1984 Chevrolet Caprice Classic | Retro Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 พ.ย. 2024
- The beautifully squared off Caprice is most recognizable as a police car from back in the day, but nice civilian examples have been gathering the collector market's attention lately. Find one now while they're still somewhat attainable.
Show 308 | Originally Taped 11-08-1983
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Me as a European, if I close my eyes and think of "American Cars", this is the first thing I see: A Caprice Classic. And this is what I still admire. This is it.
The cool part about a car like that, if you live in a state without inspections, you can rip the emissions control equipment off and double the power. I miss cars like that. Their square bodies make it easy to parallel park.
Fitting. And as an American who owned a 1984 Caprice Classic until 2017, I can relate to you, these are very comfortable on road trips when you have the tires set at 35 PSI. These are not supposed to handle like a racecar, they're passenger cars. I don't know if they're as comfortable as a Citroen DS (I've never had the pleasure of driving one,) but these old cars are... Comfortable. You just sink into the seat, and you can occasionally come out of the car refreshed by day's end, like you had a nap for a few hours.
I also own a 1990 Mercury Grand Marquis Station Wagon ("Station Wagon" is American phrasing for "Estate Car") and it's a lot like this Caprice (same generation,) but it's about 11% heavier, and it has fuel injection. I once slept funny on an uncomfortable bed, then my back muscles were messed up and I couldn't walk right. After I drove the Grand Marquis for 55 miles, my back was fine. None of that was an exaggeration.
I am an American and I greatly admired my grandmothers Caprice Classic. They were extremely smooth.
This is built on GMs B body platform. Most of which had V8 power. They ALL were good cars. When you get a chance, look up when ALL the GM divisions were up and running and you could see all the wonderful cars on that platform. Then you also have the EXTREMELY popular G body platform. As you can tell I am kind of a gearhead. I love cars and even studied Automotive Technology in my high school days. It was absolutely fascinating. GM helped Sponsor our class and that made me love it even more.
@@JohnSmith-wx9wj no way in hell you're getting 155 horsepower just by removing the catalytic converter....
Yes 155 hp from a 5.0! Shameful really
*Now THIS is what I'm talking about. Bring out more of that 80s and 90s GM retro gold!*
Agreed 👍👍
Hell yeah baby maybe a lil Mopar too ;)
👍
Agreed!!! 🙂🙂
Yeah we all want that 0-60 in 13.9 seconds
Nothing compares to a Box Chevy, definitely one of GM's greatest hits
Agree 100%
Chevy had a few hits on the hot 100.
It's really a shame they just let it die on the vine, the Vics only got better and the Caprices got worse.
If these cars were to make a comeback I would camp at dealerships anticipating arrival!
@@exxusdrugstore300 gm had to compete, and in that they decided downsizing and FWD was the best route. Some of the smaller full/midsized fwd gms of the 90s/00s honestly weren't all that bad either.
My uncle past away last year at age 62. As a City Boy he didn't buy his very 1st Car till he was 27 years old. His choice was a Brand New 1985 Caprice Classic Coupe in 2 tone Blue. My Uncle Drove that Caprice his entire life tho it got 2 Repaints in those 36 yrs. In 2010 the 5.0 started knocking at 120.000 miles so He Put in a 5.7 300HP crate motor. 1 month Later the Tranny went so a New Turbo 400 with a shift kit got installed. 1 week later the rear went, so a Brand New Stronger geared went in. 2 weeks later New Stainless Tru- Dual Exhausts. Next He replaced the Springs but wanted Stronger Springs & surprised to find out Springs for a 1970 Chevelle fit perfectly into 80s Caprice. My uncle was old school. Worked same job his whole life & drove the only car he ever purchased. Dear uncle, may we meet again in afterlife. Miss You so much.
Well written memory of your dear Uncle !
The two - tone paint was nice on these, I bet the blue looked really good!
This car looks a thousand times more normal to me than any current offerings.
You'd look good in a red one.
Too bad they only had 155 horsepower from a 5 liter V8
It's all about what you grow up with. Mid-to-late 2000s cars are the most familiar to me.
These cars are a hell of a better than some of em today!!!!!
This car was designed by car designers.
Current cars are not made to be anything besides mobility devices. It's not about the car, or the drive anymore. But how tolerable is it to sit in during the commute and how "connected" it is. Consumers care more about a cars ability to connect to Android auto or Apple car play than they care about the expensive thing under the hood that moves their wheeled I-pad. And it really shows because I see a lot of people driving brand new "future jalopys" because they're just gonna trade it in again and all they bought it for was the infotainment and driving training wheels, er driving assists I mean.
the retro reviews get way more views than some random crossover, it can literally be any retro review and i’m watching it, the numbers don’t lie either, keep the retros coming!
When I was growing up, my grandma's best friend had one of these in green with a green crushed velvet interior. Riding in the back seat of this thing made me feel like king for the day.
