2005 and Earlier Chevrolet Impala

vcjumper · February 2002

T is rated for higher speeds, probably has a different rubber compound more resistant to high tempuratures. It is unfortunate you could not get the exact tire.

00impala · February 2002

1986 or 1987 Mercury "TOPAZ".. in Typical condition......ha Don

mcdill · February 2002

I don't think the dark car behind the Jag. is a Taurus/sable , it looks like a Volvo or a smaller BMW or Mercedes. thanks----------mattmcdill

[Deleted User] · February 2002

TOPAZ!!!!! You win the cupie doll! (Maybe. I'll check it when I get home!)

I'll check that dark guy too. We'll get to the bottom of this. Of course, If I wasn't using a the cheapest digital camera ever made, we'd ALL be able to tell.

brettca · February 2002

I am going to vote Zepher....

I just took my '01 LS to the dealer this morning. Slight pulsing. They R&R rotors and resurfaced them, no charge. Said GM will pay for it once, just like the seat replacement (for separating).

I also asked my service rep about the fuel filter. Last two times I took my car in for Oil change, they recommended fuel filter replacement at $54.00. I went and bought one at Auto Zone for $8.50. Read in the manual that it said to disconnect the "-" battery cable (strange, 'cause the filter couldn't be further away from the battery), any way, asked my service rep about it and he said it should be replaced every 15,000 mi. Told me don't waist my time disconnecting the battery. He did say though, after I have it replaced to turn the key on (but do not start) for four or five seconds, then back off, then start the car. The initial "on" is to prime the filter.
Brett.........

[Deleted User] · February 2002

ZEPHYR!!!! Give that man a cigar! I agree with Bret now. But, wasn't the Ford version of the Zephyr the Fairmont? That might be why I was guessing Fairmont, originally.

They say to disconnect the battery for everything, it seems. Maybe in this case, it has to do with the fuel pump. They usually have a procedure for relieving fuel system pressure, as well. I just rap a rag around it to keep from spraying, and always keep a jar handy to drop the old filter in, and to catch the drippings.

You may not want to be smoking either. I think. Maybe.

00impala · February 2002

Spinnaker Blue Paint, I had a girlfriend who had a Tempo just like that, If you can see the name on the back of the car, I bet by the looks of the hubcaps that it is a Topaz GS, Don

[Deleted User] · February 2002

We'll know tonight! I just hope that guy lives there, and wasn't just visiting. It looks familiar, so I think it should be around.
Who wants to take a stab at the red pickup, and the dark car just to the right of my driveway? I'm 99.9% positive the white guy is a Mustang, IIRC.

mcdill · February 2002

That is a Light blue Topaz in the back ground , the Zephyr/Fairmont was more of a box shape car , and slightly longer than the Tempo/Topaz .

The car I was talking about earlier was the dark on directly behind the Impala and Jag , its like Black or Dark Green , I still say its a Volvo , BMW or Mercedes . thanks------mattmcdill

[Deleted User] · February 2002

This is fun. Nothing to do with Impalas per se, except that all the cars are parked in the vicinity of one, but still fun nevertheless.

Nobody said how nice and shiny my LS was. :-(

300 Quatloos to the human that can tell me what the license plate says.

mcdill · February 2002

That white car is for a fact a Mustang , the red truck is hard..... Most small trucks that age look just alike ..... But if I had to guess it would be a Chevy S-10 , an older one . thanks---------------mattmcdill

[Deleted User] · February 2002

You may be right on that Chevy, IIRC. Isn't there a Toyota equivalent?

base2001 · February 2002

It is a North American, four-door family sedan....What is unique about it?

mediumfry · February 2002

Fleets try not to choose junk for their cars. I'm still glad to have a car the police use. A 4-door family sedan is not where I head when I'm looking for uniqueness. In fact, popularity is great for me because it makes parts cheaper.

For uniqueness, Ferrari isn't a bad choice... Neither is Lamborghini, though a tad bit pricey.

