The Grace of an Impala

As the 1950s were coming to an end the major American auto makers were beginning to realize that the car buying public wanted not only performance but also style. The jet age was on everyone’s mind and many design innovations were the result. Chrysler had introduced Virgil Exner’s Forward Look styling in 1957 and turned the industry on its heel. Not to be outdone, and keeping in mind the all-important sales race, General Motors made one special top of the line car for each of their divisions celebrate their 50^th year in 1958.

For Chevrolet this was the top trim level of the Bel Air, dubbed the Impala. While the Bel Air had, for three years, sported ever growing fins, the Impala would take it to a whole other level. The 1958 Bel Air Impala looked nothing like its predecessor. With over 180,00 Impalas sold, this new styling helped Chevy to rebound and re-gain some of the sales losses it had suffered in 1957.

The company did not sit firm with this new car. For 1959 they brought the Impala out of the Bel Air line and made it a model of its own. This brought about another face lift. Though it shared basic body shells with other GM lines, the Chevy was very distinctive looking with its horizontal tail fins and teardrop rear lights. The Chevy was also longer than its GM siblings.

The same three engines as the 1958 model were available, starting with the 235 cubic inch Blue Flame inline six, moving up to the 283 cubic inch Turbo Fire V 8 all the way to the 348 cubic inch Turbo Thrust V 8. There were numerous transmissions available including two three speed manuals, one with and one without overdrive. There was also a fours speed manual as well as two automatics, the Turboglide and the Powergilde.

Buyers could choose between two door or four door models as well as convertibles and sedans. The car featured here is a beautiful two door convertible with an automatic transmission. 

The third generation Impala came out in 1961 and saw some radical design changes as well as a number of new options. This model ran through the 1964 season. In 1965 came the fourth generation and that was followed in 1971 by the fifth generation of the Impala. The sixth generation ran from 1977 to 1985 when the Impala was taken off of the line. It would return for two years in 1994 before breaking until 2000 with the coming of the eighth generation which ran until 2005. In 2006 the ninth generation hit Chevy showrooms and then in 2014 came the current tenth generation.

Throughout the 2000s sales had begun to drop and yet the Impala continued to be the top of the line Chevy, maintaining the standard that was set in its first two years.