Which B body wagon preferred, and why?

Just curious if owners have a preference between the Olds, Chevy or Buick versions, and why?
I've only owned a Roadmaster wagon and soon to own a Caprice, so I can't really compare other than what I prefer looks wise. Don't care for the fake wood models very much. As for the "Vista" roof vs. the all steel, like them both.
What say you owners?

The Caprice is my favorite exterior, but the Roadmaster is hands down the nicer interior.
Hard to have both, so I settled with the Caprice I found.

The Buick has more "bling" both inside and out vs. the Olds and Chevy, but, I've found that keeping those black protective rubber-ish strips attached to the stainless outer trim pieces a bit of a p.i.t.a. Plus the longer ones can shrink up to a couple inches over time.

The stainless trim despite having the protective trim is still prone to getting dinged by inconsiderate people when opening their car doors into my car when parked. I have removed some of the trim to access the back, tapped out the dents then highly polished the piece, but unless done almost perfectly the defect can still be seen a bit. Very time consuming!

The "wood" strips on the door panels can also present a problem as the attachment points to the chromed base and the door panel itself can easily break. I've repaired the ones on both front doors, but still have to fix one on the back left .

These are issues the Chevy version won't have.

I don't care for the Buicks at all.

Caprice wins in my book. I don't like, or want, the vista roof of the other two variants. My next one will be another Caprice, too.

I like the trim on the outside, front bumper/grille, and the instrument cluster of the OCCs. Other than that, I am indifferent to the vista glass. It is one more place to have a leak. I would like the OCC with the Caprice roof. I am not a fan of the woodgrain sides either. The 94-96 RM interior door panels are nice looking, but fragile, and there is nothing wrong with the Caprice/OCC door panels. The ECC in the OCC, and the RMs is nice...set it and forget it.

If the Caprice had the OCC exterior trim package, and ECC, I think I would be inclined to get a Caprice.

I have more fun with my pontiac!

I've had all three in just about every engine and rear end, configuration possible.

Overall I like the styling of the Olds the best. The cladding looks good, instrumentation is great.
I do like the side glass on the Caprice and 92 Olds better as no fly away panels. The vista roof is okay unless I actually want to carry something on the roof (surfboards, kayaks, Aunt Edna) then the Caprice is a winner.

I also like the LT1 and the power it brings esp with a 2.93 rear.

For me, mine is so far removed from stock, it doesn't matter anymore.

Dave

Visually for me its the OCC. The grill,cladding,gauge cluster. Throw in some other Olds goodies,steering wheel,etc. and it just really sets it apart from the others(at least for me).However dont get me started on the factory power....Sigh.

I like them all . More or less because it's different than whats on the road now . Everyone has some sort of suv , that its easier to find my car in the parking lot lol . The ride on the wagon is great , its has plenty of room , with the v8 plenty of power . I just like them all .

i like the wood

I think the 1st year OCC had the best look. Too bad it did not stick around as I am sure GM would have done some interesting things for 94.

The last gen Buick wagons had such fragile interiors and is beyond frustrating!

I prefer the Chevy because it doesn't have the Glass on the roof.

I like the Olds as well because it doesn't have the stickers on the sides.

The cladding, grille, monochromatic door handles makes the OCC a sportier alternative to the similarly equipped RMW.......I also like the vista window and the swoopy side window shaping...... The trim on RMW suggests more maturity than I posses and the Chevy is a bit short of goodies and I HATE fake wood trim!
So I vote OCC

They are all wonderful vehicles. Personally I prefer the Caprice over its corporate cousins. If you don't mind a project, find yourself a wood delete LT1 Caprice. Install the front bumper cover from an OCC, rims from an Impala SS and enjoy. If you don't like the OEM seats they can easily be replaced with ones for a Roadmaster or Bonneville. No leaking vista roof to worry about, LT1 power and custom looks all wrapped into one utilitarian vehicle.

Good luck with your search.

I choose the OCC. The instrument panel (blue and not white, and not a Caprice granny cluster), exterior trim and the fact that it's rarer than the rest does it for me

Yes- The rarity thing also makes the OCC uber-cool (less than 12000 of them!) I've also had a Caprice which I liked (it actually drove like it was smaller than the OCC)
The Chevies all have cloth interior, which is a plus in my area, and lack of a roof window has it's advantages.... There are also lots of reasons to like the Buicks too.....
Heck! I like em all!

Anyone know without speculation, why GM stopped production of the Olds version after just 2 model years? I still see one parked at a nice house about 10 miles from me. Every time I drive past the owner's house I tell myself to knock on his door and talk wagons, maybe someday............

At this point in their life I'd go way out of my way to find one that has been well taken care of by people who know what they're doing. Too many cars are owned by people who either hack them up or don't understand what proper maintenance is.

Well.....12000 divided by 24 months = 500 per month divided by 50 states....... 10 per state per month(?).......I'm guessing that most buyers were never aware that they were available....When they went to their Buick/Olds/ Cadillac dealer, they were offered RMW's because those were there for purchase today!.... I'd be curious to know how many of the OCC's were ordered versus how many purchased from dealer inventory.....

I have my preferred Wagon, the 1992 OCC. Spent a long time looking for the one I have and it's as close to what  I would have got if I'd have ordered it new as can be.


Part of me would really like a 95-96 Caprice, with a OCC dash, Roadie seats and a OCC grille to not have the vista roof.

Another part of me wants a Roadie sedan nosed TBI Roadie with a heavily modified drive train.

