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Bad News From Oz: No More Holden Caprice After 2017

The Holden Caprice, better known in the U.S. as the Chevrolet SS and Caprice PPV police car, will be no more after Holden closes its Elizabeth assembly plant in 2017.

TMR reports that Holden’s National Sales Director, Peter Keley, says the automaker has no plan to continue offering “a long-wheelbase large car” once local production ends. Citing low sales volumes in the segment, Keley also said Holden has no plans for a replacement, stating, “It’s a very small market. It’s only 1200 cars a year. There’s obviously the hire-car customers, and there’s actually quite a reasonable private mix within that. But it’s a small market, and there’s only so many niche products you can have in a complete portfolio.”

If sales have been so poor, why has Holden continued to support the Caprice’s production? According to Keley, “The Caprice makes sense for us today because there’s lots of export volume [to the U.S. and the Middle East] which makes it all viable. It’s in our plant, producing good volumes so we offer it for sale. But as for a future replacement, I don’t see one.”

To Australia, the taxi market will have to look for another vehicle, and chances are it won’t be Holden. And in the U.S.? Almost seems to be another “here today, gone tomorrow” a la Pontiac G8.

 

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Comments

  1. Too bad. Them things (PPV) are rock solid even at 150 mph. And in the twisties you’d think you were in a BMW if it weren’t for that distinct American V8 burble. It was one of the rare things GM did right (aside from the obligatory electrical problems), which is probably precisely why they will stop doing it.

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  2. Very sad they can’t leverage a rear wheel drive platform from the a new Camaro. Dodge sure seems to be able to that with the Challenger and Charger. The SS is a really nice vehicle but sure misses the mark on the exterior styling.

    What happened to the “halo car” doctrine from Mark Reuss?

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    1. Funny, the styling is actually the reason I was considering buying an SS, I like how its not gaudy and over-the-top like the Camaro is.

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  3. GM moved to kill off the Caprice and the lower specced Statesman by deliberately not modifying the exterior at all when transitioning from the ‘VE’ platform to the ‘VF’. Not even dlr’s like the Moyer upmarket Commodores.
    Interesting to see the Americian comments given they’ve only seen the stripped out poverty pack ‘caprice’
    I wonder how well it would have sold if they could get their hands on a real one with all the trimmings.
    I guess it would make the Cadillac look bad …..and we can’t have that when GM had already decided to close down local Aussie production.
    Stories like this would have raised hell in Australia a short while ago…. But now there’s hardly a whimper. Holden are gone & I suggest the last GM executive leaving Australia turns out the light !!!!

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  4. GM did not deliberately move to kill this car.

    # 1 it is an old car when compared to most platforms now.

    #2 the hard points when it was first designed limit the car and what you can do for it weigh wise. The VF did about all they could and keep the car affordable in cutting weight. Just read what all went into the Alpha to save weight.

    #3 lets face it they build less of these cars than a Camaro so how much are you going to invest in a car that has a limited market?

    #4 A new car opens the door to all sorts of things as they can design in the latest materials and flexibility that GM could not do in the original V platform pre chapter 11. The lack of flexibility is why we have a 4100 pound Camaro today.

    #5 Who says that Holden will not have a RWD? Has anyone seen where GM has stated that there may not be an RWD option in the works? GM now has a RWD platform that can be and will be sold globally so what market do you thing will be sure to get one. Maybe the one who has had RWD all along?

    Let this play out and in the end you might be surprised.

    I am very optimistic that other than the loss of jobs this will turn to give Holden a more modern and up to date RWD. One they would have never been given a budget to do on their own.

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  5. I was hoping that GM would keep this car alive. I love my ’04 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS as much as the day I bought it 10.5 years ago but the CHEVROLET CAPRICE in civilian form would have been an ideal replacement at some point. I don’t care for small sporty cars. I prefer the traditional North American larger 4 door sedans with standard or optional V8 engines but no hot rod stuff. I’m sure the SS is a nice enough car but you pay much more for a car that is about the same size as the MALIBU and the ride probably isn’t as nice as a CAPRICE. So at what point did we decide that a big car with a V8 and smooth ride was no good? If GM had used some shrewd thinking, they could have built a BUICK or CADILLAC on this platform and marketed it for people like me that prefer such a car. Afterall they were going to the trouble to import them for police so the platform and potential dealership network were already in place. Granted, I could see myself in and loving a FORD TAURUS, CHEVROLET IMPALA, or DODGE CHARGER at some point. I have no problem with a V6 but what bothers me is that 4 cylinder engines are creeping in to this segement. I don’t care how much power they have, I can’t stand the way they sound. They make the car feel smaller but I guess I’ll have to learn to live with the lawnmower noise if push comes to shove. Either that or get a F150.
    HEHE it might have been worth it to move to Australia just to be able to buy one. 🙂 Perhaps GM will rethink this concept at some point perhaps not. Either way, the traditional larger American sedan is vanishing and missed by some of us.

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    1. You can buy one right now, just get a Caprice PPV. It’s not hard to get one if you want it.

      I’ve made offers on a few, all fair offers but shot down sadly. Dealers seem to think this is a BMW M and treat it with such rarity… best bet it to buy from a private party after they pay the obscene markup.

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      1. Or why not import one from the UAE , Qatar, Oman, Kuwait or the KSA with the help of a US or NATO serviceman (who can also get military discounts just for being part of NATO forces) ? They can import vehicles with their privileges and that too will be far cheaper than buying off Bobby Joe who hasn’t seen a large V8 US sedan in almost 2 decades….

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  6. That made me sad we in saudi arabia loves this car so much we love holden and all of australia becuse of this car and we wish that we could have the Grange model , they took the lumina ( commodore) in 2011 and now they well finish the caprice 🙁 . Sorry for my bad English.

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    1. It is all good, at least you guys got a very reasonably priced platform whereas a North American Cadillac ATS not only has a weak 3.5L V6, but is way too overpriced ($45,000 without taxes) while you guys got a large 325HP 6.0L for $10,000 less!! Man, It is sad that GM became the cheap Jew it is and decided to kill off the whole RWD Platform just to appease some hippies in California…. Honestly, I hopefully will be moving to the Middle East in the comming months for work and buy one of them before the end of 2016 so I can then import it back to Canada… Sad times indeed brother…Sad times…. 🙁

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  7. Why can’t the Caprice be made in this country and have all wheel drive. A lot of departments would not buy them because of added shipping cost Also , why can’t the Malibu be equipped wit the 9c1 police package including a V8 and AWD?,,,,I don’t like the path that Chevy is taking….Seems like they are turning into another trendy foreign car company.

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