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Years ago on the bridge near Zaltbommel, it happened: Eelco was overwhelmed after seeing the futuristic Chevrolet Caprice. It was as if the car came from another planet. Recently, he acquired the most beautiful one in the Netherlands.
Eelco van Manen may be fond of large American cars, but he also loves taking his originally Dutch-delivered Renault 4 for a sunny drive or putting on his helmet to cruise with his wonderful Honda Helix scooter from the 80s. Eelco’s mind doesn’t work that rigidly. However, there’s always a special place for the American sled that was once found in every state on every street corner and Walmart parking lot. But it disappeared from the scene in record time because it was reviled as a dinosaur for its fuel consumption and because the SUV replaced it.
Now, ‘the sled’ is back on a pedestal. It is cherished again because it is classic. One of those illustrious ‘sedans’ recently came into the possession of Eelco van Manen from Elst, Utrecht. On one of the social media channels, the burgundy Chevrolet Caprice Classic was suddenly offered: less than a ton on the odometer, 99,640 to be precise, from the first owner – Eelco drove it over the magic mark – and almost in mint condition.
“I had to see this one. If it was beautiful enough, even my beloved Mercury Grand Marquis would have to give way. Why? That’s the fate of the car enthusiast. Occasionally, another car beckons that makes my heart beat faster. Well, that happened when I finally stood face to face with the Caprice in Hippolytushoef. I couldn’t pass this up because you never get a chance like this again. I also wanted to keep it in the Netherlands so that it would retain its original license plate. See me as a sort of shepherd of the dinosaur. Don’t forget that a lot of cars have been ruined into ‘low riders’ or fake police cars. There are very few original examples left, and that in turn drives up prices.”
Glutton: Eelco has had at least forty cars
Eelco is an automotive glutton: he has had at least forty cars, various models and sizes, including a Caprice before. The Seat Marbella, the Spanish version of the Fiat Panda, has a special place. “I’m crazy about the small Seat. Everyone pampers Pandas, especially the 4×4, I especially the Spanish underdog. I’ve worn out six of them. I always kept them as a second car next to an American, usually a Mercury Grand Marquis. I had two of them in the garage: one from 1977, followed by one from 1997, and the last one had to make way for this Caprice, even though it was ‘here to stay’. A few years after the arrival of my very first Caprice, I came across a Buick Riviera, a 1970 model, a perfect hobby car, so to speak, a project car.”
Mostly bought by funeral directors and taxi companies
What is so special about such a ‘thirteen in a dozen’ Chevy Caprice? Eelco: “In America, they were sold in large numbers. Here, they were imported by Pietersen in Rotterdam and Riva in Amsterdam, but they were usually sold commercially to funeral directors or taxi companies, occasionally to a private individual. This one was purchased in 1990 by a real estate agent in the north of North Holland and has an original Dutch license plate. The real estate agent had the good taste to order it in Maple Red Metallic, a kind of burgundy metallic. The special color separates the Caprice from the taxi and follow-car image. Most of them were delivered in gray tones. He was planning to make it his company car, but out of fear of reactions from customers and comments from fellow villagers, he only enjoyed it on weekends. He could also have traded it in for a more common car, but apparently he loved the Caprice so much that he kept it until he could no longer drive it.”
That was thirteen years ago. The Caprice remained in the heated garage and has not been touched since. “The advantage is that this Caprice has become almost completely intact for 34 years. I forgive him for the only, small injury on the right corner of the front bumper. Reversing out of the garage a hundred times goes well, the 101st time he grazes the door opening. I want to have the scratch removed because I want the car to be perfect.” Would you do that, Eelco? Still a nice memento, a memory of the first owner?
Comfort virus
Eelco contracted the comfort virus in the early 90s during a stay in the States when he rented a Toyota Camry V6, of course with automatic transmission. “I thought it was a godsend. Why have we in Europe been stirring in such a manual gearbox for years, while we can outsource that work to an automatic, I thought. Once back in the Netherlands, there was a defining moment that sparked my interest in ‘the American’: on the bridge near Zaltbommel I was overtaken by a Caprice in taxi outfit. That car with its enormous dimensions and closed wheel arches in the back made a deep impression on me. I also wanted one, but I couldn’t afford it at the time. Yet not much later a Chevrolet Corsica Liftback was shining in front of the front yard. Less presence than the Caprice, but an automatic.”
Always an American in the family
Since then, there has always been an American in the Van Manen household. “The Corsica stayed with the family for three years until I came across an advertisement in which an ex-follow car was offered: a Chevrolet Caprice Classic from 1991. 183,000 kilometers on the odometer and equipped with a real Hollandia sunroof. That was my first Caprice. During the test drive with my current one, all the memories came back. Fortunately, my girlfriend Esther, herself from a Zutphen taxi family, shares my interest, although she doesn’t necessarily have to drive herself. Still a bit awkwardly big, she thinks, which is why she drives the European counterpart: an original Renault Twingo. What do you want: 5.43 meters versus 3.43 meters.”
Nostalgic feelings
Standing still for thirteen years has saved the body and chassis, but it hasn’t done the car any good mechanically: battery flat, tires flat, air conditioning empty, these are well-known standstill ailments. Eelco doesn’t mind. “You can replace all those things, not a bad body,” he says. The ride from Hippolytushoef to Elst, his place of residence, did not go smoothly. “Even as I drove out of the street, the charging current control light came on. A bad omen, especially if you have 150 kilometers ahead of you. A broken dynamo can no longer charge the battery and even with all the power consumers switched off, it is still questionable whether the car will make it. The road assistance came to the rescue, checked the power consumption and concluded that we could sing out our ride without fear, but with clenched buttocks. Fortunately, the selling party had already put in a new battery, which also made a difference.”
The Caprice brings up nostalgic feelings in Eelco. “The memories of my first Caprice immediately resurfaced. On the other hand, compared to the Mercury, I’m going back ten years in time with a car from another generation: harder plastic inside, classic arrangement of instruments, no tachometer, wonderful but soft seats. It also has classic handling. The Marquis drives more modern, although it also has a separate chassis. The Caprice has an old-fashioned rear axle that dribbles quite a bit on bad roads. The steering is so numb that you have to aim the nose carefully. I approach those character traits with rose-tinted glasses, so there’s nothing wrong. And it still gets 1 in 11 despite the monstrous five-liter V8.”
The Caprice has only been in his possession for a short time. Yet he has already carried out the necessary repairs. Of course the dynamo, which he replaced himself with a new one in twenty minutes. The air conditioning was empty after standing still for so long, so it has been refilled, although he had to order a new air conditioning pump. “Just for this photo shoot, I managed to get four new tires with ‘white walls’. Those white sidewalls belong to such a quasi-classic American, don’t they? The old tires had flat sides that didn’t become round even after an hour and a half to Elst. Now we can use the Caprice again carefree for club rides and a vacation to France. And in the winter I store it in the garage. That’s how it stays in top condition.”
