jpd80 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) Well, it's official. General Motors has resurrected the Australian-built Zeta sedan for North America, only this time around, it's just for the cops. Set to arrive in your local muni's police fleet in 2011 is the Chevrolet Caprice police patrol vehicle (PPV). First thing's first: it is not the Holden Commodore, a.k.a. Pontiac G8 (rest in peace). It's a left-hand-drive version of the long-wheelbase, Zeta-platform Holden Caprice/Statesman. Many of you already know that this car is also sold in the Middle East as, you guessed it, the Chevy Caprice. Also, as had been rumored – you can't buy one. It's a fleet special only, and we can envision fistfights breaking out over these at police auctions in a few years. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inside, it's obviously outfitted with all the toys, including seats designed to accommodate officers' gun/equipment belts, a front-seat computer, and all the other stuff you'd expect to find in a police car. And since the fuzzmobile's based on the LWB sedan, there's plenty of room in back for you to relax should you find yourself involuntarily sampling the rear passenger seating. Actually, with your hands locked up behind your back, it probably won't be that comfy after all. Check out more photos of the Caprice PPV in the gallery below. LINK to story So GM is importing the 118" wheelbase Caprice, Pontiac G8's big brother for police work, I wonder how Ford will view these developments as this car provides way more room than the Crown Victoria or its competitors...... One question - will the units be made in Australia or in China? Edited October 5, 2009 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 One question - will the units be made in Australia or in China? According to GMI they'll be built in Aus. It sounds like they'll offer both the LWB and SWB (G8) version. I'm surprised they did not go with a column shift. Will be more surprised if it does not end up with one by the time it hits our shores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armadamaster Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) I really don't get how they are going to make a buck off this without offering it to other fleets and the general public as well. Only if they can the ancient WImpala and market this as their NA RWD Impala and leave most of the old W-body sales for the new Malibu. As it stands right now the new Malibu is actually hurt by the WImpala since it directly competes with it, and the ancient WImpala offers more car for less money between those two. Just my .02 cents. Edited October 5, 2009 by Armada Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I think the most important question is: when will Henderson announce this program is cancelled? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Another question: since these are police duty only units, when they are retired, will they be auctioned off to the public or crushed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelsonlu Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Another question: since these are police duty only units, when they are retired, will they be auctioned off to the public or crushed? I see no reason why they wouldn't be offered to the public. It is not like that these are any faster than non-police vehicles. The Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, for example, is sold to civilians after retirement even though it is only sold to the police and not to any other fleet customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joihan777 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I really don't get how they are going to make a buck off this without offering it to other fleets and the general public as well. Only if they can the ancient WImpala and market this as their NA RWD Impala and leave most of the old W-body sales for the new Malibu. As it stands right now the new Malibu is actually hurt by the WImpala since it directly competes with it, and the ancient WImpala offers more car for less money between those two. Just my .02 cents. Simple. It's called a MONOPOLY. GM can charge whatever they need to because there will be no real RWD competition from Ford or Chrysler. Maybe Alan is throwing GM a bone by letting the CV die without RWD replacement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 One question - will the units be made in Australia or in China? According to the article..it will be built in Ontario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
156n3rd Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 So what if this happens and they make no money on it? Isn't that why Ford is dumping the CV to stop losing money? Besides, how does Ford lose money on PE/CV units? They have to make some profit from them. Still baffles my mind. They don't change the model, so how can they be losing? Another thing: Chrysler sold AMC's and their own models to LE in the 70's and 80's. They were all over the place. They made no money on these? Building an Aussie Chevy in Ontario makes perfects ense. The car looks cheesy, though. Like an old design someone had lying around. Cheap, cheesy Chebbie, as usual. FoMoCo, get off yer collective ass and do sumptin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92merc Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Another point to consider. How will the fuel economy be on a 355HP vehicle? I just can't see this being better than what the CVPI does. Even with a more modern engine and 6 speed trans. The vehicle will end up being a niche vehicle even within LEO areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxman100 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Ford blows it again, giving away a market they literally owned. First they give away the large car civilian market, and now the police and livery market. I can only speak for myself, but if the choice was a $28,000 RWD Caprice, and a $28,000 FWD Taurus, the Caprice wins every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Ford blows it again, giving away a market they literally owned. First they give away the large car civilian market, and now the police and livery market. I can only speak for myself, but if the choice was a $28,000 RWD Caprice, and a $28,000 FWD Taurus, the Caprice wins every time. The question none of us can honestly answer though: How much is that market even worth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 The question none of us can honestly