First of all, I didn't get an "official" tester car or interviews as planned since there's alot bigger journalistic fish from around the world intrested in the VE which I'm not (and I'm wondering if some of my not-quite-for-public-consumption posts didn't help), but there's other "unofficial" ways of doing things.

Just 1st impressions.

From a distance, the Commodore's wheel bulges look almost as if they were added on. They "make" the car. These rides are very attractive, will stand out amoung other sedans in the US.

But the Caprice..... to borrow a new term, is one sick ride!!

Picture a car with virturall no front overhang, an angular wedge shape, a wheelbase that looks like it goes on for ever, and alot of rear overhang. Kind of like an aftermath of going far too fast in a far too powerful wind tunnel. The front has a sort of neo-futuristic Cadillac flavor to it. It would make an absolutely bad Buick because it isn't low keyed. But it would make one mindblowing Chevy and would even make a decent Cadillac. I don't see it fitting in with Pontiac.

If there was ever a design that has the impact the Chrysler 300 did, this is the car. This sounds worn and overused, but pictures don't do this car justice.

Trust me, it's by no means a dull or mundane design!

 

Pics?

 

Truth. GM hype is too cheap and hollow anymore to be taken at face value.

 

Guy, any word on where this Caprice fits in GMNA in terms of which division will most likely get it?

 

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/2671/caprice01dk6.jpg

http://picsorban.com/upload/wm_caprice_062%20small.jpg

http://picsorban.com/upload/wm_caprice_069%20small.jpg (I thought the side marker lights are kinda neat)

Interior: http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/9840/caprice04ja1.jpg

 

I dunno...kinda put me to mind of the departed Lincoln LS.

Hopefully pics don't do it justice, I'm not visually overwhelmed. The IP culster is however very attractive and unique.

 

I know. In pictures it looks underwhelming. As you say, like an LS.

But when you see it in person...... lets just say, you won't miss it.

 

I hope so...the faith is seriously wavering here......

 

I like it. Looks classy.
Not bland but not over the top either (maybe it's just the side vents and nice profile). Of course, I also like the Lincoln LS.

 

Looks like an impala to me, I'll wait until I see it in person to make a judgement on it.

 

I'll get a real world picture of one and post it when I get back.

After seeing them in the flesh, and then looking at those pictures Wilson posted, I gotta say those pictures are awful.

Remember when the CTS first appeared in pictures and how the number one response to it's styling was "WTF!" & , yet as people saw it on the streets in the flesh, everyone was in awe?

Same thing.

 

The styling is pretty conservative, but it looks extremely well executed when compared to much of GM's current product line.

I've said this before, but the biggest problem with this car is going to be the Buick badge they stick on it. If it were (say) an Audi, people would be blown away.

 

GuionM isn't on GM's payroll.

 

hmm where have i seen this rear before



oh yeah

 

Were that car available here now, as a Caprice/Imapla it would be one classy B-body. IMO it would make for the best looking full size Chevy in quite some time.

Despite what the Impy SS redo did for the last B car, it was still a droopy design - even more so with original rear wheel cutouts. It's still really kinda hard to believe what the Impala treatment did for that car, given that there really wasn't that much of a visual difference between the Impy and the Caprice.

But back to the topic - if those cars look better in the flesh and as it is, I do think they look pretty darn sweet in the pics that I have seen - then I'm smitten. I do still prefer the smaller VE cars though. The wait for these cars and/or home-grown cars derrived from that platform to be available here gets increasingly painfull...