Chevy rolled out the fourth generation of the Caprice in 1991 and the car had a more aerodynamic shape. But the auto’s underpinnings were largely unchanged, dating back to the downsizing era of the late 1970s. More than a half million copies were sold through 1996 when GM decided to shift production capacity to other types of vehicles (SUVs, for example). This ’96 Caprice looks like a solid car and comes with a tow package, although we don’t if that feature was used much. Located in Crystal Lake, Illinois, this last of the rear-wheel-drive Caprices is available here on eBay where the bidding has reached $7.800.
Even though the third and fourth-gen big Chevies look quite different, there is interchangeable hardware to be found. Such as the floor plans and drivetrains. Yet Motor Trend was sufficiently impressed to award the Caprice with its Domestic Car of the Year trophy in the first outing. Two variations of luxury were offered, Caprice and Caprice Classic. You either loved or hated the looks of these full-size land yachts, with pundits often referring to them as “inverted bathtubs” (Nash automobiles shared the same indignity 40 years earlier).
Production of these RWD Caprices ended around Christmas of 1996 and the seller’s car was one of only about 27-28,000 built, the smallest quantity for the generation. The seller’s car has 78,000 miles and looks to have been well-treated over the years. It sports a 5.7-liter LT1 V8 which may have been a detuned version of what was running in the Corvette in those days. We’re told this auto runs well and the body, paint, and interior have held up nicely.
Before the seller, the automobile only had one owner after Y2K (who remembers that?). It’s seen a fair amount of garage time in recent years and the seller adds that it hasn’t seen rain or snow on his/her watch. These cars were the end of an era – large automobiles before front-wheel-drive. If you like the look and engineering, you’d better get one now before they all eventually disappear from the landscape.
Looks like she’s in great shape, but NY plates warrant a thorough inspection for iron oxide underneath. B bodies are great driving cars and it’s nice to see a mostly stock one for sale that hasn’t been screwed around with for the past 20+ years. Nice 👍
I’ll have a 9C1, please and thank you.
Had a dark blue 95 Caprice 9c1 back in 02 .100k on it. The guy I bought it from had a 3.73 gear put in it and a posi carrier . Old Indiana state detectives car. Back in that day it was still clean for a midwest car.Car hauled arse. It would chirp the tires from first to 2nd. The damn rear exhaust stud on the passenger side was broke and had a very minor exhaust leak. It bugged me but I’d just turn the the radio up.I wasn’t gonna pull the head. When I bought it I did plugs wires and opti spark with a new water pump especially because I didn’t want to have an old water pump dump on a new opti.and why not a t chain for maint. since I was there.These are great cars. Funny since it was a police vehicle and only maintained by the state mechanics that the spark plugs and wires on the passenger side were original but the drivers side weren’t. Those suck to do on these….on the pass side the correct factory routed way. Miss that car.
Cool cars. Also love the the Crown Victoria 👑 police pkg equipped LTD. P51 coded.
To me these always looked like the rear end wasn’t centered in the wheel well. Looks pushed forward to me.
I’ll never be able to unsee that!
Every one I see.
They make kits to center up wheel the SS guys all do it.
GM should do it for free.
It IS pushed forward; there are – or were – kits to relocate the axle.
That design was on purpose because GM was experimenting with rear crumple zones the thought being keeping a comfortable ride and protecting rear seat passengers, today’s cars can never match the ride these cars have
I had this car, same year and color. I had my first child, and I wasn’t getting a van, couldn’t afford an SUV, so this was the alternative. Ugly, but really enjoyed driving it!
In my parts, we called them “Whales.” This looks like a nice one.
Bubbles. My area.
Blowfish, in my hometown.
I think that the only reason that almost 1/2 a million were sold is because GM made them. To me they were just big and ugly and very poorly engineered.
Now that was a heavy chevy / mother boat that floated down I-75 south from Saginaw MI GM chevy plant
Late in the 1996 model year my wife and I went new car shopping. The car was to be her daily driver. We test drove one of these. I knew that this was the end of full size rear wheel land yachts. Being partial to this, I hoped she’d give the ok. Then she drove the Lumina. Three quarter size compared to the Caprice. And that’s what she chose. It was a good vehicle. We got 150,000 miles and ten years of trouble free service. Last new car I ever bought. I would like to add this Caprice to my fleet but there is no real justification for it. Looks like a good buy to me. Pretty sure my wife hasn’t changed her mind however.
I only thought that 5.7 came with the 9C1 package.
No, my Caprice LTZ had the LT1 in it. You could get the same motor as the SS. Last of the true factory sleepers. I miss mine. Drunk rounded a corner at stop sign where it was parked on the corner at 45mph and totaled it. Drove it to the junk yard dog leg’n and pulled the motor/tranny. Motor/tranny now live on in my 82 ELC
you could get the little 4.3 v8 with the 9c1….9c1 is a HD police suspension package.
Wonder if the driver’s side has mismatched paint like the passenger side? All pics of the left side are taken without direct light…
I’ve seen this car in person and it’s beautiful. Used to make it around the cruise nights last summer. Paint is all original no mismatch so must be lighting in the pictures.
A former supervisor of mine had one of these in the same colrs, but with leather interior, and it had the police package. Very nice car. I prefer the square body that preceded these, though.