Here’s another car that’s long overdue for a proper CC. But in the meantime, here’s one of an ever rarer species: the ex-cop car Caprice. There are a fair number of ex-police Panthers around, many of them nearish to the campus, and usually by rather run-down old houses and apartments. There’s a certain kind of young male that’s just inevitably drawn to driving around with as much of the symbology of a police car as possible. This one didn’t even have all it letters taken off; a first, as far as I can tell.
“To Serve And Protect”. Try convincing the hard-partying students near the campus of that. “Officer, would you please serve me another beer, please?”
Jake and Elwood would be proud!
Its the new Bluesmobile.
Good lord, I hated these bathtubs – “roachmobiles” I call them. Ugly to the Nth degree, RWD be hanged!
For some reason, these, especially the Impala SS have a following, but for the life of me, I don’t understand it, I mean, who wants to drive a beached-whale of a car?
Truth be told, however, in the mid-90’s I actually did look at one of these as I understood you could get one – a Caprice Classic – at a good price, and at the time we were making several trips back-and-forth to St. Louis a year and we could have used the room. We made do with our Acclaim and later with our Intrepid and every car we’ve owned since.
Man, I hate those roachmobiles!
If you don’t like Fords, these were some of the last V8 powered RWD large cars available. I agree that the Caprices were not very attractive though. I convinced my parents to buy a 1992 Roadmaster. The windshield and front doors are common to the Caprice, but I think the rest of the body was unique and much better looking.
The Roadmasters – those I DID like and still do. At least the rear doors had a glass divider that allowed the window to roll all the way down, but I suppose if you calculated the amount of open space square inches, it probably equalled or pnly slightly bettered the roachmobile’s 1/3 open space. I wanted one and still see lots of them around town, some in better shape than others.
In 1991 my wife and I walked into a Buick showroom so I could show her one. She was impressed with the car, but not with the free car phone with purchase!
Wow, you just cant leave that window thing alone can you.
Sorry Zachman. That’s a chevy I would still buy. Agree that they are sort of ugly but they can be a reliable hot rod or with a trailer a good replacement for a truck.
@wstarvingteacher:
It’s gotta be the reliability of the drivetrain, as I can’t think of another reason for owning one.
I will agree on one point, however – the latter versions had the Impala C pillar Heineken kink added which gave the greenhouse a whole ‘nother look – so I guess I’ll have to grudgingly agree with you…phooey…I just talked myself into it!
I parked next to a pretty nice Impala SS the other day, the first one i have seen in quite awhile. Somehow, the Hoffmeister kink in the C pillar changed these cars completely. These, I could live without.
These cars were not nearly as good as the Box models they replaced. The main problem was the chassis was identical to the Box Caprices and the Whale cars were something like 500 lbs more than the Box. Nothing was upgraded for the extra weight. Even the Boxes had marginal front ends and brakes, the redeeming factor was the parts were cheap and anybody could wrench on them. In the Whales, this stuff wore about twice as fast. With the added fuel consumption, these cars were not good for taxi usage. This led to more Ford Panthers and here in Canuckistan, Chevrolet Luminas.
Due to my severe allergy to these “cars”, I cannot comment on the merits of actually driving one, however, having had wheel time in the previous “box” model, cop equipped, holy smokes…what a car. Reminded me of an ex-copper ’77 Fury I had, mind you with power steering that: a) had some feel, and b) a steering pump that would keep up with me when winding up opposite lock. Those old cop roaches had a certain edgy style, and not the “Pimp my Ride” kind….If you like that sort of thing. As for the “whale-mobile”, I understand there is a bit of a Jabba the Hut cult attachment to them, particularly the wagon, and seems to carry over to the Roadmaster Buicks as well. Lord knows I have tried over the years to see the charms in all things auto, having owned some truly odd cars, like renault 5’s and ’74 Luxury Lemans coupes and 340S Baraacudas AT THE SAME TIME. I always chalked it up to a sort of automotive schizophrenia (undiagnosed of course), but “the whale”….””the whale”…I just don’t get…
Chevy 9C1 cop cars, especially in dual exhaust Canadian spec form, were in fact great driving cars. The Canuckisanti car had factory duals, hot cam and zero emission controls. The cars went like stink for their day and made wonderful, rumbly V-8 noises. The only downsides were the ox-cart ride and the pathetic examples of bucket seats they were equipped with.
