Caprice: oversteering back to the States
Arguably one of the best things to come out of the recent General Motors debacle is the news that outspoken product guru Bob Lutz is to remain at GM and not retire at the end of this year.
And practically the first move of the 77-year-old ‘ultimate car guy’ following the announcement that he's staying? To directly contradict the boss by saying that the axed Pontiac G8 (known to you and me as the Vauxhall VXR8/Holden Commodore) would return to the US market badged as a Chevrolet Caprice.
US Caprice could be based on Middle East version
GM CEO Fritz Henderson has said before that the G8 would not make a return, and that he is 'not a fan of rebadging'. Fortunately, ‘Maximum Bob’ isn’t given to towing the party line, so it looks like the Caprice could be coming back to the US.
'The last time we looked at [the G8], we decided that we would continue to import it as a Chevrolet,' Lutz told US car magazine Automobile. 'It is kind of too good to waste.'
Why do we care? Because it raises the prospect of a return to ‘proper’ rear-drive US police cars – the Caprice from the early ’90s was much beloved as a ‘cruiser’ in the real world and Hollywood alike, and Chevy's front-drive Impala just felt wrong in CHiPS uniform!
Last rear-drive Caprice was a police favourite
Of course, there are more pragmatic considerations in the return of the Caprice name. GM needs to keep models flowing out of its Australian Holden operation and the Pontiac G8 – based on the Holden Commodore – was a big part of that plan. So hopefully, the news makes Vauxhall badged versions of the car safer, too.
As head of marketing, advertising and communications for Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC, Lutz - a former fighter pilot - will have his work cut out. But his reputation for outspoken honesty should help four brands facing an uphill struggle to improve both image and product.
Not the standard Police package
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