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Statesman was an automotive marque created in 1971 by Holden and sold in Australasia. 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, use of the long-serving Statesman name was discontinued. Holden's long wheelbase contenders are now branded as Holden Caprice and Holden Caprice V. == HQ == The original Statesman HQ long-wheelbase 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.〔Wright (1998), p. 209〕 The first Statesmans were based on these short-wheelbase Holden HQ variants. Statesman was initially offered in two specifications, an upmarket Statesman de Ville and a basic Statesman Custom. Engines ranged from a Red six-cylinder, a V8, a V8 and a Chevrolet small-block V8, but 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 , totalling , 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 Fairlane 〔Tony Davis, ''1971 GM-H Statesman'', Aussie Cars, 1987, page 121〕 which had debuted in Australian-designed form as the ZA series in March 1967.〔Ewan Kennedy, Ford Falcon, 2nd Edition, April 2004, pages 29 & 30〕 The Fairlane had created a new and exclusive category of Australian-made prestige cars. It 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 media followed the same format. Statesman HQ models were marketed in South Africa as the Chevrolet Constantia and the Chevrolet de Ville〔Australian Muscle Car, Issue 33, pages 84–86〕〔(1972 De Ville and Kommando Article ) Retrieved from www.moby302.co.za on 25 August 2009〕 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.〔Bedwell (2009), p. 199.〕 Isuzu sold 246 De Villes between late 1973 and 1976. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Statesman (automobile)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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