I had a Canadian Spec 1990 9C1 that had never had markings on it as my daily driver for almost two years. Up to my present ride, it was the fastest car I had ever driven. The really cool thing was mine had been converted to LPG and it was a really good job. It still went like snot and I was paying 23.5 cents a litre for LPG so I didn’t much care about its 12 mpg fuel habit!
It was totaled when I was t-boned and only the strength of that cop frame saved me life.
I’d like to point out that this is a 1994 model with the 5.7L LT1 as denoted by the dual exhaust (as opposed to the 4.3L L99 if single exhaust, yes still a V8). The black steelies are civilian wheels, not the wider truck Ralley wheels that came with the police package. It also features Impala SS tail lights for some odd reason.
Great cars, but then I’m biased by having had a “Bubble” 9c1 as a daily driver for several years. Suprising power with the 350 CID LT1, suprising handling with the police package suspension, plenty of room, sane gas mileage if you keep your foot out of it. Basically you get all the good things about a classic American V8 fullsize sedan with almost none of the downsides. These are still plentiful in the south and I see many doing taxi duty here in New Orleans.
I’m surprised so many people on here have negative opinions of these cars. I guess I’m biased since I have had a 94 and 95 9C1 and presently own a 94 non police wagon version. The 94-96 LT1 (5.7L V8) Caprice was the ultimate version of a platform that started strong in 1977, weathered the 80’s well and was finally given a seriously powerful, state-of-the-art engine for its last 3 years. Many police consider the 94-96 9C1 the ultimate policecar. Even with 15 years additional production, the Crown Vic never surpassed it in performance. Finally with the Charger and new Caprice there are police packages that best the old Caprice in performance and handling, but they are still not as roomy or considered as tough as the full frame cars were.
Keep in mind that the wagon versions are the very last BOF American full size wagons. They’ll take a 4×8 sheet of plywood in the back, have roughly a 1300 lb payload (at least my Roadmaster with the air suspension does) and with the 260hp/330 ftlb LT1 V8, they’ll haul people, cargo, AND ass. It’ll get 25mpg on the highway doing it, too.
The only comparable vehicle on the market now is the Suburban. The Flex doesn’t have the 8 foot cargo area with the back seat folded. Unfortunately, the Suburban is higher off the ground and less fuel efficient. The only replacement for a B-body wagon is another B-body wagon, but as they get older eventually I will probably get a used Suburban for hauling instead.
I echo your post totally! The LT1 wagons are just about the most useful cars available. Want to haul up to 8 people? No problem. Want to go to Home Depot and buy whatever you need for your project? No problem. Want a quiet, comfortable car to drive on a long trip? You got it. Just want to drive somewhere with a smooth ride and pushed (not pulled) around by a powerful V8 the way Americans were meant to be? It’s all over that. The Suburban is good for all that, too, but unless you need 4×4 or tow a large trailer, it’s about 1500lbs more to carry around than you really need.
Those are some great looking cars!
Sir, that’s not the trilogy; that’s the holy trinity! Wow. Would you like to send me a couple of more pictures and a little write-up? Your collection deserves a bigger audience. Write me at the Contact Form, if you would consider my invitation.
That looks like a Denver squad-car…out there with Oregon plates. Long way from home…
Those are probably good cars, being as they are, reskinned 1977-series Impalas. Still, as others, I fail to see their charms. They should have been sold in plain white wrappers, like other “generic” products:
CAR
This vehicle is suitable for everyday use.
Nevertheless, and for all of that…it’s part of our history. If anything, the Police package ought to be the most common one out there, as buyers’ tastes had definitely shifted towards things that pretended to the trail.