Photos posted by Hyperpack at the CC Cohort
General Motors certainly knew how to stretch their engineering and styling dollar, because when they had a hit, they stuck with it for years. This dynamic duo of family haulers shows how GM used the same basic body in three different decades.
OK, three different decades is a stretch, but it’s technically accurate. The Caprice Classic Wagon on the right is definitely a 1978 model, as evidenced by the grille, but as everyone knows, the “Sheer Look” downsized B-Body was introduced in 1977. In the absence of a VIN, narrowing down the specific model year of the Oldsmobile on the left is going to be a little more difficult, but the styling department slapped a grille from the 1982 Ninety-Eight on the front of the 1987 Custom Cruiser, and they stuck with it until the end of the line for this body in 1990. Therefore, it (barely) lasted into the 1990s, a very different environment from the one that begat it.
And we can see how little-changed the body was over all those years, and why not? I was born in 1977 myself, so the blocky B-Body wagon grew up with me, and it was everywhere. My parents were not the wagon type, but I have spent some miles in the back seat of a 1977 Caprice Classic Wagon that belonged to my aunt and uncle. It was orange with “Estate Equipment,” meaning that it had fake wood paneling up and down the sides. The thing I remember most about that wagon was the smell. Every car (and even every brand) seems to have a distinctive odor based on the plastic, carpet, and other interior materials used, and I think I’d still know that I was sitting in a 1970s Chevy wagon if you sat me down in the back seat today. The only thing missing would be my aunt admonishing me to stop kicking her seat back (I was just trying to see over the hood!).
Two engines were available in 1978 models such as our featured wagon, a 145-horsepower 305 two-barrel or a 170-horsepower 350 with a Quadrajet; neither were powerhouses, but they moved the family down the road with enough aplomb for that era of 55-mile-per-hour speed limits. The owner of this wagon has turned it into a “muscle wagon” of sorts, with a set of cool Keystone Klassic (I refuse to write “kool,” sorry) mags and white-letter tires. The look might not work with wood sides, but on this single-tone Light Blue Metallic Caprice (the perfect color), it works.
The Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser could, as I mentioned, fall anywhere between 1987 and 1990, but this viewpoint shows us how little the body changed in thirteen years…not at all! The coupes and sedans got a mid-cycle restyling in 1980, but the wagons made do with the same styling for the entire run, updated front clips and grilles notwithstanding. The Custom Cruiser was powered by Oldsmobile’s ubiquitous (for the 1980s) 140-horsepower 307, which was bolted to a 200-4R automatic overdrive and 2.73:1 rear gears. Given the Cruiser’s 22-gallon fuel tank, the family could travel for hours and hours between pit stops, because that was actually a fairly fuel efficient combination.
I can smell the Caprice’s interior from here, although the owner has added a few custom touches, as owners tend to do. I think I could do without the Ed Roth-inspired steering wheel, but at least it matches the blanket and neat door panel inserts. The Caprice has all the little touches that made a 1970s Chevy home to so many people; sparse instrumentation, woodgrain instrument panel, dashboard vents that have an…evocative nickname. This one has air conditioning, too, which would help in keeping the grumbling from the rear seat(s) to a minimum.
The Custom Cruiser’s dashboard is uniquely Oldsmobile, but if you weren’t into cars, you might not notice much of a difference. The interior colors are similar, and the upholstery is that peculiarly indestructible cloth fabric that so many cars in the 1980s wore. It has to be original, and it looks almost immaculate.
These wagons are so similar to each other that I can see one standing in for the other on some 1980s television action series, maybe The A-Team. In one scene, the bad guys might be getting away in a blue Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser; in the next scene, the director cuts to a decade-old Caprice flipping onto its roof after hitting a ramp disguised as a pile of trash bags. Admit it, that’s not so far-fetched.
Still, if given the choice, I’d choose the old Caprice Classic, if for nothing else but the memories of riding with my cousins to the campground when I was five. The public seemed to agree. Chevy has always been GM’s goliath, but 57,744 Caprice Wagons were sold in 1978 compared to 17,742 Custom Cruisers in 1987 (the first year of our featured Oldsmobile’s grille design). That’s still a lot of wagons, and you can see why GM didn’t bother to change them for so long.
Related Reading
Vintage Review: 1978 Chevrolet Caprice – Still Winning The Ball Game (by GN)
Curbside Classic: 1986 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser – One Of GM’s Greatest Hits (by Tatra87)
The station wagons from 1977 were the start of GM brand dilution to the extreme which shared every body panel between the four different divisions from the firewall back. Only the individual design of the plastic taillight lenses made them look different from each other and could be interchanged with each marque. Compare them to the 1957 model year when both the Chevrolet and Oldsmobile wagons shared the same taillights and housings with their sedan counterparts, and could never be mistaken from one another between brands.
Being an Olds guy first, I’d take the Custom Cruiser if for nothing else, all the power amenities that came with it
A couple of random observations.
1) While I might not have felt this way when these were new, I now feel that it’s the one with the “wood” trim that I would now want to have, if I were to have one of these. Wagons of this era are in relatively short supply out and about, and so why not go the Full Cleveland and slap on the di-noc?
