(originally posted 5/11/22) I know us Curbside Classic readers are a strange breed, because I think there are precious few others, at large or even in car circles, who would get excited spotting a car like this deliciously ratty 75 Chevy. At 47 years old, it’s still in regular service with no signs of stopping soon. This delights my curbside heart, and if you’re a regular reader here, I suspect it does yours too. It’s a stubborn survivor, as its owner must be as well. Seeing it inspired some deep thoughts for me.
Is this its good side? The driver side is definitely straighter, but the passenger side still clings to an original hubcap and whitewall tire.
First we’ll look at an overview of the ’75 Impalas, then get to the deep thoughts and finally hear the story of this particular car. These GM beasts have, of course, been profiled occasionally here at CC. We can’t help being fascinated with their place at the apex of the steady growth of popular-priced American cars which had been happening since at least the 1920s.
There’s no denying the “standard” (in the vernacular of the time) Chevrolet had grown to gargantuan proportions when the 1971 models started abusing pavement everywhere. Women gasped, babies cried, dogs whimpered. Advertisements like the one above bragged that the new Chevrolets gave you “more car…Your dollar wants to buy the most car value…That’s the ’71 Impala, the most Impala ever built.” Ads like this really do a good job talking up the car’s engineering, and were appealing to the left-brained consumer (like me, for instance. Full disclosure: I have owned 75 and 76 Buick versions of the B-body).
Many of the features listed were legitimate enhancements, such as standard power front disc brakes on all models (a first for Chevrolet; Ford and Plymouth still had drums standard on full-sizers) and larger windshields (with thinner A pillars). Total glass area was impressive, Chevy called it “room with a view”, all the better to try to see past the huge hood and trunk lid.
It’s somewhat infamous around CC that in 1971-3 these very full sized Chevys still came standard with sixes in the lower models, which Paul experienced in his short career as a taxi driver in 1976. I can only imagine the [lack of] acceleration provided by 110 net horsepower pushing 4200lb of Chevy plus a few passengers and luggage. Only 11,843 unfortunate cars were so equipped for 1971, dwindling to 3900 in 1972 and all of 1394 for 1973. A 145hp 2-barrel 350c.i. V8 was standard in our feature 1975 Impala, which was still not exactly a powerhouse, but it was at least adequate. A 175hp 400c.i. small block and a 235hp 454c.i. big block were optional if you wanted more motive force. 1975 being the year catalytic converters first appeared on all cars, one reference I saw said dual exhaust was provided on the optional engines, which doesn’t sound right to me. Anybody know about this?
Over the six years of this generation, sales plunged from a 1972 high point of just over one million full size Chevys. The final two years (75 and 76) saw about 400k each year. Of that 400k in 1975, that broke down to 249k Impalas, 91k of which were Impala 4-door sedans like our feature car, the most popular model/body. Quite a change from the mid-60s, when Chevy was moving about 1.5 million big cars yearly. From the vantage point of 2022, 400k is still a lot of cars and far more than any model of passenger cars or even SUVs is selling today. Only pickup truck models sell over that.
The advantage to that kind of volume is that you could choose your full-size Chevrolet in one of three models (Caprice, Impala, Bel Air) and six body styles (not available in all models), including Impalas in two styles of coupe and two styles of 4-door (as seen in the brochure shot above, also available in a wagon). The lower production numbers of this generation did see Chevy lavish less styling updates on them than in the past. In 1965-70, each year is very visually distinct with two major sheet metal revisions (67 and 69). This new generation didn’t change visually nearly as much, with mostly modest grille and tail changes each year. The biggest revision was in rooflines on coupes for 1974 and sedans for 1975. Personally, I like the revised sedan roofs better, especially the thinner C-pillars on the pillared sedan seen on our feature car.
When you are a kid or very young adult, most every adult seems old and for those multiple decades older than yourself, it seems almost impossible to imagine being so aged. Then when you get to be that age, and it doesn’t seem that old. At 50 now, I’ve had a growing sense for at least the last ten years of the nature of youth that’s hard to put to words. I’ll try to explain with a series of hopefully interesting anecdotes.
