REPORT: Zeta-based Chevy "G8" police car to be unveiled Monday
The Pontiac G8 has not deserved its lot in life, and despite the Australians trying to steal it back with the debut of two special edition Holdens that look awfully similar, this rear-wheel-drive sport sedan will find one way or another to stay on sale in the U.S. Unfortunately, its customers won't be the general public since General Motors, after a few crossed wires, has decided not to let the G8 live on as the Chevrolet Caprice. No, the G8's new audience will be the po-po, as in law enforcement.
We've been telling you about GM's plan to introduce a G8-based cop car for some time, and all evidence points to Monday as the cruiser's official debut at the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention in Denver, CO. While GM has not technically confirmed that the G8 will form the underpinnings of this new police package, the Zeta platform on which the G8 is based is the only RWD one large enough to accommodate a pair of officers and their collars. In other words, we don't expect GM to unveil a Kappa-based Pontiac Solstice police cruiser next week, as cool as that might be. So keep your eyes and ears peeled on Monday. The cops are coming and they'll be driving a G8.
[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd, Photo by Tom Worthington]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
MeiSooHaityu 4:04PM (10/02/2009)
Thats the ride to buy in a few years at a police auction :)
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BrianFL 4:18PM (10/02/2009)
+1
James 4:20PM (10/02/2009)
Not if I outbid you to it... ;p
Robert 4:45PM (10/02/2009)
That's exactly what I thought.
montoym 5:14PM (10/02/2009)
Yeah, I see there being a huge market for these after they see Police duty, high mileage and rough treatment notwithstanding.
I still fail to see the reasoning behind building a car solely for police duty as opposed to offering some of those very same vehicles for sale to the public to help spread the cost. The cost to retrofit these cars for police duty is bound to cost a lot more than changing a few body panels out(with existing ones no less!!) and calling it a Chevy Caprice.
The engineering, tooling and everything else has already been paid for, you just have to spit out the cars to the dealers. It's not like they would have to design a whole new car here.
Dave 7:37PM (10/02/2009)
"I still fail to see the reasoning behind building a car solely for police duty as opposed to offering some of those very same vehicles for sale to the public to help spread the cost. The cost to retrofit these cars for police duty is bound to cost a lot more than changing a few body panels out(with existing ones no less!!) and calling it a Chevy Caprice."
They can build all of them the same.
Cop suspension. Cop brakes. Cop interior - offerered in only one color. Exterior sold in only a few colors.
No sunroofs, no satnav, no pretty wheels. Etc.
Automatic transmission only. V6 or V8 will probably be an option as it is on the charger.
MoonRover 9:14AM (10/03/2009)
Me too.
Chris 5:31AM (10/04/2009)
"I still fail to see the reasoning behind building a car solely for police duty"
But it's not. I drive the same damn car in Australia. For Holden it's an easy win after spending so much to do the LHD thing.
ToniCipriani 4:04PM (10/02/2009)
Sign me up for one when the 9C1 packaged cars are going up on used fleet auctions.
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cnn 4:12PM (10/02/2009)
thats pretty cool
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hokieman09 4:12PM (10/02/2009)
Isn't Carbon supposed to be coming out with a cop car that is made specifically for cops?
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Jae 4:17PM (10/02/2009)
Very true, but most muni's get their cars from state fleet purchases. Ive heard Chp is not even looking at Carbon.
Dont get me wrong I love the G8 but they seriously need to replace the damn steering wheel. Its about as comfortable as driving with 4 dinosaur bones held together with duct tape.
dal20402 4:28PM (10/02/2009)
Which steering wheel? There were three sold in the U.S. G8: the base wheel, the GT Sport Package wheel, and the GXP wheel. They were all shaped differently.
I find the thick GXP wheel in my car very comfortable.
Jae 4:32PM (10/02/2009)
I did not know that there were different steering wheels in each model, but Im pretty sure it was the GXP that I was sitting in at the auto show last year so thats the one I h8. Otherwise it is one of the best cars of its type on the market.
Slizzo 4:36PM (10/02/2009)
@ Jae
Yeah, not sure what you're talking about, the wheel in my GT is nice and comfy. While it's not a supple leather like alcantara, it's still leather wrapped, and it's better than any other wheel I've seen in a GM vehicle.
quackman 6:58PM (10/02/2009)
Alcantara is not leather. It is a cloth.
BrianFL 4:20PM (10/02/2009)
Be afraid street ricers, be very afraid
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Chieze Okoye 7:33PM (10/02/2009)
I was thinking exactly the same thing.
naturalyshocked 8:26PM (10/02/2009)
just buy a audi quatro or other AWD sedan with traction control + esp, nothing to worry.
they will not succeed to push you from the road.
just trotle and the car pulls itself back straight again.
one advice to everone, make sure your next car is AWD.
it's realy fun flooring it in a corner.
you wont buy anything else again.
it's a simply sunning feeling, my friend and i own both a d2 a8's.
simply a rock on the road.
it's like being pulled and pushed @ the same time.
i can't put it on paper, but it's very safe.
mkM3 4:28PM (10/02/2009)
I wonder if they will use the long wheel-base model (Holden Statesman) as a basis for this police car instead? It would make most sense since it would give them more space in the car. But unfortunately it would also make the cars somewhat less attractive as a sport-sedan when they come up for auction later.
Speaking of obtaining one for private use - why not just buy one straight from the fleet manager? I'm pretty sure a private individual can buy a Ford Crown Vic Interceptor from the fleet salesman at a Ford dealership, or at least that was true in the past.
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