much larger like the (not for Australia) Cadillac Sedan de Ville namesake of the Statesman de Ville! 🙃 By all means the Statesman (and on Ford side, Fairlane) were nice, but while they were long wheelbase they were perhaps always a little hamstrung by having the same width as the regular Kingswood or Falcon.
I never owned a Holden (or a Ford or Chrysler, for that matter) in Australia. It's easy to see that Holden was blowing its trumpet about Radial Tuned Suspension, and with good reason. Previous generations of the Kingswood, Premier, and Statesman models were very poor handling vehicles. I never owned a full size sedan or wagon. I guess if I'd been a Holden fan at the time I'd have gone for a Gemini wagon. GM's small world car. The Australian Gemini was basically an Isuzu Gemini, the Japanese equivalent of the Opel Kadett. Like someone else commented, it would be great if you could find a brochure for the Aussie Chrysler range from maybe about 1972. That featured cars like the Charger, a two door coupe version of the Chrysler Valiant sedan, with a shorter wheelbase and styling not found on any other Chrysler vehicles in the world. They also had a long wheelbase two door hardtop coupe version of the Valiant sedan. You like wagons, so you'd be interested to see the Valiant wagon of the time, which included an integrated spoiler above the rear window designed to direct air over the rear window to help keep it free from the build-up of dust. In Australia nowadays the two best sellers are pickup trucks (the Ford Ranger and the Toyota Hilux), and the top ten sellers include three pickup trucks, six SUV's, and only one car, the Toyota Corolla. How times have changed! I understand that here in the Philippines the top two selling vehicles are the Ford Ranger and Ford Everest. Toyota is the top selling brand, I think mostly due to the fact that almost every taxi in the Philippines is a Toyota Vios four door sedan. That's basically a booted sedan version of the Toyota Yaris. The love affair with pickups and SUV's is worldwide. As a side note to the Holden brochure featured in this video, I saw a 1977 Holden Sandman panel van advertised for $57,000 AUD. Ummmm... Unbelievable!
Head and HX Statesman 308 Deville... car was nothing but troubles from the day I bought it... the finally got destroyed by somebody running into it never buy a red car
![[TH] VALORANT Champions Seoul - Semi-Final - SEN vs TH](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IewhVY9cAmQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I think most people agree that the WB Statesman looks the best and had the nicest interior. Don't know if you can get any Chrysler brochures but would love to see the Charger and the Chrysler by Chrysler infact the whole Chrysler range. Pacer, Regal and Ranger such great times for Australian motoring enthusiasts.
I don’t have much in the way of Chrysler brochures but will certainly keep an eye open
If you search TH-cam for Hubnut Australia Day Ace Cafe
You will see a few UK printed brochures for the Chrysler by Chrysler and some well loved examples of when Australian Chrysler cars were sold in the UK. Started with the VC Valiant Regal to replace the Humber Super Snipe but eventually Chargers and the range topper were sold in the UK in small numbers. Ford did much the same but not Holden in the sixties and seventies.
As you noticed the Statesman rode on the longer Station Wagon wheelbase. They were a big, loafing, comfortable loungeroom on wheels. Great for long distance highway driving thou they were somewhat of a barge to drive in congested city environments. Much like the Kingswood / Premier they were a strong, solid car with bulletproof mechanicals although rust was their nemesis. They did like to drink and many were converted to L.P.G (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) or Propane as I believe it is called in other countries to help lower the running costs.
Long wheelbase also shared with the Utility and Panel Van.
Clever use of existing floor pan and other standard parts to create a different car.
Ford were first to do this and captured the home grown luxury market with the cheaply developed Fairlane then the even more up market LTD.
Cars like these were often purchased by well heeled middle/mature aged Dad's and were the staple of many Aussie families. Cars of this calibre were incredibly comfortable; far more than today. I find your videos incredibly charming. Love watching them Mate.
