mmarshall

A number of you here on CAR CHAT liked the now-defunct Holden-designed Pontiac G8, which, of course, went out with the Pontiac division. The basic platform (to no one's surprise) forms the basis for a new RWD Chevy Caprice. Right now, with its standard police/law-enforcement equipment, it is targeted only for cops, but hints of a next-generation civilian version are in the works.

(The article doesn't say it, but this basic platform is also sold in China as a large RWD Buick)

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...pv-test-review

When, in the throes of bankruptcy, GM ditched its Pontiac brand, the G8 sedan went with it. The good news: That estimable car came back. The bad news: It’s only for cops.

The ’12 Caprice PPV (Police Patrol Vehicle) powerslides into an era of rare upheaval in the cop-car business. Ford’s Crown Victoria, the body-on-frame stalwart of taxicab and police-car duty, has ascended to that great 24-hour garage in the sky, providing new and exciting fleet-sales opportunities for such unconventional cherry tops as the front-drive Impala. The Caprice (along with the Dodge Charger Police Pursuit Vehicle) represents the segment’s recidivist tendencies: big V-8s up front, powered rear wheels. Hell, the Caprice even has optional wheel covers that’ll fly off during chases.

The pinched front end, with its anachronistically small grille, opposes a rear that steals its horizontal theme from the current Impala. Both revised end caps are designed to provide higher vagrant clearance. But see the car in silhouette and you’ll quickly make out the G8’s bone structure through the Caprice’s sheet steel.



It gets a 3.7-inch stretch between its axles, which gives scofflaws plenty of room to luxuriate—at 112 cubic feet, it’s bigger inside than either the Ford Taurus–based Interceptor or the Charger cop cars. And even though it employs a unibody rather than the easy-fixing construction of the Crown Vic, fleet managers will love concessions to swapability such as the bolted rather than welded front crossmember.

We drove the Detective model, with its cloth seats, as opposed to the Patrol model, rendered in fluid-resistant vinyl. Both are available with either a 301-hp version of GM’s 3.6-liter, direct-injected V-6 or (for no extra charge) the G8 GT’s 355-hp, 6.0-liter OHV V-8. A six-speed automatic, installed in both, has a gear-holding sport—nay, pursuit—mode, just like the G8 did.

Because it wore the more basic Detective trim, our press car didn’t have any cool Five-O stuff on it—no partition grate, no lights, and, critically, no rifle holder—but evidence of  the cabin’s copification is everywhere. The front seats are scalloped around the love handles to accommodate utility belts, and the Patrol model has an offset shift lever to clear monitors and the like. An optional auxiliary battery can supplement the standard 700-CCA (cold-cranking amps) unit to help keep lights, computers, and recreational tasers juiced up. The entire driver zone, with its cruller-proof plastic steering wheel and just-the-facts-ma’am AM/FM/CD stereo, feels like a single, vast injection-molded piece, a stark but utilitarian carrier for police-communication equipment. Unfortunately, though, the rear is so roomy and the tumblehome so slight that cops will really have to work to slam a perp’s head into the roof. Here’s hoping that the partition will facilitate this important aspect of police work.



A moment behind the wheel is enough to recognize this as the car born in Australia as a Holden and sent here as the last great Pontiac. The leather-lined cabin may be gone, but what we loved about it before is still here. The ergonomic relationships—pedals, wheel, minor controls—are first-rate, and visibility out is quite good despite the cricket bats posing as A-pillars. Its real appeal, though, is its dynamic integrity, its virtuous and controllable rear-wheel-drive behavior, its quiet and stiff structure. The steering is linear and uncorrupted by power; the heavy-duty brakes are stout and fade-free (even if the cop tires conspire to keep stopping distances at 175 feet); and the spring-stiffened Caprice still loves to get its long wheelbase sideways.

In acceleration tests, the PPV mirrors the G8 GT very closely. It’s off by just a tenth of a second to 60 mph and in the quarter-mile, where it posts 5.3 and 13.9 at 103 mph, respectively. In braking, the Pontiac, shod with Bridgestone Potenza RE050As, beat the PPV  by a significant 12 feet from 70 mph, even though lateral grip is equivalent at 0.84 g. So, if you were to drive, say, a *Mustang V-6, a Caprice might take you at the line, but you would beat it through corners. This information may prove either helpful or extremely ruinous.

Still, you might wonder why we’re reviewing a car most of us will experience only from the back seat. It’s because this cruiser is a stalking-horse for Chevy’s next rear-wheel-drive sedan, which will wear civilian duds. It will be based on a new version of the Caprice’s Zeta platform, and it will be called Super* Sport. It will also be the inspiration for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup racer.  And, irony of ironies, there will be a cop version, too.

Dawa

iTrader: (5)

'gm ditched its pontiac brand.' interesting. i hadnt heard that yet.

i liked the G8, it was one of the very very few pontiacs i found visually appealing.
definitely not a fan of chevy's rendition of it. but then again Cop cars arent supposed to look good.

and the car might only be available to LE, but eventually they will be resold to civilains.

IS350jet

Although the Holden forms a great foundation for a police car, it will be, still, more tax dollars thrown down the drain. See, because it's from Australia, along with it comes seriously outrageous prices for parts and service. I can see local departments dumping these things quickly because of their astronomical maintenance costs, and cop cars require substantial maintenance.

rkyat

Weren't the rumors of that Chevy SS model suppose to be similar to this Caprice, but for public use.

Marzabella

With the exception of panels and other dress, most of the Caprice is actually shipped to Australia from America, so most of the maintenance parts are available as supplied to other GM models. We have been told that only the initial purchase price is of the Caprice is relatively high there and running cost are comparable to the other police duty vehicles (I believe the Taurus and a chrysler) and this only due to the exceptionally high value of the AUD vs USD lately. Heck, you guys were getting the G8 cheaper than we were getting its twin the Commodore.

Gossip here is the chev SS model is a commodore clone, while the PPV is a dressed down statesman (essentially a LWB high spec commodore) clone.

mmarshall

Well, the taxpayers, of course, usually foot the bill for police-car maintenance/repair (when not covered by insurance), at least for public police departments. But, when the G8 and GTO (which were both Holden products) were sold in America, were parts and service for them really that expensive? From what I remember, I don't think so.

FrankReynoldsCPA

I would think that the Holden vehicles are really using GM parts, and not the other way around. The 6.0 V8 is a GM motor.

trukn1

I think I have only seen one dealer, in my travels, with this car herein the states (Alabama IIRC). IMO, it is a wierd looking car and the dimensions are just way different from anything I have seen. I did have to do a double take to make sure it was what I was seeing, but no doubt it was here in the states a few months ago when I sighted it on a dealers car lot. Maybe it gets better with the police markings over it, but as a civilian vehicle,, wasn't feeling it.

DustinV

Head over to your local junkyard (or in rare cases a classic car dealership) and buy a real Caprice Classic for little money!

IS350jet

GM parts, yes, but any part exclusive to the G8/GTO is going to be outrageously priced. I've seen wiper blades from GM priced out at $80 each. Drive belt? $180. Alternator? $2,000. Starter? $1,600. Used transmissions, if you can find them are $4,000. I loved the G8 but in a million years, I would never buy one. The regal/Insignia, I'm afraid, is going down the same road.

mmarshall

Except for the old-school carburator, breaker-point ignition, and manual-grease chassis, the 1967 Caprice, IMO, was the best one of all. I remember it well.

DustinV

Those are nice. I prefer the '67 Impala 4-door, though. Those were the days...