It is hard to believe how the Impala has
changed over the last thirty years. It
went from a step up from an average car to what it is now, a full size luxury
car with all of the options. Chevrolet built the Impala in 1966 with
very little standard options. It came
with a bench seat, AM Radio, lap safety belts, 283 cubic inch V-8, and manual
transmission. They did not construct the
car with any form of emission system.
The federal government did not require car companies to equip the car
with emissions systems until 1968. The
emission systems helped to reduce pollution emitted from the car. During the mid-sixties, engines started to
get bigger and more powerful. One option
for the Impala was the Super Sport model, more widely known as the SS. This option gave the car a 396 cu. in.
engine, four speed manual transmission, heavier duty suspension and all of the
SS insignias. If you were buying any
car in 1966 you could order it with each individual option that you wanted.
They built the Impala SS in 1996 with many
standard options. It came with bucket
seats, a console, automatic transmission, shifter on the floor, leather seats,
seventeen inch aluminum rims, all season radials, and the LT1 engine(commonly
in the Corvette). This car was built
with all kinds of safety equipment, emission systems, and a computer to control
the entire car. The emission system on
the car is approved for 1998 emission standards. The safety equipment on the Impala SS is
lap/shoulder seat belts, dual air bags, and crumple zones. The computers on today's new cars control the
engine, the fuel injection, the emission systems, the air bags, the
transmission, the cooling system, the instrument gauges and all of the warning
lights. On the 1996 Impala SS, the
options came in packages. If you just
wanted air conditioning with the car, you would have to buy the package with
air conditioning included. The car
companies devised putting options into packages so they could produce many
identical cars and still can sell them with some guarantee.
The 1966 Impala was designed very
differently than the 1996 Impala SS. In
1966, the Impala was built with a steel frame and metal body panels. This design made the car very strong and
durable that is one main reason you see many old cars still in running
today. Cars were also built with chrome. You do not see that on many new cars. The 1966 Impala, I think they built it with style, class and
sophistication. In 1966, you could go to your local new car dealer and pick up
an Impala for around 2800 dollars. The
car companies did not think about aerodynamics and did not worry about the fuel
economy of the cars. The 1966 Impala got
about ten miles to the gallon on the highway.
At the time they built the 1966 Impala fuel cost was not high it was
about 39 cents a gallon.
In 1996, the Impala SS was built with a
frame and body panels. The body panels are made from steel, plastic, or
fiberglass. Cars are being designed to be more aerodynamic, weigh less, look
more appealing and not to rust. I think,
General Motors did a very good job with bringing back the Impala SS, it lives
up to its name. It has a sophisticated
look and a lot of power. If you wanted
to buy a new Impala SS, you would have to pay approximately 22,000
dollars. It is a very big difference
from what an Impala cost thirty years ago.
The Impala SS gets about 23 miles per gallon on the highway. The fuel cost has really gone up from thirty
years ago. It is now anywhere from $1.10
to $1.40.
Over the past thirty years the Impala has
changed in many ways. It started as a
new model for the Bel-Air version of the Chevy.
Now the Impala is a sophisticated, fast, luxury car that has appeal to
everyone. The 1996 Impala SS is the last
year Chevy will be selling the car.
No comments:
Post a Comment