In 2008, the Chevrolet Impala will celebrate the golden anniversary of its launch and success in the market. The celebration will be marked with the introduction of a new commemorative model.
The 2008 Impala 50th Anniversary Edition is equipped with a distinct trim and amenities, much like the original 1958 edition. For half a century, the Chevrolet Impala was known to be a car which has that special fun-to-drive spirit.
Ed Peper, Chevrolet general manager said, “Chevrolet is thrilled to mark 50 years of the Impala. Few brands can claim such a heritage and throughout the decades, Impala has always stood for the value, performance and style that has made Chevrolet America’s car.”
The Chevrolet 50th Anniversary Edition is expected to be released in the market in spring 2008. The said model is based on the Impala-LT which is equipped with unique and standard features. Among these are FE3 Sport Suspension (replaces the FE1 Touring Suspension), four-wheel ABS, eighteen-inch alloy wheels (replaces 16-inch wheels), rear spoiler, “50th Anniversary”, Impala badge on the C-pillar, two-tone, leather-trimmed seats and “50th” logo embroidered on the front headrests, eight-way power-adjustable driver seat (replaces six-way adjustability), leather-wrapped steering wheel with accent-color thread (includes audio controls), ebony carpet, ebony floor mats with accent threading, “50th”Anniversary emblem on the sill plates and two premium exterior colors: Black Granite Metallic or Red Jewel Tintcoat.
Moreover, the 50th Anniversary Impala also includes a one-year upgrade to the OnStar Directions and Connections package, including Turn-by-Turn Navigation. Other standard features also include flip-and-fold rear seats which can offer greater room for extra baggage.
The History Of The Impala
In 1958, the Chevrolet Impala was introduced as a premium package for the full-size Bel Air. As expected, it received tremendous amount of success with 60, 000 units sold. In 1959, it was considered as a stand-alone model which was equipped with the most advanced performance and features like a 335-horsepower (250 kW), 348-cubic-inch (5.7L) V-8 engine. Sales of this vehicle grew up to 175, 000.
The Impala’s full-size platform had some changes in the 1960s. This saw the introduction of several versions in the model range such as coupes, convertibles and sedans which had distinct six-taillamp rears styling. In 1961, the Impala-SS was introduced. This model focused on performance and was considered to be one of the very first muscle cars. One of the options for this model was a 409-inch V-8 that produced one horsepower per cubic inch. Only 142 of these were produced which dominated the drag racing field in the country at that time. In 1965, the full-size platform was again redesigned with a sleek new design. This resulted to sales of one million units, a record that has never been match up to today.
In 1871 and 1977, new Chevrolet Impalas were released. The 1977 model featured “downsized” styling. By the 1980s, the model name changed to Caprice.
The return of the Impala was in the year 1994 and the high-performance Impala SS was introduced. This was a sinister-looking muscle car equipped with heavy-duty powertrain and suspension components which were first found in the Caprice. For three consecutive model years, this model became a huge success.
And after leaving the market for three years, it once again returned in 2000 on Chevrolet’s full-size front-drive structure. Although this seventh-generation Impala was successful, the eight-generation introduced in 2006 proved to be more successful. In 2006 alone, sales increased to 18 per cent with 290, 000 units sold. In 2007, sales again increase by 11 per cent through November.
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