Thank you so much
@@quarterlight No worries. For enthusiasts your content is gold. Car brochures were all part of the car buying experience and some even smelt great! Now the dealers tell you to download them! Back in the day your neighbours would come and check out your new wheels. Now people are antisocial and locked in their houses. A shame really.
One thing about the brochures is that the range ones you have, concentate on the standard equipment for the car.
The full brochure from the dealer would list all the extra cost options the dealer would hope to tempt you with.
For example both the 4.2 litre and 5 litre V8 engines were optional on even the cheapest Belmont version through to the Premier as well as the utes and panel vans. A big fleet buyer might even convince Holden to lower or raise the specifications to get what they wanted at the right price.
This wide range of options started with the 1968 HK model where Holden stated they could option a million Holdens with no two the same from the options list.
Attracted some buyers but copped some flak from buyers getting the options they wanted but found the final price was well above the widely advertised base model price with the option prices quickly adding to the total price.
A few years after this, I was doing my gap year, working at a Holden dealership as a duzitall.
This included blowing the cobwebs out of used cars of this vintage before the weekend. The job paid bugger all money-wise, but redlining V8s was a redeeming feature.
The Statesman seemed huge compared to the VB Commodore.
This was the sunset of Holden's post-war era, where, for a brief period, the Kingswood ran in parallel with Commodore. The Stateman and the ute and the one-tonner kept going for a few years as re WB range, but it wasn't for long.
Had a '71 Stato in the early 90's, 5L V8 good for hooning and did prang into a streetsweeper truck on an unexpected wet road due to grass sprinklers.
Good to have a 2 part chassis just replaced the front chassis and got rid of power steering, lowered a bit and now I cry over selling it.
The Statie (Statesman) especially this model was my dream car I never had the chance of owning.
nice to see this holden statement, this luxury model that time, in Australia how many this model left on the road now
Kingwood Country is a comedy series which documents the typical household of a Holden owner
Those wheel trims brought back memories of a Statesman like this parked in the driveway of a modern affluent looking house up the street back in the 80s. They had a Rover SD1 either before or after the Stateman I can't remember which order it was. I can tell you though, it was my first memory of an SD1 and it just screamed to me that this family were quite well off!
Quite the status symbol
Don't me wrong i love Kingswood where it ute or statesmen/Caprice especially model after HZ the famous mighty WB, WB just looks more tuff. But my choice in 79 would be Commodore with top of range SLE especially red exterior n interior with V8, automatic. Kingswood felt like big barge where Commodore was tight well fit boot especially i am not big fella. Having driven Kingswood on my L plate then buying VH Commodore when i was 20 you notice difference. My twin brother had XE falcon with 4.1lt six on road it leaves Holden behind in power.
That GM Statesman i agree was awesome. With auto and 5 ltr ( 308 ci) V8.
Very expensive when new, double the price of a Kingswood. About $50000 now for a good one now very much in demand.Had a Premier years ago with an optional 5.0l V8. Very good cars.
As an Aussie always I loved the look of these cars from the1971 HQ model right through to the final WB model in 1984. Very stylish with impressive interiors, a big lazy V8 and bulletproof reliability. Plenty thought otherwise though because Ford's Fairlane (and later LTD) usually outsold them by around three to one and the CH/CJ/CK Chrysler and later CL Regal SE were even further behind. King Ford ruled for sure but that does not mean it was better, just more popular. It was always promoted as being the car of choice for the successful man and people didn't associate it with the Falcon from which it came from enough to tarnish its reputation. GMH had a problem distancing the Statesman from it's Kingswood cousin and nothing they could do would change that. It was perceived as being just a Holden. The WB Statesman changed all of that, but that's a whole other story. For my money though the Statesman was a more honest effort in the luxury market. It's dashboards were a whole lot better than the Fairlane as was it's fit and overall finish. The HZ SL/E Statesman bowed in August 1979 and just made it to the end of the year. It was available in only three colours, had alloy wheels and a different steering wheel and instruments. The funny thing about the SL/E though, was that it had all of the Caprice's equipment but sold for $3,100 less.
