My family had one when I was a kid. I then later drove it as a high school car. I thought it was embarrassing to be driving a station wagon, but looking back now, that was actually a pretty sweet ride.
...back in the day when families had beautiful long-roof wagons, woody or not...before the ascendancy of the crap-ass Voyagers/Caravans and the environmental catastrophes known as Sport Utility Vehicles... ...give me a Caprice Classic or a Custom Cruiser or a Buick Estate wagon anyday...no stupid 120 pound third row seats to remove, these wagons' third row simply folded into the sub floor... ....style, good looks and comfort on those 300 plus mile roadtrips... ...are you listening, Detroit??
My mom drove an older model of the Caprice Wagon and in 1990 while she was driving to work the check engine light came on. She drove back home, and once in the driveway, an engine fire started. Huge flames, it was very exciting as a kid
It's remarkable that Chevy's carbureted 305 was up to 165 HP that year while the upscale Olds 307 was still wheezing out only 140. Why did GM not invest more in that engine?
3:37.............um, no., that isn't a "smart, newly-designed steering wheel", at least on the Caprice Classic, that's the same delta-spoke wheel used from 1978-'84. It just has a chrome/satin insert on the hub instead of the woodgrain insert that was used in years past. Now, that wheel WAS new for the Impala, which had used a wheel without the woodgrain hub, but not the CC.
The third way is as a door, with the window still up...which doesn't make any sense unless you are old enough to remember in about 1965 when Ford first introduced the 2-way (tailgate or door), but you had to roll the window down first. A couple years later they modified it so you could leave the glass up, and it became 3-way. (Nobody ever rolled the window down and opened it like a door, but you could.)
These were quite long in the tooth even in '85. GM was starting to die and didn't have the money to modernize these models. People seem nostalgic for them today, but sales were waning even then, as the boomers didn't want these old style boats.
Most boomers with kids around that time were opting for front-drive minivans, which offered a lot of utility and convenience, plus they didn’t require a v-8 powerplant, so they were much more economical. Front wheel drive was catching on big time with the American auto buyer by 1985, so you saw a lot of downsized front-drive station wagons on the road as well. I agree with another commenter in that nowadays these same people are driving crossovers in their old age.
Yes and no. Chevy kept selling these wagons until 1990 as did Oldsmobile and Buick even though the sedan models were refreshed and shrunk in 1986 (except for the Caprice). If there had not been a demand GM would have dropped them altogether. I remember how dated they looked in the late 80's but folks kept buying them. As Scott remarked a lot of families were trading them in for the Astro and Safari mini-vans because mini-vans were all the rage. But there were a lot of wagon hold outs.
and in 1991 they got bigger yet, GM quit listening to their customers and knowing what the market wants in the 70's. They had too many old farts in their departments.
@wincrasher2007: The ran all the way up to 1996 with a redesign in 91. They were succeeded by large SUV's I.E. Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade-not minivans because the minivan had already been out since 1984. 4 wheel drive was the top selling point and these wagons didn't offer it. Styling was another selling point and large SUV's had more styling appeal than Wagons and Minivans.
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My family had one when I was a kid. I then later drove it as a high school car. I thought it was embarrassing to be driving a station wagon, but looking back now, that was actually a pretty sweet ride.
I had this car in HS. I got made fun of driving it
My all time favorite estate wagon! Best looking wagon GM ever made!
Wow ! Those family trips back in those days were just fabulous !
...back in the day when families had beautiful long-roof wagons, woody or not...before the ascendancy of the crap-ass Voyagers/Caravans and the environmental catastrophes known as Sport Utility Vehicles...
...give me a Caprice Classic or a Custom Cruiser or a Buick Estate wagon anyday...no stupid 120 pound third row seats to remove, these wagons' third row simply folded into the sub floor...
....style, good looks and comfort on those 300 plus mile roadtrips...
...are you listening, Detroit??
Love these old car videos .