Velour interiors were way more comfortable than any leather.
My grandma had a green caprice with the green crushed velvet interior 😊
@matt 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Bittersweet one for me. Tons of personal history , as the Caprice was my grandparents car of choice for all of my memories of them. Flash forward to high school , and a few friends were driving used beaters. “ Seats six comfortably “is such an understatement! Thanks Motor Week for posting this one !
Your comments rock. MY GRANDPARENTS also owned this vehicle. In Los Angeles. When California was indeed great.
My first car after moving to the US from the UK in 1990 was a 77 Impala. To this day it is my favorite car, I loved it. A true yank tank of the era. After driving marinas and escorts back in England this was a pure treat every day. The body rotted away but that engine never missed a beat.
It’s funny to think that folks in the mid-80s considered the death of the large V8 RWD car to be imminent. But the Caprice had 12 more years of life left in it in 1984, and would undergo a rebody 7 years later. It was canceled only because GM needed the factory space to build Tahoes and Yukons. Ford’s Panther cars would continue for another 27 years after this review aired.
True that. The government fleet sales were great and they beat the pants off of the Ford Panther platform with the LT1 powered B-Bodies with plans to upgrade with the coming LS-based engines. Heck they already spent millions to to upgrade to ODB-II for the 1996 model year but they wanted the much bigger profit margins of the truck/SUV sales.
@@colinw7205 Naa, they retired those Chevys cuz Ford's Panthers dominated family n fleet sales.. All kidding aside, both sedans were great, but that Chevy coupe was beautiful.. The Panthers were retired only to sale turbo mini sedans with 4cy n v6s.. Police hasn't been happy about that which has brought the P71's back from retirement, proving them hard to replace, thank God..
For those who don’t know:
The Ford Panther platform was an automobile platform that was used by Ford Motor Company from the 1979 to 2012 model years.
Ford Crown Victoria, Lincoln Continental, etc
@@jkeelsnc i agree man, it was purely political bs why they quit making them.. Replaced them for "cheap" fwd smaller cars n/a n tubro 4 n 6 cy engines.. Those cars didn't last long cuz they were cheaper to make but harder to self maintain so ppl haven't been too happy, that's why law enforcement n car makers have gone to small trucks instead..
The oil embargo was still a recent memory.
Still own my aunt who bought a 87 Caprice Brougham LS Maroon on Maroon with leather brand new. She passed away in 90 and my grandfather kept it in the garage with car cover over it for years. Only started it and drove it around a few blocks only in spring and summer. It's immaculate. My grandmother and grandfather gave it to me back in 96 I still own it and take very great care of it. Only thing I had done to it was rust proofing the undercarriage. Only drive it in the summer.
Found the same model as yours in July. Its a 89 with under 50k. Had Waxoyl at the factory to prevent rust.
I love Chevy Caprice, durable, beautifull and confortable car. 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988 is my favorite. Caprice wagon is my favorite
That was smart seeing how mints ones are fetching upwards of 16,000$.
@@kensmechanicalaffair They are definitely going up in price, but I can't part with it even tho I got offers. August 12th of 2022 was the last time I drove it. Sitting at 23K miles now.
@@2414kels I understand. I'm not a fan of hoarding, but if something was passed down the last thing I would do is sell it.
I'm a sucker for the Caprice of this era. Boxy, spacious, and handles like a boat in the best way possible. A shame that there's not really an equivalent of these large, floaty sedans in today's automotive world.
The closest you're going to get to this today is a Suburban.
Lexus LS-series, sans sport packages.
@@SereneSpeed actually the current LS isn't as smooth as it used to be. A Subaru Legacy rides nicer.
Genesis G90 2021 begs to differ
Minivans are a comfy alternative to the Caprice wagon, with smooth ride, ability to fit 4x8 sheets of plywood and seat 8.
I got one of these 1984 Caprice Classics as a hand me down from my Grandma. It was old, creaky, slow, and probably my favorite car ever. I still miss it to this day.
When I was in high school in the early 00s you could still get these for $500/$1000 as beaters and they would run, and super clean ones could be had for 2500/3000
Try $10,000 today
@@copperlocks1 three years ago you could get a brand new Nissan Micra S base manual transmission for that price in Canada lol😂
@@Blakecryderman7244 Don't forget to add the GST and HST taxes!! 🤣🤣😂😂😱
I bought my 79 Impala for $1500 back in 2001 when I was 19 and still have it to this day.
@@copperlocks1 yeah, my 6th grade teacher bought a 2015 standard transmission Nissan micra 5 years ago brand new for $10,988. Amazing price. The MSRP isn’t the real price, you’re right
I remember these new on the lot. Always loved this style Caprice. Can’t beat the comfort of this car.