Every age is a form of youth, even 41. Cal Ripkin Jr. had a storied baseball career, playing in the major leagues for 21 seasons and currently holding the title for most consecutive games played (he played in every Orioles game for 16 years). Possibly his best season was 1991, when he was 31 years old and won the home run derby, was the American League MVP, the All-Star Game MVP, and won a Gold Glove. He dealt with injuries his last few years, but continued to play strongly until he retired at 41, even winning the All-Star Game MVP award that year.
Phil Collins rocking the drums at 56
Every age is a form of youth, even 56. The band Genesis is one of my favorites and recently toured. Phil Collins has had a lot of health problems and though he is 70, he looks 85 (and not a spry 85). Neurological problems prevent him from playing drums and he walks out on stage, slowly, with a cane and sits down for the entire show. But God bless him, he sings his heart out to the best of his ability. Compare video from this tour with their last, in 2007 when he was 56, and he looks practically juvenile then, moving all over the stage, lots of energy, back and forth from the drums, his voice strong and consistent. Lots of younger people would say 56 is so old, but compared to 70 plagued with health problems, it’s not at all.
Jack LaLanne at 91 years old. Pictures on wall are of him, but presumably not the statue.
Every age is a type of youth, even 96. Jack LaLanne was a legendary innovator in the field of personal fitness. Hugely influential in that industry, he proved his credibility with trademark feats of strength when he was no longer considered a young man, such as 1,033 pushups in 23 minutes (age 42); swimming the Golden Gate channel towing a 2,500lb cabin cruiser in strong currents (age 43); swimming from Fisherman’s Wharf to Alcatraz Island with arms and legs bound and towing a 1,000lb boat through strong currents (age 60); and for his 70th birthday swimming a mile in Long Beach Harbor with handcuffs and shackles towing 70 people in 70 boats. At 96, he had recently released a book and was still working out two hours every day until he caught pneumonia and passed away after a week of illness.
This idea isn’t meant to just apply to exceptionally gifted people like these examples, they’re just more interesting. The word youths as a noun generally means school-age people, but youth as a general concept is inherently relative. We are all living in an age of grace, and if you are fortunate enough to be able to get yourself out of bed; walk without assistance; able to think and speak clearly; and can appreciate the sun on your face, then you are better off than some and possess a type of youth. Even those who can’t do all those things may be considered youthful after a fashion, because at least they’re alive. We each have different views of a possible afterlife, but it is not hard to imagine scenarios where the dead envy the living, longing for the days of corporeal time on Earth. Life is a gift, however hard it can be, and those who possess any type of youth regardless of age should consider themselves blessed. I’m still not sure I’m explaining the idea well and perhaps this all isn’t so profound as I picture it, but I definitely didn’t think like this when I was a lot younger.
So, how does this relate to our subject car? You’re not going to easily find a car with daily driver status that’s either older by year or more cosmetically aged. It’s glorious! That it’s still on the road is a fact that can’t be said of 99 point something percent of its 1975 assembly line brothers. By being among the land of the living cars, I’d say despite its appearance, it possesses a type of youth.
I’ve seen this car a number of times tooling around and caught it on camera at the Family Dollar on more than one occasion. I finally caught up with the owner and got a little back story on the car. He is an older gentleman, as you might imagine, but not the original owner. He and his family have lived in this neighborhood his whole life. His uncle bought the car as a late model used car in the 70’s or 80’s, he’s not sure exactly when, and drove it for many years. The uncle passed it to his son, who also drove it for several years before it quit running and was parked for a few years. The owner asked his cousin if he were able to get it running, could he have the car? Well, he was able to get it back on the road without too much expense and has been driving it ever since.
