Fritz Henderson to Autoblog: Chevy Caprice is being looked at as "police application"
Ever since General Motors announced this spring that it was killing the Pontiac brand as part of its restructuring, fans of the Holden-developed G8 sedan have been clamoring to save it as a Chevrolet. After company officials repeatedly said over the past two months that no such thing would happen, Bob Lutz re-lit the fire last week in one of his first pronouncements after un-retiring. Lutz proclaimed that the G8 would indeed become a new Chevrolet Caprice.
During our first drive of the new Buick LaCrosse this week, we had the opportunity on one of the legs to ride with GM CEO Fritz Henderson, and we pressed him for more details on the Caprice plan. Unfortunately it turns out Henderson brought his portable fire extinguisher with him, telling us:
We've been looking at it for police applications. As for whether or not it's broader than police applications, I am not a believer in re-branding and re-badging. We've been talking about in terms of potential police applications and we'll leave it at that."Henderson also threw a soaking wet blanket on the idea of adding production to Oshawa alongside the Camaro, saying that the cars will continue to be sourced from Australia. So, for the moment, it looks like Zeta sedan fans will probably have to be content with taking a Blues Brothers approach to the problem: Buying their next car as a decommissioned black-and-white.
[Image: GoAuto]
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
J.Crew 9:43AM (7/15/2009)
I think they are trying to put the genie back in the bottle... The car is coming and they want to save the annoucement for a real product launch and not just a rebadge conversion associated with Pontiac. They will not do all the work to convert a car for police duty and not bring the associated real world car over as well. I love Lutz, but it is a little scary that he is the head of communitcations as he lets more things slip through his mouth than any executive I have ever seen. He is entertaining, but it also can remove the surprise/shock factor of cool things too come when we all already know what is coming because he told us...
Reply
J.Crew 10:08AM (7/15/2009)
Apparently I need a coffee as I can't spell today... "annoucement" and "communitcations"... ha ha
Matt Saler 10:09AM (7/15/2009)
I hope you're right, though if that's true, it's worrisome that they'd stick to their guns so hard at this point. Why not just say, "Well, Bob let this slip and everyone's excited now, so let's capitalize now"?
J.Crew 10:16AM (7/15/2009)
My guess is because they have not decided on the final look of the car and have nothing to show yet. The UAE version with Chev badges will not be what they sell here (I hope). I feel they will do a mild re-skin to align the look closer to the Malibu/Volt front clip with added design details as well as a new interior. It will not be a simple badge swap as some think.
geo.stewart 10:27AM (7/15/2009)
here is the thing.
rebranding/badging is a bad thing when it happen intra-market and its a badge job.
when it is inter-market, its no big deal. you are not competing against yourself or trying to pull a fast one.
the sooner Maximum ricky bobby essplanes this Fritz Lucy Henderson, the sooner we can order a RWD Chevy Caprice without the light bar.
hank 1:17PM (7/15/2009)
But look at how much press this car (G8, Caprice, what ever you want to call it) has generated since Pontiac's demise. Somebody at GM has to see the potential for this Holden to be a sucess over here (what ever it's sold as)!
Ed 9:46AM (7/15/2009)
Sounds like to me that there may already be a power struggle between Lutz & Henderson.
Unless Henderson is just trying to keep the consumer Caprice under wraps for now.
Reply
Big Mola 9:44AM (7/15/2009)
Oh great--not only is the public denied, but now cops will have the G8? It's the worse case scenario!
Reply
Tdogg 11:00AM (7/15/2009)
At least I can stare at the Caprice when I'm getting my ticket...
mkM3 9:47AM (7/15/2009)
Earth to Fritz Henderson: This would not be a re-badge in the traditional, negatively stigmatized sense. If you want to see that type of rebadging, look no further than your entire (well, almost) GMC Division. No, instead this would be just changing the make/model of a car so that it can remain in the lineup. It's no different than the half-dozen or so names the Holden Commodore already has across the world. There's absolutely nothing wrong with those examples and the same thing applies here.
Reply
Alex Nunez 9:56AM (7/15/2009)
Indeed. The "I am not a believer in re-branding and re-badging" line is just ridiculous on its face. Look around your company, Fritz: there IS no rebrand/rebadge scenario in play here. Pontiac is DEAD. The G8 is gone after '09, period.
MeiSooHaityu 10:28AM (7/15/2009)
I agree 100%. GMC is nothing but re-badged Chevys, and yet a car that would be nothing but a Chevy (in North America) is getting axed because it is a re-badge.
Fritz come out and say it.. You just don't like the car. Don't hide behind your Re-badge B.S.
chado8705 2:43PM (7/16/2009)
I agree, they re-badge all the time, and its a narrow minded unreasonable statement to make, its basically saying "I don't believe in re-badging so I'm ok with letting this great car go to waste", people that would make business decisions based off of close-minded conservative OPINION should not be able to make decisions. Change is good, and all that matters is what the consumer wants.
Judy Zik 10:49AM (7/15/2009)
Obviously Fritz has no clue what he is talking about. Unfortunately Bob also still appears to be a loose canon shooting off his mouth before the decision has been made.
Just how can they think this vehicle will be a bigger profit maker being sold at fleet rates to cops I don't know. The Crown Vic and Charger already own that small market and there is a purpose built vehicle that just might see the light of day. Fleet sales of this vehicle to the cops will ensure it's resale value hits the toilet (used Crown Vic anyone?) therefore pretty much ruining any chance of a retail version. The cop market is also notoriously hard to crack because the ad on hardware has already been custom made for the Crown Vic. How many people are going to want to buy a used one with plastic floors and seats? It would be far better to bring it back as a Chevrolet Nova or even a new Buick Grand National with high end trims and high end prices.
This is a halo car not a fleet dog.
Aki 12:17PM (7/15/2009)
It's not even "re-badging" if the other badge ceases to exist. Fritz is a moron. The one time it'd make sense to re-brand and they decide not to.
Max Palmer 9:55AM (7/15/2009)
If he's not a fan of rebranding and rebadging, then he's got a lot of work to do at GM.. the G8 is already rebranded! Why don't they just put the holden commodore badge back on it and THEN use it as a fleet car? Police departments won't care what kind of badge is on it...
Reply
Serge 9:57AM (7/15/2009)
Damn... a police cruiser that will outrun AND out-handle most cars on the road. What will the street ricers do?
Reply
Shamdiddly 9:59AM (7/15/2009)
Simple.
Bigger fart cans.
jg 11:16AM (7/15/2009)
Can't all cop cars do that? AFAIK they aren't the same Crown Vics we can buy.
Brian 12:05PM (7/15/2009)
Crown Vics can't... They're heavier and not as powerful as the really good sports cars. Of course, those aren't "Most of the cars on the road" either. But speed doesn't really matter - Motorola is the prime deterrent with cops. You can outrun one Crown Vic but not the radio.