It goes without saying that when the new 1991 Caprice Classic debuted in the fall of 1990 it was considered, well, controversial. It was really a love it or hate it look that many decried, saying of the sedan in particular, “Is it coming or going?” From the C-pillar forward I found it attractive, and used it as a template for many of the cars I started drawing and designing as a teen.
It still sat on the 1977 vintage B platform, and came with the 305 standard. Caprices finally received a driver’s side airbag too. The Brougham-tastic Caprice Classic Brougham and Brougham LS were gone, with the sporty LTZ becoming the new top of the line.
As for the wagon, something about it evokes the 1971 vintage B’s, though I can’t quite put my finger on why. As usual, you could get your Caprice wagon in tony wood-sided Estate Wagon form, or plain-sided, which our featured car sports.
It’s too bad that the Chevy didn’t get the Vista roof like the Olds and Buick versions. Without it and the Buick’s slightly fancier C-pillar, it came across as a bit more, well, tubular.
Luckily because of the stout underpinnings of these, they are still very popular today, even sixteen years after the last one rolled off the the line in Arlington in favor of Tahoes.
This particular example has been sitting on the side of US 23 at AuGres, MI for a few months now. It’s seen a few hard winters, but the interior seems to have held up well. The odometer only showed 148k, which in light of the fact it’s a twenty one year old car, isn’t bad.
As you can see, it’s for sale, so if you want a sleek tube to roll in, well, here you go!
Too bad so many of these were destroyed by the Cars for Clunkers program. The 91-96 B bodys were the most popular car model (for trucks Explorers were the most popular) in the youtube videos documenting the destroying of the cars for the program.
I’ve seen a number of those videos, it was hard to watch…
Yeah, blowing up perfectly good engines and so forth. As a former mechanic and general car guy I HATE seeing abuse like that for any reason.
And I believe, by YouTube video amounts of this car in C4C being destroyed, I believe the Jaguar XJ6/XJ8, any GM truck made before 1997, and the Oldsmobile Aurora would share taking the cake for being the third most destroyed cars in C4C;(
I fail to understand the point of destroying perfectly good engines in the name of energy savings, when the most efficient overall vehicle choice, in terms of cost of ownership and overall energy consumption, as opposed to creating a new vehicle, is frequently (always?) an existing vehicle. But of course, C4C had little to do with fuel consumption and far more to do with short-term economic and political gain. Because we always think that way as a country. (Maybe as a species.)
Wow, what an excellent example of a well preserved Whale! If I were in the area, I would snap it up just for the novelty factor. For a GM car of this era, 148,000 is not low mileage; of the transmission hasn’t been done, it will soon be! The front end would almost definitely be in need of some attention. The good part is all the stuff is cheap and readily available.
Nice find!
Snap it up? Bad idea. If you look closely, you can see terminal rust in the lower, rear body panel. Being a Michigan car, it has seen lots of road salt and is a rotting corpse.
This is truly a love it or hate it car. With it’s bloated (almost obese) body, antiquated mechanicals, and the handling characteristics of a under filled waterbed it is hard to love. Then again, maybe it appeals to the automotive equivalent of chubby chasers. To each their own.
Much of what you say is true, Toad, but if you want to spend ten hours on an Interstate, you can’t beat one of these big, bloated, old sleds. These things just ate up the miles and you have plenty of room to spread out.
I’ve spent lots of ten-hour days on Interstates (including in my Dad’s ’69 Dodge Monaco as a driver as well as a passenger), and I’ve gotta say this is the last car I would choose. The soft seats that feel so good in the showroom give me a backache and buttache after about 45 minutes from lack of support, and the floaty suspension means the car only generally follows the course you’re setting for it. Give me a Fox Mustang with 302 for my ten hours and I’m there…
The seats got better as the trim and makes went up, the baser Caprice had a park bench, the Classic had a nicer pillow topped seat, the Roadmasters were even better, with the Limited version offering full lumbar and back adjustments, after 1994-95 the Roadmonster Limited got semi orthopedic designed seats that Buick was working on for all the higher end cars.
I’ll second that — made the first long trip in my Crown Vic Wagon this week from the Bay Area to Vegas and back. The bench seat was a bit unsupportive and butt-numbing, but there was plenty of room for hauling boxes of firewood to the Valley of Fire and then car-camping, and having driven only little imports on road trips before, I was really surprised at how fast and easily we got places …
Long road trips are the reason that I have my ’91 and ’96 Volvo sedans handy – they have probably the world’s most comfortable front seats, with lots of lumbar and thigh support. I can drive both those cars for hours and not feel anything when I reach my destination.