answer though: How much is that market even worth? Exactly! If Ford was rolling the dough in this market, they obviously wouldn't be dropping it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 So what if this happens and they make no money on it? Isn't that why Ford is dumping the CV to stop losing money? Besides, how does Ford lose money on PE/CV units? They have to make some profit from them. Still baffles my mind. They don't change the model, so how can they be losing? Another thing: Chrysler sold AMC's and their own models to LE in the 70's and 80's. They were all over the place. They made no money on these? Building an Aussie Chevy in Ontario makes perfects ense. The car looks cheesy, though. Like an old design someone had lying around. Cheap, cheesy Chebbie, as usual. FoMoCo, get off yer collective ass and do sumptin'. At a point, the tech/parts that the Panthers are using becomes so old that the Panthers are the only vehicles using them (probably close to if not past that point already for most stuff), so you don't have the eonomies of scale they once had when Ford's other vehicles were using the same tech, which equals losing money (or at least continually decreasing profits until you lose money) because you have to still produce the stuff for the Panthers only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 So what if this happens and they make no money on it? Isn't that why Ford is dumping the CV to stop losing money? Besides, how does Ford lose money on PE/CV units? They have to make some profit from them. Still baffles my mind. They don't change the model, so how can they be losing? Another thing: Chrysler sold AMC's and their own models to LE in the 70's and 80's. They were all over the place. They made no money on these? Building an Aussie Chevy in Ontario makes perfects ense. The car looks cheesy, though. Like an old design someone had lying around. Cheap, cheesy Chebbie, as usual. FoMoCo, get off yer collective ass and do sumptin'. At a point, the tech/parts that the Panthers are using becomes so old that the Panthers are the only vehicles using them (probably close to if not past that point already for most stuff), so you don't have the eonomies of scale they once had when Ford's other vehicles were using the same tech, which equals losing money (or at least continually decreasing profits until you lose money) because you have to still produce the stuff for the Panthers alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 At a point, the tech/parts that the Panthers are using becomes so old that the Panthers are the only vehicles using them (probably close to if not past that point already for most stuff), so you don't have the eonomies of scale they once had when Ford's other vehicles were using the same tech, which equals losing money (or at least continually decreasing profits until you lose money) because you have to still produce the stuff for the Panthers alone. With Ford pushing toward common-use parts the disparity between the Panthers and other vehicles in the Ford lineup will become even worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 With Ford pushing toward common-use parts the disparity between the Panthers and other vehicles in the Ford lineup will become even worse. Exactly, making the Panthers less and less profitable as time goes on. --- Looking at that interior picture, (and I'm not exactly sure where the CV puts them) that seems like a pretty inconvenient place to put what I assume is the siren, lights, etc. controls up on the roof above the rearview mirror... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Taurus with 3.7L V6 and revo-knuckle (FWD) for daily patrol and EcoBoost / AWD for highway pursuit models. Ford will continue to dominate LE and livery markets with it. Just give it a different grille and name it LTD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlRozzi Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) Maybe get the tooling for Charger/300 because it looks to me as if Chrysler is going out of business. Chrysler is lumping together the Jeep/Ram brands for sale after the collapse, so why shouldn't Ford try to get the Charger tooling? Edited October 5, 2009 by AlRozzi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 .... so why shouldn't Ford try to get the Charger tooling? Because it is crap?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Looking at that interior picture, (and I'm not exactly sure where the CV puts them) that seems like a pretty inconvenient place to put what I assume is the siren, lights, etc. controls up on the roof above the rearview mirror... I've seen them mounted there before. Couldn't tell you off the top of my head which kind of car it was in though. Once you remember where they switches are though, I can't see it being much of an inconvenience. I can operate the map lights and moonroof controls in my Mazda6 fine just by touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I guess I don't see the incentive to switch, that is until the CV is dead and buried. I can't imagine that the Chevy will undercut to Ford on price, plus the extra cost of buying all new equipment for the cars, and "unproven" reliability (I know that they're on the roads in AUS), I just don't see many departments being the first to make the plunge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I've seen them mounted there before. Couldn't tell you off the top of my head which kind of car it was in though. Once you remember where they switches are though, I can't see it being much of an inconvenience. I can operate the map lights and moonroof controls in my Mazda6 fine just by touch. Map lights and moonroof controls are what 3-4 buttons, though....that thing's got like 15 buttons... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Map lights and moonroof controls are what 3-4 buttons, though....that thing's got like 15 buttons... I heard they outsourced the switchgear to Honda/Acura... :shades: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
156n3rd Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 The Taurus doesn't appear to be the answer. Aren't pick and suv parts similar to the CV's underpinnings? And changing to the 5.4, I guess that would be too costly. I have never heard anything super positive about the Charger. Too small inside and shitty brakes. But if Chevy comes out with htis new model, it won't matter how it eats fuel. Cheaper will be the way to go with LE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.