Chevrolet Caprice Returns - As a Police Car

One of the casualties of the loss of the Pontiac brand was the Holden-sourced Pontiac G8. It was a critically acclaimed vehicle and sales began to pick up significantly once the brand's cut was announced.

When asked about the possibility of a the G8 being sold as a Chevrolet, GM's CEO Fritz Henderson said that the reason was because he "doesn't like rebadges." Besides that comment not making sense for a variety of reasons, it was discouraging to hear that such a great product would not be sold here.

Bob Lutz followed Fritz Henderson's comments by saying what everyone else thought - that it was "too good to waste." After getting everyone's hopes up with those comments, he responded soon after with “upon further review and careful study, we simply cannot make a business case for such a program. Not in today’s market, in this economy, and with fuel regulations what they are and will be.”

The lesson learned there is that having conflicting messages from two different "in the know" GM executives isn't a good idea. That's the last we've heard about any Holden-sourced products for the United States, and brings us to where we are now.

In what has to be the ultimate twisting of the knife for enthusiasts, the Holden Statesman (a different vehicle from the Commodore/G8) is being brought over to the United States for police duty as the Chevrolet Caprice.

It definitely makes smart business sense - it will help keep export production up at Holden's Australian factories, and should provide a good profit margin with all of the expensive equipment required on a law enforcement vehicle.

There has been significant changes to the Caprice to handle law enforcement duty. The Caprice is powered by a 6.0-liter V8 making 355 horsepower and 385 lb-ft of torque.

Coolers for the oil, transmission and power steering have been put in, along with the required upgrades to suspension and brakes that round out the changes to essential components.

The police market is ripe for a new entrant and competitor to the long-standing Ford Crown Victoria. It's sad to see such an excellent product not being able to be purchased by civilians though. At least give some RWD Holden product GM. A luxury brand would offer the best opportunity for profit potential. Buick or Cadillac, take your pick which one GM!