The Australian-built Caprices are popping up all over AutoTrader. Some you can buy. Most you can't. Here's the deal.
Per General Motors' regulations, brand new Chevrolet Caprice cars are only available for fleet sale (after a fix initiated after we pointed out a dealer selling some). But if you're jonesin' for one of the big rear wheel drive police cruisers, you may be in luck. New cars are only available to fleets. Used ones are anyone's game.
After punching in a search for Chevrolet Caprice, more than 60 listings popped up on AutoTrader, more than a few of them used 2011 models. Some have less than 1,000 miles, but they're used, so exempt from the General's mandate.
GM will only sell Caprices to fleet buyers, but with prices ranging from the low 20s to the mid 30s, it's the least expensive V8-equipped rear wheel drive sedan GM offers. Aside from the $67,000 Cadillac CTS-V, it's GM's only V8-equipped rear-wheel drive sedan currently on sale.
"You might as well ask why the Pontiac G8 isn't being sold," said Joshua Friedman, a Richmond area Chevrolet sales manager, adding that GM determined that demand pointed to strictly fleet sales as the best option for the Australian market Chevrolet. "That was a nice vehicle, too, and very similar."
Friedman said that many dealers like to keep one or two of the Caprices on the lot for municipalities to try out, as fleet orders can take six months to a year to complete. So if you see one at your neighborhood Chevy dealer don't get too excited.
If you end up being one of the lucky few who finds a slightly used Caprice in your area, don't expect to find EPA mileage estimates in the window sticker. Although the cars were certified by GM regarding most safety and emissions regulations, mileage numbers didn't find their way into the EPA's books.
But honestly, trying to understand how that process works is about as easy as learning to speak conversational Vietnamese in a week long crash course.(Hat tip to Brandon!)
Photo credit: AutoTrader