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www.ImpalaHQ.com
So, I'm back to my usual weird car search (not looking for a weird car, doing so weirdly!) Looking at another Impala LS, Mazda 6 (out in August), Lincoln LS, Ford Five Hundred, and the Grand Prix GTP (but why did they take my wonderful climate control, which I miss in my Impala and had in my 98 GTP, out of the car?)
Have no idea where this will end up! The Impala has been a great, fun ride, but I am not sure I want to own the same car twice in a row. Past vehicles include Nissan Maxima SE, OLDS LSS, 85 Chevy Nova, and a Pontiac T-1000, not to mention (I would rather not) a Chrysler Concorde the company eventually took back...
There is a site called gmforums that i am registered at, but i haven't posted in months.
Edmund's Impala thread is clearly the most active.
Every now again we go through periods where there is little posted.
When the Impala first came out in '99 this thread was incredibly active. As the newness of the car wears off people tend to post less.
Think of the people who used to post and now don't, or hardly post anymore. cookie, sweetpolly, colchester, mcdill, etc.
We just need Chevy to come up with some new stuff.
With almost 16K miles, I'm still waiting for the pop and clunk noise. LOL
If you're not locked into a domestic (some of which are made entirely in other countries, anyway, such as our Impalas), you may want to take an Acura TL-S (which is made in USA) for a test drive. For a selling price under $30K, it's tremendously impressive. If you're satisfied with a mere 225HP, the non-S is $2K less.
Just another option to make your search weirder. ;-)
By the way, I kept the Moulded Splash Sheilds, including the "Coveted" hard to find "REAR ONES" that are already modified to fit the 2001 and up with the rear splash sheilds, I thought about removing the Splash Sheilds too, but figured what the heck, I forgot to put the original Muffler I had removed way back around 4,000 miles to have the dual exhaust put on, now that is still sitting in my garage, maybe I should have an Impala parts and accessories sale on E-bay? I have gathered alot of Impala related items (Media Kit and Sales Video's,Police 9C1 Sales Video etc. etc.) Thanks Don
I was driving in the mud today and thinking about how badly I need mudflaps. If you would email me your price for the flaps, I will definatly take them. Thanks in advance!
My '99 intrigue went bye bye so I could buy the impala. Dealer couldn't/wouldn't fix it, so I don't blame you for dumping yours.
Was the money they gave you for the Impala in addition to discounts on the truck or was it all rolled into one?
First the gripes:
- The car was a lot noisier that I expected. Road noise at 75+ MPH was amazingly loud. Especially in the back seat. I have to attribute that to Chevy's trend of de-contenting their cars. Clearly this '02 LS could have benefited from A LOT more sound proofing.
- Automatic volume control on the radio drove me crazy. I eventually turned it to manual. It never did seem to get the relative volume right between speeds/noise. Seems to be geared to the actual speed instead of the ambient noise. I had a '86 Maxima w/ automatic volume control years ago. It worked off a mic in the dash that recorded ambient noise and adjusted accordingly. Worked much better.
- AC vents. With both drivers vents turned upwards for the backseat passengers' benefit, but completely away from me, I STILL got air blown directly in my face. What's up with that?
- Fit and Finish. Believe it or not, the ceiling panel began to separate from the roof at the trailing edge of the sunroof! (not bad, but noticeable - about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch). It "stuck" back up when we pushed on it, but I'm amazed that a new car would have this happen.
- Driving position. My wife, who is 5'8" is reasonably comfortable - although she says she still fiddles w/ the seat and hasn't yet found the optimal driving position. I am 6'2", though, and was reasonably uncomfortable driving. I guess it's not designed for larger people. I am more comfortable in the passenger side, however. We have the leather split bench.
Now for the goodness:
- Good gas mileage. We averaged 29.something on the road, which was probably 85% highway over 75MPH. Can't beat that, especially with 3 adults, 2 kids and a trunkfull of luggage.
- Trunk space. Phenominal.
- Cruise Control. Very smooth operation with only minimal variation over hills ('course, we're pretty flat in Florida :-) ).