37 US miles per US gallon. Wow. I wonder how they do it up there?

bh0001 · February 2002

I'm starting to realize just how much of a lead foot I am. Looking at the recent mileage numbers posted by some Impala owners makes me shake my head. My car's lifetime average (27139km, 16961miles) mileage is 27.28 mpg(Canadian), 22.72 mpg(US). Best tank - 27/32, worst tank 19/23.

I know when I drive on Highway 401 for three hours with the cruise set at 100kph I get the high mileage numbers and the DIC is just about spot on. However, I enjoy the high torque of the 3.8 too much and the brakes are so great I hate to not abuse them ;-) All gas or all brake makes for a thirsty car. My driving style is the problem.

base2001 · February 2002

The mileage I posted was clocked under almost ideal conditions from Norfolk, VA to Watertown, NY at 70mph. It was a sunny August day, ~80F and generally the traffic flowed freely. I would imagine that 32mpg or so is the norm. That still is pretty impressive for a large car!

teo · February 2002

The Impala's design is distinctive among its look alike family sedan peers, but hardly *exclusive*. The Impala is basically GM's response to the Crown Victoria in the commercial Police/Taxi Cab markets and the Ford Taurus in the retail market. The Impala was designed from the ground up to be a police cruiser and a taxi cab. On the retail sales aspect, GM intended to bring back one of their best selling name plates and put it into a modern family car version with V6 power, FWD, current safety features, room and amenities at an affordable price point.

GM made a big mistake by given away the commercial sedan market in its enterity to Ford back in 1996 and by not keeping and improving on the affordable RWD sedan.

GM sold 208K Impalas last year, again hardly an exclusive piece of automotive engineering.

If you want a unique family sedan, none of the current offerings, foreign or domestic, in the $20K to $25K or even $30K price points will give you that. I agree on the other hand that Bimmer 3 series are no longer exclusive cars due to their increase popularity. there was a time when Bimmers were not everyone's cup of tea due to their driving and handling dynamics and high admission prices. BMW has soften the 3 series to appeal to an increased market audience add that to pristine resale values and attractive leasing packages plus the *yuppie* factor and voila! you have 200 of them every where you happen to look.

By the way I like Jaguars but they are not my favorite cars in the world. Samples built until just about the late 1990's are notknown for rock solid reliability. They are temperamental cars.

hggray · February 2002

I took delivery of my 2000 base sedan on August 10, 1999. Yesterday my odometer turned 8000 miles! (let's see now... 8000 miles divided by 30 months equals 267 miles per month. At that rate, given the car should be good for at least 100k, I should be planning to trade it off somewhere around August of 2030!)

teo · February 2002

267 miles per month??? Wow!

I only live 4 miles away from work and yet manage to put 900 to 1000 miles per month on mine! Go figure....

I guess you are the perfect candidate for leasing. Imagine, the bank will owe you money by the time you return the car to them!

hggray · February 2002

If you prorate what each mile driven has cost me, however, this is one expensive automobile to operate...!

hunter39 · February 2002

I was just guessing that it was a Sable/Taurus, now that I look at it more I think Don is right and it is a Topaz, but the thing that attracted me to it most was the fashionable lack of hubcap on the rear wheel, kind of a Michael Jackson deal with the one glove, it fits the era of the car, No? That was fun, can someone post more pictures that we can identify? Oh and I think your license plate says "wobbleseat" or is that too many letters?

night_owl1 · February 2002

Did anyone see the new Impala commercials playing during the Olympics? I was working on the new page and my wife told me about them AFTER they were over. From what I gather, one has police chasing a car and the fleeing car hits a pothole and has a flat. The police pull over and change the tire for the suspects, then tell them they would have a 10 second head start. After getting back into their car, one remarks to the other something like "I wish they would get a better car." The other one featured the Maytag repair guys.

roderacer · February 2002

I didn't see the one about the cops, but I saw the one with the 2 Maytag repair men cruising in an LS.

