Autoblog

REPORT: Lutz says next Chevy Impala to stay front-drive, gain hybrid variant

Jonny Lieberman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:58:00 EST

2009 Chevrolet Caprice (Middle East) - Click above for high-res image gallery

Remember those AWESOME rumors about the rear-wheel drive Pontiac G8 living on as a Chevy Caprice? Not going to happen, though used Chevy cop cars will still be the hot Christmas item come 2017 or so. Inside Line's Ed Hellwig reports that after a sit down meeting with General Motors' Maximum Bob Lutz, not only won't there be a true successor to the 1994-1996 Impala SS, but the next Impala will remain front-wheel drive.

The new Impala will get bigger says IL, and add features - probably in an attempt to keep up with the hefty and tech-laden Ford Taurus. Lutz mentions that the new Impala will not only sport decent fuel economy, but also feature GM's hybrid technology. Whether or not this means a Chevy Volt style gas-electric powertrain or the General's next-generation belt-alternator mild hybrid system isn't clear. All we know is, once the few, still-lingering-on dealer-lots G8s are gone, they are gone baby, gone.

Gallery: 2009 Chevrolet Caprice (Middle East)

[Source: Straight Line Blog]

REPORT: Lutz says next Chevy Impala to stay front-drive, gain hybrid variant originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SEMA 2009: Who lives in an Impala, under the sea?

Frank Filipponio — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:40:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA Show, Sedan, Chevrolet, Humor, Specialty

SpongeBob SquarePants Impala by IMF Kustoms - Click above for high-res image gallery

We were cruising through the back part of the central hall at SEMA, on the prowl for ~~Camaros~~, ~~Mustangs~~, ~~Challengers~~ something interesting when we were stopped dead in our tracks by this masterful use of pigment, cleverly disguising a late-eighties Chevy Caprice. Looks like SpongeBob has traded his pineapple for a box. The graphics are really stunning up close and depict everyone's favorite sponge in a variety of vignettes. The whole SpongeBob gang is there -- Patrick, Gary, Mr. Krabs, Squidward and Plankton are all there. Classic. Just one of the beautifully airbrushed vehicles we hope to share with you this week. Oh, and although it's a bit hard to see from the pics, the interior was equally well adorned -- seats, dash, headliner, the whole nine yards. Check it in the gallery below.

Gallery: SEMA 2009: Sponge Bob Impala

SEMA 2009: Who lives in an Impala, under the sea? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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STUDY: Ford owns brand loyalty in 2009; Scorned Saturn, Pontiac buyers will look outside of GM

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:55:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Pontiac, Saturn, Toyota

Ford buyers appear to love their cars more than customers of any other automotive brand, returning back to the American automaker when it comes time to purchase their next vehicle. According to a study by Experian Automotive, six of the top 10 vehicles for customer brand loyalty wear badges from the Blue Oval. That includes the Ford Fusion (62.4 percent), Ford Edge (57.9 percent), Ford Five Hundred/Taurus (56 percent), Ford Freestyle (51.9 percent), Ford Escape (49.4 percent) and the Ford Focus (47.57 percent).

Other vehicles making up the top 10 include the Toyota Prius (52 percent), Chevy Impala (51.7 percent), Toyota Camry (47.8 percent) and Toyota Corolla (47.56 percent). This brings up an interesting question: With the closing of automotive brands like Saturn and Pontiac, where are those buyers to turn for their next automotive purchase?

Apparently, not back to General Motors. According to Experian, Pontiac owners are most likely to look to the Ford lineup for their next car or truck and Saturn shoppers will switch to Toyota or Honda - not particularly surprising given that Saturn was meant to compete with import brands. Experian predicts that GM's overall market share will fall from 20 percent to about 17.5 percent, with most of the slack being picked up by Ford, Honda and Toyota.

