Ford is even more agressive with Taurus pricing.

A Taurus SEL that lists for $24,435 can be easily bought for $20,607 based on carsdirect.com.

An Impala LT that lists for $23,100 is yours for $21,317 again according to carsdirect.com.

The SEL is a better equipped vehicle than the LT and can be had for hundreds less.

So I still think that retail Impala buyers either haven’t done their homework or are simply knee-jerk Chevrolet shoppers.

Reason why anyone buys a new “retail” Impala is the deal. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who bought an Impala for its merit. In fact most of the Big 2.8 hardly sell cars or trucks anymore – they sell deals on the cars and that is the majority of their customers – they want to best deal but understand you don’t get the best product.

The New Taurus is a much, much better vehicle than the Impala IMO, and Ford actually puts a modern DOHC transmission and 6-speed engine in the Taurus while GM is still fobbing off it’s now ancient pushrod engines and 4-speed transmission. Ford also give much better packaging, safety, ride, handling, etc.

What stumps me is why anyone is buying Impalas. The few retail Impala customers probably literally don’t know any better.

I have heard that the Imp is not too bad on gas but the rear headroom issue is real enough and it’s not confined to the Impala. The late not-so-great Grand Prix was awful in this respect. If you found yourself sitting in the rear at either door, your head would be banging against the low roofline all the time. Just an abysmal design for a so called mid-size car. The Olds Alero and Pontiac Grand Am were even worse for this. Even the much maligned Toyota Echo was far better in this respect. I had the misfortune of being a rear seat passenger in an Imp traveling from Toledo to east of Toronto. Cruel and unusual punishment.

If it weren’t for the awful resale, the higher price, and the center console hitting my leg at just the wrong spot, I’d have bought one.

Correct.

If GM could make a roomier car inside with smaller exterior dimensions in 1977, they can do it today.

I geuss my thought is that this car has gotten’ a free ride for being “bigger” for a long time when it just isn’t true.

See ya’ around,

Bunter

Given the platform’s age, and the availability of the (much better) Malibu in the same showroom, I’ll bet dealers are willing to deal on the Impala. That would make the car more attractive to people trading down from an SUV, especially if they haven’t yet paid off that (rapidly depreciating) SUV.

It should be, it’s on the W Platform which came about the same time as the first President Bush uttered “no new taxes”.

You are right about the width aspect though, unfortunately everything from the D3 is now a Eurasian knock-off and is correspondingly narrow.

I recently test drove the new Malibu and thought it was a fine car, but is eminently too narrow for my traditional tastes.

Gawdodirt- The Imp is big on the outside and in the trunk but the rear seat head and leg room are smaller than nearly every mid-size (ya’ it’s wider than most). Data source CR.
It’s really just a heavy, long, thirsty poorly packaged midsize.

Satistically,
Bunter

Truth is way less interesting than good ol speculation, right?
Auto News shows that Impala’s sales almost doubled the Malibu. 29k to 15k.

Fact is that I do see more and more private Impalas around here. Good value on a larger car seem to be a high note. And the damn things will get 25 + on the highway!

Specially for those that don’t have to have the latest “Talking car.”

I would bet that 75% of all Imapala sales are to an end fleet customer. This includes the direct from GM to fleet and the more widely used GM to dealer (counts as a retail sale) to fleet sales.

I totally missed the $1.60 loonie days. I went cross border shopping at $1.10. I could’a had a V8.

I guess you mean back 20 years when a loonie bought $0.65US. It was certainly a nicer vacation in South Carolina this year that in years past.

Doesn’t it make fiscal sense for them to build fewer cars in Canada for low-profit (or no-profit) fleet sales and try to actually turn a small profit on cars manufactured in the states?
(read: Malibooby).

Of course the American Axle strike is screwing that up, but perhaps the Chinese parts have nearly reached port by now….

We’ll find out soon enough if my prediction comes true.