My juries still out as to whether I'd say this is a good family road car or not. I guess I'm somewhat disappointed. Anyone else have any comments or experiences?
On the flaps, Now what do I do? What is the diplomatic way to sell them? Bear in mind They are USED, and have a few scratches here and there, but I cleaned them up and they will do someone just fine....I geuss an Ebay 3 day Auction is in order? I also have an x-tra 5 Spoke Rim w/ Center Cap...
Don
Also, I've been looking at the LS Sport Taillights, and I want them. I called chuck hutton today and the prices for the center part is $209 and the sides are $130 each. Thats way too much $$. Anybody know of a place that makes aftermarket ones?
Thanks
Chris
All earlier wbodies are noisy at high speeds. MY intrigue was just plain loud at 80 mph.
The impala is noticeably quieter at that speed.
2001's have added rear wheelwell panels.
Since you only have 950 miles on the car you will notice that as the tires wear a little bit it will get quieter.
Clearly the solution to the road noise problem is to have all roads re-paved with that special type of asphalt ;-)
Brad
Any ideas guys?
Oh yeah, if you all have not heard about it by now, watch out for the W32.Klez.gen@mm e-mail virus. I received it five times this past week. Luckily I don't use IE or Outlook to read e-mail and I update the virus definitions in Norton's religiously.
Either that or you've hit a slightly more metallic section of your semi-metallic brake pads.
When did you last have your brakes inspected?
Brad
Chris
Any ideas guys?
When you contacted Chuck Hutton, did you use the part numbers or ask for the Sport taillight assemblies? I can't see the plastic covers costing that much. However, that would be about right for a replacement taillight assembly.
For those of you who don't know what we are talking about, some of us are sponsoring a drive to get Indiglo gauges for the Impala. The kit will cost around $130 or so and has to be installed in your factory gauge kit. You can choose your own font for the numbers and we are also working on a custom Impala logo for our kit. Info on the kit is on the ImpalaHQ.com page. People who preorder will get a discount and some other bonuses thrown in.
Crikey!
That's a $30-35K car!
Thanks in advance for saving me some $$. Dieing to see new rims on my Impala.
My rule of thumb is to ALWAYS keep my LS rims nice and shining. The wheels make the car stand out more.....
As for mounting, I would suggest taking them to someone in your town that has experience mounting aluminum rims. I contacted the "Tire Rack" (on-line) to find out which installers in my town they sent their customers for installation of custom rims they sell. In my area, Tire Rack recommended a wheel-alignment shop that I have used in the past and have always been pleased with their service. Contact Tire Rack and find out which shops in your area to which they refer customers.
Make sure the installer uses plastic-coated weights as well. You may also want to see if they can install the weights on the inside of the rims for a cleaner look.
Other enhancements, besides the rims, that I put on my Base 3.8 were the color-coded "Impala" emblems on the doors and trunk lid from the LS. I also put the red "SS" emblems from the new Monte Carlo SS on the doors and trunk lid, after the "Impala" emblem. You can order all these emblems from your local Dealer for a nominal cost.
Good luck with the rims and have fun with your car!
John
That is called "static" balancing. Unfortuantely, that doesn't do a very good job at preventing wheel wobble.
"Dynamic" balancing, placing weights on the inside AND outside as needed, is the best way to prevent wheel wobble, which is, as far as I'm concerned, the primary reason to balance one's wheels in the first place.
However, my Corvette's 17" rims have been "static" balanced with taped weights on the inside for some time. I have not experienced any problems with wheel wobble at high (or low) speeds on the Vette.
The coated weights on the new Impala rims look great, so I wouldn't have any problem recommending the dynanic balance as garypen advises.
John
Between April 22nd and the 27th 5817 were produced!
Total for the month up to the 27th is 23,032!
If Chevy keeps that up, it is a rate of 276,000 a year. Much more than 200,000 that were sold last year.
Not only is the Impala up, but Chevy reached 1 million in production on April 26th. 31 days earlier than in 2001!
GM's retail sales are up 15%. Less fleet sales and more to consumers is a great way to help resale.
On another note, I saw an exteneded wheelbase Trailbalzer today. Now thats an interesting looking vehicle.