[Source: Experian Automotive, USA Today]

Continue reading STUDY: Ford owns brand loyalty in 2009; Scorned Saturn, Pontiac buyers will look outside of GM

STUDY: Ford owns brand loyalty in 2009; Scorned Saturn, Pontiac buyers will look outside of GM originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: GM will no longer allow fleet buyers to skip out on side curtain airbags

Chris Shunk — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, GM

Little known fact: fleet customers could receive a $145 discount by opting not to have side airbags in certain vehicles from General Motors. That doesn't sound like a lot of money, but when, for example, Enterprise Rent-A-Car purchased 66,000 Chevy Impalas sans curtains, the company saved nearly $10 million. It's not like omitting side curtain airbags is illegal, either, as the safety equipment isn't mandatory. Further, similar vehicles from other OEMS don't have side airbags as standard equipment.

Safety advocates and many customers had a problem with the practice, though, as the vehicles would enter the used car market without the safety tech and some less scrupulous dealers were advertising the ex-rental vehicles as having the air bags intact.

GM had offered the discounts on 2006-2009 model vehicles, but The General has decided to stop the practice beginning with the 2010 model year. General Motors has also taken steps to ensure that customers know they're not getting side curtain airbags on older vehicles coming off fleet duty. The Detroit, MI based-automaker has modified its GM Certified website so that when dealers print out the window sticker on affected models, the correct information is displayed. GM has also notified companies like AutoTrader and Cars.com that the airbags weren't standard on some fleet vehicles. Dealers with certified used vehicles were also notified via phone to place the correct sticker windows on affected vehicles. GM estimates that over 200,000 vehicles were sold to fleets without side curtain airbags.

[Source: Detroit News]

REPORT: GM will no longer allow fleet buyers to skip out on side curtain airbags originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Enterprise sold cars after removing side impact airbags

Noah Joseph — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:33:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Safety

Enterprise, the country's largest car rental and fleet agency, is finding itself in hot water after purposely deleting standard safety equipment from some 66,000 Chevrolet Impalas it purchased between 2006 and 2008 for its nation-wide fleet of rental cars. The full-size Chevy comes fitted standard with side-impact curtain airbags, but Enterprise chose to have the equipment removed to save the cost.

In an investigative piece broken by The Kansas City Star, industry sources say that deleting "unwanted equipment" can save fleet buyers like Enterprise significant costs, especially advantageous in the highly competitive rental car business where the lowest price is often the determining factor for many customers. By removing the airbags from the Impalas, Enterprise was said to have saved $11.5 million.

The rental company also acknowledged having ordered some 5,000 Chevrolet Cobalts and Buick LaCrosses with the airbags removed at the factory. The placement of side-impact curtain airbags has been shown to dramatically reduce the number of fatalities from side collisions, the second most deadly type of accident after head-on collisions. Although the airbags came as standard equipment on the Impala, as well as the Cobalt and LaCrosse, federal safety regulations did not mandate their inclusion, therefore Enterprise broke no law in removing them. Research discovered at least five fatal side-impact collisions involving fleet-purchased Impalas from various companies.

To make matters worse, however, Enterprise reportedly sold 745 Impalas on the open market, falsely advertised as having the side airbags when they did not. Enterprise says the listing that specified the cars in question had the airbags was simply "a glitch in the system", and offered as recourse to buy back the cars from their new owners for $750 over their Blue Book value. That works out to $175 more than the cars would have cost with the airbags installed as standard equipment from the factory.

[Source: The Kansas City Star via CBS]

Continue reading REPORT: Enterprise sold cars after removing side impact airbags

REPORT: Enterprise sold cars after removing side impact airbags originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIP: Chevy Impala SS, again

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Chevrolet

General Motors has killed off the Impala SS, again. For the 2010 model year, the Impala line will be available in base LS, mid-range LT and range-topping LTZ trim. The loss of the SS edition will also mark the end of the end of the line for GM's 5.3L V8 engine in the midsize front-wheel drive Chevy sedan. That means the biggest available engine will be the 3.9L LGD pushrod 60-degree V6.

We've long questioned whether the current W-body Impala does justice to the memory of Super Sports of yore, despite the presence of the V8 engine. Regardless, we'd prefer to keep the 303-horsepower LS4 option and drop the SS badges. In a perfect world, this is where we'd tell you about GM's plans to slap Impala SS badges and a Bowtie-specific fascia on the outgoing Pontiac G8 GT. Sadly, we have no such good news to report at this time. Keep the faith, people.

