Chevy/Buick/Pontiac in Australia.

[RedVee8]

^ Well I guess that is what I'm driving at.
Except, the Antara is too close to the Captiva and is known to be the same due to the little Maxx attempt.

Assume Saab is gone, and Opel remains.

I have Holden with the GM Dats, VE/WM, HSV, LCVs - and Astra as a maybe depending on the local Delta ~ will it have imported friends alongside?

I have Buick with Insignia,Allure,Rendevous(94x),Enclave - no PA, Skylark see Astra above. This is my 'Affordable Premium'. I'd want great reliability & build quality, great comfort and quiet tuning. I'd want petrol & diesel, auto and DSG. Turbos as long as they are torque fiends, not power hounds.
BTW I just don't think laCrosse would cut it as a name down here. May as well be Curling. I'd go for Insignia then Invicta (allure/lacrosse).
Done right i think it'd work as they are not 'Tarted up Holdens'.

Re - HQ Statesman - didn't know that buick was touted. You did know that the HQ Stateman made it to production without being a Holden? Statesman by GM-H.

[t-rex]

Originally Posted by RedVee8

^ Well I guess that is what I'm driving at.
Except, the Antara is too close to the Captiva and is known to be the same due to the little Maxx attempt.

Assume Saab is gone, and Opel remains.

I have Holden with the GM Dats, VE/WM, HSV, LCVs - and Astra as a maybe depending on the local Delta ~ will it have imported friends alongside?

I have Buick with Insignia,Allure,Rendevous(94x),Enclave - no PA, Skylark see Astra above. This is my 'Affordable Premium'. I'd want great reliability & build quality, great comfort and quiet tuning. I'd want petrol & diesel, auto and DSG. Turbos as long as they are torque fiends, not power hounds.
BTW I just don't think laCrosse would cut it as a name down here. May as well be Curling. I'd go for Insignia then Invicta (allure/lacrosse).
Done right i think it'd work as they are not 'Tarted up Holdens'.

Got it. Keep the dinky-di products as Holdens! You're not alone in loathing the LaCrosse name. I've always been fond of its Canadian "Allure" tag.

So an Astra, Insignia, LaCrosse, Enclave (with appropriate naming, of course) Buick lineup might just fly in Oz?

You did know that the HQ Stateman made it to production without being a Holden? Statesman by GM-H.

That's not as daft as "Chrysler by Chrysler"....

Chrysler South Africa didn't do much better: "Dodge SE". How nice. A trim level, but no model name. Brilliant.

In the same article I read about the idea of badging big HQs as Buicks, there were numerous photos of styling proposals for the HQ. Oh the humanity! One looked to be an HQ body... with front styling from the US 1970 Chevelle! Dreadful.

****

Totally unrelated to this but... a few years ago, I saw a RHD Buick Riviera, '74-'76ish, wallowing its largesse southbound across the Auckland Harbour Bridge, driven by an attractive young Maori woman who, for some reason, reminded me of Alanis Morissette. It was dark blue with a white vinyl roof, and festooned with pro-Australian stickers, banners, and other sundry reminders that the previous owner was probably an Ozzie expat! It was quite battle-worn and looked more like something you'd see rolling around the ghetto of a large American city!

Despite its advanced age and dubious roadworthiness, it left our hired Falcon Wagon in the dust as it zoomed ahead, testing the structural strength of the bridge's "Nippon Clip-ons" (those things frighten me... I always feel safer in the more rigid-looking centre span).

After crossing the bridge's apex, I was surprised to see what ground she had gained, as she zoomed toward Spaghetti Junction. Both the car's immense girth and its faint trail of blue exhaust made it identifiable for kilometers. Watching the clever way the old barge manoeuvred through moderate traffic with seeming grace and ease, I pondered just how odd it was that an earlytwentysomething Maori chick could control such bulk with such graceful alacrity.

And I'm convinced that every white panel van the Japanese ever made .... ends up in Auckland.

[nota]

Originally Posted by RedVee8

Re - HQ Statesman - didn't know that buick was touted. You did know that the HQ Stateman made it to production without being a Holden? Statesman by GM-H.

re HQ Statesman etc (and Brougham before it?) were apparently the only non-Caddys to be adorned with the Cadillac Wreath - not sure if their fleur de lis was also a Caddy item

[t-rex]

Originally Posted by nota

re HQ Statesman etc (and Brougham before it?) were apparently the only non-Caddys to be adorned with the Cadillac Wreath - not sure if their fleur de lis was also a Caddy item

Don't know how the Holdens differed from their lekker S'effrican cousin, the Chevrolet DeVille, but SA DeVilles had the Caddy wreath, Caddy wheel covers and Caddy rear-view mirrors. The first generation (designated "AQ" instead of "HQ") sold quite well initially, but after the '73 oil crisis, it was toast.

Why people paid Jaguar and Benz SE money for a tarted-up Sydney taxi always baffled me. It was cushy, but crude.

They were bought almost exclusively by Afrikaners. Maybe that explains it!

[nota]

Originally Posted by t-rex

Don't know how the Holdens differed from their lekker S'effrican cousin, the Chevrolet DeVille, but SA DeVilles had the Caddy wreath, Caddy wheel covers and Caddy rear-view mirrors.

Here you go (AMC issue 33)







Btw the external mirrors appear to be OE-Holden

Why people paid Jaguar and Benz SE money for a tarted-up Sydney taxi always baffled me. It was cushy, but crude.

Often used to see a lime green AQ Chevrolet Deville in my town, it was likely an ex-embassy car

Anyway the HQ Statesman De Ville (below) was lekkerder, quite a sharp looking car imo, in Oz they would probably have retailed for only 30% or so of the price of the W116 Benz 350SEL

[t-rex]

Thanks loads for that article, nota!

GMSA phased out the Holden-Opel dealers part way during the '71 run. The Opels Kadett and Manta moved over to the Chevy dealers, but kept the Opel badge. So we never got any Holden versions of the AQ, only Chevy.

Here's how some models stacked up, price-wise in 1975:

Chevrolet De Ville: R8 600
Jaguar XJ 4.2 SWB: R9 950
Mercedes 280 SE: R11 274
Leyland Mini: R2 095 (cheapest car on the market that year)
Ford Cortina 2,5 L : R3 700
Ford Fairlane 500: R8 135
Chevrolet 3800: R4 555 (country's best-seller that year)

Dang, the DeVilles weren't as expensive as I remembered after all! My parents bought a new Ford Granada 3,0 GXL Automatic that year for about 5000 rand. To a little kid, it seemed like all the money in the world!

Oh, and the Afrikaans blurb in the advert states that Chevrolet speaks your language....