The inside still has a little bit of original upholstery left on the front seat and overall isn’t too bad looking, considering the condition of the exterior and the amount of plastic in GM interiors by that time. Mileage is unknown, as the odometer has never worked since the owner has had the car. As far as he knows, the 350c.i. engine is original.
The Chevy impresses the observer with how looong a standard size car was in 1975. Wheelbase is 121.5 in. and length is 225 in., or about 5 feet longer than the Kia Rio hiding behind it. Perspective hilariously makes it look like the Kia’s length doesn’t even cover the Chevy’s wheelbase. It also makes it look like it rivals the width of a Family Dollar.
Frankly, it looks a little scary and its muffler barely works anymore. Modern vehicles look over with alarm when the Chevy pulls in next to them.
But the Chevy is long past the point of caring. It may look rough, but it’s still out there doing its job and seizing the kind of youth it has. Its owner cares for it without babying it and will apparently be content to drive it as long as the Chevy is willing. Not many cars can say that at 47 years and counting.
Photographed in Houston, TX May 2021 – March 2022
Related reading (not an exhaustive list):
I, no doubt, looked a lot better in 1975 than I do now, too. Driving a 1974 Monte Carlo at that time. Now I have a few scratches and dents, too.
I’m a 71 model and feel just like that car does minus the rust . I live in Arizona and don’t even see those any more maybe a Nova now and then but that year Impala no. It’s nice he has it running 👍
Inside of the Chevy looks better than expected. And unlike the store it’s parked in front of, not a rat to be found…
I did not know the Impala 2-door hardtop was still offered in 1975 alongside the new coupe with the separate rear side windows.
Jon, Your paragraph on “youths” is nicely written. As I approach my 78th birthday this month, the concept of age and viability is ever with me. My daily walks with Debbie were once a fast 4 or even 6 miles. But recently, with Apple watch confirmed accuracy, they are now 2.71 – or maybe 3.12 miles, and, not all that fast.
You write: “if you are fortunate enough to be able to get yourself out of bed; walk without assistance; able to think and speak clearly; and can appreciate the sun on your face… “. That sentence is beautiful. Thank you for it.
And below, my long gone 1972 Impala.
Thanks for the kind words! 3 miles a day is pretty good for anyone, I’d say. Is it just me or do your hike distances resemble rear axle ratios?
I wrote that sentence thinking of the many people I encounter who can’t do all those things, even at much younger than 78.
Loved this. The car, the pictures, the reflections on aging. This Impala is glorious, to reuse your word. And its “do not care” essence makes it all the more appealing. Well done and shared.
Thanks!
I too, looked better in ’75 than I do now. But I was 9 years old. 🙂
Know what ya mean. I turned “15” in 1975.
You make many great observations. I remember when a group of us kids did a mental exercise of imagining ourselves in the year 2000. 41! Aaaagggh. I imagined a future with a big belly in a wife-beater undershirt to go with my bald head. How could anybody want to be that old!!! Fast forward to my current 63 and none of those things is true. I am healthy, productive and appreciating it all.
I never liked these cars when they were common, but have a grudging respect for them now. The 1975 restyle seemed then (and still does) to have sucked all of the character out of the car. I disagree with you on the roofline – I never liked this version. Of course the sedan body style was never that attractive at any time during that body’s run, but I preferred the earlier ones.
Glad your 63 reality is better than your imagined 41!
I have never liked the original 4 door roof, sedan or hardtop, they look kind of bulbous and characterless to my eyes. I like the revised one with a slight V in the rear window and thinner C pillar with a matchong defined slope at both the front edge and traing edge (on sedan). I even like the rear quarter window on the hardtops, which gives the greenhouse a very airy look.
The only full size Chevy engine with dual exhaust for 1975 was the rarely ordered 454. It was a true dual system with dual cats.
Thanks, good to know. I always thought GM decreed no car would have multiple cats.
VinceC below says it was a single cat “dual” exhaust. I wonder if we can look this up somewhere?
Love the eyes on the neighbouring cars cowering in fear. They look at this Chebby as an escaping criminal would look at an unshaven Charles Bronson in pursuit. And with as much fear.