[Source: GM Online Ordering Guide via GM Inside News]

RIP: Chevy Impala SS, again originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 May 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ohio switching fleet to Ford Focus, gov't workers not amused

Chris Shunk — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Budget, Sedan, Government/Legal, Ford

click above for more pics of the 2008 Ford Focus SES Coupe

Fuel economy and CO2 emissions are on a lot of our minds right now, and many of us are re-examining our vehicle needs in an effort to save coin at the pump. The push to downsize has influenced the entire state of Ohio, which plans to switch its government fleet from 90-percent midsize sedans to one fortified with up to 50-percent of Ford Foci. Not only will the Focus save the state at the pump, but Ford's little economy car also costs less to buy. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, which calls the Focus "less stylish", pens the fleet cost of the Focus at about $12,000, while a Chevrolet Impala will run the state $16,000 or more. The switch to a Focus fleet will save the state $242,000 this year alone, and the dollar figures go up as more economy cars hit the fleet.

Of course some of the employees that have to drive the homely, yet practical, Focus are complaining about a lack of head and leg room. Unsympathetic DAS spokesman Ron Sylvester basically told complainers to shed some girth and deal with it. Who knows, maybe the state will use some of the savings to hook up its peeps with SYNC, which could give workers hands-free phone capabilities so they can complain about their car to friends while keeping both hands on the wheel. We're not so sure the rank and file will dislike the Focus though. We kinda liked it.

[Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer via The Truth About Cars]

Gallery: 2008 Ford Focus SES Coupe

Ohio switching fleet to Ford Focus, gov't workers not amused originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Due to CAFE, Lutz declares RWD Impala and Monaro dead

Jonathon Ramsey — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:29:00 EST

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Sedan, Government/Legal, Green, Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Holden

It's finally (semi) official: RWD cars like a new Pontiac GTO (and Holden Monaro) and Impala are "gone for now." Bob Lutz has been making noises about it for a while, and every announcement gets more and more certain that the front wheels will be pulling more GM cars.

Just a month ago, Lutz told Forbes "That's where the internal debate [on the Impala] is now -- no firm decision at this point, but my guess is that we will come down on the side of the front-drive car." By the time of last week's Detroit Auto Show, Lutz was telling GoAuto "I think the (Monaro/Pontiac GTO) is gone for now.... [T]hat's not the end of the market where we want to stimulate demand. We have to find ways to stimulate demand and desirability in cars that will get us closer to the 35 MPG average."

How will that be done? Perhaps by using the Alpha midsize platform and making CUV's. However, the Alpha still hasn't been signed off on, and won't be until GM figures out what -- and how many -- standards it will need to adhere to when the CAFE tug-of-war ends.

[Source: GoAuto]

Due to CAFE, Lutz declares RWD Impala and Monaro dead originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2008 Chevy Impala 50th Anniversary Edition coming to Detroit

Alex Nunez — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:55:00 EST

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Sedan, Chevrolet, GM

Click the image above for over 30 high-res pics.

The Chevy Impala is celebrating its 50th Anniversary, and to commemorate the occasion the Bowtie division is offering up a badge-and-trim special edition. What you have here is the garden-variety Impala LT, upgraded for anniversary-edition duty with an FE3 sport suspension, 18-inch alloys, commemorative "50th" Impala badges and a rear spoiler. Inside, the seats are leather and two-toned, with eight-way adjustability for the driver and anniversary embroidery on the headrests. Other edition-specific features include a multifunction steering wheel wrapped in contrast-stitched leather, slightly fancier floormats, and doorsill plates sporting the anniversary logo. It comes in red or black and is, without question, the single most unexciting car GM will be introducing at next month's Detroit Auto Show.

[Source: GM]

Gallery: Chevrolet Impala 50th Anniversary Edition

Continue reading 2008 Chevy Impala 50th Anniversary Edition coming to Detroit

2008 Chevy Impala 50th Anniversary Edition coming to Detroit originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FWD Chevy Impala still being considered

John Neff — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:25:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Chevrolet

Say it ain't so, Bob! Automotive News is reporting that since General Motors' plans for a rear-wheel-drive Impala replacement that's based on the Australian-sourced Zeta platform are up in the air (you can thank the U.S. government and its never ending debate on a CAFE increase for that), a backup plan for a front-wheel-drive is in place. The candidate platform would be the Epsilon II chassis set to underpin the next generation Opel Vectra and Saturn Aura, as well as the next Malibu (OMG, we're already talking about the next Malibu?). Though a higher CAFE standard could torpedo plans for a rear-wheel-drive Impala replacement, the case for another front-wheel-drive Imp isn't necessarily on solid ground either. With the Malibu having grown in size considerably, the current Impala and Malibu cast similarly sized shadows now, and to develop another FWD replacement would only further some confusion between the two models.

