Holden Caprices as US Cop Cruisers

[Fairlane]

http://www.carsales.com.au/news/2009...-caprice-16924

Deal sounds done and dusted. Here is some of the article

Holden is on the brink of announcing its biggest-ever customer order. Long rumoured, the deal to sell Holden-built Chev badged cars to US police forces is essentially a done deal. In fact, it's so close to done that Holden chief Alan Batey was in Denver today to press the flesh with the boys in blue. In an effort to secure its share of the US police car market, the Aussie carmaker and its Chairman trekked to Denver and the world's biggest police exhibition IAPC (International Association of Police Chiefs Conference) to unveil a special edition of its Gulf States WM-based Caprice sedan -- complete with gun rack and prisoner barrier. And while Holden execs in Australia are playing their cards close to their chests (there will be a waterdown announcement tomorrow) we can exclusively report that the deal is done. Holden-built police cars will be on the beat Stateside by early 2011. As noted above, the new car will be sold in North America as a Chevrolet with the aim of taking a large slice of the 70,000 police sedan sales each year. Indeed, if the car proves popular with forces across the USA, Holden could end up selling more sedans to North America as police cars than it sells sedans in total in Australia.

And good on them more Aussie cars is only a good thing, and perhaps FoMoCo will see the error of their ways and give GRWD back to the boys at Broadmeadows.

Here is some more linkage
http://www.themotorreport.com.au/440...cle-confirmed/

[BLDNUT01]

another story on go auto
http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25764600253D2B
but doesnt look too bad

[S/P BLUTE]

I do hope they are mechanicaly minded they'll have there hands full with that piece of crap. :

[b2tf]

Originally Posted by S/P BLUTE

I do hope they are mechanicaly minded they'll have there hands full with that piece of crap. :

No worse than your ute.

Good on them, this means more jobs in Australia.

[XR6_190]

More good news for the Aussie Motoring industry, just thin, now every time we watch american cop shows, we can remember that the cop cars were built in OZ.

[snappy]

Im a little bit dissapointed because its like the opposition just kicked the winning goal to the grand final .
But the main thing is its a win to the aussie auto industry i imagine it will provide lots of jobs 30,000 caprices they will have there hand full an good on them to .

I wonder if a few officers will take the chev badge off and place a holden badge there

[Green X]

And where is Ford Aus with the Falcon XR6 Turbo, they should be flogging that gem to the US cops!!!

Interesting, How the USA are pushing V8 Cop cars and we are trying to get rid of V8's and even the 6T's Cop cars!!.

anyway Good on Holden, no matter what you think of there product at least they are game enough to push it internationally!!

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by XR6_190

More good news for the Aussie Motoring industry, just thin, now every time we watch american cop shows, we can remember that the cop cars were built in OZ.

Except the only decent one is Worlds Wildest Police Chases on Fox 8 and they only seem to show footage up to 1999/2000.

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by S/P BLUTE

I do hope they are mechanicaly minded they'll have there hands full with that piece of crap. :

In what way? Is there a high failure rate of Caprices?

[snappy]

Originally Posted by Rodp

In what way? Is there a high failure rate of Caprices?

Lots of electrical gremlins . Some lengthy theads on ls1 about them

[Smoke Pursuit]

Will this thing be a 6 litre? or V6?

Shame they couldnt even put stocko alloys on.. Steel rims went out int he 70's.. And why pick the caprice over the commodore??

Either way this is great for Holden and aussie jobs, but could also be a nail in the coffin for Ford with the extra development cash Holden will now have with 30,000 units a year!

[Noddy]

I'm not suggesting their are major problems with this model its just a thread i remember reading on ls1.
http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/showthre...t=wm+statesman

[snappy]

Caprice was picked over the commodore because the size difference , they thought the commodore was to small .

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by Noddy

I'm not suggesting their are major problems with this model its just a thread i remember reading on ls1.
http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/showthre...t=wm+statesman

I dont think the export one will have that many issues, as i would say it will be based on the Omega + all the ohter electric in it..

The WM isnt as bad as that thread makes it out to be!

[CHOOK N CAROL]

Makes sense, '' The cars a PIG''.

