History of The Chevrolet Impala

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The Journey of America's
Favorite Full-Size Car

Detroit - In a country that worships its automobiles, being the favorite brand is a high honor. Since it was first introduced in 1958, Impala has become more than just a car. Its unique combination of styling, performance, comfort and value made it an off-the-charts favorite for millions of Americans. In fact, with sales in excess of 13 million from 1958 to 1996, more American households chose Impala than any other full-size car in the history of the automobile.

Impala's Billion-Mile Odyssey

The new Chevrolet Impala is the ultimate evolution of the Chevrolet full-size sedan. Considering that the Impala nameplate spans four decades and boasts a running total of some 13 million units sold, today's Impala customer stands to benefit from a considerable base of knowledge. Look at it this way: More than 13 million Impala's have been sold since 1958 - that's slightly more than one for each square mile of North American real estate. Assuming that every Impala has averaged at least 80,000 miles of service we, find that the Impala nameplate has traveled 1.04 billion miles - or, in rough terms, the distance between Earth and the planet Saturn. It's also equal to five complete round-trips between Earth and the sun.

1959 Impala A Legend from the First Turn of the Wheel
In 1958, the Impala brand was born. To consumers, Impala offered an uplevel image that was still within an affordable price range. Impala was an instantaneous hit. Production reached 473,000 units in 1959 - Chevy's top-selling car nameplate. Impala became America's best seller in just its second year of production.
	1965 Impala Impala Hits Its Stride
	Impala ruled America's roads during the '60s. It embodied the Chevrolet formula at its very best, and customers gobbled them up, with 7.8 million sold from '60 to '69. The Chevrolet Impala was America's favorite car at the beginning of the '60s, at the end, and during every year in between. Impala's landmark year came in 1965, when Chevrolet sold more than one million Impalas that year alone - a record no other nameplate has ever topped.
1972 Impala The Evolution Continues
In 1972, Impala all-time sales topped the 10-million mark, extending its lead as the best-selling full-size car in automotive history . . . more than double the sales of the next nearest competitor at the time, the Ford Galaxie. After a complete redesign in '71, design changes for 1972 were minimal; Impala's length was stretched to an incredible 219.9 inches - making it the longest Impala yet and still the best-selling full-size car in the U.S. to date.
	1994 Impala SS The Spirit Rides Again
	Much to the delight of Impala enthusiasts, Chevrolet introduced the Impala SS as a high-performance, uplevel Caprice model in 1994. It was the first four-door to wear the "SS" designation, and the first Impala SS in 25 years. 1996 was the final year for the Impala SS. Since its brief run, '94 to '96 SS models have taken on a "collectible" quality. But at its heart, Impala SS once again followed the same "magic formula" that Impalas had perfected over decades of popular success.

2000 Impala
"Fresh Legs" After a Billion Miles

During its long, billion-mile ride, touching five decades of tumultuous change in the automotive industry and in society as a whole, Impala has evolved with the times. Accord-ing to Ritter, it's only fitting that the Impala should adapt again to meet the unique customer demands of the 21st century.

"As we enter a new century," Ritter said, "Chevrolet has stayed true to Ed Cole's original vision with the new Impala. The formula that carried Impala into the record books - more performance, safety, comfort quality and value than you'd expect, at a Chevrolet price - lives on in the Impala of tomorrow."