Forums » Off-topic discussion » I'm no Chevy guy, but this is tempting... 1 2

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  June 27, 2011 6:50 p.m. N Sperlo HalfDork

  linkarooni

  Chevy dealer will sell you a new Caprice police car Justin Hyde — When Chevrolet announced last year it would import the Australian-built Chevy Caprice sedan as police-only fleet car, enthusiasts begged for a civilian version to no avail. Now one Maryland dealer says it will buck GM and sell 13 Caprices to the public. UPDATE: It's legit — but not for long. In its advertising touting the models, Criswell Chevrolet of Gaithersburg, Md., touts the car's similarity to the cancelled Pontiac G8, its 355-hp V8 and its performance in Michigan State Police tests. The dealer has specially outfitted 13 detective sedans with additional features for public consumption, such as power windows and power seats. The list prices run from $31,000 to $37,000 — not a bad price considering GM's only other rear-wheel-drive, V8-powered sedan is the $67,000 Cadillac CTS-V. Full size While GM has said it was strictly limiting the Caprice only to law enforcement agencies, it's not clear what would keep Criswell or another dealer from selling them to the public. GM has to certify the Caprice to all U.S. standards of crashworthiness, pollution and fuel efficiency, just as it does with the Chevy Captiva, the old Saturn Vue it sells only to rental fleets. But the Caprice isn't listed in government databases for fuel economy ratings and crash tests; the efficiency data in particular is required to be displayed on window stickers. We've got calls into GM and the dealer to see how this is possible, but 13 lucky buyers might be the envy of their local cop shops — or more if other dealers can pull the same trick. UPDATED: Criswell's sale is legit thanks to a sharp-eyed reading of contracts, and an oversight by GM. The Caprice is the first vehicle GM has sold in decades that's supposed to be limited exclusively to police departments. But GM didn't explicitly say in the Caprice sales contracts with its dealers that the car could only be sold to law enforcement agencies. That means Criswell — or any other dealer with a Caprice on its lot today — is free to sell them to whomever has the money. Unfortunately for Caprice fans, Criswell's sale has made GM aware of its mistake, and all future contracts will carry GM's public sale ban. A few lucky Caprice fans will be able to buy one new; the rest will have to wait a year or two for a high-mileage version to cross an auction block. Thanks to adeft!

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  June 27, 2011 7:00 p.m. Salanis SuperDork

  So, in short: "Strong demand for a new GM model causes GM to tell dealers not to sell those cars."

  Follow my journeys in beer and brewing: http://brewercameron.wordpress.com

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  June 27, 2011 7:04 p.m. AquaHusky Reader

  Salanis wrote: So, in short: "Strong demand for a new GM model causes GM to tell dealers not to sell those cars."

  Sounds about like GM, doesn't it?

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  June 27, 2011 7:14 p.m. N Sperlo HalfDork

  The Taurus had a better track time anyway and it was pretty much a SHO.

  - N. Sperlo -:-:- "Never take life seriously. No one ever gets out alive anyway." ~ ~ A strong tail wind can't hurt either...~~ K0HOF

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  June 27, 2011 7:16 p.m. mrhappy Reader

  Those "Lucky 13" could bring big bucks.

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  June 27, 2011 9:50 p.m. Hal Dork

  Sounds like Montgomery County's financial problems have given some people a chance to get a rare vehicle.

  2010 Transit Connect XLT 2001 Ford Focus with a little help from Powerworks

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  June 27, 2011 10:09 p.m. MitchellC Dork

  I don't mind. Whenever I see one, I will know that I should stop doing whatever it is that I'm doing wrong.

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  June 27, 2011 11:58 p.m. mad_machine SuperDork

  so lets see.. they spent all the money to get the car through crash testing and emissions.. and then limit it's sales to police only... and there is a demand from the public..

  And people wonder why GM almost went belly up

  Be careful of your words, for someone will agree with them. Be careful of your conduct, for someone will imitate it. -Leih Tsu

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  June 28, 2011 12:02 a.m. gamby SuperDork

  mrhappy wrote: Those "Lucky 13" could bring big bucks.

  Yep, I'd buy it and stick it in storage.

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  June 28, 2011 1:02 a.m. fasted58 HalfDork

  Are they somehow afraid in the wrong hands it'll outrun the 5-0 ?

  A good stock car mechanic could tweak it so.... and a driver named Larry

  
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  June 28, 2011 1:29 a.m. Luke SuperDork

  You guys do police cars with style.

  

  Looks much cooler than:

  

  "Just as a proverb says, one should always ny escort prepare for a rainy day." - GRM canoe

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  June 28, 2011 3:17 a.m. novaderrik Dork

  Luke wrote: You guys do police cars with style. Looks much cooler than:

  i bet our sirens sound cooler, too..