Yeah bro but the bad thing was how much gas ⛽️ that thing burned
Still one of my favourite models
@@migueldelaguira8421 20 miles per gallon (5 gallons every 100 miles) is really not horrible for this model, and its year. I had a 1984 Caprice with the 305 engine, and an overdrive transmission. Most of my tanks of fuel were 20 MPG, but I wasn't just doing city driving. I probably could have gotten 25 MPG consistently if I did a few modifications to it, like an electric fan to replace the belt-driven fan, a block heater to even use in summer, and some fine-tuning to the carburetor. If that only put it up to 23 MPG, E0 Gas would have also bumped it up a bit, though it costs a lot more here.
@@migueldelaguira8421 I agree and even with the modern pair of platform town cars they are bad on gas
Great video. I remember being a little kid in the 80s and these cars were literally in every other driveway.
It's odd seeing one of these without rust or 26" wheels.
My shitty neighbor bought them all.
Saw one of these going for 3k used, would say it was mint condition if it wasn’t for those ugly 30” tires it had
@@KFCGAMING55 give me that car right now
@@KFCGAMING55 I want it, link?
All black people don't rim these cars up. Early to mid 2000s rap culture started that. The relative that actually purchased the car ended up passing it down, and the child remembers how cool it was, so they decide to slap rims on it. The orginal black culture was a little more expressive, because they wanted the stock look, but with touches of royalty or elegance, in almost a English fashion(so to speak.) The big rim culture was created from something that was shows identity, but end up creating an insecure monster. Even Issac Hayes' Cadillac is in a museum and considered art, even though for the time it was considered gaudy. The real culture rides it like a prince or Duke would, if you can picture that...badges and the like, Vogues and all that "Jazz"
The priorities back then were a comfortable ride and room for 6. “Handling” meant the steering wheel was easy to turn with 1 hand. We were happy with that for decades. The 141 ft stop from 55 seems dangerous.
Sure the limit was 150ft
It's a proven fact that all cars stop much faster if you throw them sideways in front of what you were about to hit. Can't do that with your fancy modern cars with ABS and stability control.
That’s my priority now. Comfortable ride and plush seats. Todays firm seats are designed by fucking sadists.
I mean cars now average 132 feet, according to Consumer Reports, so it doesn't seem that bad given the technology of the day.
@@carzak Come on! A tire has much greater traction perpendicular to it's direction of rotation and you have the added benefit of the side profile of the vehicle being an air brake, particularly on these larger, boxier cars. It's true because science!
Not only was the wake sad, John Davis, but the death of the full-sized all-American car was more complete than anyone could have possibly imagined. RIP U.S. Auto Industry, you are truly missed.
I can't believe how much the industry has changed in my short 35 years on this rock. I remember Chrysler, Mercury, Oldsmobile and Pontiac dealers. Now you can't even walk into a Ford dealer and get a freakin car. They only offer soccer mobiles and the Mustang.
Great comment. 1984 was just the beginning for the Japanese! Some say the 90’s makes and models from Japan were the best. Which I can totally agree!
Yeah GM especially never learned how to make anything else well.
@@Andyface79 Especially the 1994 - 1999 Chevrolet Suburban. Used buyer beware, even if it's being _given_ to you and it's new old stock. The darn steering column gear selector mechanism (beyond the lever, the part transferring the shift changing energy to the cable) seems to be made out of ridiculously weak pot metal, the oil cooler lines are held on with a tiny clip, and the engine has no emergency shut-off switch if the engine's low on oil. God help you if you have a 6.5 TD...
And I have a 6.5 TD. Most everything that didn't act up is in the engine compartment, strangely enough.
@@Andyface79 But this 1984 Caprice, if it has a 305? What a reliable and good car. Minus the transmission, that is. But that might be since the manual said "you don't need to change the ATF until 100k."
When I was a kid growing up in my neighborhood, one of our neighbors had a 1986 Caprice Classic coupe model with a 305 V8 in it originally. He turned it into a street/strip machine with a GM Chevrolet Big Block 502 Ram Jet crate engine mated to a 5 speed manual transmission. I only got ride in it a handful of times when I was a pre-teen. He kept it running good throughout the mid 90s up to around 2005 when he sold it. I miss that car. It was one heck of a ride.
Yep those engine bays had plenty of room for a Big Block Rat Motor.
I miss these cars. The old Monte Carlo as well. I owned a 1973 350 powered Carlo and loved it. My girlfriend at the time had a Caprice Classic. Both great, reliable cars. I wish I still had mine.
4:57 When Car reviews actually paid attention to what was important for a buyer.... Dipsticks and spark plugs/basic maintenance location and ease. reviewed, these were the good times
they still do lmao, you just watch the wrong reviews
@@felixnurscher6017 I'm aware that some do this but most don't, and there's a TH-cam guy I cannot remember his name but he literally does the mechanical breakdown to tell you everything that's going to be a nightmare in the future, love that guy Literally everything from timing chains, water pumps and everything, this man is doing gods work
Most new cars are geared towards people that can’t even figure out how to fill up a washer fluid reservoir so no one needs to talk about those things anymore.