2) The (probably newly-mandatory) 3rd brake light on the Olds looks ridiculous. Otoh, any other solution would have probably cost GM more than the dollar or two it cost to just slightly modify trim and screw it onto the tailgate.
3) When I was a kid, the thing that fascinated me the most about station wagons, and somehow these GM wagons exemplify that for me tremendously, is how a wagon was so nearly (or entirely) identical to the sedan model forward of the B-pillar. I don’t know why that was so amazing to me, but it seemed like some kind of magic. I still sort of feel that way.
The third brake light (or CHMSL, center high mounted stop light), was mandatory as of 1986. Many/most automakers tacked them on in some sort of lost cost fashion. You are free to have a differing opinion, but I find the Oldsmobile solution to be one of the better solutions of the era. Take a look at the 1986 Dodge 600 for a truly ridiculous execution of the third brake light.
GM’s wagons of this era remind me of the way Chrysler had dealt with wagons going back to the 50s. Every division used the same body, and that body didn’t always keep up with styling updates the other body styles got during a generation. In GM’s modern history, these wagons had a “just right” feel to them that had been missing in both A and B body versions for years.
The Olds LV2 307 was such a good engine. Used all over GM it was strong and reliable and got good MPGs.
The quintessential American station wagon. As far as I’m concerned, they could have kept building them forever. Just like the Volvo 245 on my shore…
These cars fit right in with the ‘Generic Movement’ of the time. Products with white labels with black block lettering proclaiming their contents.
‘GREEN BEANS’ or perhaps the most famous one ‘BEER’.
Or to really keep with the times, ‘Basic’ brand cigarettes. It’s interesting an interesting point you make. This minimalist rebellion in advertising coexisted with the very maximalist consumerism of the time. Perhaps we could see it as a gradual shift towards the plainer grunge influences aesthetics of the 1990s.
These cars were great, but perhaps their unchanging sensibilities also contributed to the collapse of the wagon market for SUVs. By the time they got their last new (aero) body the consensus amongst the target audience was that they would never be caught dead in a wagon, that was Mom’s car.
Full Cleveland — Former HQ of Roman Chariot which could customize your car with vinyl roofs, wire wheel covers, and replacement grilles. In this 250th year of American independence, you have the right to personalize your car any way you want to but…
We had an 87 Custom Cruiser as our family truckster growing up. My folks got it as a low mile demonstrator from the Olds, Pontiac, GMC dealer in town. It was dark blue with the wood of course and a matching dark blue interior.
We cross shopped the then-new Taurus wagon but decided it was too expensive for what you got. We also looked at a Caprice wagon in white with a dark maroon vinyl interior which I immediately hated.
The Olds was fine but having lived with it, including for a portion of my early driving years, I would rather not have another. It was slow, ponderous, and offered very little in the way of driving enjoyment. Though it was cavernous and could haul an entire dormroom worth of stuff. But, I do not have any nostalgia for these and wonder about those that do.
Now, the GMC Safari it was replaced with for daily duty in 1993…. That’s another story. And it would likely baffle people just like me with the Olds.
Not to nitpick but the wagons body DID get an update in 1980. It’s subtle but the taillight metal from 1977-79 does NOT fit the 80 up wagons. The plastic is the same (at least on the buicks)
A slight curvature difference in the side profile is why the metal doesn’t fit so they definitely tweaked the body subtly on the wagons with the sedans.
Now the mid cycle refresh on the fords keep the rear end the same, but there are definitely changes on the GMs
Wasn’t the 1990 Olds wagon the last American car with a carbeurator?
It was the last car with a four-barrel carburetor, but apparently the Grand Wagoneer kept its Motorcraft two-barrel through 1991. According to Hemmings, there was also still a 351-powered fleet Crown Vic with a carb in 1991, and I had no idea that one was still around that late.
I will call the Olds a 1988 or 1989 model. The trim panel on the “C” pillar was used from 1988-1990, but it does not have the door mounted seat belts used in 1990.
I had a 1986 Custom Cruiser back in the mid to late 1990’s. It was a good, comfortable cruiser that would haul most anything. As someone else mentioned, it was slow. You had to plan ahead and use all of the throttle to enter a busy freeway. Mine was a darker blue with the same blue interior as the featured car.
Good article, Aaron.
Thanks for narrowing it down, Patrick. We’re getting off into the weeds when we’re talking about door mounted seat belts…good eye!
Also, door mounted seat belts just sound like a bad idea.
Bad idea? I agree 100%. Leaving aside the question of accident protection (which I assume met the relevant regulations, but still…) I have never understood how somebody signed off on the permanent reduction in peripheral vision.
Luckily, I have heard (but cannot prove from my own experience) that the B-pillars did not change even when the door-mounted belts were installed, so you can retrofit the old style if you wish.
I remember the late 50’s through the mid 70’s, those were wagons as King Of The Road years, I had quite a few and miss them greatly .
-Nate
My employer had a 1986 Caprice wagon in our fleet of company cars. Equipped with the 307 Oldsmobile V8 and the 4-speed OD transmission, it was a dog compared to our much older LTD wagon which had a 351 V8.
The Caprice transmission failed after about 20K miles of mostly in-town driving in the hilly upstate NY community where we were based. After the transmission was replaced, someone put a large, homemade sticker on the driver’s side of the dashboard that said something like “only put the transmission in OD for highway driving”.