The Holden Kingswood is a 2-door coupe utility / 3-door panel van (Australia) / panel van / 4-door sedan (car) / sedan / 5-door station wagon from Holden, built from 1968 to 1985, in the decade that gave the world the pony car and the mid-engined supercar.
Where it came from
The Holden Kingswood is a full-size car that was developed and manufactured in Australia by Holden, from the beginning of the HK series in 1968 through to the conclusion of the WB series in 1985. Prior to 1968, the full-size Holden range of family cars comprised the Holden Standard, the Holden Special, and Holden Premier models. Initially, the HK range of models included the basic Holden Belmont (replacing the Standard), the Kingswood (replacing the Special), and the luxury-oriented Holden Premier, all of which were manufactured in a choice of sedan and station wagon bodies. Commercial variants were offered in three types: coupé utility, panel van, and later from 1971, the Holden One Tonner cab chassis. The Utility version was originally marketed in both Belmont and Kingswood configurations.
However, after the Belmont name was deleted from commercials at the end of HQ in late 1974, the base model commercials were sold only with the "Holden" badge (the Belmont name continued on sedan and wagon variants until the end of the HX series). A two-door Holden Monaro coupé and extended-length luxury Holden Brougham were also introduced in mid 1968. For HK, HT, HG and HQ the Holden Monaro carried the ID plate luxury level coding for a Kingswood but never wore Kingswood badges as a production car. HQ-HJ Monaro LS and HQ Monaro LS V8 shared luxury level coding with their respective Premier but also never wore Premier badges. HK-HJ Monaro GTS coupe, HJ Monaro GTS sedan, HT-HQ Monaro GTS V8 coupe and Monaro GTS327/350 coupe (HK-HQ) carried unique luxury level coding. HQ Monaro GTS sedan
Under the skin
The record carries the shape — a 2-door coupe utility / 3-door panel van (Australia) / panel van / 4-door sedan (car) / sedan / 5-door station wagon. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.
In context
Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Holden Special; its successor was the Holden Commodore. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Peugeot 504, the Toyota Hilux, the Pontiac Firebird — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Holden catalogue sit the Holden 48-215 and the Holden Adventra.
What it costs now
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Holden Kingswood has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.