@@_Slaab_ You mean the companies actively try and sabotage the home mechanic to the point where newer cars are nearly impossible to work on without a few thousand dollars in specialty scanners and tools
I remember seeing these everywhere as a kid, my dad even had the Oldsmobile version the Cutlass Supreme. Definitely brings back the memories much simpler times when cars were cars with no fancy gadgets or gizmos to break and much easier to maintain, no internet or stupid expensive smart phones to get lost on for hours.
Sad what we are now. Sports cars don't have the same aura they used to. A Lambo will pass by me and I won't even look at it, every car has 400 hp and hits 60 in 5 seconds or less. Back then, only high end exotics ran that fast. Seeing a Porsche or Ferrari was an event. Now, nothing. And don't get me started on smart phones, worst invention ever.
Yup, them's were the times, when men were men and women were women, and GM cars refused to start on cold days and pissed oil out of their valve covers and rode like like a Bayliner with a rusty rudder. Go home, Boomers. You're drunk.
Cutlass Supremes of the time were mid-size coupes, G body cars.
The Oldsmobile version was a Delta 88
@@chooseymomschoose Poor Milly.
I love these classic MW episodes!
My dad had an 85 Caprice. I learned to drive in it.
That car was awesome. He had it for almost a decade and sold it with over 300,000 miles on it. Still ran like it was new.
I was in high school when that generation of Caprice came out. A good friend's parents had one and I thought it was so nice. I can't even imagine driving something like that now.
I did not see this video coming! Thank you for sharing another GM video. That is when Caprice was in did "Classic" and its prime. The best was the Caprice Classic Brougham LS.
People forget that this was the ‘downsized’ full size platform that GM introduced for 1977! A decade later, they (along with the Ford Panther cars) were the biggest new cars you could get anywhere!
Yep. Ford ads made a big deal about the 77 Chevy's smaller size when the LTD was still a true full size car. Then Ford did the same thing for 79
I remember, I was 15 years of age.
Yes, this is smaller. My grandparents had this Caprice and a ‘74 model year. The 84 looked like a compact parked beside it 🤣
Those 1971 - 1976 G.M. cars are ridiculously large. Some (Buicks and Oldsmobiles) could be just a bit over 19 feet long, counting the bumpers. That previous generation of G.M. cars didn't age very well, though. They're supposed to be some of the biggest money pit cars to restore, between rust issues and the doors not aligning right and everything else. You can't easily get a rear window gasket for the 71 - 76 Station Wagon Glide-Away "Clamshell" models, either.
... If you want to change the rear shocks on a Clam Wagon, you're in for a job. Better know how to do it right, better have the right tools...
@@101Volts My dad traded in our 68 Grand Prix with a 428 in on used 71 Caprice Classic 4 door hardtop. To add insult to that injury is the fact those things, like you say had rust "issues". By the time I got it in 86 the motor and tranny were still strong, but the fucking body was melting away..... Good times.
The dude in the trunk though, and the throwback NBA tiny shorts... I'm here for both! 🤣
If they actually made something interesting like this today I would order one on the spot in coupe form
They're to busy sniffing lithium.
Wow does this bring back some memories. My Father had one of these and I’ll never forget riding in this huge car and how it sounded and smelled 🏁
@@dr.jiIIaIicecooper2587 the good old days!
My very first car was a 1986 Chevy Capri Station Wagon, I loved that car, smooth ride, 305 engine, V8 and it was able to carry 9 people comfortably, to this day I still miss that car
I was given a 1977 Chevy caprice with the 305 engine. It was yellow. Use to pick up my homies in it before school got me the nickname of school bus cause of the color 😂
In reality this was replaced by a bigger bodied Caprice and that was replaced on the assembly line by the Tahoe. The cars may have shrunk in general but a lot of customers went up in size to SUV land.
My dad had a 1978 Caprice Classic he bought new. He loved that car.
Loving that interior, that’s a proper sedan!
I’d give my eye teeth for that maroon two-door in this road test - how much fun would it be to go back in time and buy these classic old vehicles brand spanking new…..??!!!
My coworker owned a 82-83 caprice 2 door. The rear glass was 3 sided, giving the caprice a fast back look. Being a Ford man, I thought it was gorgeous. The maroon 2 door you see here doesn’t have that rear glass style. 🥲
So true. Good looking car.
@@cobracharmer6178 if it had the "hot wire bent" 3 sided glass, that would have been a 77-79 Coupe. They went to the flat style with the 1980 model refresh.
@@jacktorse2145 correct! I had one of those.
