Many people is the United States would like to drive the Holden Commodore-based ‘Ute’ model from Australia, but GM seems opposed to the idea. Someone decided to be sneaky and posted a sale ad of what they called a ‘conversion’.
Available on Cars&Bids at the time of writing, the ad offers what its poster claims is a 2015 Chevrolet Caprice police patrol vehicle rebuilt as a light passenger pickup using Chevy SS and Holden Ute parts.
We are supposed to believe that the starting point was a Caprice powered by a six-liter V8, as well as its exhaust catalysts, safety belts and airbags. The tuner allegedly took all of the above, added a six-speed manual gearbox and LSD from a Chevrolet SS, took SS doors and front fascia, and combined it with the body and chassis of a Holden Ute. The contribution of the latter vehicle is downplayed in the description as a ‘bare shell’.
Still, the result looks suspiciously like a stock Australian light pickup illegally imported into the USA. Since the Holden brand uses GM components in its vehicles, we wouldn’t be surprised to find that many of components mentioned were not, in fact, replaced – they were similar or even identical.
Whichever the case, the bidding has already reached $22,000 with three days remaining on the clock. Perhaps the buyer is tempted by the fact that the Ute has a U.S.-spec Caprice VIN plate, which should make it possible to legalize it for public roads. Still, there is no guarantee of success, and the deal looks risky enough to avoid it unless you know exactly what you are doing.