- The Chevy Impala was in production for nearly 60 years.
- SUVs and pickups are partially to blame for the end of another sedan.
- Nearly 17 million units have been sold since 1958.
For most general car enthusiast, the Chevrolet Impala falls between the 1959-1969 iterations and the Chevy Caprice-based 1994-96 Impala with the cool 17-inch ROH wheels. No matter what however, production of the Impala comes to an end today, after close to 60 years.
The Chevy Impala did “end” by 1985 as it was replaced by the Caprice. In 1994, Chevrolet launched the Impala SS with a Corvette-sourced 5.7-litre (350 ci) V8. With the Police pack and the right aesthetic touches, it became an instant classic. Despite all of the Impala’s success, from the gorgeous 1958 convertible, the 60s low-rider, and 70s excessive sizing, the formally large sedan is no more.
The 8th generation Impala (2000-2005) will be remembered as a taxi or cop car but otherwise, the Chevrolet Impala was long ago forgotten. Sales have plummeted dramatically over the last decade, to roughly 15% of what they once were in the mid-2000s. Blame SUVs or blame the fact that GM never managed to spark interest in the car with a proper RWD platform and various performance versions. FCA figured it out more than 15 years ago and somehow, even in 2020, the Dodge Charger continues to do relatively well, despite its advanced age.
Unless you are a diehard Chevrolet Impala fan like the ones spoken to in the Detroit News article, you’ll likely never even remember that it was available for purchase or that it’s now gone.