Fgts Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 "Chevrolet’s fleet-only Caprice will likely be sold to the General Public after a tide of interest forced General Motors to re-consider their plans to restrict sales to fleets. The Caprice is essentially a stretched version of the Pontiac G8, a rear-drive, V8 powered large sedan based off the much-lauded, Australian market Holden Commodore. The G8 was beloved by enthusiasts but tepidly received by the public. The G8 lasted only two model years before the Pontiac brand was killed by General Motors. According to a report from Carenvy.ca, a “very reliable source” confirmed that the car will be sold in dealerships, but gave no details as to trim levels or how the vehicle would be positioned. After contact Car Envy’s Peter Dushenski, we’re inclined to believe the information as true. The new Caprice nameplate has a ton of cachet among a few demographics, as boomers remember the car from their youth, and young people associate the car with hip-hop music, lowriders and “donks”. The prospect of a Corvette derived small-block V8 is also enticing. General Motors also revealed their first pictures of the “Detective Package” Caprice, which should give some major clues as to how the civilian version will look if it comes to market. A Caprice sold to the public will likely have an upgraded interior compared to the G8 and the workhorse versions, and don’t be surprised to see a V6 version as well. " http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f13/2011-chevrolet-caprice-may-sold-public-93637/ Meanwhile the 11' modren rwd Ford sedans.......don't exist, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 (edited) So they took the pedestrian looking G8 and made it even more boring looking? This will do as well as the slow-selling G8 did for Poncho. G8 "Enthusiasts": Show Me the Money Long before GM confirmed Pontiac would be discontinued and before GM started slathering on incentives, G8 sales were running at a tepid average of about 1,500 per month and for the full year sold a total of 15,002. Its best month last year was April, its first full month on sale, when G8s went to 2,126 buyers. Not the numbers of a car sparking a sensation in the market -- at least not a profitable sensation. Yes, the G8's 2008 sales total assuredly was impacted by the industry sales crash that began in the second half of the year. But assuming the G8's numbers were affected in proportion to the total industry decline, its actual 2008 sales might project to a year of perhaps 22,000 sales. LINK - Edmunds AutoObserver Edited July 13, 2010 by PREMiERdrum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 :boring: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 I hope they sell lots of 'em, because competition is always good. By the time they actually get to the dealership floor though, the Taurus will probably be due for its re-fresh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
156n3rd Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Why bother with a full-sized Chevy? Just for a V-8? Not needed any longer. There are too many better-built engine of less cylinders avaialble. And if you want a bigger GMcar, get a Buick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Put a "high value" V6 like the one found under the hood of the V6 Camaro and you might just be onto something here....not everyone clamors for a V8, but there is a certain amount of noise for a large rear drive sedan that gets reasonable mileage and offers some pep.....not every buyer is looking to run laps around Nürburgring... :shades: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 So they're gonna offer a civilian version for the bazillions of people that may've asked for it, of which only about 5 will actually buy one? Typical GM.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 (edited) On again, off again Zeta. I could have respected GM if they had just stuck to one plan and rolled out Zeta, doing Impala, G8, Caprice, Buick Park Avenue -all of those previously planned adaptations. But no, at the eleventh hour GM got scared and canceled product after product but failed to replace all of them quickly with good quality Epsilon II FWD/AWD products. That's the problem with GM, depending on the day/week the plan keeps changing and their back up plan is no where to be seen.... Edited July 14, 2010 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY93SHO Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 Here's MY prediction: Thousands of intertards will proclaim it the best car ever and none will buy one, just like the G8! Doesn't help that it's a yawnmobile stylewise either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 Here is another prediction... Fleet sales will go on as planned, then after the vehicle has done its "fleet duty", waiting buyers (aka cheapskates) will snap them up at bargain basement prices and proclaim the car as the best vehicle ever produced and begin trolling various internet enthusiast boards demanding that everyone must support this vehicle or they will begin to flame anyone that disagrees with them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 Lutz must have come out of retirement to help advise this plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'Cal Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 This is a smart move by GM. If they follow through, GM will offer the Caprice with a V6 as standard and V8 as an option. There will be a market for the civilian Caprice and it'll make money for GM, although I don't expect it to be a best seller. With Ford no longer selling the Crown Vic and Grand Marquis (and the Town Car?), the Caprice will grab those who bought those by offering a big, comfy, and powerful sedan that offers much better quality and fuel economy than those former Ford offerings. Too bad. Ford could've updated the Panthers with refreshed sheet metal, new interiors, and the new Mustang drivetrains to market a trio of contemporary of sedans. As for law enforcement, the Caprice name has heritage with the police. Those administrators in law enforcement who are responsible for fleet purchasing now were officers and sergeants 15 years ago and many drove the 94-96 9C1 Caprices and they have very fond memories of what they consider the best squad car ever produced. This may lead to strong sales for the new Caprice since it offers many of the features that made the earlier one so successful - a roomy fullsize platform, rear wheel drive, and a powerful small block Chevy V8. Those agencies that have been buying Ford CVPIs are going to have to choose a completely different vehicle whether it's the new FWD/AWD Taurus PI, the Charger, or the Caprice. It's an open market and one of Chevy's advantages is that it will be out first. The Taurus will offer AWD with the base engine, which I'm guessing will be the