I Own A 78 Caprice Coupe w/27K Miles
My grandmother’s brother worked for GM. She ordered an 85 Caprice and he watched it being built. In 2004, I got my license and it was my first car for a short period. That thing was a land yacht 🤣
I had 84 red two door just with hubcaps and no wire wheels. Bought it from a little old lady in 2001. It had less than 70,000 miles on it. I put another 200,000 miles on it with only one rebuild of the 700r4 transmission. Great car !!! Used to get 21.5 mpg doing 75 mph every day to work. such a smooth ride.
Dad bought the Pontiac version of this in '83 new the Parisienne, had the 5.0 4speed o/d and The excellent F41 suspension with a Positraction rear end. At 3800lbs It was a very light car for its size, even by today's standards ( my Acura TL weighs 4000 ) it was really good on the highway and managed to exceed 22mpg Such a great car !
From 1976 to 1990 my Father got a new CC every 2 years. Loaded, 4 Dr. Sedans. Always the biggest engine and the famous F41 suspension with a positraction Differential. He knew how to order up a car. Great cars. I used to love borrowing his for short trips. Smooth, comfy, huge trunk and the A/C would freeze you out.
I always liked these boxy Chevy full size cars. Grew up with a couple of them. Very comfortable to ride and drive. Too bad they don’t make these anymore. Cars today ride stiff and too much on tech features.
lets make our own
I bought a new caprice in 84, 4 doors, white red interior with a 305. One of the best cars I have ever owned. I’m 62 now, would like to find a good one to drive in retirement.
id recommend buying a used 1992-2011 mercury grand marquis or 1991-1997 lincoln town car if you want a comparable car to the caprice since they both share the roominess, rwd, v8 power, and body-on-frame construction we all love
Perry They have quite a few of these Box caprices for sale in Miami Florida I was there over the summer and I found plenty 4 sale
Perry,I have one for sale. 89 Caprice Classic LS Brougham with 47k. Are you in the Midwest?
Perry, you and I are in the same boat. Wife and I bought a new '84 Caprice sedan in the fall of '84..solid cream with the same interior color as the car in the video. All 3 of our kids got their first car ride in that car coming home from the hospital! Great car...Now that I am retired, was thinking along the same lines as you...would be great to have that sedan again. Great trip down memory lane!
If you didn't have one of these (or the Ford counterpart), you almost certainly knew someone who did. I remember when these were everywhere. They're what a car ought to look and ride like.
I'd like to have one and probably will someday. For now, I've got a '93 Caprice Classic wagon with the L05, nicely optioned otherwise, and I *love* it. It's nice to be comfortable in a car, instead of all scrunched up and almost unable to get in because the roofline is so low. It's also a trip to throw an eight foot sheet of plywood (or insulation in my case) in the back without the first problem! Try _that_ with an ugly crossover (which is all of them).
The only crossover that i allow my eyes to prowl upon is the 2006 nissan xtrail manual with 4x4. That thing is the mini version of the Lexus Lx 470, which is a GOAT
I found one back in July. 89 Brougham LS and 45K. I want to part with, but then I don't. Ford CVPI has drawn me in the last 5 years. Don't know what to do.
@@rjlopez9358 I wouldn't bother with a crossover unless it had 4WD.
I remember these cars were everywhere in the 80s, from suburban and rural driveways and roads to Taxi Fleets and Police Departments. We owned quite a few Full Size GM Sedans, Coupes and Station Wagons in the 80s, Chevrolet Caprice, Buick Electra Estates and Oldsmobile Delta and Custom Cruisers, these were all my family drove and then finally in the 90s, when these were no more we bought Chrysler and GM Minivans, these cars will always have a spot in my heart. Thank you for the great memories and a trip down memory lane.
Chrome on cars? I have a 1990 Caprice Brougham LS a living room on wheels - love it & will never part with it! This is when America built cars yes cars unlike what is being produced today!
As someone who was born in the early 1980s this takes me back to my childhood. My grandmother had an '81 iirc that I spent a ton of time riding in it until my grandparents got older at which point they opted for a little grocery getter in the mid to late 90s. Before my parents got a minivan in the early 90s our family took that car everywhere! Lots of great memories in a Caprice Classic!
I had one of these and loved it!
The same to me. Mine was a 83 export-model (stiffer suspension, 140hp 305, 3speed, yellow flashers and km-speedo). I drove it in the 90s in Germany. At that time, there was only one more car with that size, the W140 S-Class. Loved and still missing it...
I own a 1983 Buick Electra Park Avenue. It's basically a Caprice Classic in a tux. Spoils you with supreme comfort. Best driving position ever.
The old Buicks were a fine car,I had a 1966 LeSabre that came from a old man that used it as a Sunday driver. 348 wildcat under the hood. She would roll down the interstate at 120, felt like 50!
@@lestercarter1391 Sounds great. Unfortunately my '83 Buick uses an Oldsmobile motor. 307 cubic inches of pure lard with a quadrajet on top. One of the least horsepower per cubic inch motors in the world. Planning to swap that with something more substantial. The Caprice Classic with the 305 or 350 were far superior in comparison.
