Why did they go?

[PeteA216]

What was the cause of the end of production for the Caprice Classics in 1996? Lack of popularity? It almost seemed to be the end of good cars produced by Chevrolet.

[CD Smalley]

It's simple. Three little letters. These three little letters became very popular and GM needed the plant to produced them, which they could/do still produce at much higher profit margins than Caprices.

Those three little letters:



SUV

[1986Z28]

i know i wish they still made it, im looking at a low miler 9c1 96 with a 3.73 posi, 4 wheel disc, its pricy but i think it would be worth it

[HLandin]

From what I heard, CD Smalley is right. GM wanted to produce more SUVs and trucks. Also, from what I heard, Chevrolet was no longer making a profit on the police Caprice. The price for a brand new 1990 Caprice 9c1 and a 1996 Caprice 9c1 were about the same; however, the cars became costlier to manufacture each model year.

[beat88ls]

from what i was told by a gm dealership, they stopped production because popularity for the whole rear-drive sedan market was dropping. and the market was shifting more tward suv's, and front drive midsize sedans

[ncinirator]

I have TWO caprice for sale with low mileage, one with 66K (Sixty-six thousand miles).

The other has low mileage for it being a caprice, 120K miles. Thats not too bad for a car that runs like a rocket with no problems.

[HLandin]

Originally Posted by beat88ls

from what i was told by a gm dealership, they stopped production because popularity for the whole rear-drive sedan market was dropping. and the market was shifting more tward suv's, and front drive midsize sedans

Probably right. Most people of these people probably haven't experienced a decent rear wheel drive vehicle, so they hop on board this front wheel drive "stuff." Front wheel drive is decent (currently driving a 2000 Imposta, have driven a FWD Mercury Tracer, FWD Lumina, and FWD Hyundai Tiberon), but nothing compares to a good rear wheel drive like the Caprice. And, we have to remember, most people haven't driven a Caprice, let a lone a Caprice 9c1, so they don't know what their missing out on (FBI Interceptor comes to mind).

First, FWD tends to want to continue straight ahead in a turn, while my Caprice loved to ride those turns. It held the road really well (despite a 15 year old suspension, gives credit to 9c1 suspension).

Second, my police 350 had loads of torque. Maybe I haven't been driving the right V-6s, but I have never driven a V-6 where I felt nearly the same amount of torque. My Caprice accelerated almost effortlessly and made other "bad" cars look slow. To me, V-6 just come off as being weak. And I haven't seen a single FWD V-8.

Third, I loved the suspension on my Caprice 9c1. While everything I drove except the Tracer had a decent suspesion, the Caprice suited me really well.

Fourth, the brakes on my Caprice 9c1 were legendary. With a few exceptions, every year the Caprice 9c1 had one of the best if not the best brakes (beat that Ford!).

Finally, the look of a Caprice, whether boxy or bathtub, is awesome. They look like real patrol cars unlike new Impalas (this is the only thing I like about the Blue Ovary is how it looks compared to new Impala).

[PeteA216]

Very true, I have a complete new suspension all the way around on my 84, and a new center link. Despite its sheer mass, its handles great. And many of my friends, who I have let drive my car, were deeply impressed with how the car feels when driving it. Driving a Caprice is like driving no other car... Often times I switch over to driving a 93 Grand Prix for a little while, but when I get back into my Caprice, I almost don't wanna stop driving it (and end up takin the scenic route home). As for power, my 305 is somewhat low in the horsepower department, but it makes up for it in torque. I have never gotten a negative comment about my Caprice, and I've even gotten people interested in getting one of their own. Its true, people don't know what they're missing, so they don't realize how great of a car the Caprice really is. Real wheel drive can only be an issue during the winter, but its not anything a set of snow tires can't fix.

[beat88ls]

Now after all these years of making front drive sedans there starting to make rear drives again, like the gto.

[CD Smalley]

Yup, even the new caddys are RWD.

The arguement for FWD has always been better driveability in bad weather. Which I don't get. You sacrifice driveability during 90% of the time you drive to help with the other 10%. But I digress.

Now though the electronics have improved to the point where a RWD is capable of overcoming those shortcomings via ABS and traction control.

I am so happy to see the return of the RWD car!

[HLandin]

Despite its large size, the Caprice handles remarkably well, and if driven right, can be suprisingly nimble.

[KCBigTimer]

i wish they'd bring the caprice back but if they did it'd be just like the new impallas and malibus ugly as piss