Do we think that the left side had a repaint at some point in time? It’s missing the all important body side molding tape strip residue.
Fred Gwynne – two youts. One of my favourites. Judge Chamberlain Haller.
I’m sure the floaty ride this gave back when new is long passed on.
+1 The eyes in that picture are a great touch!
The wagon version of this car was my family’s first new car in 1972. It didn’t hit see that big at the time because we just had 60’s cars for comparison. It was the car that I learned to drive in. It was the cat that I occasionally drove to high school and suddenly became popular. A car does wonders for social acceptance in high school. Our car soldiered on for 8 years at which point gas prices were getting out of control. Us “kids” were moving out and my mother did not need this behemoth any more. She started driving a Chevette into the city for work. The car had some problems and we considered 8 years to be acceptable as a lifespan and the car was sold off. Ironic that 8 years is considered barely broken in now. I agree with JP and say that the first generation rooflines were much better. I hated the gigantic fixed quarter windows on the revised coupes. And the vertical B-pillar was jarring compared to the flowing lines of the rest of the car. And I never liked any of the opera windows added in later years. The lines of the 71-72 version look much better in my eyes.
Great essay on this unlikely survivor.
When I think about old folks and the “nature of youth,” I can’t help thinking about my grandmother, who passed away last month at age 106. She was remarkably healthy and active until 2020 – looking and acting several decades younger than her chronological age, despite a rather challenging life – but she was very nonchalant about her remarkable longevity. She just went about her life without considering her age. Of course, luck plays a good part in the longevity of anyone or anything, but I see this Impala as being similar. It just drags itself out of the driveway and goes about its business on a daily basis, with little drama.
I’m glad you were able to talk with the Impala’s owner – when we see cars like this we’re always desperately curious as to the car’s history. Filling in these gaps makes the story complete.
I hope you keep seeing this car around!
106, wow! Every age is a type of youth, even 105? why not!
Hey! You there, Stephenson!
How dare you! A “strange breed” are we, huh?
Yeah, ok, ok, fair enough. It’s true. I should know.
Great little essay, sir. And where else could one ogle some delightful wrinkled junk in a random carpark, I ask, let alone find some fine soul who’d would write about it with knowledge and love?
Surely this post is pretty much the essence of CC, in fact, so an extra “Well-done!” to you, I say.
I’m glad you’ve come to terms with being a strange breed:)
I said it’s true.
I said nothing about having come to terms with it….
Driving this would be a kind of freedom. No worries about dents or regular maintenance and a fill is $100 or .33 cents a mile.
These cars were literally everywhere when new, but even by the late ’70s they were seen as out of fashion and too big. So they were cheap to buy used. Very cheap.
As a result they quickly became go-to transportation for folks who didn’t have a lot of options. The trim may be falling off, the A/C doesnt work, the upholstery was ratty but it was cheap to keep running (gas excepted) and got you to work. The guys at the copper and molybdenum mine up outside of town loved them for carpool rigs. They also made great winter beaters, and when I worked at Rent-A-Wreck they served as well at 5 or 6 hundred bucks for a clean sedan. Junkyard parts were plentiful and cheap, and maintenance was simple. So I’m not surprised this one still runs but I never saw one this rough back then.
I had a ’74 with a 454 and factory duals, and a ’76 with a 400 and factory single exhaust. Both did their winter and then donated their engines and transmissions. Neither cost me more than 500 bucks in the early ’80s. Good transportation value if not pleasant or stylish.
I liked seeing this one, and I hope it makes many more trips to Family Dollar!
Yes, these were the quintessential winter beater when I was in high school in Vermont in the 80’s!
How old is this is in human years? Somebody should snag the VIN numbers of these unrestored hyper-survivors to look for patterns. Which brands and models lasted longest? Which assembly plants produced the most long-term survivors? Which options did these remarkable anti-lemons tend to have? Is survivorship just a byproduct of careful owners who live outside the snow belt or are there more complicated factors at play?