The Impala is currently GM's best-selling car across all brands with 270,504 units sold so far this year and 20,791 sold last month alone. The Malibu, meanwhile, only sold 5,975 units in October, but we expect its monthly sales to rise quickly once the new model hits dealer showrooms. There's little to celebrate, however, if the Malibu's new sales come from the Impala's column. Thus, it's imperative that GM find a way to differentiate the two models while maintaining the Impala's appeal. Switching the Impala to RWD and drawing on the car's heritage would be a perfect way to do that, but if the CAFE debate doesn't go the Impala's way, this new plan B appears the way to go.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

FWD Chevy Impala still being considered originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Impala won't be shown until next year

Alex Nunez — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 14:44:00 EST

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Chevrolet, GM

We interviewed Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper at the Detroit Auto Show earlier today. While we won't have the full interview up for you until sometime tomorrow, there was one tidbit of information that we wanted to share with you straightaway, and it relates to the next-generation Impala.

Many of us presumed that we'd get to see the car sometime during this auto show season. That's not the case. GM's immense new product onslaught was such that we simply assumed that we'd be seeing an Impala this year, an assumption that Ed corrected us on. He couldn't give us any specifics about timing, but if the Impala turns out to be one of the stars of '08 Detroit show, let's just say we wouldn't be the least bit surprised.

New Impala won't be shown until next year originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Jan 2007 14:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: New Impala sighting?

Alex Nunez — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 12:20:00 EST

Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, Chevrolet

UPDATE: It's been confirmed from about a half dozen sources that this is not the next Impala, which won't be on its way until the end of the decade and will likely be riding on a rear-wheel drive Zeta platform(!), but rather the next Malibu.

Our friends at Winding Road have new spy photos of what appears to be the next Chevy Impala. The telltale bowtie is visible under the checkerboard tape on the car's nose, and the the body seems be the right size (Winding Road's photo gallery bears this out). The bold-looking grille recalls the 2003 SS Concept -- a good thing -- and round taillamps peek through the masking in back (though that doesn't necessarily mean that's what the final lamps will look like.) The car is even a confirmed front-driver that's likely riding on the General's veteran G-body platform, which is evident from the kinked C-pillar shared with the Buick Lucerne.

If this is indeed the new Impala, it looks like the General managed to inject some real style into the car's look.

Editor's note: The current Impala was refreshed for the 2006 model year, and despite its lack of stimulating style has enjoyed favorable reviews from critics and better-than-decent sales. Last month the current model sold 30,716 units, an 85.3-percent improvement over the prior year and enough to make it Chevy's best selling passenger car for the month over the econo-Cobalt. If these spy shots are of the next Impala, the current model may not be around much longer to enjoy its success.

[Source: Winding Road]

Spy Shots: New Impala sighting? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 30 Jul 2006 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: 2008 Chevy Impala

Erin Mays — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 08:06:00 EST

Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, Chevrolet

Behold... the 2008 Chevy Impala-- or at least, that's what The Car Connection thinks it is. The mystery vehicle in question sports round rear taillights, a grillw that looks suspiciously like the 2003 Chevy SS concept, and a long wheelbase. TCC makes a good case that the prototype is rear-wheel drive based on its similarity to the Zeta-based Holden Commodore that spy photographers shot tearing around GM's practice tracks. All of this follows the now-conventional wisdom that GM will swap driveline ends with the Impala, which in recent guises has been suffering the ill effects of torque-steer due to massive power increases.

Of course, it helps that with the increasingly common use of technologies like traction control and improved snow tires, rear-wheel drive has once again come into vogue (read: "Thanks, Chrysler 300!").

[Source: The Car Connection]

Spy Shots: 2008 Chevy Impala originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Jun 2006 08:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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