Updated interior for 2014?

[gregc]

I was just looking at the WM Caprice Facebook page and there is a photo of a Caprice SS with the Chevy SS interior in it. I'm assuming this is for the Mid East Market since it is LHD. I also remember reading an article online that the shifter will be moved up from the floor to the column back in December 2012 with a photo. I'm not sure I like the shifter being moved to the column. It is a police car, so it makes sense for it to be on the column. I just wonder whether the 9C3 will get the same layout as the Chevy SS, or if the shifter will be on the column as well.

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor. ... D40020766F

[elc32955]

Had heard via some net discussion that the 9C1 and 9C3 interiors will reflect the SS/VF in 2014 along with a move of the shifter back to the column. Also what will be interesting to see is if the Caprice gets the new GM stereo (the MyLink) or they stay with the Holden iQ. Something is telling me the 11, 12, and 13 year cars are going to be orphans with the Holden unit. We won't be able to tell for sure until a 2014 Caprice fleet brochure hits the streets.

There was a discussion thread on one of the forums the other day that showed a special-order 2014 Caprice going to the middle east with a few clear interior shots, it reflected the new SS-style interior but it had a console-mount shifter. I can't find the thread now but it pretty much followed the public shots of the SS sedan that've been out in circulation.

[gregc]

Had heard via some net discussion that the 9C1 and 9C3 interiors will reflect the SS/VF in 2014 along with a move of the shifter back to the column. Also what will be interesting to see is if the Caprice gets the new GM stereo (the MyLink) or they stay with the Holden iQ. Something is telling me the 11, 12, and 13 year cars are going to be orphans with the Holden unit. We won't be able to tell for sure until a 2014 Caprice fleet brochure hits the streets.

There was a discussion thread on one of the forums the other day that showed a special-order 2014 Caprice going to the middle east with a few clear interior shots, it reflected the new SS-style interior but it had a console-mount shifter. I can't find the thread now but it pretty much followed the public shots of the SS sedan that've been out in circulation.

I think that was a pre-production model because the bag hiding the dash was peeled back. The doors also had the SS emblems that match the Chevy SS instead of the Caprice SS. The article link I posted above did say that the Australia and ME Caprice models will have the shifter on the floor.

[storm9c1]

I've talked to a few local PDs who have one or two Caprices each. They all say they hate the center console, it eats up too much room. They all said they won't be ordering any more Caprices for this reason. Moving the shifter to the column and eliminating the factory center console will help alleviate this "belief". I personally don't think it takes up too much room, but the cops sure think it does. I wonder if the biggest problem is the upfitters --- not knowing how to properly make efficient use of the Caprice interior space or using ancient equipment that could be replaced with smaller form-factor versions. I also talked with many folks at the Michigan State Police testing (model year 2011), and they all said the same thing. The GM reps there said the shifter will never be moved to the column. Ha, never say never!

PS: I have pics from the November 2010 debut of the Caprice at the MSP testing. But I've never posted them anywhere. Once we get a multimedia section going here, I'll upload them.

[Navy Lifer]

Picture in GM Inside News thread

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f39/ ... or-118560/

[AACoPD05]

Very interesting. I've become accustom to the floor shifter, but during upfit it was a challenge to get everything to fit. One major problem we had was the height of the laptop mount. It had to clear the shifter but with the laptop lid open it couldnt obstruct the view out of the windshield. We finally found a sweet spot that works out well. The other thing was that there is no place to bolt the front of the mounting plate to the floor of the vehicle, talking about the front closest to the storage compartment under the radio. This is where the laptop mount attaches. Since there is no way to secure it it make the laptop wobble quite a bit.

"For 2014, the front seat cushions are wider, for increased comfort, with revised bolsters that allow easier entry and exit. "

I found this interesting too. The side bolsters are quite high and it is difficult getting out. I feel this is going to be a high wear area and I expect the foam pad or seat cover to lose the battle at some point.

I guess these are all the things that happen on a first generation police car. Looks like GM is taking some great steps in the right direction.

Still cant figure out why dark blue is an added cost!

[elc32955]

Here's the linky to the official GM news release....

http://media.gm.com/content/media/us/en ... 20131.html

Eric

[Navy Lifer]

Noted: Larger-diameter front stabilizer bar and new front struts enhance handling performance and reduce body roll when cornering

[Tom Slick]

Cool... When my Caprice was getting the A/C Line replaced, I had a chance to take a good look underneath it...

Both sway bars looked a little small... I did notice that the front control arm was pretty beefy...
and that the oil filter is really easy to get to!

My exhaust is 2 1/4" everywhere except the small section of pipe between the "crossover muffler" and the straight through "Resonators"... the section right above the bolted-on cross-member.

Later,
Tom Slick

[elc32955]

Few things I noticed.....

1) Apparently there's still going to be no powered anti-glare mirror. In the advance pic you can see clearly the tab to flip day/night modes. Disappointing.

2) The rear fascia above the exhaust has been re-designed. Don't know if it was to enhance the capabilities to install a towbar or to hide the fact that the OEM exhaust looks and is wimpy. They'd have been better off (IMHO) to just design a nice set of tips to spank what the Charger has and leave the bumper cover and rear as-is. Offer the Caprice WM hitch as an option for agencies that have to tow.

3) The clever angle from the advance pics hides the fact the shifter actually protrudes from the dashboard, not the column. Guess this will be one of those "Suprise!" facts that customers won't discover until their rears are ensconsed on the foam for the test ride.

4) The dual trunk-release buttons are a nice touch. Also trunk-related - they up-sized the police battery in the rear, guess the first one was too small. Let's also hope they put a hatch to get to it in the covering like is on the left-side of our cars to access the primary battery. Having to rip out the covering in a hurry to disconnect the right-side battery would not be good and if it was urgent to power it off you'd probably just damage the covering. Plus hiding it like that many FD's don't know there's a second battery there that has to be disconnected in the event of a crash. At minimum a label over both the battery locations (I.E. "VEHICLE BATTERY HERE) would be a nice attention-getter in this case.

5) Looks like they may still be making design changes on the final version to be released. I'm saying this as the spy shot in March from the 2014 Caprice that went to the customer in the middle east vs. the shots released the other day have subtle tweaks on the interior (completely disregarding anything to do with the console). For example, something as basic as the headlight control is different between the two cars. This is pretty common with manufacturers. The 2011 went through several tweaks which can be tracked in the advance release pictures before the final was nailed down and sent for production.

6) No 2014 PPV brochure out yet on the GM website. From my earlier post (where we caught the Helm reference), I wonder if Jan, 2014 is still the availability target.....

Eric