Known for its basic transportation in the later Forties and early Fifties, Chevrolet took on a new direction for 1958. The division determined to move further up the market, and to do so it introduced cars which were bigger and better equipped. Amongst them was the Impala, which started out cautiously as a two-model variant of the Bel Air range. Chevy buyers quickly took to the new and better-equipped models, and the Impala became a series of its own for 1959. During the Sixties, its success was such that it was Detroit's single most popular model line, peaking in 1964 when 60 percent of all Chevrolets sold wore Impala badges. Of course, the series quickly expanded. The two models of 1958 became five for 1959, when four-door sedans and even a Nomad Station Wagon were added to the original line-up of two-door coupe and convertible. But probably the most interesting Impalas of them all arrived in mid-1961, when the Super Sport or SS package option was launched. The Impala SS became so intimately associated with the muscle-car years of the Sixties that its death came as no surprise in 1972, when ever-tightening emissions control regulations brought the performance era to an end. The Impala name lived on, but it had already been debased. Since 1965, the Caprice with its extra equipment and plusher trim had taken over at the top of the Chevrolet range and, without an SS image-leader, the Impala became just another full-size Chevy. This book celebrates the period when Impala was a name to be reckoned with, and in particular focuses on the big-block models which attract such enthusiastic devotion today. Read it and smile to remember a time when straight-line performance mattered more that exhaust emissions. This is a compilation of contemporary road tests, specification and performance data, owners views, comparison tests, model intros & background. Models covered: 348, Police special, 409SS, 327SS, Station Wagon, 427SS, 307, 307 Convertible, 350, 454 & Coupe. 140 pages, 300 illus. SB.

 

Publisher: Brooklands Books

Status: Out of Print (No Stock)

Number of pages: 140

Black & white images: 300

Binding: SBD

Language: English

Origin: CHN