The 50’s.. It was an age of innovation. In 53, Chevy started adding power steering, power brakes, and power seats to all their latest models. In 1955 Chevy brought out the first few V8’s and the addition on the Corvette to their lines, which were and still are exciting attraction in the automotive world. The Impala’s ancestor, the Chevy Bel Air, ruled the streets as America’s most affordable luxury car. The ’57 Bel Air was the first to be introduced with the first fuel injection system. Although, at that time it was rarely bought with that option, only because it was so expensive.
With the Federal Highway Act of 1956, and the need for drivers to go faster for longer periods, they Chevy Bel Air gave way to many predecessors. We are going to look into one of its greatest offspring, the Chevy Impala.
The Car That Stole Our Hearts…
In 1956, the first (’57) Chevy Impala was seen at a Motorama Car Show in New York. It was a four passenger coupe, that was said to have “lots of Corvette flavor..”, mainly because it was made purely out of fiber glass, just like the Corvette. Which earned the first Impala the title of the ‘Corvette Impala’. The Impala brought a new dream to the American public. Before its first sale of the ’58 Impala, the Bel Air was the only ‘affordable’ luxury car out there.
The Impala was an exciting automobile, with a 348cu engine and the new Level Air Suspension System, and its new X body design, it felt almost more luxurious than even the popular Bel Air. Not to mention it was cheaper and faster.
In 1958, Chevy wanted the impala to be have a sporty look, and only created it as either a two door coupe or convertible. A change in views gave way to a full line of Impala’s, ranging from the 2 door hardtop, four door hardtops, and four door sedans.
Into the start of the 60’s, Chevy continued to make small changes to the impala. The change from the large cats-eye tail lights into six smaller round taillights started in 1960, which was a big deal at that time with everyone competing against the Cadillac luxury cars. In ’61, Chevy deleted the tail fins from the image of the new Impala, which had been losing its flavor. Impala gained the ever popular ‘posi-traction” rear end, a bigger better heavy duty battery, and heavy duty brakes and suspension, plus others. With the addition of all these new innovative options, Chevy came out with the first Super Sport (SS) package, and gave it to the 1961 Impala. Up until the Impala SS, nothing could beat the Corvette in its title for best sports car. It sure gave it a run for its money though, with the brand new 409 and its monster horse power of 350, it is still a tough debate over Chevy fanatics as to which one is better.
’62 gave way to bucket seats and push button radios, and in ’63 Chevy sold 832,000 Impala’s. The Impala was right up on the list of America’s favorite things, “right next to hot dogs and apple pie.
Chevy upgraded from Generators to Alternators, and gave the Impala nicer emblems, better interiors, and added 7 new colors to the list of factory options. The publics favorite Impala, the ’64, made its debut with new heavier thicker bumpers, sticking true to that Cadillac taste that luxury drivers liked. Chevy came out with the Chevelle, which eventually created several changes in the Impala. The ’64 received exciting new gadgets, like the new electric clock, an emergency brake light and a special steering wheel that the Impala SS could call its own.
Breaking into 1965, Chevy had sold more than a million Impala’s. Even the now cheaper Bel Air and Nova II could not out sell the ever popular Impala, which is still rare. Sadly, 1965 was also the last year of the famed 409 (crying…), it also lost the chrome molding and switched to newer better suspension and a new frame. Looking a little more like a ‘sports car’, the new Impala had better maneuverability and level cornering, which was important as they also through in a new 396 that delivered a whopping 425 horses. 1965 also brought out the nicest version of the Impala, which was affectionately named the “Impala Caprice”, which was Chevy’s luxury model. With real wood grain laced through the car, and a newer nicer interior, the Impala Caprice was more than a success.
In ’66 the Caprice became its own line and nearly stole the spot light from the Impala. Being more luxurious it caught the eye of the older more comfortable drivers. Meanwhile, all the kids and younger drivers want the sleeker faster Chevelle. In order to keep up with the ever changing times, Chevy decided it was time for another change in the Impala, so they dropped the six tail lights and gave it the all new 427 V8. The 427 was basically a glorified version of the 396, with a ton of torque added to it for the muscle car flavor.
In 1967, Chevy became concerned with driver safety. Car manufactures were being made aware of all the accidents that were happening with all the cars on the roads, which made way for the addition of such things as; Windshield wipers, anti-glare mirrors, and disk brakes. Even with the addition of all these new features, the Impala was still losing out to the Chevelle and Caprice, which had stolen its name of luxury and speed. The advent of the Impala SS 427 was the only thing keeping the dream alive at this point.
Chevy was not yet willing to lose sight of the Impala, so they dropped the famous 283 and 307, and gave it the popular Chevy 350. It was not until 1970 that the Impala really got put on the back burner. With the addition of the Monte Carlo, which was their top seller for almost 10 years, it was hard for the Impala to compete. The 2 door mid-sized Monte Carlo had all characteristics of the first Impala, lots of luxury and the most muscle you could pack into it for the lowest price.
In 1970, Chevy threw away the 427 and came out with the 454. Which had more horse power and torque and was Chevy’s latest and greatest V8, powered by 390 horses. They also decided to take away the Impala SS, and the option of any SS package, but instead added most of the awesome features to the standard Impala, and even the Caprices.
With the scare of getting crushed in a convertible car, in case they rolled the car (which isn’t a good idea in a hard top either if you ask me…), Chevy had to do away with the convertible Impala, but the change keep Impala sales going. In 1972, the Impala sold its 10 millionth car. Hooray! (can you see the confetti?) The 72 Impala was the biggest yet, being over 18ft long and wider than any other Chevy in the books. Driving safely through the loss of the Chevy Bel Air and Biscayne in 1975 (barely), the Impala continued to be a best seller.