Sounds like a good masters thesis, if you could attend Gearhead U.
Yes, this car and the fine write-up do capture the essence of CC.
My 95 year-old mother in law is living with us part-time, and her undimmininished cognitive functions and her excellent health and mobility are inspiring.
And now I need to leave and climb back up on that steel roof I’m installing today on one of my rentals. I don’t need to be doing this, but it makes me feel alive and useful.
I hope you are wearing a safety harness up there lest the safety patrol see you and all hell breaks loose like it did with me five stories above the deck two months ago. Reached all the way cross country in less than 24 hours. Just sayin”
For 2 years, 75-76, the Impala got the previous front fascia of the previous year Caprice, just with different grilles.
Yeah, they were really cutting corners on these cars by then.
A great write-up for a car that was everywhere when I was kid.
I turn 58 this year and there isn’t anything I can’t do. I watched my Irish Catholic family kill itself by alcohol, tobacco and gluttony and I didn’t want any part it. My dad wouldn’t walk 200m to the market. If there where a SkyTrain station in his front yard, he would have drove instead.
I like to move. I hate sitting for too long. I am fortunate to have a big dog, who needs long walks. I go to the gym 4X a week and I don’t eat anything in a package. I live in a walking neighbourhood and I ride my bike as much as I can. I drove Wolfy only 4000 km in 2021. I buy gasoline every 5-6 weeks, so our outrageous fuel prices don’t affect me much.
When I am in Costco, I see old pharts like me loading up on various supplements and vitamin pills, no doubt for their aches and pains. I don’t take any of them. When I came back from Korea in 2004 after a dozen years, I was shocked by the obesity I saw.
I agree, movement is key to health. I disagree with the no vitamins idea, though. Unless you eat an exceptionally high quality diet, you are probably lacking in some essential vitamins and minerals. I take it you live in Canada, which makes it highly unlikely you get enough sun, especially in cool months, to keep your Vit. D level where it should be, especially in these virus plagued times.
Nope. I eat plenty of fresh stuff of all kinds of different colours. I walk 15 km without a break and can scuba dive in strong current in 30 m of water.
Don’t take a single vitamin. My doctor says,”Canadians have the most expensive pee in the world.”
As a manufactured product, that Chevy was never intended to last this long. And yet, here it is–like a battered time traveler from the ’70s that landed in the strange, futuristic world of 2022 A.D. Where people wear masks and drive smoothed-over, chunky, orb-shaped vehicles.
To quote the 1960 Plymouth brochure, “1960 prototype Plymouths have been test driven the equivalent of 20 years’ use. YOU WOULDN’T WANT TO HANG ONTO ANY CAR THAT LONG–but that isn’t the point.” Yeah–what nutjob would want to keep a car for 20 years?
I thought this was a great post!
Thanks! LOL! The Chevy is definitely a car out of its time. That Plymouth line is funny, as Mopar buyers from the 60’s/70’s were probably some of the most likely to want to keep their cars 20+ years, at least judging by what I saw in the 80’s and 90’s.
Now that is a roach just like some of the ones I found at former NAS Alameda.
Funny thing for the Canadian 1975 full-size Chevrolet brochure, that photo of that Chevrolet Impala 4-door sedan was air brushed to label it as a BelAir model.
http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/Canada/GM-Canada/Chevrolet/1975-Chevrolet-Full-Size-Brochure/slides/1975_Chevrolet_Full_Size_Cdn-14-15.html
And as a bonus, the Biscayne was on its final lap on the Great White North. http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/Canada/GM-Canada/Chevrolet/1975-Chevrolet-Full-Size-Brochure/slides/1975_Chevrolet_Full_Size_Cdn-16-17.html
I actually noticed that, the same picture had both an Impala version and Bel Air version.
