Current-Generation Chevrolet Impala Gets A New Lease On Life – Will The Bench Seat Get One Too?
Christmas has come early for our beloved commenters Zackman and Mikey – GM has confirmed that the current generation Chevrolet Impala will be produced until June, 2014, ostensibly for fleet duty and used car market fodder.
The announcement was buried in a press release for the Camaro’s move to Michigan, with GM proudly stating that
The consolidated line at Oshawa Assembly will continue to produce the current generation Chevrolet Impala and Equinox until June 2014.
Chevrolet has a history of churning out previous bodystyles as fleet only specials; witness the Captiva Sport, aka the Saturn Vue, as well as numerous old bodystyle Malibus badged as the “Classic”. The big question here is, of course, how long will the bench seat remain in production. Does it die with the transition to fleet-only sales, or will it live on in Avis lots across the land?
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These are good cars that deserve to live on. They are very Panther-like. My coworker has one with 150K. It looks and drives like new, and has needed nothing more than tires and basic maintenance. I think these Impalas still look good too.
Good to hear Christmas will be cheerier for Mikey and our other friends up north. The current Impala could well soldier on for a couple more years. It gets the job (comfortable, reliable, economical transport) done. And restrained good looks. I'd prefer the bench seat, too, if it came with an armrest. The gearshift lever was moved off the floor seventy-some years ago for good reason.
I must have missed something. Had a 77 impala and these don't remind me of it at all. Tell me ZM what am I missing here. I couldn't go back to the old ones because you need to own a bank to keep fuel in them but don't see how I could beat up a new one like that. These do look like a good car to have built with a 4 door wagon. Too bad they didn't. Probably would have bought one.
VW sells previous gen Jettas in Canada they call it the "City Jetta" and I like this idea, some people don't want the "latest" how about giving us a good deal on something that you have paid off the tooling and have all the bugs worked out. I loved all the old refreshed 80s Jetta taxis in China. It seems when the rubber meets the road on this idea, there isn't enough discount. I've had the latest Impala LTZ as a rental recently and I was excited. The 3.6 motor and 6 speeder is fairly ridiculous in this car, finally an Impala that doesn't require you put your foot through the floor to kick down! They really have the ride/handling tuned out nice too. Inside it is the same old all black interior with cheap plastic and mold lines, cheapest possible leather etc. No features stand out, it is the bare minimum I would expect in this car for equipment, only auto down drivers window is old school, muddy 6 driver Bose Stereo is passable, bluetooth and the auto-start are a nice touch. For this Chevy asks over 30k, 32.5k once I add the sunroof I would want. There are sooo many more modern and better equipped cars to be had for this price. I think a loaded Camry SE V6 comes in about this price, so where is the value in driving an old design?? I know there is a whole ton of profit there, selling price is probably quite a bit lower. It would have to be a 20k car for me to see some real value in driving a relic even if it does have a sweet 300hp drivetrain. I guess this is why these beasts end up being fleet only and this becomes yet another car that (some) enthusiasts will lament the passing of but wouldn't actually buy...