Review; Chevrolet Impala LS

[91 s-10baja]

Chevrolet Impala LS

By Frank Williams
July 20th, 2006 597 Views

If you want to judge a restaurant, don’t order the chef’s specialty. Go for the hamburger or the omelet. If the man in the funny hat prepares these prosaic dishes with the same passion he puts into his Suprème de Turbot Rôti aux Asperges Vertes et à l'Ail en Chemise, you have a winner. The same applies to cars. If you want to judge an automaker’s prowess, check their basic models. Scope the ones with standard engines and base interiors that hide in the back of the lots. A few miles behind the wheel tells you more about the manufacturer’s passion for product than anything their spinmongers could ever publish. Which brings us to the Impala LS.




http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=1848

Don't forget to read the replies!!

porker:
July 20th, 2006 at 10:47 am
You’re such a hate-blinded moron that you fail to lookat all at what the Impala is really about- long-lasting competence. The ************ cars you’re so fond of touting on these pages will fall apart at approximately 180-200k uncomfortable, cramped miles, ( if a real car doesn’t accordian them in a wreck beforehand) and then need to be thrown away because you can’t fix them. GM vehicles, on the other hand, with their proven pushrod engines, will continue to go on and on and on and will inspire their owners and admirers to continue to hold on to them. I’ve owned, (and for over five years, sold) ************ cars and I can tell you, they’re much, much worse in the long run than their American counterparts. Try to find someone who can actually rebuild a Honda transmission, or a Nissan engine. Then, try to afford it! No thanks, I’ll stick to my pushrod V-8’s and V-6’s from an AMERICAN company that deserves much better than your Kraut and ************ car loving tripe! You, and others in the press, are the main reason that lots of younger American car buyers believe the crap that “German” or “Japanese” cars are somehow superior. I totalled up my 37 years of ownership experience the other day, comparing the problems I’d had with my GM cars versus my Japmobiles, and the GM cars won by better than 2-to-1! My wife’s Maxima (my current, and, thankfully, LAST Japmobile) was never fun to drive, was never pleasant on the road, was never up to the interior quality level of my cheapest Chevy truck. It currently runs, but that’s about all. No a/c (compressor crapped out, can’t find a replacement that fits), no radio (good luck finding one!), no power windows in front (can’t find used, can’t afford new, electric motor for the crappy OEM that burned out), numerous repairs to keep it moving, this car’s a goner as soon as I can find a moron lilke you to unload it on! The single Toyota truck I owned blew up at 62K miles and cost me 4K in repair! I can buy a mighty good 350 SBC for 4K! Why don’t you go back and revisit the Impala LS, and look at it for what it really is, a decent, reliable import fighter that offers more than enough room and comfort to guarantee that it will continue to serve as long as its owner desires its services.

[Ttple]

I guess it's as bland as it looks.

[espo19047]

What other car that size has a base six cylinder? The Impala is a great car for the money. I read the article. The guy uses the terms "****************" and "Yankees".
Then he responds to the criticism by asking the guy not to be racist.
What a joke. It shows that anyone can get on the net and call themselves an expert.

[Bvonscott]

I like porker's response. Very fitting and very true of what I and many others have experienced... long lasting American quality, shoddy Japenese quality.

[Ttple]

I can't take anyone seriously who uses the term "japmobile". Sure, they may make some clunkers but you can't overlook the people who are loyal customers.

[iamkjk]

The author makes a lot of good points that have all been discussed before: bland exterior, bland interior, and 4 speed transmissions. This car is the kind of stop gap that GM is famous for - don't worry a better one is coming in a few years.

The Impala is not a bad car, in fact it is probably a pretty good car. That is not good enough anymore because the competition is fierce. If GM wants to survive it has to be at, or very near, the top in each category.

[darknight9]

This was my response:

The Impala is a great car, you just have to take it for what it is. Impala has never been synonomous with “spirited driving”, SS 409’s of yore nothwithstanding. And even those were only fast in a straight line…

Quite frankly, the life of the average Impala, Crown Vic, Taurus, and Charger, are for the most part, very mundane. Only the lucky ones born as cop cruisers will likely ever see any real excitement. GM has wrapped this tough as nails car in plain clothes with honest, if older technology, drivetrains and durable, but uninspiring trim. Could it be better, sure! But let’s not totally condemn this car because it doesn’t suit the tastes of the enthusiast driver. I own a small business and don’t have any company owned vehicles yet, but if I did, the last thing I would want is something sporty, or something with high cost of repair. The Impala, Crown Vic, Taurus and Charger all share those attributes. Oh, Charger fans that think a base 2.7 Charger is fun, need to drive one. It handles better than an Impala, but wow what a road slug.

The Japanese makes have, for now, cornered the market on seemingly reliable, exciting cars that exude design excellence. I say seemingly, because with the breakout of recent Toyota and Nissan quality issues, tides could be turning. The domestics are making some real advances in reliability and feature content. Now, all that is left is to instill vehicles with some design expression.