I love that cars sizes were based off their wheelbase. “The FULL SIZE 116.5 inch wheelbase..” never mind the 2 feet of overhang off each end
212" length means about 40" front, 56" rear. Closer to 3 ft and 5 ft.
Well wheelbase to this day is a good indicator of actual interior space. So they're ignoring the (huge) overhangs on purpose.
I was a teen when this was new. It really wasnt on the radar of young people... it was for your parents or the cops.. Now I see how cool it actually was.....
I don't know what you consider to be "young people", but not only were they on my radar, my second-ever brand new car as a 21 year old was an '81 Caprice V8 very similar to the one in this video, just a different color. Beautiful car, and yes, very cool. It's still one of my love-to-have-back favorites of the 40-ish vehicles I've owned so far.
My first brand new car as a 19 year old was a crank window, no AC, stick shift '79 VW Golf/Rabbit, but two years later I traded it in on the new Caprice because I was making much better money and wanted something bigger and more luxurious. I grew up in a Chevy family and had fond memories of riding in B-bodies over the years including going to the dealership with my dad in the fall of '64 to order a new '65 Bel Air, so I was no doubt predisposed to liking them.
My first car as a 17 year old was a '69 SS Camaro with a built L78 396, which is also on my list of former vehicles I'd love to have back. I sold the SS and traded in the VW to help pay for the Caprice. Owning that rat motored beast for four years was another factor in my profound lack of interest in the typical sticker-covered, anemic, so-called "performance" cars that were being peddled to young new car buyers in the late '70s/early '80s.
I wasn't expecting the guy in the trunk....well done MW!
Just bought a Chevy Caprice sedan 1 month ago and i cant even compare how smooth it is to drive to anything else i have driven past 10 years. Only needs some body work and new paint to look prand new. I just love it!
Ahh my childhood. Love it. Interesting how he was talking about it like a dinosaur already in 1984. Makes it all the more impressive that the Panther lived until 2011
Had a 1984 Caprice Classic identical to the blue one hes standing next to, great car,owned it for 9 years.
I was an auto tech at a. Chevy dealership in the 70s, and I remember everyone being shocked in 1976 when GM downsized the big cats. People saw them almost as compacts.
My grandmother had one of these in the two door version when I was a kid. Never realized how cool and rare it actually is. It would make an awesome street rod today. Very hard to find these as coupes.
My dad had an '84 Pontiac Parisian. Sure looked like a Caprice to me.
A lot of people called the Parisienne the Cheviac.
Pontiac downsized the Bonneville in 1982, quickly regretted it, and rushed to make the Parisienne. The later Parisiennes eventually went back to the sheet metal stampings used on the 81 Bonneville for the back half of the car, but the front of them always just looked just like a Caprice. GM loves Badge engineering
I was 1 in 84 but I enjoy the retro motorweek more then the new stuff. Definitely a reminder of a better time
This Caprice needs the F41 option, a must have.
I had two cutlasses with and without F41. It was night and day difference with the f41 suspension, and there was really no ride quality penalty.
The F41 would have been a must have for me!
all the big 3 had their version of the f41 ,the fords with the handling package (I forget what they called it ) handled well to ,even way back in the 60,s
@@evanbarr9270 Yes, My cousin had a couple Crown Victoria's, one was an '01 the other an '04, that he ordered with the handling package.
Pops had a '77 "Car of the year" model with the F41 new from factory. Must get the F41.
I missed this car so much I bought a 1990 and she's mint!
Lovely looking car! Simple and handsome styling. 👍
GM discontinuing cars like this made themselves irrelevant.
SUV 's took over; and crew cab trucks
@@copperlocks1 yes because GM and other domestic manufacturers did that. They forced people into trucks. Most others went to Lexus and BMW for their sedan needs.
@@nebelwerfer199 It is truly sad; I loved the B body and G body Station Wagons
@midnitesquirldog1 they made the Caprice until 1996 or so and that was good.
@midnitesquirldog1 totally agree about it's looks.
I still remember my parents’ ‘85 Caprice. So many great vacation memories in that car. The back seat was a great place to look out and watch America pass by. And the thing took anything thrown at it in stride. Just a rock solid car even my sister couldn’t kill once she started driving.
My dad was disappointed however when he went to order it. The rosewood color pictured here was what he wanted. But it - and the wood look dash - were dropped after ‘84. I recall him saying the silver/stainless steel look of the ‘85 dash and interior trim reminded him of a kitchen sink.
I had an '84 4 door, 305. Good car for the day. My grandparents had an '83 and My dad had an '81 with a ton of miles on it, it was so quiet you couldn't tell if it was running.
I've always wanted one of these. I've owned two bubbles, a 91 and 92 classic. But I need to eventually get one of these boxes. Unfortunately they're so incredibly hard to come by these days.
