Is Paul Gover Denny Mooney and Joyce Mayne's Love Child?

[ltd]

HSV's Mark of distinction



Mark Skaife helped design the limited edition HSV Senator Signature
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15 April 2006

Paul Gover

"Mark Skaife has a new car. No, not the Holden V8 Supercar he races. This car is a luxury model from Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) that was developed by Skaife with the priorities of his day-to-day driving, his wife Toni and baby daughter Mia in mind.

So it is comfy and cushy, but still very quick. And it has a 6.0-litre V8, which means instant respect at the lights.

Our test car came in black, with a digital dashboard readout that told us it was Skaife 001, and all the luxury and go-fast gear you would want in an ultimate Holden Calais with tweaking by Skaife. But our fun run in the car, officially a Senator Signature, shows Holden needs the VE Commodore and Statesman as soon as possible.

The Skaife car is good and the drive enjoyable, but the update work has stretched the rubber band all the way to breaking point on the last of the current-series Commodores.

You can see it in the dash and feel it in the driveline shunt, and are reminded of the old-style basics when you plant your foot.

The car is still swift but the auto is ancient and there are a few niggling noises from the suspension that won't be there when there is a VE Skaife car.

The Skaife car comes in a year when HSV is doing everything it can to make mileage and sales, before the arrival of the VE Commodore family. It has big plans for everything from the ClubSport to the GTO coupe.

The Senator Signature is a 50-car run and all of them are high-gloss black with a $75,590 bottom line, compared with a regular HSV Senator at $72,390, the current GTO at $78,990 and a long-wheelbase Grange at $89,990.



This is a contradictory car. It is old and showing that age, but it is still a car that's enjoyable to drive. The question is will people want to pay $75,590 when the VE is coming up fast? But is also understandable why the 50 people who do buy it, will enjoy this car.
The black Senator can be rewarding as well as challenging to drive.

You can dribble around town enjoying the leather seats, punchy sound system and the throb of the LS2 V8 engine.

But when you want to go, and there are times when nothing else is good enough, the Skaife car really honks.

It's not a full-on Bathurst bruiser, but it is impossible to argue with 297kW.

It is one of the world's great engines and, even with everyone worrying about petrol prices, we are lucky to have it. But it shows the ancient history of the four-speed auto.

There is no manual driving mode, no touch-change paddles, the ratios are too far apart and it struggles to cope with the car's massive torque. If you really put your foot down the Skaife car slams through the gears, hitting hard enough to spin the rear wheels briefly before the traction control goes to work, and it really thumps the driveline. It is not very nice, even if it is effective.

The brakes are effective thanks to the huge grip from the 19-inch rubbers. The Senator gets the premium brake pack and its great.

The Xenon headlamps are also terrific, even better than the benchmark system in the basic Commodore, and overcome the lack of light that has been criticised in other upmarket Holdens with the slimline lamp package. There is terrific turn-in for any corner and great feel through the steering.

The cornering attitude is up to the driver and use of the engine, though it is comforting to know the car has traction control, particularly on a damp road.

The suspension picks up any pockmarks and there is tramlining at cruising speed, which is partly down to the 19-inch wheels and partly down to the age of the basic suspension design. The upshot is that it is good, but not Euro refined.

The car's seats look good and have great support, but they are set too high. Even Skaife admits it, but he is a bloke who would prefer to be sitting on the floor in every car.

It comes down to the space needed for the motors that provide electric assistance.

The Senator is heavy on fuel but is easy to park, has all the luxury gear you really need, including cruise control and a trip computer. It also features a giant digital speedometer, now fitted to every Commodore.

The car is great value against its European rivals and more enjoyable and gutsy than the GT models from Ford Performance Vehicles."


Geez, My car must be a real luxury car too because it has a trip computer and cruise control too.

This jerk off has such nasty crap to say about ford but if anything has a holden badge on it, he works himself up into a lather. Me thinks I'll need to alert the hospitals in the area soon for when the VE comes out.

[Poetic Justice]

Good to see a lot of criticism

[WILDTRAKPX2]

"was developed by Skaife with the priorities of his day-to-day driving, his wife Toni and baby daughter Mia in mind"

I think that is a typo... should have been:

"was developed by Skaife with the priorities of his day-to-day driving and secondly for his wife Toni and baby daughter Mia in mind"

[AWD Chaser]

6.0-litre V8, which means instant respect at the lights.

Unless you drive an F6!!!!

What it means by his driving priorites is that he can see past his giant nose!!! I mean seriously, you could reset the trip meter with that thing just by leaning forward a bit!

[Redrum]

Paul GOVER denies being one eyed for Holdens. I e-mailed him over subject approx two years ago. Got fed up with all his ford bashing. Despite all this he did help me out with a warranty issue with FoMoCo and I respect him for this.

[Bossxr8]

Damn straight, he is Holdens ИИИИИ.

[xf_vanner]

what'd u expect when cars guide is filled with holden ads every friday he gave the gt a big thumbs up though. Just wished he did look at more fords

[zeta1]

Don't complain too loudly. You've got Joshua Dowling firmly in the blue corner.

[MethodX]

He seems impartial on the radio.

[aimzes]

The Senator is heavy on fuel but is easy to park,

lol... coool.

"Mark Skaife has a new car,developed by Skaife, it was Skaife 001, tweaking by Skaife, The Skaife car is good, there is a VE Skaife car, The Skaife car comes in a year, the Skaife car really honks, the Skaife car slams through the gears, Even Skaife admits it.

[FPV]

A few years ago, it was frequent to see Paul Gover and his crew continously whine about people sending in letters about there bias. I for one, didnt really see the bias back then, and for most of the years reading the cars guide, it seemed to be well done. However the recent Monaro CV8Z review which i raised in the FPV forum really took the shine off there credibility. They rated it higher then the FPV GT-P, due to the exhaust note and various other stupid comparitive sticks. That senator review just showed how bad there reviews are turning. Maybe they are getting influenced by the Mark Skaife driving tips section. The review seems to give crudeness and old world engineering like that semi trailing arm irs, a smaller input into the outcome of the review.

[MethodX]

Must have been "Gotta have it factor"

[FPV]

Originally Posted by MethodX

Must have been "Gotta have it factor"

Yeah it was actually, and i thought maybe it was a one off because it is a monaro so it is deemed fairly special. However this senator review just shows that the depth of quality in there review. I cant wait to see what they say for the VE HSV's, better then a BMW M5?

[ltd]

Of course it will be that kind of comparison, they'll do stupid comparo tests like the caprice against a 750 BMW and an S500. Then they'll tell you how much better the caprice is than both, and how it performs, handles and is safer than the two germans.

If I were Mark Skaife, I'd be worried when some bloke mentions my name so much in one paragraph. Images of that film misery come to mind.

Anyway, carsguide is just part of the Holden marketing department. At any given stage there are always at least two stories about Holden that are current. If Daewoo buy Holden I'm gonna laugh my head off reading Paul Govers take on it all. Didn't he say the Viva was a really great car and a worthy contender for small car of the year?

Oh well, as the love child of Joyce and Denny, shows the true value of nepotism.

[ltd]

It is one of the world's great engines and, even with everyone worrying about petrol prices, we are lucky to have it.

Just tell that to the half million claiments suing General Motors for Piston Slap and oil consumption in the states.

Jeez paul, what kind of a glass d1ck have you been smoking?