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Holden KingswoodThe Holden Kingswood is a large family car manufactured by General MotorsHolden's Ltd. of Australia. The nameplate first emerged in 1968 with the HK series to replace the 'Standard' and 'Special' designations formerly used by the company. Kingswood took over from 'Special' and denoted sedans and station wagons; Belmont was the entry-level model. Premier denoted a high-specification model. During the HKHG generation, there was an additional top-of-the-line luxury model called the Brougham. The Kingswood was offered in a large number of different body styles including a sedan, station wagon, ute and panel van. HK–HG Kingswood The first Kingswood was the HK, released in 1968. It was an all-new design that was larger and heavier than the previous HR Holden. It used the same six-cylinder engines, but introduced the first V8 into the Holden range, the 307 Chevrolet small-block. This engine only remained an option until midway through production of the HT, when the Fisherman's Bend engine facility began production of Holden's own V8, available as either the 253 or 308. Six months after the release of the HK saw the introduction of the Monaro, a two-door version of the Kingswood. HQ Kingswood The HQ series of 1971 was regarded as the most beautiful Kingswood. Subsequent facelifts, which brought welcome mechanical changes in later years, never captured the HQ's then-modern, pure appearance. The HQ was a completely new design, using only the engines from the earlier model. It was Holden's most popular car, selling 517,614 units, a total that Holden has never surpassed for any single model since. The HQ's main failing could be said to have been its ride. At the time, Holden's American boss, Leo Pruneau, insisted that the HQ ride like a Cadillac, but it was arguable whether Australian buyers favoured this. HJ–HZ Kingswood Released in 1974, the HJ Kingswood received some major styling changes, including all new guards, doors and bonnet. The later HX and HZ releases made only minor updates to the exterior. When the HX was released, government emissions controls had been tightened and Holden needed to make significant changes to their engines, which resulted in a loss of performance across the range. The release of the HZ, when the lower-end Belmont was absorbed into the Kingswood range and a higher-specification SL model was released, saw the introduction of what Holden termed RTS (Radial Tuned Suspension). RTS, on all models, made significant changes to the suspension of the car, greatly improving the handling. The Kingswood passenger cars were cancelled after the 1979 model year, replaced by the downsized Holden Commodore. WB Kingswood The last Holdens to wear the Kingswood badge were the WB utes, released in 1980. Although the WA and WB projects at Holden were meant to have resulted in all-new full-size cars, the 1973 fuel crisis and cost-cutting meant the scope of changes became more limited each time. Eventually, the WBs were updated HZ models with new front headlights, grilles and the new Holden Blue 6 cylinder engine. Production finished in 1984 and Holden would not release another car-based ute for six years. Kingswood exports Holden Kingswoods were manufactured in New Zealand at the General Motors New Zealand plant in Petone, near Wellington. From the 1960s Australian-made models were exported to South East Asia, and also to the Caribbean - the Kingswood was assembled in Trinidad and Tobago. South Africa's Chevrolet Kommando and Constantia were based on the HG and HQ Kingswoods. Its Chevrolet El Camino bakkie or pickup was in fact the Kingswood ute. Kingswood
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