A few more will probably run since Chevy is a major sponsor.

teo · February 2002

Yeah I saw the Impala LS commercial with the "Maytag" guys while we were in Seattle. We got a kick out of it. I find the latest Impala commercial flicks to be very smart and well done, a rarity when it comes to GM advertaising campaigns in general.

The Impala commercials shown here in Spanish speaking TV channels are pretty good too. I guess they are made by the same adv agency.

[Deleted User] · February 2002

I wonder if GM owns Maytag. I know that years ago, they owned Frigidaire.
Those ads sound pretty clever. If we're going to be inundated with commercials, they might as well be entertaining.

[Deleted User] · February 2002

TOPAZ.

It's especially attractive up close with the missing grill and bondoed rear quarter panel. That is class on wheels.

As a side note, the red pickup is indeed an S10.

I've been having trouble positively identifying the dark car on the right, but I don't remember a Volvo on my block. I think there's a good chance it was one of those boxy Japanese jobs from the late 80's. However, it could very well be a Volvo, as the other guesses were right on.

mcdill · February 2002

I was right about the red S-10 . throw some more at me ! thanks------------mattmcdill

teo · February 2002

As far as I know GM no longer owns Frigidaire. Those were pretty good appliances for thier time.

Ford used to own Philco as well.

johnclineii · February 2002

AMC owned Kelvinator (as Nash/Kelvinator) ...

Chrysler owned Airtemp.

None of the appliance companies are still owned by the automakers.

Not even Delco!

Now, my question. Does anyone have any idea what 2003 brings for the Impala? What do we know about the next generation(s)? I sure would like a RWD and/or a V-8!

john cline ii who knew that was a Topaz but felt like he was cheating (and yes, the Zephyr WAS the Mercury version of Fairmont).

teo · February 2002

And the Futura was the 2 door version of the Fairmont/Zephyr.

The Tempo/Topaz replaced the Fairmont RWD siblings in 1983.

I unfortunately had a 2.3L 4 cyl 1988 Tempo with a 3-speed slushbox. What a piece of junk.

2003 could bring the Impala SS either equipped with the Supercharged 3800 V6 or the 5.7L V8 found in the 2000 Impala SS prototype.

Don't expect RWD until after 2005 when the Impala/Montecarlo are due up for a full redesign.

hunter39 · February 2002

Doesn't Toyota own Whirlpool? Also if GM owns Maytag, any chance the people who build the Maytags could maybe build some cars, then we'd never have to bring our cars in for repair at least that would be the ad agency's angle...

night_owl1 · February 2002

Well, it's been fun. 14 months and it's time to move on. I'm taking the site down tonight. Delete your bookmarks.

Presenting the New and Improved Impala HQ It's been a learning experence getting everything together. The site is pretty much the same. Writing HTML is easy. Coming up with new graphics is what really kills me. I wanted to change out the buttons and create a new logo to replace the Impala one, but it's late and I spent too much time on the new "Impala HQ" title. Why can't someone come up with an "Impala" font?

bh0001 · February 2002

Nathan, the first line of your message scared the crap out of me! I thought you meant that you had decided against keeping an Impala site up!

Whew.
Brad

mediumfry · February 2002

Great site, Nathan.

I saw your comment about not spending time on eye candy, but would like to have the buttons on the left side of the home page "click" down when you click them. Is that easy?

hvan3 · February 2002

Today, my Impala LS just turned one year old. With 13,148 miles and three oil changes, the car still rides like a champ! Way to go GM!!

kimpala1962 · February 2002

Wish somone from nj would like to start a 2k impala club, where we can go as a group to car shows, and or cruise nights. walter

night_owl1 · February 2002

Heh, I was going to just post the first line and let people find the new site on their own.

night_owl1 · February 2002

Hmmm. I gotta look into that.

impalaboy2001 · February 2002

This impala is dope, i'm gonna hook mine up like that.

night_owl1 · February 2002

Ok, check out the site now. This was the closest I could get to what you were thinking of.

http://www.ImpalaHQ.com/

night_owl1 · February 2002

I like the headlight treatment and the grill. The foglight cutouts in the Razzi body kit are too... round? I dunno. Should have continued the black stripe to the front quarter panel. Are those splash guards part of the kit? Looks like they are on crooked. Looks like they painted the VentVisors also.

b4z · February 2002

Get rid of the razzi kit, the mudguards, window vent thingies, the black stripe and chrome wheels and it would be a pretty good looking car.