We had a 78 Caprice Classic. I'd sit over the hump in the back seat and sleep for miles with my feet up under the front seats. Are we there yet!!
My mom drove an older model of the Caprice Wagon and in 1990 while she was driving to work the check engine light came on. She drove back home, and once in the driveway, an engine fire started. Huge flames, it was very exciting as a kid
I love the radio.
01:15 Styling: "Point out the smooth, rounded lines"... uhm yeah right! 😂
Years ago, I owned an '85 Caprice Estate wagon
Thank you! Training for my new career!
I got a 1989 Caprice Classic wagon! 5.0L 307.
I hauledlumber, cement and cinder blocks for building my deck in the yard, in my tank.
Me gustan las camionetas; Chevrolet Caprice Estate Wagon y Caprice Classic Station Wagon; saludos y buenas tardes.
Love the wagon
Oh my god the paint on my 83 still looks just as mint as the paint on that wine red one
It's remarkable that Chevy's carbureted 305 was up to 165 HP that year while the upscale Olds 307 was still wheezing out only 140. Why did GM not invest more in that engine?
Cool Ass Car
My dad has that same car! Same color too
Love it
3:37.............um, no., that isn't a "smart, newly-designed steering wheel", at least on the Caprice Classic, that's the same delta-spoke wheel used from 1978-'84. It just has a chrome/satin insert on the hub instead of the woodgrain insert that was used in years past. Now, that wheel WAS new for the Impala, which had used a wheel without the woodgrain hub, but not the CC.
I’m shocked when they kept the wagon after the ‘91 redesign...
Im not super into the 91 and onward design.
But i think its okay. I really like the 94 to 96 with the lt1
Yup that my wagon the Woody!
3:44 those crotch cooler vents
1 of a kind
Had one oh my God how I love that car traded it for a 1980 Buick Riviera
I think this car was the family income saving.
Ahh bench seats !
My enhanced wheel protection is in the process of falling off.
It was a couch on wheels
three way tailgate? I only heard two
The third way is as a door, with the window still up...which doesn't make any sense unless you are old enough to remember in about 1965 when Ford first introduced the 2-way (tailgate or door), but you had to roll the window down first. A couple years later they modified it so you could leave the glass up, and it became 3-way. (Nobody ever rolled the window down and opened it like a door, but you could.)
The days when SUVs were not popular
I wanna own that shitbox
But i dont live in USA
;-;
These were quite long in the tooth even in '85. GM was starting to die and didn't have the money to modernize these models. People seem nostalgic for them today, but sales were waning even then, as the boomers didn't want these old style boats.
Funny thing is those boomers are buying those tubby fat lard crossovers now today lol.
Most boomers with kids around that time were opting for front-drive minivans, which offered a lot of utility and convenience, plus they didn’t require a v-8 powerplant, so they were much more economical. Front wheel drive was catching on big time with the American auto buyer by 1985, so you saw a lot of downsized front-drive station wagons on the road as well. I agree with another commenter in that nowadays these same people are driving crossovers in their old age.
Yes and no. Chevy kept selling these wagons until 1990 as did Oldsmobile and Buick even though the sedan models were refreshed and shrunk in 1986 (except for the Caprice). If there had not been a demand GM would have dropped them altogether. I remember how dated they looked in the late 80's but folks kept buying them. As Scott remarked a lot of families were trading them in for the Astro and Safari mini-vans because mini-vans were all the rage. But there were a lot of wagon hold outs.
and in 1991 they got bigger yet, GM quit listening to their customers and knowing what the market wants in the 70's. They had too many old farts in their departments.
@wincrasher2007: The ran all the way up to 1996 with a redesign in 91. They were succeeded by large SUV's I.E. Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade-not minivans because the minivan had already been out since 1984. 4 wheel drive was the top selling point and these wagons didn't offer it. Styling was another selling point and large SUV's had more styling appeal than Wagons and Minivans.