I have an 89 Caprice LS Brougham for sale with 47k miles. Are you in the Midwest?
I daily drive one of these with a 350 swapped in. They are the best daily drivers ever made. Super comfy tanks that handle way better than they should.
I’d like to be able to get my hands on an 86 2 door (the last year for the 2 door caprices) and throw in a more modern LS truck engine (since they are cheap and plentiful) with a mild cam, better intake manifold, long tube headers, 3.73 gears with posi rear end, dual flow masters and paired to a 4l-80 to handle that power. Would make a very fun car to enjoy pulling up on red lights and flooring it all the while being a very comfortable ride.
My first car was an '80 Caprice Classic. My brother gave it to me after a deer ran into it and died. He bought it from a man in a bar for $500. It was like a smooth boat
Drove 80's Caprice police cruisers, they were great cars. Memories.
You know.........I had a feeling you tested this at one point because I saw it on the '85 Tweaks & Changes episode. One of my all-time favorite cars!!!!!! BTW, this is actually either a 1983 model or a 1984 prototype. 2 things on the interior give it away. First, at 3:56 & 4:18, the shift lever still has that.......um, classic Chevy blood pressure bulb-style knob whereas the '84 models switched to a more elegant brass-style knob. Second, at 4:18 & 4:23, this model has just the cruise control on the turn signal stalk, where the '84's got the muti-function stalk which grouped the turn signals, cruise control, & wipers all together,
I am both impressed and horrified by reading this comment.
I got an '83 that I am rehabbing in the driveway. I have had her since high school. She still runs. Grandpa is the original owner.
Bumping around every ghetto to this day with huge wheels on it and massive speakers in the trunk.
Makes it easy for the police to arrest the drivers. Follow the noise…
Stop stereotyping lame.
Amazing what he said at the end about “replacements for the Caprice and cars like it” as that proved absolutely true in due time. However, the Caprice got one more very successful generation as the “Caprice” and then that category of car got replaced with the Impala namesake which is indeed a smaller, more expensive and complex car, but only because of government regulations, modern technology and such, and has basically stuck to that ever since. Hilariously though, many years later they brought back the Caprice name as an even smaller than the then gen Impala police vehicle only. Not even available as a civilian vehicle, and it looked a lot like the previous gen Impala. Very, very strange life the Caprice name and category ended up living over the years.
I would love to test drive a caprice classic. When my family lived in Saudi Arabia. We saw them every where.
I fairly recently had a 88 Chevy celebrity - which was sort of the midsize version of The Caprice. It had a four-cylinder, got like 20 miles to the gallon around town, and it was a really big car! It was the most comfortable car to drive, armrest on each side, felt like you were driving your couch - but it's still handled and did everything you wanted it to do, when you wanted it to do it.
Had virtually no anti-pollution crap on it, had about four wires going to the engine, this is an exaggeration. Had fuel injection though.
Unfortunately it was an old car when I got it, only had 43,000 Miles when it was 30 years old or so. But then one thing broke after another, but I could still drive it, and then some of the coils went out, so is funny that everything else held out so I could still limp it along, but it needed too much work, needed a head gasket too.
So hard to find old cars that are in good condition like that
The review ends with something of funeral knell for the car, but the platform lasted 12 more model years. And little did we know that the best was yet to come. The 94-96 Impala SS was truly a fitting send off for the B-bodies and helped cement their legacy as one of the best platforms. Thank you for posting these!
We had an '86 when I was a teen, then I bought a '79 coupe in highschool, then a '93 9C1 in my mid 20's. Great cars, all of them.
A vehicle that is very near and dear, and of high emotional importance to me.
If I were in charge at General Motors, I would make bringing back these Cars one of my top priorities.
It’s quaint now to see him talk about the epidemic of downsizing cars, now that everything is a bloated crossover and all we young people want is a simple small fun vehicle with a stick.
It's hard for us in the modern day to comprehend the radical resizing of this full size lineup when this bodystyle was introduced for 1977 model year. Many use the term downsizing, but in reality it was slightly larger inside (where it counts) in most every dimension, and was well received from the getgo. The panther platform Ford followed suit a couple years later. Unfortunately GM killed off the platform before it's time, whereas Ford continually updated their platform for many more years
As a retired LEO who owns a '95 Caprice 9C1 (Police Package), (it went form being my daily driver to a Pro-Touring project) which is mechanically identical to the '94-'96 Impala SS I can attest to the facts you have laid out. Going from driving a Crown Vic at work to jumping into my 9C1 for the commute home. While the Vic handled great with the rack and pinion steering it had no where the room or power of my LT1 engined 9C1.
Family member had a Caprice when I was a kid and I always loved when I got to ride in it. Love these things!
What a beautiful and well built car. A contrast from the garbage vehicles built nowadays from GM, Sellantis, Honda Turbos and Ford ecoboost.
