Rumor: G8 = Caprice?

[MikesZ]

Didn't I tell you how many Malibus, CTS's, Silverados, and Tahoes I see around here on the roads. What are they for GM? Losers? Let the Caprice stay dead. Nobody will miss it.

[UCF w00t]

Originally Posted by MikesZ

Didn't I tell you how many Malibus, CTS's, Silverados, and Tahoes I see around here on the roads. What are they for GM? Losers? Let the Caprice stay dead. Nobody will miss it.

So you want GM to only have those four models?

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by MikesZ

Didn't I tell you how many Malibus, CTS's, Silverados, and Tahoes I see around here on the roads. What are they for GM? Losers? Let the Caprice stay dead. Nobody will miss it.

Yes, because GM can make money building just four models. Great plan.

[kylepo]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

The G8 has already been proven to be a highly regarded vehicle of which sales are finally starting to pick up. People on this site, however, don't see that. .

What you don’t see is the only reason the sales are picking up us because of stupid deals on them......4k plus off of every one....The sales better pick up......However that’s not the cars fault.....its GMs fault for not marketing the car at all....With a bowtie and some real marketing the car could be very successful with little rebates....Not holding my breath though.

[PsykoTim]

To me it's not about the G8. I'm sure the G8 is a great vehicle. It's more about associating it with the 'Caprice' name.

That name brings up nothing except bad images in my mind of wallowing urban land yachts and police cruisers so awful even the police sued GM over them.

If they're going to keep the G8, at least give it a name worthy of the car.

Don't handicap the car before it even gets out of the gate.

[Supermans]

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/16/l...side-commodor/

[Mr. Wyndham]

Thanks for the picture, Supermans....I think that car would do well against a new Ford Taurus, in terms of looks. We already know the G8...er, Caprice...will perform well against it!

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by Supermans

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/16/l...side-commodor/

Sorry for the caps, but this pic's been floating around on this site for a bit...

THIS IS NOT A COMMODORE, NOR IS IT WHAT THE G8 IS, IT IS A HOLDEN CAPRICE BASED OFF THE HOLDEN STATESMAN.

[truth411]

While I like the Idea, But that chevy looks terrible!! It looks like a dodge caliber with the grill similar to the acura TL. Change the Styling, I like the pontiac G8, it look very european, but that chevy looks terrible, something just does not mesh right.

[gunslinger]

Did anyone read the rest of the Lutz interview?

He scoffs at the idea of an LSA powered Z28 and says that the V6 and I4 turbo will the future mainstream model... Maybe this is an attempt to please those asking for better emissions/better mpg, but doesn't rule out the continued production of V8s.

Or just maybe he has a better motor in mind for the Z28...With so many engines having gone to Direct Injection lately, I wonder when GM will reveal a DI V8. Maybe in the Z28.

He also goes on the say that the CTS Coupe will get a V Series variant (which is surprising after the death of the V program).

Maybe the Z28 and CTS-V Coupe will be debuted with this new motor, or maybe the demand for LSA's will outstrip the supply, which doesn't allow the Z28 to get one.

[RetroDude]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

Lutz is a very important figure to GM. It is good to have him working hard to keep GM's products in the headlines. The Z28, obviously, is so disputed that no one has come to any conclusion. This says to me that there are some very powerful people discussing it at GM, and that those people have some very split opinions. On one side, the Z28 represents a competitor the the GT500, but that market is getting smaller with the GT500 being reduced for 2010 because so many previous models are still on lots. Additionally, the SS is so dominant over so many mainstream imports that there really isn't a solid target market for advertising a super Camaro.

The Caprice is a dangerous Chevrolet to bring back. This has to be done very carefully. If this turns out to be Chevrolet's newest car, it can't look too much like the G8, and it has to have very good efficiency numbers. If both of these situations do not exist, then critics will say that this is a phenomenal example of GM's rebadging tradition and wasteful government spending. Obviously, GM's survival has become a political issue because the US federal government owns 60% of the company. Let's not forget that GM isn't exactly considered the world's favorite example of green technology yet. Even with GM's green technology, the Caprice can make GM look bad if it doesn't come out with new or somehow improved technology.

I hope that the G8 stays alive. I'd love it to be a huge hit with lots of Caprice SS sales. I hope the V6 version is a huge hit as well. This is where the big marketing problem exists. GM has shorted Chevrolet all of these great models. Now, without anywhere fore those models to go, GM will hand Chevrolet a Caprice when the brand already has an Impala. GM will further consider a Caprice SS that is doomed to failure. Camaro SS buyers will share engines and similar performance numbers with the Caprice SS, but the Caprice will never be quite as fast due to weigh that matches the G8 GXP. In effect, all of us Camaro lovers who wishes the G8 could survive will be disappointed that it will fail as a Caprice.

In other words, the people who want the G8 to survive the most are all buying other performance cars. Coupes, like the Camaro, are more likely to sell as performance cars. The Caprice will make a great family sedan, much like the Impala.

If I were making GM's product decisions, I would consider the G8 only as an Impala alternative. As a result, the Caprice SS would share production with the Impala SS, one would have superior performance, and one would have superior handling. That would make them both desirable to different consumers. Furthermore, both would have to have different styles in order to draw consumers away from imports toward either one of these attractive GM products.

Another alternative I'd like to propose is that the G8 becomes a Buick muscle car. Buick hasn't had a great one in a long time, and I'd like to see Buick behave more like a core brand than it has in the past. I would also like to see GM compete directly with the Magnum with a Roadrunner wagon on the Zeta platform.

GM has so much potential to continue its American Revolution campaign. When this campaign started, I remember thinking how great it was that GM was revolutionizing the brand. Now, fresh out of bankruptcy, GM can have a revolution that makes it more desirable than those imports.

In conclusion, redundancy is waste. Let's see GM make another hit with a Caprice, but let's also see GM manage it with other products that keep GM brands hot.

Why can't they achieve this by making the Caprice a Family Sports Sedan ( G8 Style ) vehicle and make an alternative version the Buick "Park Avenue" or something like that as a upscale luxury edition? You can have 2, just not 4 like before!

Caprice ( Australian Version )



Park Avenue ( China Version )

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Sorry for the caps, but this pic's been floating around on this site for a bit...

THIS IS NOT A COMMODORE, NOR IS IT WHAT THE G8 IS, IT IS A HOLDEN CAPRICE BASED OFF THE HOLDEN STATESMAN.

Based off a Google search...the two look awfully similar, don't they?

[Supermans]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Sorry for the caps, but this pic's been floating around on this site for a bit...

THIS IS NOT A COMMODORE, NOR IS IT WHAT THE G8 IS, IT IS A HOLDEN CAPRICE BASED OFF THE HOLDEN STATESMAN.

I mean, it'll be close to what a Caprice based off the G8 would look like once you take away the Pontiac front Grill design which you know will have to go..

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

Based off a Google search...the two look awfully similar, don't they?

They do indeed, but the Statesman/Caprice is a much, much bigger car than the Commodore/G8.