2011 Chevrolet Caprice Police Car Revealed: Based on Australian Holden Caprice, LWB Version of Pontiac G8

Looks like Bob Lutz was right after all when back in July he said that the Pontiac G8 would live on as the Chevrolet Caprice - even though shortly after he hastily took his words back. Apparently, what Lutz meant to say was that the G8 would live on as a law enforcement car as GM revealed the all-new Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV) at the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police convention, in Denver, Colorado.
Set to join the ranks of law enforcement departments across North America in 2011, the new Caprice is essentially a remasked version of the Australian Holden Caprice and Statesman models which in turn are more luxurious, long wheelbase versions of the Holden Commodore and its American counterpart, the Pontiac G8 that will soon be discontinued.
And just to confuse you a bit more, the Holden Caprice and its Statesman twin are already sold in the Middle East as the Chevrolet Caprice.
As with the Commodore and the G8, the Chevrolet Caprice PPV is based on GM's Zeta RWD platform that also underpins the new Chevy Camaro. It uses the longest wheelbase of the architecture that measures 118.5 inches (3,010 mm) in length along with a four-wheel independent suspension
At launch, the Chevy Caprice PPV will be offered exclusively with a GM 6.0-liter V8 with fuel-saving Active Fuel Management technology and E85 capability but GM said that in the 2012 model year, a smaller displacement V6 engine will also be offered.
The Caprice PPV's V8 churns out an estimated 355 horsepower (265 kW) and 384 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission that is specially calibrated for police duty. The Detroit automaker said that the Caprice V8 can sprint from zero to 60mph (96km/h) in under 6.0 seconds.
Additional police car-specific powertrain and vehicle system features include: a high-output alternator, engine oil, transmission and power steering coolers, 18-inch steel wheels with bolt-on center caps, larger four-wheel disc brakes with heavy-duty brake pads, heavy-duty suspension components, police-calibrated stability control system and driver information center in the instrument cluster with selectable speed tracking feature.
According to GM, the Caprice PPV can also be equipped with special equipment packages such as spotlights; lockouts for the power windows and locks; and an "undercover" street-appearance package (9C3).
"The new Chevrolet Caprice police car is the right tool at the right time for law enforcement," said Jim Campbell, general manager for GM Fleet and Commercial Operations. "We asked for a lot of feedback from our police customers, which helped us develop a vehicle that is superior to the Crown Victoria in key areas."
General Motors pointed out that the new Caprice PPV will not replace the Chevy Impala that will continue to offered in police outfit along with the Tahoe.

The Folden: New Zealanders Create Half Holden HQ, Half Ford Mustang Mechanical Frankenstein

Is it a Holden? Is it a Ford? Well, according to the folks from the New Zealand music radio station, 'The Rock', neither. They say it's a Folden and it was born from the unholy -or so to speak- union of a Holden HQ and a 1969 Ford Mustang.
The culprits are The Rock's Drive show announcers, Robert Taylor and Jono Pryor, who claim that they created the Folden because they were "fed up with the ongoing battle between their listeners over who is mightier - Ford or Holden."
Their goal was to fuse the rear 3/4s of a 1970's Holden HQ sedan with the front-end of a 1969 Ford Mustang with power being provided by 302 cubic inch V8 Ford engine.
After 3 months and more than 800 man hours involving a couple of dozen of businesses, and not to mention a total cost ranging somewhere between NZD$85,000 to $95,000 (about US$62,000 to $69,500), the project was finally completed.
Other treats include one-off Chip Foose 20-inch alloy wheels, a gun metal gray paint job with orange racing stripes, a custom interior fully rebuilt, high-end audio system, and last but certainly not least, a cool badge that puts the Mustang horse and Holden lion together.
And what now? New Zealanders have the chance to bid for the Folden as the car is being auctioned on "Trademe" with proceeds to be donated to the NZ Mental Health Foundation for Out Of The Blue, an organization set up to help combat depression in men.
At the time the article was written, the highest bid on the website was NZ$62,700 or close to US$45,800 at today's exchange rates. The auction will end on May 6, 2010.

Links / Source: The Rock & Trademe

Holden to test Brazilian market with limited edition Chevrolet Omega Fittipaldi

Oh, would you look at that? GM will indeed be making some of its left-hand drive Holden conversion money back after all! Unfortunately, it's not doing anything other than cop cars in the States, just yet. Brazil, on the other hand, will be getting its own Holden Commodore Series II wearing the Omega nameplate. This move marks the return of Holden exports to Brazil, which ran between 1998 with the VT-based Chevrolet Omega and 2008.
GM says the Brazilian-market Commodore will be offered with the 3.6-liter SIDI V6 that can run on fuels with up to 25% ethanol.
Initially, Holden will re-test those zesty South American waters by exporting a scant 600 units under the guise of an "Omega Fittipaldi" limited edition, in honor of Brazilian racing champion Emerson Fittipaldi. As an extra bonus, this year marks the 40th anniversary of Fittipaldi's first Formula One win.
Mike Devereux, Holden chairman and managing director, seems to be very happy with the proposition of exporting to and learning from the South America auto market:
"We're really pleased to work with Chevrolet Brazil and to rebuild targeted export programs which add value to Holden's domestic business...Holden's Chevrolet Omega program for Brazil shows that niche export opportunities are beginning to emerge as we recover from the challenges of the global financial crisis."
"Our work with Chevrolet Brazil over the past decade has taught us a great deal about the potential of bio-ethanol and the flex-fuel technology needed to make our locally-produced engines E85 compatible. Those lessons have allowed us to develop cars for local and domestic markets capable of running on varying ethanol blends ranging from E10 all the way to E85 as well as how to work with fuel retailers to make bio-ethanol available commercially."
Expect more official details on the Omega Fittipaldi and Holden's specialty export program when the car makes its first public appearance at the International São Paulo Auto Show in October.

By Phil Alex

Cruze Hatchback: The Looker that Holden Designed and our Artist's Impression of the Production model

The Cruze sedan has been on sale in other markets for a while now. With it finally coming to the States, GM hopes to keep what momentum it has going by debuting the Holden-designed Cruze hatchback in Paris (full details in our previous post). A production version of the damn-fine hatchback is just around the bend, so it's no surprise that Holden will also get its own sleek 5-door Cruze.
Look no further than right above (and below for a larger image) for what a Holden Cruze Hatchback should look like. Holden's Cruze simply gets a different nose, badges, and right-hand drive to make it stand out from its Chevrolet brethren, meaning this pic we photoshopped (pound it down) should be fairly spot-on.
The Cruze Hatchback show car, designed and built by Holden at its Port Melbourne design studio, is the result of a year's worth of work using input from GM designers worldwide.
Richard Ferlazzo, Holden's chief designer, says, "Our brief was to create an alternative body style to the traditional sedan that retained the same dynamic proportions that has made Cruze such a success around the world. We are very proud of the result which will be tailored further for the Australian market and given an appearance consistent with the rest of the Holden portfolio next year."
Thankfully, this one looks so good and so production ready that GM would be hard-pressed to screw it up as much as they did the Orlando MPV.

By Phil Alex

(Photoshop: Carscoop)

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Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback Show Car