1996 Chevrolet Impala SS
 The 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS was perhaps the most novel Chevrolet of the 1990s. |
In retrospect, it was surprising that the Impala received any changes at all. There had long been rumors that the Arlington plant would switch over to building pickups, so it couldn't have came as a shock to anyone on the Impala team. The Caprice returned in virtually carbon-copy form, and Chevrolet could probably have sold as many Impalas as it could build even if it, too, were a carryover.
But whatever the reason, Chevy engineers fixed almost every complaint leveled against the original concept, most aimed at the interior. It wasn't sporting, after all, to shift gears with a column-mounted lever, and what performance car could possibly be called complete without a tachometer?
In answer to the first objection, Impala was given a floor-mounted shifter housed in a proper console -- bearing an Impala logo no less. Then the instrument panel was completely redesigned, adding not only an analog tach, but also an analog speedometer to replace the former digital unit. Both revisions served to not only further distinguish the Impala from a garden-variety Caprice, but also to make it fit the mold of a true sport sedan.
Chevy anticipated building only about 15,000 Impala SS sedans for 1996. In most enthusiast's minds, it wouldn't be nearly enough.
 After the 1996 year, the Impala name would ride off into the sunset. |
| Model | Weight range (lbs.) | Price range (new) | Number built |
| Impala SS | 4,036 | $24,405 | not available |
For more picture-packed articles about Chevys and other great cars, see:
- Classic Cars: Learn about more than 400 of the world's finest classic and collectible automobiles.
- Muscle Cars: Look back at tire-smoking Chevys and scores of other machines from the golden age of American high performance.
- Sports Cars: Discover the pleasure of sports motoring at its purest in these captivating articles on the best sports cars from around the world.
- Consumer Guide Automotive: Here's your source for news, reviews, prices, fuel-economy and safety information on today's cars, minivans, SUVs, and pickups.
- Consumer Guide Used Car Search: In the market for a used Chevy or virtually any other pre-owned vehicle? Check out these reports, which include safety recalls and trouble spots.
- All Chevrolet Impalas: For even more information about the Chevy Impala, see these up-to-the-minute ratings, prices, specs, and more.
- How Chevrolet Works: Get the inside story of one of America’s greatest automotive marques in this lavishly illustrated history of Chevrolet, beginning with its founding in 1911.
