The 1965 Chevy Impala Was Record Setting Automobile
The new 1965 chevrolet impala design was secretly done by GM chief designer irv rybicki whose concept was approved when presented despite the board of directors with general motors having already given the approval to a previous concept design
The chevy caprice was originally introduced as the highest model impala in 1965 before becoming a separate series model advertised above the impala in 1966
The revamped design styling for 1965 recorded 1.7 million in sales topping the 1955 record when more than 1.6 million cars were sold
Prices ranged from $2,670 - $3,070 for the 65 model impala with traditional six individual rear lamps customers expected
The 65 impala came with a base fuel economy six cylinder with better power options including two 327 cubic inch V-8s with 250 hp or 300 hp, two 396 big block V-8s with 325 hp and 425 horsepower
There were an estimated 3,600 impala SS models produced in 1965 with the basic straight six engine, 239,500 customers chose the V8 option, just 742 409 engines of the 400 horsepower version were sold and 2,086 of the 340 hp engines
The 1965 super sports impala included scripts on both front fenders and impala SS signature bars attached to the grille and trunk lid, full SS triple blade wheel covers with no wheel house molding, the divot in the front grille was stretched to the headlights, interior featured front bucket seats, vinyl interior, aluminum lower instrument panel with triple gauge cluster and shift trim plate on four speed or automatic and SS door emblems
The 1966 chevy impala was offered in a four door sedan, four door hardtop, two door hardtop, convertible, and two different versions of the four door station wagon
The chevrolet impala was general motors most popular model again with more than 650,000 sold, 119,300 examples of the impala SS which came with a six cylinder base engine @ 140 hp, only an estimated 900 six cylinder SS models were sold, customers had the option of ordering the quadrajet four barrel carburetor 396 @ 325 hp and the L72 427 with two available options including 390 hp and 425 hp, the 230 straight six and 409 V-8 were dropped from the option list
The L36 427 engine was installed in just 3,287 of the 102,619 impala sport coupes produced during 1966, 823 two door hardtop models and only 89 convertibles were equipped with the 250 cubic inch 155 hp straight six engine, the 427 impala SS @ 390 horsepower went from zero to 60 in 7.9 seconds and finshed the quarter mile in 16.8 seconds with a trap speed of 88 mph
Duplicating the previous model a super sport package was available with two door and convertible body styles, exterior features included super sport name plates on the front fenders, impala SS emblems mounted on the grille and right rear side of the decklid and super sport wheelcovers, a positraction rear axle, interior offered strato four way power bucket seats, vinyl roof covering, vinyl upholstery, SS emblem on the glove box door and a center floor console
The super sport coupe came with a V8 turbo jet engine that produced 390 horsepower, four speed manual transmission, auxiliary gauge package and positraction
The 66 basic model impala price started at $2,947 with the body basically the same as previous year, the biggest noticable difference was new horizontal rear tail lamp lenses, the trademark six individual rear lamps were discontinued, which had been on impala models since their 1958 introduction
The 1966 impala was given a new horizontal bar grille, chrome door strips were added to prevent parking lot dents, a 7.0 liter V8 that advertised 425 horsepower, 15 exterior colors and eight combinations of two tone paint were available
After the 65 chevy impala became the top selling model ever in automobile history, the following year seem to have lost the excitement of customers seeking smaller faster sports cars as sales dropped nearly 50%