Starting in 1973, Chevrolet added the suffix "Classic" to the Caprice, making it the Caprice Classic. This "Classic" here is a 1974 coupe that sprang up on Facebook Marketplace this morning. Aside from the asking price of $10,000 (he falls on the floor clutching his chest) and the mileage listed at 250,000, details about the car in the ad are scant.
Frankly, I always thought it a tad presumptuous of Chevrolet to start calling the Caprice a "Classic" in 1973. Caprice began life in 1965 as a top-of-the-line luxury option for the Impala four-door hardtop, Chevrolet's answer to Ford's new LTD. For 1966, Caprice became its own model. And, amazingly, in just seven model years, it was already deemed a "Classic." Hardy-har-har.
Chevrolet rebooted the Caprice—and the Impala—for 1971. It wasn't a "Classic" yet, apparently, and it grew a scooch longer on a now 121.5-inch wheelbase. We can split hairs all day about whether the redesign was an improvement over what Chevrolet had produced from 1965 through 1970. I've always been a fan of the two-door 1971 and 1972 hardtops. The Caprice Coupe and Impala Custom Coupe shared the same concave rear windshield (please don't call it a windscreen), which I've always preferred to the Impala Sport Coupe's bubble-like rear window.
For 1973, in addition to the Caprice now being a "Classic," a federally mandated five-mph safety bumper was bolted on out front. While I think GM did, in general, a very good job of integrating the damn things into existing designs, it still mucked up what was, in my opinion, a handsome design.
1974, however, brought not only a massive five-mph bumper to the backside, but the hardtop coupes were gone, replaced by these "pillared" coupes. At least the designers had the good sense to keep the concave rear window. The 1974 Caprice coupe got a substantial B-pillar and fixed rear quarter windows, effectively ending the pillarless hardtop coupe.
Curiously, Chevrolet continued to sell hardtop four-door Caprice Classics and Impalas through 1976, alongside pillared four-door sedans. An Impala two-door hardtop "Sport Coupe" was also offered through 1976, no doubt making the selection of a model somewhat confusing.
After the Great Downsizing Epoch of 1977, the new full-size Chevrolet Caprice and Impala were no longer offered as hardtops; the coupe and sedan both had framed side glass. The same general trend toward pillared full-size cars spread throughout the Big Three.
Not that I would consider buying this car at any price, let alone ten grand, but the combination of the big bumpers fore and aft and the pillared roof on our Marketplace gem here are enough to have me continue scrolling.
She appears rust-free, but she's missing her fender skirts. There are no pictures of the interior, which is concerning, although we do know that she apparently needs a jump to get started.
Amazing what $10,000 doesn't buy these days.
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