What was the last year of the Caprice convertible?
The Caprice convertible last year was 1976.
Chevrolet’s Caprice line, a full-size flagship, saw a factory-produced open-top version for several generations, but production of a Caprice convertible ended with the 1976 model year. After that, GM focused on sedans and coupes, and open-top Caprices became a thing of the past. The conclusion reflects broader shifts in the American automotive market during the late 1970s, when safety regulations, rising costs, and changing consumer preferences discouraged manufacturing large convertibles.
Context: the Caprice lineage
The Caprice began as a top-trim variant of Chevrolet’s full-size lineup in the mid-1960s and evolved into a standalone model on the company’s large car platform. Over the years, Chevrolet offered several body styles, including convertibles, as part of the Caprice range. The exact availability of a Caprice convertible varied by year and generation, but the open-top variant was a prominent feature of certain Caprice generations before it came to an end in the mid-1970s.
The convertible era and its end
Convertibles were offered on Caprice models through the mid-1970s, with the 1976 model year marking the final factory Caprice convertible in the United States. Following 1976, Chevrolet did not offer a Caprice convertible again, and the Caprice name continued in sedan form for several more years before being phased out in favor of newer lineup strategies.
Last year and aftermath
The 1976 Caprice convertible represents the end of an era for the model’s open-top variant. Beginning in 1977, there were no factory Caprice convertibles offered, and GM’s emphasis shifted toward sedans and other body styles. The disappearance of the Caprice convertible paralleled broader industry moves away from convertibles on large domestic cars during that period.
Why the open-top Caprice disappeared
Several industry and market factors converged to end the Caprice's convertible run. A brief overview of the key influences is listed below.
Key factors that contributed to the end of the Caprice convertible
- Safety concerns and new regulations in the late 1970s made open-top designs more costly to certify and harder to justify for large family cars.
- Rising insurance costs and softer consumer demand for large convertibles reduced the market viability of such models.
- GM’s broader strategic shift toward more standardized, cost-efficient sedans and coupes over low-volume convertibles.
- Fuel economy and emissions pressures after the 1973 oil crisis further influenced buyers away from thirsty, full-size convertibles.
In summary, those factors combined to end the Caprice convertible after 1976, with the name continuing in sedan form for a number of years before the model line itself was retired in the mid-to-late 1990s.
Summary
The last year the Chevrolet Caprice was factory-produced as a convertible was 1976. The ending of the model’s open-top variant reflected safety, economic, and market pressures of the era, leaving Caprice convertibles as a notable chapter of classic American automotive history while the Caprice name lived on in sedan form for a time afterward.
