Holden Statesman/Caprice WK

[VQ]

http://carpoint.ninemsn.com.au/revie...ry.asp?ID=4915
Heres the article on the new Holden WK Statesman/Caprice.

there Caprice images...

And Statesman.

Holden says it has deliberately tried to increase model differentiation in its long-wheelbase siblings, creating "an individual Euro sports character for Caprice". Conservative Statesman plays the more formal role to Caprice's luxury sports tourer.

To this end, Caprice gets a more powerful 245kW version of the Gen III alloy V8 engine along with a stainless steel dual exhaust system said to deliver that trademark V8 burble. Suspension modifications, steering changes and lower profile tyres further differentiate the Caprice's "more sporting driving dynamic."

The General's luxury twins will debut a couple of local firsts, including the active head restraints first seen on Saab 9-5 and 93, and more recently on Holden Vectra. Active front head restraints are said to reduce the risk of neck injury or 'whiplash' in low-speed rear impacts. Caprice will come standard with headrest-mounted rear DVD system complete with headphones and remote control.

Wat do u think? The most powerful Caprice this side of a HSV Grange and a much safer car and itz shorter!.

[Dylan]

like i said to you on MSN it really is a fugly car and in my opinion so is the whole commodore line up. that fake woodgrain looks really tacky.

[VQ]

Yeah Dylann I know ur opinion I was more generating it for the opinion of other people that follow luxury cars.

[Vette Boss]

Ah! That is so ugly. How can you like that thing?

[Avro707C]

The front looks like they changed it for changes sake..

It doesn't look better than the old one, and, yes, the wood-grain trim does look tacky.

The middle console with it's cheap looking switches and parallel lidded section looks particularly out of place, and starky in contrast to the rest of the interior.

And for the record, fords latest G220 Fairlane models are almost as bad.. Nice interior, suspension, and engines, (basically, all the mechanical and interior bits are nice) but, the exterior is not nice, from the view I saw.

I can't say whether or not the back has changed, but, the middle appears to be the same, although the front does look attractive.

They should have re-did the whole body, rather than just here and there fixes.

So, tell me, does the Caprice still cling on to the trailing arm independant rear suspension, with "toe control link"?

I just optioned one of these new Caprices up, a 5.7 litre V8 one, and the price came to $79,627.32.. Poor value, at the price, when factors such as the old suspension design are included.

[VQ]

Yeah but it has so many technological advnaces and itz a update isn't it? I like it and u don't like the Vy Commodore so it don't matter really altho i wish they did a different steering wheel. And remeber the car has to make money somewhere and mostly the goverment s gonna buy these and they look waaaaaaaaaaay better then the Bloody Awfull.
Vette Boss: U think nissans and stuff are good looking cars witht heir weird designs so i should be asking uy the same question.
Besides I like it and it isn't a luxury luxury car itz a luxury sports car.

[Avro707C]

Well, the steering wheel is not wrong, actually. It's a fine piece of good looking design. It looks attractive.

But, see that part of the middle console, in between the seats, where the power window switches and the lidded compartment is? That visibly doesn't match the rest of the dash. It looks cheaper, and not so nice.

I can point out an obvious flaw, that is still carried over. See the sat-nav screen. It is obscured by the transmission selector, just as in Commodore models with the same Sat-nav system.

One idea I have for them, is to use more visibly high tech systems, in the interior. Like for instance, on the instrument display.. Why not use a colour LCD screen? Technology exists to cut glare on the screens..

Or, use cold cathode displays. Even Mitsubishi does, these days. And they leave the old style displays way behind, in terms of outstanding clarity, and readability. The markings on the displays just seem to "jump out" at you..

One other thing they would be wise to invest in, is adaptive air-suspension. All the opposition long-wheelbase saloons from Europe seem to have adopted air-suspension systems.

And it's not a just technology for the sake of it, because it works, and brilliantly. You can have supple ride quality, and, very good control of body roll.