[snappy]

Originally Posted by bfiipursuit

I dont think the export one will have that many issues, as i would say it will be based on the Omega + all the ohter electric in it..

The WM isnt as bad as that thread makes it out to be!

I dont think they will have many issues either , i bet they have them sorted out by now , and the cop car probly is wired up completly different.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Well we have a 2006 VE Calais V8 and while we have had a few small niggles its no worse then any of the Falcons we have had.. Overall its all been pretty good minus a few small issues!

[Windsor220]

Great. Now we have to listen to the tripe about how Ford Aus is going down the toilet because they dont have an export program. Its been a years break from the media now its going to be straight back into the Ford bashing.

[CHOOK N CAROL]

is this FORD forums or im a half sucked holden pasifier forum? GO FORD or GO HOME!!

[chrapladm]

I think its great for Australian jobs.

I do find it kind of amusing though that the price of the car for the USA will be ATLEAST half what it would cost here if it sells. Never understood that. Well I do, I just cant believe it.

I would assume they would use the V6 for the engine plant. But who knows.

Australia's trying to get rid of the V8 but they keep making bigger ones. The V8 for the states will never be gone. They are to many big vehicles that need them. Although I cant wait till Chevy comes out with the 4.5l Diesel for the smaller pickups.(1500)

Maybe someday they will faze out the gasser and finally go with the diesel BUt probably not any time soon.

When will Australia get E-85 fuel or ULSD?

[Bossxr8]

Holden are only putting the car up for tender, its up to the police forces wether they want it or not. It could only be a couple of thousand cars or more. The way the media will portray it will be that the deal is already done and every US Police force will buy them. :

[ebxr8240]

Well they had to get rid of them some how!!
Ford in the past put stripes on and sold them as Cobra's..
One way to pay back the Gov??
Oh hang on the Gov owns them !!!

[Bluehoon]

If the commodore is built in Australia and shipped to the states, good for us. if it's built in US and kept in the US, bad...

If quantity is there it would be more economical to build them locally, bad for Australia....

[MAD]

I wonder if they will be fitted with AFM

[XplosiveR6]

Originally Posted by Bluehoon

If the commodore is built in Australia and shipped to the states, good for us. if it's built in US and kept in the US, bad...

If quantity is there it would be more economical to build them locally, bad for Australia....

Exactly, and if they make the cop cars in the states, i would imagine holden will stop producing the statesman here and import them from the states as our market is shrinking everyday for lwb barges.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by XCPWSF

Except the only decent one is Worlds Wildest Police Chases on Fox 8 and they only seem to show footage up to 1999/2000.

'Cops' is fairly current.

[ILLaViTaR]

Never liked the VE, front end looks like a barina.

[GK]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Holden are only putting the car up for tender, its up to the police forces wether they want it or not. It could only be a couple of thousand cars or more. The way the media will portray it will be that the deal is already done and every US Police force will buy them. :

Or that holden have orders for 1,000,000 cars already! LOL!

Originally Posted by Windsor220

Great. Now we have to listen to the tripe about how Ford Aus is going down the toilet because they dont have an export program.

Yep, more tripe to be served up. Mr Gover will be the MasterChef!

GK

[S/P BLUTE]

Originally Posted by Rodp

In what way? Is there a high failure rate of Caprices?

From my experience had it one year replaced a blown cat converter constant flat battery ocasionaly ran on 8 cylinders auto trany constantly hunting for the right gear more rattles than a two year old unexplained diff rattle i can go on and on ...............but the Bose stereo was great..........
from my experience the Ford product is far better ..............but thats just my opinion what would i know :

[OzJavelin]

I'd have doubts this will happen. LAPD and other large police forces in the USA have continued with the Crown Vic not because it was such a great car but because of economies of scale. They have so many of them because they've been in production so long, that when they get a new one it's basically identical to the 5yo one they've decommissioned so they just pull out all the cop-specific gear (radio gear, cages, lightbars, etc) and put it in the new one. If they switch to Holdens (or Dodge Chargers, etc) then they have to re-engineer all that stuff to fit. Once it it done the first time it's OK, but it's just getting over that first round of conversions and tooling changes .. and no one wants to pay for that.