From 1973 to 1976, the Impala saw very few changes. It wasn’t until the big Arab Oil Embargo that the Impala began to change to fit the times. With the rise of gas prices and emissions regulations, everyone wanted smaller more fuel economic cars. So they did away with the big bodies, large powerful engines and many of the things that made the ‘true’ Impala.
This became the era of the ‘box’ Impala’s. They had lost their flare, but not their popularity. The public loved the new fuel efficient Impala, which beat out almost every other car out there, and was smaller than any mid-size car on the market at the time. Even though they lost the style and flare, the loss of about 700 lbs actually made them faster and gave them better handling.
1986 would have been the last year Chevy had planned to make the Impala, and their were very little changes from the 1977 model. Viewing the Caprice as their bread winner, they put their efforts into the caprice which was made until 1996.
25 years later, in 1994, Chevy felt the Impala name deserved another chance, and they came out with the newer faster Impala SS, which actually beat the Caprice out in luxury and speed. The Impala was once again a big fast driving machine, with leather seats, air conditioning, cruise control, dual air bags, power door locks, power trunk release, a theft deterrent system, tinted glass, and a tilt-steering column.
It transformed the once highly sought after Caprice into a nasty-looking, sweet handling modern day muscle car. They also added the patrol package, as they were selling the impala’s mostly as fleet vehicles to law enforcement. With the 9C1 engine that the caprices already had, it added sport tuned suspension, with reinforced shocks and struts, as well as an upgraded cooling system, bigger better brakes, a higher-output electrical system, and other minor changes. So they continued making the Impala up until 1996 when they also cut out the Caprice. This was not the end of the Impala though. In 1999, Chevy introduced the new 2000 Impala to the car world. The 2000 Impala created an uproar with the Impala fans. It was the first time in history that the Impala did not have the option for a V8, but instead only came with a 6 cylinder engine. It was also the first Impala to be front-wheel drive, which was unlike any other Impala ever produced.
Blending in with any other modern day 4 door sedan, the Impala just did not uphold the traditional Impala heritage. Even the 90’s model Impala’s came with Corvette engines, and their were very few who were impressed by the new 6 cylinder engine that came with them. It just didn’t make a bold statement.
Trying not to lose public interest, in 2004, Chevy again added the SS package to Impala’s with a turbo charged L67 V6, and even though it didn’t really uphold the true ‘SS’ name, it was actually faster than the 90’s model SS, and breaking a record of 0-60 in 6.5 seconds.
Chevy also boosted sales by adding the patrol package with to the Impala once again, and made most of their sales to law enforcement fleets. They also came out with a ‘undercover package called the 9C4, which was available with a ‘SURV MODE’ switch that allowed the lights in the vehicle and ‘hide’, which was not available to the mainstream public, to them, automatic headlights were required.
In 2006, GM came out with the new W-body platform Impala’s. The new Impala SS came with the new Generation IV small block V8, which was one of the first time Chevy used the new innovative technology of a front wheel drive V8. Keeping up with the times, 2007 brought us the first Impala RSS, which got more aggressive rims, front and rear bumper and rocker panel extensions, as well as a BMW-inspired rear spoiler and other interior upgrades. Still, the Impala made most of its sales as a fleet vehicle, and so they continued to upgrade the patrol packages and conform to the highest buying market of the Impala.
The 2007 Impala began to replace all the other Chevy’s in the NASCAR circuit, and it was announced in 2008 that the Impala will be the only Chevy nameplate in the NASCAR circuit.
With global priorities setting a new standard to emissions regulations, the new 2008 Impala received the new ‘Flex-Fuel’ feature. The Impala SS however, did not get the same treatment and remains the same as the more powerful 2007 Impala SS.
The Future of the Impala..
To celebrate 50 years of the Impala, Chevy is said to bring out an Anniversary Edition Impala in the spring of ’08. It is based on the LT version of the Impala and will include:
-New Sport Suspension -Four Wheel ABS -18 inch alloy wheels
-Two-Toned leather trimmed seats -8-way Power Adjustable Seats -50th Anniversary Impala Badge
and many other extras.
The hopes for the future Impala will come in 2009, when Chevy is planning a heavy redesign of the Impala. It will come with the new rear wheel drive Zeta Platform, and be thrown out into the market along side the new Camaro and Pontiac G8.
The Chevy Impala.. Its our Past, Present and our Future..
From the high style, luxury and tail fins of 1957, to the famed and heavily sought after ’64, and all the way to the new innovative flex car, the Impala has long been a household name. It embodies the style and taste of Chevy, and continues to provide that best quality, taste, and luxury with that great affordable Chevy price.
I’m sure even your grandparents would vouch for the Impala name, and I’m sure some of them have plenty of stories they could tell you about one Impala or another. Even the older Impala’s are still very popular. Being one of the easiest cars to turn into a street-rod or hot-rod, and also having cheaper and easier to find parts, the Impala will probably not lose it’s fans anytime soon.
You should go out and check one out!
And if you’d like to learn more about the Chevy Impala, I’ve got some informative and interesting web sites that will endow you with the knowledge you seek. Try:
http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/chevrolet -impala/chevrolet-impala-history-1.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Impala
http://www.bowtieclassic.com/History.htm
http://www.impalaclub.com/naisso/history/
Lots of these web sites will also direct you to where you can locate an Impala Car Show. They are more than fun, and a worthwhile adventure for the right person.
I hope you learned a little more about America’s Favorite, the Chevy ImpalaI also hope this article will encourage you to follow your dreams of finding and/or owning a Chevy Impala, they are more than worth it, and I give lots of support to anyone attempting to restore one of America’s best pieces of history.
“Chevy… Like a Rock…”