Anyone that thinks that foreign cars are cheaper to fix, hasn’t owned one out of warranty! With my 10+ years in the dealership business, I can say that when an imported vehicle needs some service, it’s going to be costly. Toyota, in particular, charges an arm and a leg for parts. I’m not talking about whole engines, but rather things that you use everyday, like oh a left front power window motor. ‘98 Malibu vs: ‘98 Camry.

Malibu: Dealer (new) $134.58, stock item. P/N 22702139
Malibu: NAPA (reman) $66.32, stock item. P/N 49-7118

Camry: Dealer (new) $301.02, stock item P/N 85720-AA020
Camry: NAPA (reman) $119.33, special order 4 days P/N 49-10888

The fact that both local dealers stock this part tells me that they frequently break on both of them. I don’t know about you, but I use the hell out of my window while I’m driving! If your window broke, which car would you rather be driving? I don’t know about you, but the Malibu could be fixed TODAY for $234.70 less than the Camry. That’s quite a bit of gas money!

Hopefully our hypothetical Malibu was a 4 cylinder, or the money saved on the window job would have to go into the piggy bank for a new intake manifold gasket! Oh, and our hyopthetical Camry owner would be standing in the Toyota dealer’s service department, less worried about their broken window and relatively miffed over the locked up engine from the oil sludge…

Food for thought! Cheers…

[mjd1001]

My retired father just bought an Impala LT. The car is nice, comfortable, and drives well. However, when I found out the price, plus the financing offer GM had, plus the discount off sticker, plus a GM card rebated, it came to something like $5-$6 less than a V6 Camry or Accord, and even a little less than the 4 cylinder Camry and Accord.

It's a 'nice' car, not much more, but for the money it is a great car.

[guitarlix]

Originally Posted by Bvonscott

I like porker's response. Very fitting and very true of what I and many others have experienced... long lasting American quality, shoddy Japenese quality.

But of course

[markusername]

Originally Posted by mjd1001

My retired father just bought an Impala LT. The car is nice, comfortable, and drives well. it came to something like $5-$6 less than a V6 Camry or Accord,

It's a 'nice' car, not much more, but for the money it is a great car.

Exactly!!! This is what some journalist don't understand. I agree comparing it to the V6 decked out Camry or Accord, they would win hands down. But you have to consider price, i.e. value into the equation.

If money (a difference of $5,000) is no big deal, then by all means get the better Camry or Accord. But if you want the best value, then the Impala wins.

Auto journalist need to take into account the extra $5000 it costs to buy the better camry or accord. Let the readers know that dollar for dollar the Impala is competitive (and most likely the best in terms of value).

[Ming]

An LS? Well, I based my opinion once on a rental-grade down-trim Camry several years back and was FAR from impressed. I don't think it even had a tach, and the seats and pretty much everything was terrible. Later I rode in a more upscale model and only then understood why people could stomach buying them. My impression of the LS from the option list is that it is a stripper rental-fleet special, and should not represent GM or Chevy or the Impala in general.

You find yourself wondering if the engineers who designed the Impala ever drove a base-model Accord or Camry– of any vintage.

That's over-the-top Toyohonda Kool-Aid BS. My example above of the 2000 or so rental Camry I "drove" (or should I say "operated" to follow this guy's little joke) is why.

Maybe he meant "Owned by any Vintalage".

[powervette]

this guy is import biased

[DenCo]

Originally Posted by Ttple

I can't take anyone seriously who uses the term "japmobile". Sure, they may make some clunkers but you can't overlook the people who are loyal customers.

Well... The other side loves to overlook any happy and/or loyal customers to the domestics and label us as nothing more than ignorant over-patriotic morons.

[PsychoBueller]

Originally Posted by Ming

An LS? Well, I based my opinion once on a rental-grade down-trim Camry several years back and was FAR from impressed. I don't think it even had a tach, and the seats and pretty much everything was terrible. Later I rode in a more upscale model and only then understood why people could stomach buying them. My impression of the LS from the option list is that it is a stripper rental-fleet special, and should not represent GM or Chevy or the Impala in general.



That's over-the-top Toyohonda Kool-Aid BS. My example above of the 2000 or so rental Camry I "drove" (or should I say "operated" to follow this guy's little joke) is why.

Maybe he meant "Owned by any Vintalage".

For the sake of accuracy, the Camry has had a tachometer standard since at least 1992, even on base "CE" models. The rental-grade base Impala did not have a tachometer standard until 2006.

[griswold44]

Originally Posted by PsychoBueller

For the sake of accuracy, the Camry has had a tachometer standard since at least 1992, even on base "CE" models. The rental-grade base Impala did not have a tachometer standard until 2006.

Heck, my '88 Camry had a Tachometer.