When you pull a Chevrolet Caprice Classic into a parking space, the white lines close in on you. The doors of the cars on either side sometimes stand asbarriers to your entry and exit from your machine.
And when the sign says “Compacts only,“ you have to move on.
Make a sharp turn and the body lingers before coming around and headingdown the straightaway again. Once the vehicle is in motion, the size and 4,200pounds of weight is a force that the suspension system sometimes lets act onits own in deference to age.
The egg-crate design of the grille is a relic in an era when the nose has become sloped and headlights hidden to keep the appearance clean andaerodynamic.
The car started life in another age as an Impala. When Chevrolet wanted a fancier version that it could charge more for, it added a Caprice companion.In the `70s, Impala/Caprice regularly were at the top of the list of theindustry`s best selling cars with sales of more than 400,000 units annually.
The Impala is long gone, but the Caprice has stayed around for more years than even Chevrolet expected. Like fine wine, cheese and the spouse, Capriceis better appreciated after aging. Though the others around it have gonefront-wheel-drive, Caprice remains rear-wheel-drive and in doing so is able totow small trailers.
You don`t buy a Caprice for good looks, outstanding performance or top gas mileage.
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