We have all heard the moniker of “America’s Sports Car” applied to the Chevrolet Corvette. However the moniker of “America’s Car” should be applied to the 1977-1990 Chevrolet Caprice. It was a car that was extremely popular not only with its buyers but also the very critical automotive press during its production life even during its latter production years when automotive press praise was also accompanied by the word dinosaur. The Caprice may have been a dinosaur by the mid-1980s when most American cars had shrunk in size and converted to front-wheel drive, but it still was the ultimate family car.
What made the Caprice the ultimate family car was that it embodied everything that Americans loved about the traditional body-on-frame rear-wheel drive full-size American car but still had all 
the modern technology and options buyers wanted. It was available in a 4-door sedan or a 5-door station wagon. From 1977-1987 it was available in a 2-door coupe. The 1977-1990 Caprice was a full-size car that fit 6 people comfortably and 8 people with the wagon when equipped with the rear facing third row seat. The sedan and coupe both had a massive amount of trunk space and the wagon had even more cargo space behind the second row of seats which could be further expanded when this second row was folded down. The 1977-1990 Caprice would be considered gigantic by today’s car standards, in other words much larger than today’s full-size cars. However the Caprice had been considerably downsized for 1977 when compared to its predecessor. The 1977 Caprice was the same size of GM’s mid-size 1973-1977 Colonade cars which were replaced by GM’s dramatically smaller mid-size cars for 1978.
The 1977-1990 Caprice had beautiful rectangular styling. It was modern when it debuted in 1977 yet aged well throughout the 1980s. The Caprice was offered with a wide-array of exterior colors 
and even included a great selection of some of the most appealing two tone exterior color schemes. Chevrolet kept the same overall styling for 14 model years. To keep the Caprice looking modern and not dated, Chevrolet would periodically update the front and rear styling. Additionally Chevrolet kept updating and improving the interior. This also included offering a wide array of power, convenience, and luxury options. The Caprice when equipped with the pillowly velour cloth interior gave buyers a genuine luxury car. By the late-1980s the upscale interior of the Caprice Brougham with optional leather seats was just as upscale as any Cadillac interior at the time.
Also paramount to the Caprice’s great success was its smooth operating V8 engines which always had good amounts of low-end torque. The Caprice’s most popular engine was Chevrolet’s 305 
cubic-inch (5.0 liter) V8 which produced 125-170 horsepower from 1977 to 1990. The 1977-1979 Caprice was also available with Chevrolet’s 160-170 horsepower 350 cubic-inch (5.7 liter) V8. After 1979 the 350 cubic-inch V8 would continue to be offered in the 1980-1990 Caprice but only for police duty and was not available to the general public. From 1980 to 1982, Chevrolet’s fuel efficient 267 cubic-inch (4.4 liter) V8 was available, it was rated at 115-120 horsepower. Also available from 1981-1985 was Oldsmobile’s 350 cubic-inch (5.7 liter) diesel V8 which was fuel injected, it was rated at a low 105 horsepower but delivered smooth acceleration and fantastic gas mileage – 33 to 34 MPG on the highway and a highway range of around 726 miles with the 22 gallon fuel tank or 918 miles with the 27 gallon fuel tank. From 1987 to 1990, the Caprice wagon was available only with Oldsmobile’s 307 cubic-inch (5.0 liter) V8 which was rated at 140 horsepower.
As a sign of the times there were three different 6-cylinder engines available to give the Caprice better gas mileage. For 1977 to 1979, Chevrolet’s 90-115 horsepower 250 cubic-inch (4.1 liter) straight-six cylinder engine was available. It’s replacement was Buick’s 110 horsepower 231 cubic-inch (3.8 liter) V6 which was available from 1980 to 1984. It was in turn replaced by Chevrolet’s 130-140 horsepower 262 cubic-inch (4.3 liter) V6 which was a very popular with fleet customers especially in the taxi industry and urban police departments due its excellent fuel efficiency and smooth operation.
The Caprice was available with only an automatic transmission, earlier model years had a 3-speed automatic and then starting in 1981 a 4-speed automatic with overdrive was available. However for some Caprice engines the 3-speed automatic lingered on for few more model years after 1981.
The 1977-1990 Chevrolet Caprice had a nice and comfortable luxury car ride which made it the perfect cruising, commuting, and long trip highway car. However for those who wanted a Caprice with a touring car suspension and steering, the Caprice was available with the F41 package which provided all of this while still maintaining the Caprice’s very comfortable ride characteristics. The 1977-1990 Caprice was the perfect mix of everything great about traditional American cars yet had all the modern conveniences and technology that buyers wanted during its era, making this Caprice truly America’s Car.
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