This 84 Chevy is garbage compared to the vehicles today. This car had poor quality construction, weak engines and sloppy handling. Back in the day people were saying how they wished these models were like the cars of the 60’s. People now either don’t remember or know how sorry these cars were.
@@melrose9252 our family had an earlier Pontiac Parisienne and was very very reliable and drove it all over Canada. No engine light or TPMS sensor failure. 😂 New Hondas all have those TPMS sensors and cost over $400 to replace and reprogram. Garbage quality Honda.
This is a car of my fond memories. I grew up seeing the Caprice and Impala all the time. I wouldn't mind having one of these cars right now.
Aw man, always a treat to see a Caprice. Actually, I still see a lot of these 3rd generation Caprices rolling around! They've seemed to survive pretty well. The 4th gen bubble Caprices aren't too rare in my area either, but the 3rd gen is definitely the more common one. Always glad to see one either way.
I like how, even in 1984, the Caprice was already a "throwback." I get why, since it really was the last of its kind, and was already a fairly old design, but it's still kinda funny to me.
I even still see a decent number of the 1977-79 version's before the 1980 restyle, of the 1977-90 Caprice/Impala's I liked the 1977-79 versions the best.
I always liked the fact that John is an automotive enthusiast, not a critic so he could even find a nice thing to say about a Chevy Chevette. He rarely ripped a car from top to bottom, he would always find something good to say about it. It is funny now watching the drive those slow tanks around in the 80s.
I would be could to see a modern version of this boxy car
That's what the 2014-2020 Impala was and they stopped making to build crossovers.
@@manthony225 that’s no boxy, I mean box on wheels sedan like this
Had a 89 Caprice cop cruiser. Very good car! Well taken care of.
One of my all time favorite American car - just a clean, classic well designed sedan!
2023 still seeing these on the road.
GM needs to bring back a wagon this size with a tow hitch, for a reasonable price.
I think it's safe to say "that GM is no longer with us"...It's those sad plastic molded Korean built "cute utes" that dominate their sales floor sadly.
They don’t sell.
I‘m german and i have a 1990 Caprice classic brougham sedan, export version, with the 305 engine with 170 HP. I paid 15500€ for it, that‘s about 17000$. I dreamed many years about owning such a car before i finally bought one. I only drive it on summer weekends.
They are VERY rare here. By the way, 0 to 60 is about 10 to 12 seconds for my Caprice. And i don‘t drive faster with it than 120 kph on the german autobahn, they are not designed to be driven fast like our BMWs and Mercedes.
And 37 years later no import can come close to this amazing vehicles
My dad's first car in the US was a 79 Caprice Classic Sedan when he was 22. Then bought an 84 later on and had it well into the late 90s.
My dad had 81 caprice and then a 88 brougham caprice with a delta 88 oldsmobile. Boy those cars were tanks, even the bentleys would get out of their way to avoid the them
I love them Caprices!
I luv watching this show when i was a kid growing up in the 80s and 90s. Got big luv for cars and now Box Chevys and G bodies are hot items now
Really good gas mileage for such a large car! Would love to buy a new one today for this price! Fantastic Hwy. Cars!
Having owned a later model of this car's chief rival, an 09 Crown Victoria, I am amazed by all the bobbing we see of this car as it rolls down the road. It almost looks like the car is suspended on giant bags of marshmallows. Apparently fuel mileages reached their peaks with these " big " V8s in the mid 80s, my Crown Victoria managed the same EPA numbers, tho on road averages occasionally got into the high 20s.
My 89 with the TBI, and 2004r isn't bad at all on gas.
I was 11 when this car came out; I remember thinking it was very fancy (not sure why). My parents had an 82 Olds Delta 88 (definitely a more luxurious model than the Caprice) yet I kept asking why they didn't buy a Caprice instead. Side note- that 88? Was a DIESEL. It was junk. It lasted a few years, then just died one day in 1985. It was replaced with an 85 1/2 Cadillac DeVille.
planned obsolescence
Your parents should have stuck with the gas version, those 5.0 Oldsmobile ( 307 ) engines were pretty reliable a bit sluggish though .
There is timeless elegance in these cars. To me they age better than most Cadillacs, because they have a sleeker, cleaner design. They even remind me of ancient Greek or Roman architecture.
Back when I was a kid in 1992, these cars were primarily driven by the Ballas. Being a Grove Street OG myself, I'm not a fan.
My great uncle Leonard bought an '84 4-door caprice in ivory and a deep blue velour interior brand new, mid-tier. He owned an electronics repair shop in new bedford, and when we'd go visit in our '92 grand caravan he'd teach me about the electronics he was fixing and let me ride in the big comfy back seats in his caprice. When he passed away during covid he left it to me. Its certainly seen better days, but i'm honoring his memory by tinkering with its electronics and creating the vehicle-feature DIY projects in a vintage '82 issue of Radio Electronics magazine for it.