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  June 28, 2011 3:40 a.m. Travis_K SuperDork

  It makes sense, GM is very careful to keep all the cars people actually would want to buy out of the hands of the public, and and to cost cut new models to the point of being complete garbage, then get it right the last year before they quit making them.

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  June 28, 2011 6:14 a.m. bravenrace SuperDork

  Travis_K wrote: It makes sense, GM is very careful to keep all the cars people actually would want to buy out of the hands of the public, and and to cost cut new models to the point of being complete garbage, then get it right the last year before they quit making them.

  So painfully true.

  I'm just a cheapskate playing a rich man's game...

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  June 28, 2011 9:22 a.m. iceracer Dork

  Couldn't have said it better.

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  June 28, 2011 9:28 a.m. Bobzilla Dork

  Because this is a family oriented forum I cannot type exactly what I would do to own one of these. Just understand it's extreme.

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  June 28, 2011 9:32 a.m. pinchvalve SuperDork

  Chevy isn't keeping the car from you, it is simply saying that you have to be a cop to get one. They want you to have a job before you can have a car, sounds like they are finally figuring out the way to sell cars after all!

  "Don't Sweat the Petty Things." Yes, and Don't Pet the Sweaty Things.

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  June 28, 2011 10:05 a.m. alfadriver SuperDork

  mad_machine wrote: so lets see.. they spent all the money to get the car through crash testing and emissions.. and then limit it's sales to police only... and there is a demand from the public.. And people wonder why GM almost went belly up

  did the G8/GTO ever sell enough to justify importing them?
  

  Demand is very relative. I just never saw demand high enough for GM to import them for public consumption. Police sales tend to be different- being selling to a government entity and whatnot.

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  June 28, 2011 10:14 a.m. Ranger50 Dork

  Too bad the market wants a similar car, but you need to get it in price people can afford without a second mortgage. Look at the G8, it was 4 door with a V8. It was just out of the world priced and nearly every one is saddled with a craptastic autotragic. Same thing in the 300/Charger lines.

  "Never trust an intelligent man with no money to play fair."

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  June 28, 2011 10:36 a.m. Per Schroeder Technical Editor/Advertising Director

  Semi OT:
  

  I keep seeing Cruze's and thinking, "wow, that's a good looking car." I don't think I've said that very often in regards to GM products.

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  June 28, 2011 11:30 a.m. Salanis SuperDork

  Yeah, I got a Cruze as a rental car a couple weeks ago. Aside from a bit more power steering assist than my preference (which is basically anything other than a BMW or Miata) it was an all around nice car. Good interior, nice ride, healthy power. It got good gas mileage too.

  Follow my journeys in beer and brewing: http://brewercameron.wordpress.com

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  June 28, 2011 12:45 p.m. MitchellC Dork

  novaderrik wrote:

  Luke wrote: You guys do police cars with style. Looks much cooler than:

  i bet our sirens sound cooler, too..

  I would prefer that cops wore silly hats and drove dorky cars. Their motto is along the lines of "to protect and serve," but badass looking Chargers with push-bars imply "to intimidate and destroy."

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  June 28, 2011 1:47 p.m. familytruckster New Reader

  Most dealers that sell to fleets have cars that have damage that the fleet rejects, usually little barely noticeable scratches and dents. They sell them to the public. I know of a few people that bought P71's like that.

  So, the article is an ad for the dealers reject cars.

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  June 28, 2011 4:53 p.m. mad_machine SuperDork

  I think a lot of the problem with the GTO was the name. I seem to recall a LOT of purists being up in arms about them "Defiling" the GTO name with the Holden Import.

  It put a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths.. which is a shame, it was a very nice car.. a very FAST nice car

  Be careful of your words, for someone will agree with them. Be careful of your conduct, for someone will imitate it. -Leih Tsu

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  June 28, 2011 5:30 p.m. Javelin SuperDork

  mad_machine wrote: I think a lot of the problem with the GTO was the name. I seem to recall a LOT of purists being up in arms about them "Defiling" the GTO name with the Holden Import. It put a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths.. which is a shame, it was a very nice car.. a very FAST nice car

  Which was an absolutely idiotic argument. The original GTO was a big engine in a plebian midsize car with no adornments, just raw power and understated looks. The GTO name was sullied by the 1973 version, which I'm pretty sure doubled as an aircraft carrier during the Falkland War, and the 1974 which was a Nova with a Shaker.

  I never freaking got that. It's OK for the Charger to be a FWD 4-banger POS and then an old-ass Mercedes with 4 doors and an auto only, but the GTO comes out as a red-blooded, Corvette-motored RWD 2-door sport coupe with a stick and people hated it because it wasn't flashy?

  Sorry, that reasoning always boiled my blood.

  Michael Pinto - 73 AMC Javelin 360 / GoKart / 86 944 Sport / 01 Grand Prix GT / 06 Mazda5 M5

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