most popular PI model, although the AWD Explorer PI will likely do very well too. Still, those won't be out until January 2012. The refreshed Dodge will now offer AWD with its police packs so that might help its sales. The Impala will likely lose sales unless it strongly undercuts all of the others in price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 ....As for law enforcement, the Caprice name has heritage with the police. Those administrators in law enforcement who are responsible for fleet purchasing now were officers and sergeants 15 years ago and many drove the 94-96 9C1 Caprices and they have very fond memories of what they consider the best squad car ever produced. This may lead to strong sales for the new Caprice since it offers many of the features that made the earlier one so successful.... No offense T'Cal, but heritage and fond memories my ass....if it is cheaper, it will sell to fleet....that is the only motivator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelsonlu Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 This is a smart move by GM. If they follow through, GM will offer the Caprice with a V6 as standard and V8 as an option. There will be a market for the civilian Caprice and it'll make money for GM, although I don't expect it to be a best seller. With Ford no longer selling the Crown Vic and Grand Marquis (and the Town Car?), the Caprice will grab those who bought those by offering a big, comfy, and powerful sedan that offers much better quality and fuel economy than those former Ford offerings. Too bad. Ford could've updated the Panthers with refreshed sheet metal, new interiors, and the new Mustang drivetrains to market a trio of contemporary of sedans. I find it curious that you're saying that the Caprice will get the market by "offering a big, comfy, and powerful sedan that offers much better quality and fuel economy" than the Panthers, while ignoring that if those are actually the determining factors, the Taurus is going to be more comfy, more powerful, and have better fuel economy than the Caprice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 (edited) In Australia, Caprice is on its last breath at 150/month sales, without exports to USA, it's gonesky.... Caprice sells for AUS$65,000 - export them to the USA for USD$35,000? Sounds just like the G8 debacle, Holden lost $200 million on that deal. This is exactly why Ford isn't jumping in to export Falcons and "Fairlanes" to the USA, the unfavourable currency exchange makes the whole thing into a bad joke even before you ever consider just how big that supposed RWd audience actually is... Edited July 16, 2010 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 In Australia, Caprice is on its last breath at 150/month sales, without exports to USA, it's gonesky.... Caprice sells for AUS$65,000 - export them to the USA for USD$35,000? Sounds just like the G8 debacle, Holden lost $200 million on that deal. This is exactly why Ford isn't jumping in to export Falcons and "Fairlanes" to the USA, the unfavourable currency exchange makes the whole thing into a bad joke even before you ever consider just how big that supposed RWd audience actually is... Same car, different brand. Not sure why GM thinks it'll work for Chevrolet where it failed miserably for Pontiac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Same car, different brand. Not sure why GM thinks it'll work for Chevrolet where it failed miserably for Pontiac. The mistake they made with Pontiac was that they just made 10 louder. The Chevrolet model will go to 11. That's why it will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 The mistake they made with Pontiac was that they just made 10 louder. The Chevrolet model will go to 11. That's why it will work. Seriously though, the only thing going for the Caprice that wasn't going for the G8 is that Chevrolet vehicles typically have a larger customer base. That's really it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Another thing, if they are selling this as a detectives car....its going to stick out like a sore thumb because the only other car it looks like is a Cop car! LOL At least with a PI, it kinda looks like a Taurus, but then again I wouldn't expect to see many 10+ Taurus SES's in the gettos either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 (edited) At least you could almost mistake a Falcon for a Fusion, Caprice looks like nothing else.... It would be less conspicuous to give detectives BMWs.... Edited July 17, 2010 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 At least you could almost mistake a Falcon for a Fusion, Caprice looks like nothing else.... From the front, I agree. From the back, however... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 From the front, I agree. From the back, however... Yeah, I thought about Impala after I made that post, the Impala actually looks a lot like our 2003-2006 VY-VZ Commodore. Makes you wonder what would have been if GM had the guts to replace the old Impala with a Zeta back in 2008 and had also done Caprice and BuicK Park Avenue like they originally planned.... It just looks like GM fell in a heap after they canceled the Zeta car range in North America. Hopefully, Epsilon II starts convert people's opinion of GM's previous FWD garbage products Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
156n3rd Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 I have always felt the current U.S. Impala as an ugly, disproportioned typical Chevrolet. That other car pictured from Oz isn't much better. GM should forget the entry-level status of Chevy. They have a rich history and just calling a car Impala doesn't make sense to me without a Biscayne or a Bel Air. The Malibu, in it's current state, even though it's an old model is still cooler and more attractive as a sedan. I would consider owning one after renting one recently and I abhored Chevies up to now. There is no need for an Impala for citizen's use. The V-8 just doesn't justify it, unless they are making it here. Importing from 13 times zones away is poor in every automotive sense. For a law Enforcement unit, it seems like the Tahoe has been a good pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfeg Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 The only way this has a chance of working is if it is assembled in the US or Canada. Cost wise, assembly and shipping from Australia just blows costs up too much. And many state and local govt agencies have buy North America clauses. (used to be buy America, but the CV required that that be changed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 You can't make this stuff up: GMI is reporting that GM is now also considering importing the LWB Holden Statesman as a Chevrolet as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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