Ten hours on an interstate? Done that multiple times with my car (see avatar) and it’d be hard to think of doing it in a big Detroit sled with unsupportive seats and wallowy handling.
I have never been a fan of this genre. However, a few years back at a car show I saw one of these wagons that had been subtly modified. It was lowered a bit, and rollin’ on dubs. (20 inch rims, for you non Cali guys.) It was painted all black with tinted windows and a grey tweed interior. It looked damn fine, I must say.
I always hated the skirted rear wheels, which made these things look even more bulbous than they already were. The sedan lost them for ’93 and looked much better as a result, but the wagon was stuck with them until the bitter end.
I also didn’t like that these have flip up rear glass instead of a retractable one. When I had my old 4Runner, being able to roll down the back window from the driver’s seat was a real luxury, and I’d be upset by not being able to do the same on a traditional land barge wagon like this. At least they retained the two way tailgate.
+1 on the skirted rear wheels. I could not believe my eyes when this car debuted. Suddenly it’s the early 1950’s again, as in Nash. Not good then, and not good 40 years later.
Paul WILL second that knowing his absolute love of bathtub Nashes.
Man MI is rough on cars. I haven’t seen that many rusted 90s models, most of them were rust proofed well enough.
If that car were here on the island of Newfoundland it would be considered cherry for its age. People/dealers actually bring in older used cars from Ontario (similar conditions as MI I imagine) for resale. The really good ones however, are either from western Canada (dry climate) or Labrador (they only use sand on the roads since it’s too cold for salt to have any effect) but you’re going to pay dearly for one of those. Most ten year old vehicles that were sold new here are on borrowed time and when sold they are listed as parts only because they wouldn’t pass an inspection.
Coincidentally (or not) Michigan produces a huge amount of the nation’s road salt. Combined with Ohio, I think it is somewhere around 35% of total nationwide production.
And in my experience (SE MI for 2 winters) they do NOT spare the salt. And they wonder why their cars fall apart and their roads are the worst in America. Hmmm…
Love or hate? How can anyone hate them when they’re the funeral-director’s best friend?! We didn’t get them new here downunder, and the ones that did make it here secondhand ex-USA are mostly used as hearses. Regardless, I’ve always loved the styling, and a dark-colour Roadmaster wagon with wood applique is on my shortlist or cars to own one day.
My first thought exactly: a hearse. This Caprice model was sold in Europe officially but there’s little doubt what most were used for: no unmodified European wagon can take a 2-metre box!
With the Olds and Buick versions available, I just never saw the reason for the Caprice. There was just something ungainly about this one, and the other two flavors at least gave you an improved interior.
Take away the rust, paint it deep red metallic and you have my car.
I bought it 4 years ago from the original owner and have put 50,000 miles on it. The wife and two grown sons love it for long-distance traveling, you can drive it 75-80 all day long and still get over 20 MPG. There’s a lot of early 90’s GM cheapness in the appointments, fit and finish, That 305/TH700 still runs quietly and smoothly and it always starts right up even after sitting for weeks on end.
I may have to drive mine to work today in tribute to this piece.
I always liked the front end of these, that’s about it…until the Impala SS came out.
I like the idea of this car…not so much the actual execution. Nevertheless, it’s a car that I’m glad exists and is loved by many. The Cadillac version, Impala SS, and the later LT-1 versions are very cool, though.
Shame the interior quality wasn’t improved for the Impala SS version, even though the interior was somewhat facelifted – similar ugly two-spoke steering wheel (can’t understand why they didn’t use a 3/4 spoke design), parts bin “Cavalier / work truck” gauge cluster, and Rubbermaid plastics that continued to appear in GM cars even into the Epsilon platform era.
I love them. I really wanted one but have never found a really nice one for a good price.
I own a 94 caprice wagon with the LT1, white with no woodgrain. It was a fleet vehicle, it has no options except cruise. Has about 130k mi now. I’ve had very few problems in the 8 years I’ve owned it, and it can’t be beat as a highway cruiser. It’s very handy for hauling things with 7.5 x 4 ft of flat floor, which quickly converts to seating for 7 or 8. Mine is an AZ/TX car, so no rust. I plan to keep it for a long time. It’s an ideal 3rd car.