Chevrolet Kills the Impala after 62 Years

 

Another chapter ending and another aspect of our culture being buried and laid to rest. Almost, except for some wonderful enthusiasts who still wish to savor the memories of a time gone by never to return. Thanks for the memories.

Detroit News:

Production of the Chevrolet Impala will cease Thursday after six decades, making the Impala yet another Detroit sedan to be laid to rest as buyers switch to crossovers, SUVs and pickups.

Introduced in 1958 and produced continuously except for gaps in the 1980s and 1990s, the final Impala will roll down the line at Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly. Seen by many as emblematic of the all-American car, more than 16.8 million have been sold globally (not including the 1994-96 Impala SS, which was counted as a Chevy Caprice).

Impala enthusiasts around the country are sad to see the nameplate hit its expiration date and cherish even more the Impalas they have found and made their own.

Detroit — Jeff Tucker had found the car he’d been searching for, the exact model he had when he was 17: a 1966 Chevrolet Impala SS convertible in Marina Blue.

It took him years to track down and eight hours to drive from Buffalo to Montreal to see it, but once he did, he knew it was his. That first night he took it out for a cruise in 2009, it was like reliving his past. “So many years later, and it was still turning heads,” the now 58-year-old said. “It took me right back there.”

 

1958 Chevrolet Bel Air Impala Convertible
(Photo: General Motors)

More: Final Chevy Impala comes off the line at Detroit-Hamtramck plant

The Impala was in “a class of its own,” Chevrolet proclaimed in a 1964 commercial filmed with the car perched on top of the towering 400-foot Castle Rock in Utah. As a camera pans around the car with a female model draped over the seatbacks, the voice-over continues: “No other automobile offers so much of what so many people desire. With styling that brings you back to look and look again, Chevrolet stands alone. Alone in pure dedication to beauty and relaxation.”

 

 

This was back when all the neighbors came out to look at and congratulate you on your new car. Back when neighbors knew each others’ names and actually spoke to one another. Cars were not meant for a garage.. no, behind glass so all could admire.

It was also back when cars were actually attractive and the new models looked “new.” Cars back then were projections of a healthy White American ego and that, in itself, was a beautiful thing. Today, cars are pretty much ugly and look just about the same.

And back to the good old 1950’s.  1958 the first generation. 1959 brought changes.

Chevrolet Impala Commercial Going to the Dance 1958

 

 

Chevrolet urged drivers to “See the USA in your Chevrolet” and equated “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet” in a series of commercials from the 1950s through the 1970s.