Really nice end to this brochure. The Statesman reminds me of the Chevrolet Caprice in the US. Yes i dont ever remember seeing one of these in the UK. I bet they did have enough power to pull pretty much anything you attached to it. Personally i think i would have gone for the Commodore from this brochure as i liked their look and to me were a bit more forward looking than the older designs of the others. Really nice series.
Thank you
Curious that the SL/E Statesman was mentioned in the brochure, like a regular production model. I thought it was a limited-run 'parts bin' special to use up leftover stocks. If I could, I would like a WB Caprice. Saw a Gemini today. One of the earlier mid 1970s models with the round headlights. A rare sight. I remember a few months ago I saw a car you may be familiar with: 107E Ford Prefect. In metallic burgundy with alloy wheels. The Prefect was manufactured and sold by Ford Australia. Must be extremely rare now.
Rear doors shared with wagons. Bootlid, introduced with HQ Statesman in 1971, was used to facelift the HZ Kingswood sedans - NO new sheetmetal added to any variants after 1974 (except WB Statesman.) HQ based commercials produced until 1985...GMH really did wring every penny out of this body!
My choice: GEMINI...all day!
nice car for australian produce..we make no cars here now..shame
Just saying, back in the early 80’s our CEO sold his Benz and bought a Statesman Caprice to improve his companies image support local manufacturing. Within 3 months the Caprice was gone and he was back in a Benz…
The brochure seems to oversell the car, when by GM's own admission, a world class luxury car should be front wheel drive and much larger like the (not for Australia) Cadillac Sedan de Ville namesake of the Statesman de Ville! 🙃 By all means the Statesman (and on Ford side, Fairlane) were nice, but while they were long wheelbase they were perhaps always a little hamstrung by having the same width as the regular Kingswood or Falcon.
That’s really the job of a writer in a brochure - they always make them out to be more than they really are.
"a world class luxury car should be front wheel drive" useless for towing and on a boat ramp!
I never owned a Holden (or a Ford or Chrysler, for that matter) in Australia. It's easy to see that Holden was blowing its trumpet about Radial Tuned Suspension, and with good reason. Previous generations of the Kingswood, Premier, and Statesman models were very poor handling vehicles. I never owned a full size sedan or wagon. I guess if I'd been a Holden fan at the time I'd have gone for a Gemini wagon. GM's small world car. The Australian Gemini was basically an Isuzu Gemini, the Japanese equivalent of the Opel Kadett. Like someone else commented, it would be great if you could find a brochure for the Aussie Chrysler range from maybe about 1972. That featured cars like the Charger, a two door coupe version of the Chrysler Valiant sedan, with a shorter wheelbase and styling not found on any other Chrysler vehicles in the world. They also had a long wheelbase two door hardtop coupe version of the Valiant sedan. You like wagons, so you'd be interested to see the Valiant wagon of the time, which included an integrated spoiler above the rear window designed to direct air over the rear window to help keep it free from the build-up of dust. In Australia nowadays the two best sellers are pickup trucks (the Ford Ranger and the Toyota Hilux), and the top ten sellers include three pickup trucks, six SUV's, and only one car, the Toyota Corolla. How times have changed! I understand that here in the Philippines the top two selling vehicles are the Ford Ranger and Ford Everest. Toyota is the top selling brand, I think mostly due to the fact that almost every taxi in the Philippines is a Toyota Vios four door sedan. That's basically a booted sedan version of the Toyota Yaris. The love affair with pickups and SUV's is worldwide. As a side note to the Holden brochure featured in this video, I saw a 1977 Holden Sandman panel van advertised for $57,000 AUD. Ummmm... Unbelievable!
Head and HX Statesman 308 Deville... car was nothing but troubles from the day I bought it... the finally got destroyed by somebody running into it never buy a red car