Comments on: Holden WM Statesman Caprice

By: Peter Ross

Peter Ross — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:14:04 +0000

Having left a couple of negative concerns it is good to finish on a positive note.

The six Litre V8 motor, the same as the Corvette and US Pontiac on Premium fuel develops 270 Kw of power which translates to about 400 HP. This motor correctly run in, will develop excellant smoothness and have more than edequate power to pull you out of any problem of vehicles appearing over the next hill as you overtake a slower vehicle, accelerating instead of maintaing speed for your safety.
Conversly be cautious as it can make you take risks you normally might not do. Execellant motor, well suited gearbox and very good economy against the six, which is trashy, not a bad motor, but working hard. I have found with a steady right foot on flat roads according to the readout, obtaining with air going, 8.5 to 10.5 Lt per 100Km with the 6Lt V8. Plant it of course and you will lighten your hip pocket. Overall a good car and in my opinion in the country, better than a six.

By: Peter Ross

Peter Ross — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:52:58 +0000

Be ware of dealers making hyberbolic comments that as the WM Statesman and Caprice are Luxury Prestige cars and if you are not happy, they, GM will give you a new car.
Ensure the rear panel fit on both rear top side rear panels meet flush with the bumper moulding, [like they do so well in the base Commodore], otherwise you will get an reverse aerodymanic swirl effect that will pull exhaust soot on the rear bumper panel on V8 cars. This is heavy eneough to clog the best of chamoies, not to mention very distinct dirty bumper panels. Dealer concenus is that panel fit will improve, over time seeing that GM has now been notified. Ensure you are satisfied if your six speed does it, that is that the low spooling grinding noise in reverse and first are really attributale to cold oil and that the gearbox does not wear out with metal to metal contact before the oil warms up again, before summer, the said cause of this grinding effect.
Digital photographic evedience is available of two WM Statsmans and a Commodore next to one. GM are looking into the case and other than a major panel beating job there is no fix, for cars already produced, until stamping presses are adjusted, I suppose to rectify this misalignment. Ehhaust swirl sticking could be rectified with a decent spoiler kit perhaps.

By: Peter Ross

Peter Ross — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:27:07 +0000

I have both evedience of my new WM Statesman Sedan 6 speed auto 6LtV8 grinding in low gear, spooling rotary grinding sounds in first and reverse moving of slowly
and being told that it is, that the metal to metal; grinding is normal, as the transmission oil is cold. Will it wear out before Summer. Thumping in 2-3 gear in traffic. Photographic evedience of mine and a showroom WM with Poor panel fit either side, flaring outwards, drivers side 2mm, passenger side 1.5mm. It is causing the exhaust soot from a reverse aerodymanic fit, to cling to the bumper moulding, heavy eneough to write clearly words such as dates and arrows, yet the panels above the join line, remain clean. I have photographic evedience of my car and a demo in the showroom, whereas the base Commodore has excellant flush panels. Not good eneough on a prestige car, and to be told that quality will improve, is not any help of buyers of early builds and be told they will improve. There appears to be no fix except at my suggestion that the factory stamping maching should be adjusted to close in these panels to fit flush as they do on base model Commodores.

By: Stuart Crisp

Stuart Crisp — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 12:38:49 +0000

I have spent an interesting but sometimes confusing couple of months looking at new cars in the $70k class (BMW, Mercedes, Audi etc) and was totally blown away by the WM pair when I finally looked at them. I would have happily bought either but finally plumped for the v8 Caprice and took delivery today. And yes, I think the extra $7000 spend is worth every cent for the Caprice in my view. The car is an absolute stunner in the metal and I’ve found that you can’t own one and be shy! – everyone who pulls up beside us looks longingly at it and when parked, people want to ask questions about it. We Aussies should be proud that GM/Holden are capable of such a magnificent car. So, if the only reasons you look to buy european are a blue propeller or a three-pointed star, think again – the prestige badges look kind of expensive all of a sudden. More so when you start trawling through the extensive list of options in the BMW catalogue.
Now my dealer treats my wife and myself as if we just bought their flagship model (we did after all) which probably will be a better experience at service time than owning a C200K very close to the bottom of the Merc range…
So to the management, design, engineering, graphics, production and test teams at GMH, a hearty “well done” from me, a so-far very satisfied customer.

Stu

By: Holden VE Commodore & WM Caprice Statesmen Recall Rear Seat Belt Buckle &raquo Australian Car Advice & News Blog

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 07:03:49 +0000

[...] Holden is not having a good time with the new VE Commodore and WM Statesmen and Caprice, after the initial recall for a faulty fuel hose, there has been another recall issued today with over 11,584 vehicles affected. So whats the problem this time? Well the rear seat belt buckle is stuffed and it may cause the rear seat belt tongue to unlatch unintentionally. [...]

By: Holden VE Commodore WM Statesmen Caprice Recall &raquo Australian Car Advice & News Blog

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 05:59:24 +0000

[...] I don’t know how this slipped past me, but It did! I thought, better late than never. Holden has recalled some 1521 Holden VE Commodores and WM Statesmen and Caprice models which came with a V8 engine and were built July and August 2006. [...]