Would you buy a Caprice?

Not the old one. GM appears ready to sell the new police interceptor (way hot Holden) to the general public. It probably won’t have the 335 HP engine, but let’s pretend it will. Would you buy a US version of a Holden Caprice V?

That’ll be a Chevy version of the Pontiac G8, which seemed like a good car. Not what I’d need, but if you like it, sure.

Nope.
They’ve gotten enough of my money.
Sorry JT,

As my late Father-in-Law would have said, V8, 4 doors, and rwd, what more could one ask for? Well, maybe a station wagon version with a manual transmission. I suspect I will have to be content with his 93 Caprice for the time being.

Ed B.

@edb1961 - Your father-in-law didn’t drive in snow much did he???

Mike,

No, he didn’t.

Just curious, how did you reference my username in your post?

Ed

Funny you started your post with “not the old one,” because I was hoping so. I’d love to (but never will in all likelihood) find a '95 of '96 Caprice wagon with the LT1, convert it to a 6 speed manual, paint it a deep maroon metallic, and dress up the body with the Impala SS trim and wheels…what a sleeper.

The Holden Caprice would be a sleeper, too.

BTW, your '95 Caprice wouldn’t be much of a sleeper with the SS paraphernalia. When I was a teen, my Mom had a 1964 Cadillac Model 62. Now that was a sleeper; and incredibly quick. In a straight line.

I want an old " Waterbug-Kevin

They would have to offer a 420+ HP LS3 or an LS7 to peak my interest. As it sits, I’d take a Taurus SHO over the Holden Caprice.

For civilian use, IMO , there are better cars out there. Just buying a cop car for it’s own sake when you aren’t a cop is like buying a seat on an f15 fighter for a trip to Disneyland. Going to have a real good ride, but the ticket price just doesn’t justify the purchase. Now, if it were real cheap…sure.

@daogsa

Actutally police cars, the P71 Crown vics especially aren’t particualry fast, The Crown Vic police interceptor isn’t much quicker than a civy Crown Vic, and isn’t any quicker at all than a civy Crown Vic with the HPP. Same story with the Charger. It’s pretty much an urban legend that police cars are these mythical super fast cars that can run down Porsches at will.

Police cars heavy a lot of heavy duty components, such as suspension, seats, radiator, alternator, transmission, barf-proof upholstery, good brakes and all those things that you need for long life and trouble-freee operation. Taxi equipment is very similar. Used cruisers are great tow vehicles for your camper.

Only special models have better peformance, such as the old Mercury Interceptor.

In Europe the police models have much bettter performance because of the higher sped limits and tricker roads.

The old Plymouths they used to get around here were fast-the old 440 Wedge was a thirsty,but powerful Beast-Kevin

I like the performance specs of the new Caprice, but think it’s one of the butt-ugliest vehicles I’ve seen in some time…

FoDaddy…I agree. I drove enough of them working to testify they weren’t especially fast off the line and capable of running down a lot of faster cars. But, they rode hard for their size, handle very well for their size…my point about a military vehicle is for less money buying a car designed for the special use in one performance area and using it in another is contradictory. We ain’t cops when we all grow up and could be driving less dedicated vehicles for much less money…it’s like the hots we all have for police crown Vic’s that really only add minimally to the civiilian driving experienced. Most who play cop would be better served with a used standard Crown Vic. The interior of the police version ? I wouldn’t let anyone but a dog ride in for example. Heavy duty components for normal use is way over blown, does not add to longevity and can be easily duplicated for special use with cheaper after market parts, choosing only those we need.

Most would be better served by the Pontiac version in this case…IMO of course. BTW, you can’t get a seat on an F15 ( most of us) but you can always buy a Crown Vic and play cop.

The “police interceptor” Crown Vics are nice if you want a durable car with a little more performance than a standard C.V. But they’re nothing special these days. 0-60 in about 7.5-8 seconds if I remember right and not a great top end either. There are plenty of 4-banger cars that will leave them in the dust these days.

Right Oblivion…to me though, durability is relative. The Crown Vic’s durability lies in frequent collision repair, driving style of cops while working and not in normal use during which a used Camry could produce a more reliable car. Try driving a Camry like Crown Victoria when used by a state cop and IMO, the reliability would be reversed. You could have a higher repair rate for the Camry then a Yugo on a bad day.