Are Roadmasters really future classics?

[Camino LS6]

wow! That's a really badass look on that car!

Agreed.

Quite nice.

[A Horse With No Name]

GM...just like me life...what could have been, should have been, ought to have been....

Don't get me wrong, I've lived a very sweet life and enjoyed a lot of fine GM iron, but I'm like you...on my death bed will be some missing pieces!

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

What was wrong with the rear doors? Or are you hinting that you would have preferred a coupe and 2 door wagon?

I can't say I love the headlights... I like the clear lens export headlights better... but I have not seen anything for the '91-'96 B-bod aftermarket that, IMHO, didn't look seriously cheesy or out of place,.

Not doing it for me.

I feel rear doors on most cars should have quarter windows. I hate the rear doors on cars that do not have quarter windows. The current Impala has no quarter windows on the rear doors nor does Holden Caprice. They always do that same boring six window design that is so played out. I hated the Aurora did not have them too. Personally I think it is lazy design and taking the easy way out. I was so glad when the Fleetwood and Roadmaster sedan did not go that route. I do not care for the headlight design on the sedan or wagon on the Roadmaster. That car should have two headlights on each side of the grille. It looks so unfinished the way it was.

[hyperv6]

Thats completely wrong. There were a huge uproar from the market segments that bought these when they where canceled. While they weren't selling great, they were selling better than a lot of current GM lines. GM even admitted that they were selling well enough... but they GM needed the Arlington, TX plant to build more trucks. I can't fault that logic, but production could have been moved elsewhere, or the RWD Holdens that virtually the rest of the world gets could have been brought in.

Honestly, the argument that "when production stopped few people noticed or cared other than fans" can be applied to everything GM makes. With few exceptions (Camaro, CTS-V, Pickups) GM makes NOTHING interesting with a loyal following... and could disappear tomorrow and nobody would care, other than a few fans. That's the price you pay for killing off your loyalists, little by little.

Yep these cars were in such high demand and GM was making so much money on them that they killed them to make trucks.

I know GM wanted to keep them around but the Marketing segment that you speak of were not really buying enough of them to make it worth even moving to another GM plant. The Caprice and the police package and taxi package kept it more alive than anything. I did hear a few Funneral homes were dying to get more Fleetwoods and Roadmasters. LOL!

We did have a local home that had a dark metalic red Roadmaster hearse. It was one of the best lookinf hearses I had ever seen. The Service car industry took the biggest hit with their loss.

While they were nice cars they were far from milestone cars.

While I will be the first to say these cars were nice to drive and comfortable cars. I have no issue with them as nice cars. Just don't try to turn them into a Icon. I think todays price on the used ones give a clue to their future as a collector status car.

Edited October 25, 2010 by hyperv6

[SAmadei]

Yep these cars were in such high demand and GM was making so much money on them that they killed them to make trucks.

Looks like the B-bods where selling about 130K in 1994 and 100K in 1995 (1996 was a truncated year)... about a 70/30 split between Caprice and Roadmaster.

Based on that logic and Dec 2009 YTD car sales, GM should immediately cancel:

LaCrosse, Lucerne, CTS, DTS, STS, Aveo, Camaro, Corvette... and should only keep the Cobalt, Impala, Malibu and bring back the G6.

While they were nice cars they were far from milestone cars.

I didn't say they were. They are a fresh batch of sheet metal on a 14 year old chassis full of parts dating back to the '60s. However, once GM got their act together and put the LT1 in them, they were perhaps one of the best performing full size cars made in decades. I would argue that the B-bod wagons might be the best performing wagons EVER made (not counting extremely rare factory oddities).

[hyperv6]

130,000 over how many models? I can remember when just the Caprice could do about twice that on it's own.

If the Lucerne, DTS, and STS were gone by tonight is would have few upset.

[Robert Hall]

130,000 over how many models? I can remember when just the Caprice could do about twice that on it's own.

I've read that in olden days the Chevy B-bodies alone sold about 10 times that volume...(1964). Different time, different place.

[Chicagoland]

"Remember when everyone thought the tri-five Chevies would never be worth anything?"

The answer is never. I remember in the mid/late 60's teenagers loved used Tri Fives and they were still running, while other 50's cars were demo derbied. These started to be collectable in the 70's.

It will be another 20 years to see how collectible the 1991-96 'whale' b bodies are. For now, the Impala SS is only one. Maybe the Fleetwood and wagons, too.I've read that in olden days the Chevy B-bodies alone sold about 10 times that volume...(1964). Different time, different place.

"I've read that in olden days the Chevy B-bodies alone sold about 10 times that volume...(1964). Different time, different place."

And yes kids, once upon a time, full-sized cars were called 'standard size' and had over 50% market share. Before 1960, most car makes had one body size!

[Drew Dowdell]

Not true... most car companies had two body sizes... large and larger