The time warp gets even stronger when you climb inside. Although there's a 55/45 split between the front seats, they can easily accommodate three across, which was once the American standard.
The middle seat is a bench, again with room for three, and there's a smaller seat behind that, suitable for two - preferably two kids.
We found the seat padding to be a little on the soft side, one element of the nostalgia trip that probably wouldn't suffer from an update.
With all the rear seats folded, the Caprice Wagon has an impressive cargo bay. It's not as versatile as a minivan - the low ceiling does impose limits - but it will swallow a large quantity of ordinary family gear, or enough groceries to feed a platoon.
The double-hinged rear door makes it easier to exploit the cargo space. Pop up the rear window, then swing it down and it's a loading platform. Swing it out, like a door, and it's not as much of a stretch to reach deep inside.
Although a digital speedometer and dual airbags are hardly retro touches, the concept behind the Caprice instrument panel echoes the 1950s, when all you really needed to know was how fast you were going. There are also fuel and temperature gauges, but that's about it. Uncomplicated.
However, simple doesn't mean spartan. Not here, anyway. The basic Caprice Wag-on includes air conditioning, an AM/FM/cassette sound system, power locks, a tilt wheel, tinted glass, map pockets in the door panels, intermittent wipers and a rear wiper/washer.
There are extras available, of course, such as leather upholstery and sound-system up-grades. An interesting addition to the audio inventory is a new GM radio that automatically adjusts the volume to the vehicle speed. Faster equals louder, and vice versa.
Our Caprice Wagon was quiet at all speeds, enhancing that nicely insulated feeling that's always been a hallmark of big American sedans and wagons.
Ride quality is also thoroughly traditional. The springs and shock absorbers seem to have been chosen with one objective: absolute comfort. Even though the rest of the auto industry heads steadily toward firmer suspension, the Caprice Wagon continues to cushion its occupants from the harsher realities of the road.
The price you pay for a cushy ride, as always, is mushy handling. It didn't take much cornering speed to get the tires howling, and our rapid maneuvers were accompanied by lots of body roll.
This kind of handling may be acceptable to some, but we think the steering wouldn't be acceptable to anyone. It's over-assisted at any speed, and utterly devoid of any road feel - no sense of where the front wheels are pointed until the car starts to head off in some new direction.
Things firm up somewhat with the B4U sport-suspension option that's designed primarily for trailer towing. The package includes a limited-slip rear axle (better traction), wider tires, more capacity in the cooling system and an engine oil cooler. We recommend this package whether you plan to do any towing or not.
If you do hook something on behind, you'll find the big V8 more than equal to the job - even if the job weighs up to 5000 lb.
Ah, that good old American V8 power. Though it's much more refined and efficient than the original Chevy V8 of 1955, the 5.7-liter V8 still provides that same primal thrust when-ever you nudge the accelerator. And the automatic transmission makes the application of power as smooth as liquid.
Although the Caprice Wagon scales in well north of two tons, this powertrain will propel it to 60 mph in less than 9 seconds. Pretty impressive.
It also does an adequate job with fuel economy, again considering all this mass. We logged almost 22 mpg in our test, which is better than most minivans and sport/utility vehicles.