Death of the Impala...

Mmmm.
Think about this.
You don’t hear Toyota, Nissan or Hyundai slowing their car production down for electric or
SUV sales. Now why would the American companies do it?? They aren’t selling!
We could easily still have our dear old impala nameplate on a well made quality car. But no. They’re too busy figuring out how to shove junk down our throats.

 

crap dont sell well
whodathunkit

early Impalas look good as customs, restos, 2 door, 4 door, wagons or 'trucks'

cant say that about many cars

 

People didn't drive in the fast lane in 1958? It's only in the slow lane.
This is a 58 rural setting commercial on one of those fairly new Eisenhower highways(guessing). I'm just having fun here and I'm sorry about the side track but I swear it looks like the road to the market from the Amish settlement. Looks like road apple paste to me but I've been told that I have been full of that stuff for years.

 

They stopped selling Chevys in Europe some years ago because nobody bought them anymore.
I am generally not too fond of modern cars but modern Chevys were among the most boring cars I can think of.
Many GM Cars from the 50ies/60ies are design icons and where are they now? So sad.

 

The thing is, like wanting auto parts stores to carry what we need, this crowd is not what the car manufacturers are catering to. Honestly, my OT Subaru Forester has decent mileage, great visibility, all wheel drive, excellent sound system and lots of safety features-against those idiots I share the highway with. Newer cars have even more safety features and, as I age, these seem less odious. Got little kids? With all the stuff you now need to haul around for them, an SUV is the best way to go. Let's face it-SUVs and trucks are the best way to go for a modern family. If I was a car manufacturer, I build what the public wanted because I am in the car selling business. Stylish, nope. Profitable, yep. As for similar styles, an awful lot of cars up until the 1940s looked pretty much the same in profile.

PS:- FWIW, the RAV4,Forester and CRV are all produced in North America, mostly in the USA. I think GM just is stuck with poor designs made in outdated plants. Nothing new.-

 

I have a 59 and my wife drives a 2015 Impala. The 2015 is a great car and I hate to see all the sedans and coupes go.

 

Honestly I don’t see why the H.A.M.B. is the place for this discussion. No one here is really interested in the demise of a front wheel drive sedan, any who care about the “lmpala” as an automotive artifact or icon of Americana have one, and if they want one, there are quite literally MILLIONS of old Chevys out there for us. Move along, nothing to see here folks.


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This has pretty much been a discussion of how things have changed and how manufacturers need to adapt. Not a gathering of Impala lovers. So, move along, nothing for you to see here.

 

So the Camaro and Malibu are staying?

 

I did my best to bring it back in line with the oil/horse excrement debate.

 

no, its a farewell to a former beautiful car
and a celebration of how well designed (aesthetically speaking) those early years were

 

"Doc? Do you think our Impala, 'Little Sheba' will ever come back?"

There was a movie...

 

Can't believe this is still open. OK, I'll contribute to it's demise. A good buddy who is a mechanical genius has a bad GMC truck habit, the new ones, that is. His stories on their transmissions and GM's BS response to the many problems should help shutter every plant they have. My last new GM was a 91 Caprice, cause it was big, round, RWD, and a V8... no more for me.

 

There is a lot of truth in your statement.

 

I think it died in the late 70s or early 80s when it became the cheap full size car,when I worked at the Chevy dealer the Impala was kind of like the Belaire or Biscane.

 

Has not been an "Impala" for many years. Better to go than continue along the current line.
My Dad had a really nice '58. White, continental kit with twin antenna. My brother hated it!

Chev is doing what Ford has already done........axed sedans in favour of better selling SUV's and pickups.
So, not surprised at their plant closures.
It's an extremely tough market out there. Change or fade away!

 

My first Impala was a 67 2 door Fastback. I was a kid of 17. I loved that car. It was cool. Black with a maroon red cloth interior. It was my first big car. My wife to be and I spent a lot of years with it. The next in line was a 74, 2 door coupe. That too was a nice car and I would have either again in a heart beat. I'm 64 now and every car but two have been GM products. The 67, 74, 84 Delta 88, 87 GMC S15 Jimmy, 03 Trailblazer, 2011 SS Camaro, 2015 Equinox, 51 Fastback, 51 Pickup, 51 Convertible, and the 52 Hardtop and who knows what may come next! I don't like to change!! Yeh, I'm sorry to see it go too.

 

No mention of the Impala being the first car with the superior front steering linkage that is still used today.. Those Chevys were all so nice to drive over those Belgium block Pittsburgh streets.. That's the corner I hung out on and sold papers from that stand. Life was so interesting back then!!

 

Back when cars had style.
Seems every time the manufactures try to build a retro car, it sucks. Prowler, HHR, PT Cruiser ( I call 'em TP Poopers) and the T bird.
Also the ''donk'' thing, named for the people who think the emblem represents a donkey, let it die.

 

Keeping on track. The last Impala to float my dingy was '64. The pinnacle being the timeless, classic, sleek lines of the '62 in my book.

 

The fact that GM isn’t going build a car badged as a CheyImpala has nothing to do with Impalas we appreciate.


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Every time @moriarty posts pics of that 61 I go weak in the knees.

 

My first car. Might still have some spare spider gears and two piece driveshaft supports around here somewhere.

 

GM ain't what it used to be
So who remembers when a truck was always the cheapest thing on the lot? Who's priced one lately?

 

This thread seems somewhat like a memorial. Here’s my contribution to what the Impala was. Feel fortunate to own it.

 

This one almost died


Here is the build thread for this one
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/a-tail-of-two-fins-59-impala.1029415/

 

GM now means Go Mexico