I really like the Caprice exterior and LT1 power. I like the '94-'95 OBD-I computer. I think TBI Caprices have wonderful luxurious interior, but unfortunately LT1 Caprice's interior is ugly. Especially the grey interior, which seems to be the most common, is ugly, and for '95 they even changed the seats to uglier material. LT1 Buicks have great looking interior, but I don't like the outside as much as I like Chevy's. I'm still not sure if I'd prefer a '94-'95 Buick, or a '94 Chevy with some other than grey interior.

andy caprice wrote:

I really like the Caprice exterior and LT1 power. I like the '94-'95 OBD-I computer. I think TBI Caprices have wonderful luxurious interior, but unfortunately LT1 Caprice's interior is ugly. Especially the grey interior, which seems to be the most common, is ugly, and for '95 they even changed the seats to uglier material. LT1 Buicks have great looking interior, but I don't like the outside as much as I like Chevy's. I'm still not sure if I'd prefer a '94-'95 Buick, or a '94 Chevy with some other than grey interior.

I'm real close to buying a white 1994 Caprice wagon with a blue interior. Guess that is pretty good, yes?

While there are a few things I prefer about the 94-95 model years, overall I have to give the nod to the tow-pack version of the 92/93 Roadmaster Estate Wagon. The engine was easier to work on, and while it was technically less powerful, the rear end ratio gave it good pulling power on the real road. The dash layout was far superior, with full instrumentation and readable. Why they decided to delete the tach on the "high performance" engine version and make the dash overhang the CC readout so far as to obscure it is beyond me. They cheaped out on the later version fold-down rear seats, eliminating the metal pan insert in favour of just bridging the gap with carpet. And I think the interior panels were a better quality plastic -- less prone to cracking and warping.

While I like the low profile of the earlier roof-rack cross bar, there was only one of them. The later years got 2 crossbars, making them much more useful. The later version also got the larger mirrors, mounted more sensibly. And while it's a pain to work on and doesn't add measurably to the real-world usability, the LT1 motor is sexier.

Why Roadmaster over the Caprice or OCC? I like the looks of the Vista roof over the plain metal Caprice roof. While the Vista was also available on the OCC, the little 305 is a deal breaker for me. It doesn't matter what rear end you put on that, it just doesn't have the grunt to haul a trailer of any significant size. That also counts out most of the early Caprices. Besides, the RMW tends to be a bit more luxurious than the Caprice and if I have to ride in a cage (as opposed to riding a motorcycle) I want a big, comfy cage!

Honestly I prefer the TBI cars, cheaper to maintain with the GEN 1 SBC, and of course easy to upgrade when you get bored of that. Full instrumentation available, better interior all around.

Why I like my OCC: I was looking for a Caprice at first, didn't like Roadmasters because of the flashy exterior trim. Came across the OCC and loved it, new school Vista Cruiser. No gaudy trim but still has upscale options like full tach dash and polarized windows.

For me the 93 Caprice was the wagon of choice

I prefer the no-woodgrain look on these wagons but usually like other type wagons better with the woodgrain. After looking at photos of wagons with wood I like vs don't like I have decided that I don't like the wood when it is close to the window line, I have to have some paint between the window line and the wood.

I chose my 93 Caprice for a couple of reasons, the TBI 5.7 engine and non electronic transmission just make me more comfortable driving than the LT1 and 4L60E of the 94-96 wagons, the less electronics the better for me. The 91 and 92 Caprice side moulding looks too skinny to me, like someone added it onto the car and I don't prefer the Buick chrome trim that seems to lose its rub strips frequently and unevenly. The Caprice roof looks better to me than the Vista windows of the others. I would have preferred a more complete instrument panel in the Caprice but really didn't want the electronic climate control of the other dashes. Then comes the all important item that makes a deal, I prefer a no rust true inland California car in decent condition.

I like the larger rearview mirrors that came in what ..1995? 94 had the small ones and they suck.

To be honest, I'm not really a hudge fan of the Caprice wagon. I guess its to plain or something for my taste. I still would love to have one though. The Buiks I like, especially when they are clean, and the trim and all the other junk is in good shape. And the RM has the nicest interior. But i like the OCC exterior a lot. And the full guages like my rm has, and the awesome door chime. I wouldn't mind having a fully loaded leather olds. Or even a cloth one. Also the olds optional ecc and buicks ecc make them both better in a way. I think the olds is definitely more sportier looking. The trim is a lot better looking I also am a fan of the vista roofs, it seems a lot of people aren't though. I wish gm made more of these cars though. I see plenty here in Long Beach still. Mostly RMs though,and every once in a while a caprice. Ive seen only about 4 olds this past year.

The Olds for sure, for me, even though I have a really nice 96 wood delete Roadmaster. I like everything about the Olds- the seat design (pattern of upholstery), the dash, the wheels, and the very cool grill. I kinda rushed to get my Roady since I really wanted a low mile wood delete in a light color, and a nice one became available when I was looking. I really didn't know much about the Olds when I bought my Roady, but if I had it to do over again I'd hold out for the Olds.

For me, I prefer the 1995 version (ODB I & better mirrors). I like both the RMW as well as the Caprice wagons -they both have their pluses. The Caprices have no wood - I am a no wood fan and prefer the digital cluster. I have had lots of fun helping my son Matt with his 95 Caprice and 96 RM wagons.
I just purchased a low mileage DCM/Wood 1995 RMW down in NYC - this will be my car and not my son Matts. Looking forward to making this car my own - possibly a wood delete car.