Holden Statesman Review & Road Test

It’s over $100,000 cheaper than its nearest German competitor.

Model Tested:

2009 Holden WM Statesman; 3.6-litre, six-cylinder, petrol; six-speed automatic; sedan – $63,990*

Fuel economy; interior room; value for money
Transmission; lack of design change
CarAdvice Rating:
I’ll promise you from the outset that this isn’t one of those ‘the fish was this big’ stories. The Holden Statesman [...]

Holden-based LAPD police cruiser gains momentum

While Holden’s North American exports may have ground to a halt with the closure of Pontiac spelling the demise of the Commodore-derived G8 Sedan, it seems a proposal to enter the car into law enforcement has gained momentum.

General Motors CEO, Fritz Henderson, made mention at the Frankfurt Motor Show that the carmaker has been working [...]

Holden launches new Divisional Van for Victoria Police

Following an intensive 12 month program to developing a safer, more reliable division van for the Victoria Police Force, Holden has joined forces with Bellmont Nominees to build this latest model.

Based on the recently released Model Year 10 (MY10) VE Commodore Omega Ute, the new divisional van features six airbags in the passenger compartment [...]

Holden Sportwagon to enter Global Green Challenge

Holden will enter a Commodore Omega Sportwagon, running its new 3.0-litre V6 engine, in next month’s Global Green Challenge.

The event, a showcase of low emission and alternative energy vehicles, aims to test the car’s fuel economy claims over a 3000 kilometre run from Darwin to Adelaide.
Formerly the World Solar Challenge, the Global Green Challenge will [...]

Holden Commodore MY10 – First Steer

If Holden’s ‘billion dollar baby’, the VE Commodore, had engines like these back in 2005 then it truly would have been worthy of the rave reviews it received at the time.

While I would concede that the looks, which personally don’t overly appeal to me, have stood the test of time, the mechanical package was behind [...]

Holden Commodore Ute gets six airbags

Holden will achieve another Australian safety first this month by launching the first Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) to offer six airbags as standard across the range.

Holden’s MY10 Commodore Ute will introduce side impact and curtain airbags as standard equipment on all Ute models.
The entire MY10 VE and WM range, including Ute, also receives a [...]

Australian Muscle Car Masters

It is no coincidence that the Australian Muscle Car Masters falls on Australia’s Father’s Day weekend, and for many dads there’s would be no better way to spend their day than with the smell of vintage automotive ‘muscle’ in the air.

I arrived at Eastern Creek International Raceway, in Sydney, with my own dad at perhaps [...]

Holden Astra is officially finished

GM Holden has confirmed to CarAdvice something that’s been fairly obvious for a while; the Holden Astra imported from Opel in German is no more.

Holden has also said it has no intention of importing the next generation Astra into Australia and has confirmed that the suspension of Astra imports, which we first told you about [...]

Holden Commodore, Statesman and Caprice get ANCAP five-star

GM Holden has today announced that for the first time ever its entire range of locally manufactured passenger cars have been awarded the maximum five-star ANCAP rating.

The MY10 (model year 2010) range, to be released next month, will feature a five-star score on Commodore sedan and Sportwagon variants as well as Statesman and Caprice models.

Holden considers sub-light mini car

GM Holden could be considering an even smaller Korean sourced car than the Barina, following the release by subsidiary GM Daewoo of its Matiz Creative, sub-light segment vehicle.

The Matiz Creative was launched in South Korea this week and billed as a global mini car that would be sold in more than 150 markets around the [...]

Light Hatch Comparison – Fiesta, Barina, Jazz, Getz, Yaris, Swift

These light cars are no lightweights.
Generally speaking, the word ‘light’ implies there’s something missing: less than the others; a lack thereof; insubstantial; skimping.
It rarely invokes a sense of excitement – light beer, for example. As far as the ‘light car’ segment goes, my expectations are immediately managed (down), and I’m ready to be underwhelmed.

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