The owner of that car is definitely from the "more is better" school of thought.

impalaboy2001 · February 2002

I dunno, I really like everything about that car except for his chrome hubcaps and those stupid looking mudflaps. He should have gone with a larger wheel and silver rim. I just like it when my car stands out, especially, here in Fort Walton Beach florida, I come across an Impala every time I leave the house. Would anyone know how he would have done those headlights? I emailed the guy, but i didn't get a response.

Chris

mediumfry · February 2002

Good job on the buttons. It's good to get a visual that they know you're hanging around.

00impala · February 2002

2002 Impala Sport Apperance Package Impala at the Car Show Downtown, I looked closely at the rear Applique' and the Silver paint on it, still not my style, But I "REALLY" liked the instumentation in the dashboard, all those guages/needles look great, If it were up to me I could do without the front Facia, the Rims and the taillights, put some 5 spokes on there and I would like better,Maybe some Eagle RS-A Tires too..... also on the advertisment cards they were giving out about the "LS Sport Apperance package" state that it is ONLY available in Galaxy Silver or BLACK....I remember a while back we thought it would be available in 2,3 maybe 4 colors? Nahhh, Just Silver or Black according to this latest sales flyer....and i liked the Impala logo on the door panels, but in person the Graphite interior dash trim makes the Grey interior look even more "BLAND"...the Woodgrain looks better to me, I also sat in a 2002 Camry, and the Wood trim in that thing looks really "plastic-ly"....truely FAKE...I like the trim in the Impala w/ woodgrain much better.... Don

b4z · February 2002

Talked to my dealer about the availability of the impala sport and he said it was an option, but the factory would not let them order it...yet.
He doesn't know when they can. He is thinking sometime in March or April. Which is pretty close to the end of production.

Don't know if i posted ths before, but the autosite.com numbers are up and the impala is off from last year. This is the first time i have seen the numbers go down.

00impala · February 2002

you know the inconsistencies of GM, the flyer that I am looking at right now shows the Graphite dashboard trim and the Impala logo on the door, But has the regular LS instrumentation Spedo,Fuel,Temp,Tach), The actual car I sat in looked great because it had a few more dials and they were arranged differently, I bet once they start producing the "Sport" after a while the front end will get handed down to all LS models and fed as a year change item.. Why make 2 different front ends for '03 with fog lights and one will take over the other. I'm thinking since the "Sport" one is newer they will keep on making them over the regular '00-'02 bumper. Could be wrong? But I see just subtle changes like that as part of a freshining process. Don

night_owl1 · February 2002

The owner probably had the areas masked off then painted. The folks that make the headlight covers (GTS, VentVisor?) makes a masking kit for that same purpose. You apply the stickers where you don't want the paint, spray the whole thing, then remove the stickers.

roderacer · February 2002

...had it's ups and downs. I thought I would have liked the painted rear, but I didn't. I did like the Impala logos on the inside of the doors and the gauges, and of course the diamond cut wheels, but other than that, kinda ho-hum. I agree, Don, the carbon-fiberesque accents looked bland.

People trash those cars at the show. Counted 5 goudges in the paint on the tailight section. Soft paint or hard fingernails?

RR

00impala · February 2002

The Impala I looked at had the trunklid open/up so I could see the paint on the applique' closely, I admit I ran a nail across the ridge where the red meets the silver, about a 1/16" ridge of paint, the Lincoln "Blackwood" pickup was really trashed, it was missing knobs and had dirt/ fingerprints all over it, it looked like a used rental car, at least the Impala and the Chevrolets were shiny, including a Baby Blue Corvette Z06

Don

2005 and Earlier Chevrolet Impala

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