Or will it be abit of a sales turkey like the GTO/G8?

 

Current version is too bland to be a hot seller. But, it doesn't have to be a hot seller to be profitable.

 

It would sell ok, It wouldn't be a hot seller because it doesn't have stand out styling like the Camaro, and large cars are not exactly in right now. I think it would sell as good as the G8 though.

 

I don't know.. but if i could afford one it would be one hell of a daily driver.

 

I don't like the options. There's nothing between "like hotcakes" and "slow seller"? Come on Charlie, you do this every time. At least try to cover a realistic range of options when you post a poll.

I think it will sell better than Impala does. Not by so much that I'd consider it "like hotcakes" though.

G8 wasn't a slow seller IMO. Pontiac dealers couldn't keep them on the lots -- especially the GT.

 

I voted a slow seller, for many of the reasons already stated. However I don't think it's particularly bland - the PPV styling is, but in less utilitarian trim the Holden Caprice is a very good looking car, IMHO.

I hope it sells much better than I voted though, but it's a big, V8 optional car and the eventual pricing is a big question. Chevrolet will be walking a tightrope on this one. I can't see the larger, more lux Caprice sell here at a pricepoint much above the G8 which itself didn't sell well at, until discounts were added (arguably other factors came to bear on the G8 too, but that's for another thread...) - even though Caprice is considered a luxury car in Australia. It will be interesting to see where it lands price-wise and what trim items make the boatride to classify it as either a luxury car, or just another (hopefully successful) in a long line of full-size Chevy sedans.

I'm curious for sure and I do have a soft spot for the big RWD Chevys though I expect it to handle much better than any that came before it.

 

Realistic to me is that it either will or it won't or you don't know. But you're free to put up your own poll with several dozen options.

 

The G8's languished until GM put some serious money on the hood. It seemed that there was a specific price ceiling that needed to be met before these cars started moving. Same can be said about the GTO.

I really wonder, who would buy a LWB Caprice in the civilian market? Honestly, I don't see much of a market for it. The SWB version has a better chance IMO, essentially the G8 with a bowtie on the grill. From my personal perspective, I might look at something like that in max sporty trim only. By that I mean, fully developed chassis, brakes and manual trans. Without that, I'd have little interest in one. I'd also expect a version like that to come with a hefty price tag. Say $40-ish K? There's alot of cool stuff you could buy with that kind of money though.

 

Will there be an SS?

 

Honestly it will never sell as well as the current Impala. Production lines in AUS can't handle that kind of volume. Also for as much of an 'also ran' the final W-body is, the Impala is still selling pretty well.

 

It has a better chance than GTO and G8 because it has a correct name for the car, and Chevy has badly needed a car like this in its lineup since canceling the first Caprice. I think G8 with Grand Prix name would have took off.

 

I agree.

LS3 Caprice for under $35k would probably be pretty popular.

 

Gotta agree with Jake on this one.

But I also have to ask, who and what decides what the number representing "selling like hotcakes" is?

The current Camaro is viewed here as "selling like hotcakes", but even on a retail level, the old, boring, unexciting Impala whips the snot out of Camaro in sales.

On the flip side, the GTO is viewed as a slow selling car. Yet, it soundly outstripped the sales of the other V8 powered, rear drive, muscle coupe at it's price: the Mustang Cobra.

There is no doubt whatsoever that a civilian Caprice would do well in the market.

Very precious few people here on this site who say it's an unexciting or boring design have ever actually seen the Holden Caprice/Statesman on the street. Most all those who make such comments have only seen pictures of it. Just look at the reaction to the single picture of the Caprice on the PPV test thread.

But I will assure you that it has every bit of impact seeing one in person as the Pontiac G8 did.

In "full trim", even more.



If the civilan Chevrolet Caprice's exterior and interior isn't dulled down or dumbed down, and is brought here as a rebadged Holden Caprice (or the Holden Statesman... or Middle East Chevrolet Caprice...or the Chinese Buick Park Avenue... or the Daewoo Vertias), then, although it woun't be as highly styled (or borderline overstyled) as the Chrysler 300, it will be a car that still draws attention.

Keep in mind thatwhen the car comes here, it's in GM North America's best intrest that the Caprice DOESN'T sell like hot cakes. The more it sells, the bigger impact it has on GM's CAFE numbers. That's why GM is dragging it's feet bringing it here. What's far more important is that it makes GM considerable money per vehicle.

When it comes, expect it to be priced at the least in the $30,000 range (Charger R/Ts start at over $32,000... I'd expect the Caprice to start at the very lowest at that number... it's going to be Chevy's premium car).

Anyone expecting it to sell for less is going to be extremely disappointed.

 

The GTO was a marketing fiasco that was created in equal parts by both GM as well as their Pontiac dealer network. GM treated the GTO as Jesus' second coming and that the car buying enthusiast public would form a line out the door and kiss certain body areas just for the chance to buy one. Dealers acted as if they were doing you the biggest favor of your life in sitting you sit in one, let alone selling you one.

As you pointed out, it wasn't until GM realized that attitude at a time everything else in the Pontiac show room (as well as the rest of GM) came with incentives and rebates as standard equptment and that dealer greed was killing the car in it's crib that GTO sales started to show any life (jumping from just hundreds monthly to over 3000 monthly when it was treated like any other GM car and dealers were brought under something resembling control.

GM did a far better job with the G8. It was advertized very heavily during "March Madness", it's sales steadily increased monthly, it was redily available. Dealers scalped the hell out of them as well, but this time around, GM got the cars out in numbers to keep scalping down to where they could be classified simply as "markups".... with stickers lowers than GTOs.

As for the issue of the Caprice's size, consider the sizes of these cars:

Charger: Length: 200", width: 74.5: height: 58.2

Taurus: Length: 203", width: 76.9, height: 60.7

Lucerne: Length: 202", width: 73.8, height: 58"

Holden Caprice: Length: 203", width: 74.8", height: 58"

Given the fact that Chevrolet (still) has far more dealers than Dodge, it stands to reason that Chevrolet has the potential to sell far more of any compeating model than Dodge (or even Chrysler) can.

If GM wasn't concerned about the Caprice's sales (as in selling too many), the Caprice would no doubt sell well.

 

I hadn't considered that the Taurus was that large - I knew it was tall, very tall for a four door car, but I wouldn't have thought it as long as the Caprice. Then again, to carry that height it would need to be long and wide to make look less clown-ish proportionately. Just looking at the rear seat leg room in the Caprice gives you the impression it's one long car. Guess it not really that out there after all.

I find it looks rather large-car-Audi-ish, in a good way. I agree that it will look good on the street. Pricing will make or break it, the styling and driving dynamics should stand on their own. Will it sell like full-size Chevys in the past - regularly hitting in the neighbourlood of a quarter mil units in sales (and that was without any real updates for almost a decade) of the 80's three box Caprice? Probably not but I hope it does well enough to hang around for a lot longer than the G8.