Making a Statement in a Statesman!

THE ANNUAL MELBOURNE CUP---THE RACE THAT STOPS A NATION!

And again, as neither of the 6TEEN "Gang of Six" has ever yet been to Australia (the gang excepting Jonesy & Nikki, that is), this can be treated as a mere WHAT-IF...

But WHAT IF all the 6TEEN gang (and not just Jonesy & Nikki) were in vacay mode Down Under during this year's Carnival events? Here is how they would've celebrated (here at Flemington)...

The guys wearing their formal best, that which they currently possess, with Jonesy also sporting a white tulip and Jude with the exceptional additions of a top hat and a pince-nez! And the girls wearing their finest plus! Note the unique, stylish hats they get to wear!

Now, as to the point of this pic, let's say they arrive at Flemington in style! A 1979 HZ Statesman SL-E!

Statesman was an automotive marque created in 1971 by General Motors Holden. 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.

The Statesman was intended as a rival for Ford Australia’s successful Fairlane, which had debuted in Australian-designed form as the ZA series in March 1967. 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.

For its part, GM Holden 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.

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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