A current S-Class comes closest to matching the brilliant ride quality of a Citroën DS (of course excluding the super-limousines of Maybach and Rolls-Royce, who are fighting in a altogether more expensive and rarified market).

The Citroën might be an old car, but, it's ride quality is absolutely exceptional. It smooths out the bumps like you wouldn't believe.

At the time, the DS was absolutely cutting edge technology. It was a huge leap forward, in so many ways. It brought so many dazzling new technologies and features, as standard. A lot of these other cars didn't even offer, as options.

The grand old goddess is still as impressive today, as it was, when new, in 1955, when it left everyone shocked in absolute awe and amazement.

[VQ]

Well yes the suspension should be updated but because it would make the car worth a lot more and the platform is based on the VY commodore so doing that would be a lot harder altho I can get airbag suspension for most full chassis cars and it costs $5000 for a fitted one for commodores and it goes left, right, front and back. but i dunno how it handles.

[Avro707C]

What the air-suspension I'm talking about, is an adaptive system. It can adjust the level of stiffness, to compensate for the driving style, and or cornering forces.

I could go into the complexities of it, but, rather than that, I'll just explain the practical benefits.. The car feels like it is floating above the road, and not actually touching the road, at all (no bumps are felt), but, when you start to drive the car in a more determined and sporty fashion, like, attacking a nice set of twists in a road, it suddenly adopts a more sporting condition, and, body roll is limited, thus, improving steering response.

Body roll hurts steering response, to a fair degree.

But, Holden has opportunities, provided it manages itself the right way, and designs it's products the right way, to move into a more expensive market, with it's long-wheelbase cars. The profit margins for those can be very handsome. But, these sorts of cars have to be absolutely perfect, in every way. Not only do the customers expect it, but, the opposition usually offers that level of perfection. Like the S-Class, Audi A8, and VW Phaeton.

The VW and Audi set the quality benchmarks, while S-Class and Phaeton set ride quality benchmarks, and, the S-Class alone redefines the notion of high-performance luxury saloons, with its astonishing twin-turbocharged and supercharged engines. The S-Class, also does something else, well. You don't notice it, but, after a long journey, you arrive at the destination, not feeling so tired, and exhausted, and not feeling the need to have to walk around, or stretch.. The massage function in the seats, might seem to be a novelty, at first, but, it actually does help, in reducing fatigue, so I've discovered.

I might pen some ideas for a modified dash/interior, for the Caprice, perhaps.. See what I can come up with..

[AccadaccA]

The only part I would cal ugly is the grille of both models.

Vette Boss : Fair enough we're all entitled to our own opinions but looking at the car you have I'd say people in glass houses should never throw stones.

Dylan : That's just a biased opinion of your saying "it really is a fugly car and in my opinion so is the whole commodore line up". I gather you are fond of the bulky crap look of the Ford headlights.



At least I've admitted to some Ford models I don't mind. The model pictured above is definately NOT one of them.

[blackice111288]

That caprice is alright, but not 4 the price. for 70,000+ AUS dollars( i dunno how many us dollars that is, im guessin 70,000 US dollars) in that class i'd get a BMW 745il or a Skyline ER34 GT-S 4 door.




oh i forgot- ford sucks

tha only ford id drive is one of those new falcon utes or a focus rs. but i wouldnt waste cash to ship them over to the us. some body in town has a 98 full JDM toyota Supra Twin turbo. nice car.

[Remko]

70,000.00 AUD Australia Dollars = 44,115.75 USD United States Dollars.

UCC (Universal Curency Converter)

[Radical-Al]

looks like a big infiniti to me.

[blackice111288]

44 grand for that? aww, thats a waste of money

[Vette Boss]

I would take a BMW 5-series over that car anyday, even if it were just a 525i. I know there are people that are going to like that car, and I won't hold it against them. I just find it rather plain and ugly.