No Chevy Caprice for North America Say Holden Sources

Colum Wood
by Colum Wood

We recently reported on rumors that Chevrolet is planning to bring back the Caprice full-sized sedan, based on the RWD Holden Statesman. This, however, is being denied by the folks at Holden, with Emily Perry, the Australian automaker’s communications director, commenting that “We have no plans to export that vehicle as a civilian car at this stage.”

GM had already announced a police interceptor based on the Statesman and sold as a Caprice to police agencies in North America, and recently even added the Caprice PPV (Police Patrol Vehicle) Detective Package to the list.

Interestingly, Perry wasn’t as unequivocal when it came to the question of the Commodore returning to the U.S. (sold in North America as the Pontiac G8 from 2008-09). Former Holden marketing director Mark Reuss had commented in the past that the company was looking for ways to salvage something from the G8 program and it has been suggested that GM may be looking to build a small prestige brand of RWD cars within the larger Chevy brand, much like what Hyundai has done with the Genesis.

The entire return of the G8/Commodore seems extremely unlikely however, with an all new platform due out in 2012, meaning that GM would have to act soon in bringing a rear-drive Holden back to the U.S., before the architecture becomes obsolete.

[Source: Carpoint]

Colum Wood
Colum Wood

With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.

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  • Doozle Doozle on May 09, 2012

    If that's the best that GM can come up with for full size car then I say there's best isn't good enough. How plain generic cars have become, hey lets make cars as aerodynamic & round as possible, oh boy. Things is middle AMerica is all bummed that they can't get one of these. Car for the most part have lost all of their personal identity & individualism the past few decades. I really don't care if or when this generation of Caprice ever shows up on US shores. Boring, bland and dull what more could anyone ask for from GM?

  • Local Boy Local Boy on Jul 03, 2012

    From what I hear give the patrol divsions their field proven Dodge Chargers with the column gear selector. Console gear selectors interfer with the mounting of police 2-way radio communications equipment and data terminals. Engine of choice is the 5.7liter hemi.

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