Even before I saw the Bel Air in the Canadian brochure, I noticed the “Impala” script on the brown sedan in the U.S. brochure looked airbrushed. I can’t tell if the chrome window frames were airbrushed onto the Impala pic or airbrushed out of the Bel Air pic.
I wonder if airbrushing is still a common skill or occurrence in the Photoshop era.
Very impressive find! Contrary to most here, in the late 70s there were FEW 75-76 full-size Chevys on Long Island. Buick LeSabres/Electras, yes, quite a few actually. Olds 88/98, check. Cadillac DeVille, check.
But the 75-76 Chevy/Pontiac full-sizers–not so many. Of course, there were legions of 77-79 Chevy, and the other division.
By the mid-late 80s, the big GM cars had vanished. So this is find is most impressive, as this car looks like one of the last ones on the road, circa 1987. Great find!
I love’d this article I have the 1975 Caprice Classic convertible I ordered in 1974. And i have a brother-in-law who has a 1976 [un-restored] 4dr Impala
Oh yeah, those convertibles are cool. They actually make the 75 full size chevys have an overall high number of survivors, as quite a few of those droptops remain extant. That’s great you are the original owner. You should write it up for CC as a COAL sometime. I used to own a 75 LeSabre convertible. I loved it.
Wasn’t this car an extra in the Blues Brother’s after looking that one side over.
I too enjoy seeing ‘Road Roaches’ still ding Yeoman Duty decades later .
Modern cars will do the miles easily but long term ? forgeddaboutit .
-Nate
I too enjoy seeing ‘Road Roaches’ still doing Yeoman Duty decades later .
Modern cars will do the miles easily but long term ? forgeddaboutit .
-Nate
Great write-up Jon. I actually saw a very similar Impala in very similar condition locally a couple years ago. It had also been brought back to life by it’s current owner. We had numerous 70s and 80s cars like this in our family that were also used similarly. Although up north they didn’t last 47 years due to rust killing them off first. They usually made it to about 20 years or so before they were ready for the scrap yard. I actually miss bombing around in those beaters, they were great fun to drive. That said, my 46 year mostly all original Chevy still runs great and has been truly a bullet proof car. It shuttled my wife and I to a few appointments today. While it has been a long time family daily driver, it was much better cared for than the aforementioned cars, thanks to my dad.
On the dual exhaust question, yes there was dual exhaust on these cars. The 454 powered cars (except wagons) had dual “outlet” exhaust. There was only a single catalytic converter. So like the Corvettes of this era, there was a Y pipe into the converter, and a y-pipe out to two mufflers and two resonators.
I guess we haven’t totally resolved the exhaust question. CPJ and (re)tiredoldmechanic above say that the dual exhaust was a true dual with 2 cats. Who’s right?
The first year for the catalytic converter was 1975. There was only one pipe going into the cat. From the rear, dual exhaust pipes started.
From what I have read and been told, it had less backpressure than not having the cat back duals but is not as efficient as a true dual exhaust system. Honda V-6s still use this arrangement today.
I should have been more clear, my bad. The ’74 didn’t have a cat at all, the ’76 did. I believe the “Y pipe” explanation is correct, I never saw a GM car from this era with 2 cats. Likely wouldn’t have fit they were so big.
I think you are right. Every GM car of that era that I’ve been aware of, even F-bodies and Corvettes, ran through a single cat. It beggars belief that they would give a b-body true duals when they didn’t to those performance cars.
You are correct, that for the longest time GM only used one cat, regardless of if they had dual exhaust or not. I believe a big part of this was the cost related to the catalytic converters. Not only was there the converter itself, but it required extra mounting hardware and heat shielding (these early GM cats ran very hot). As already stated, 1975 was the first year for cats, so Chevrolet’s prior to that had true dual exhaust, like (re)tiredoldmechanic’s 1974 Chev.
To back-up my statement, I found some sourcing to support my claim. Below is from the GM Heritage Information Kit, which shows the exhaust configurations for 1975 Chevrolets. Second is Waldron’s exhaust, who reproduces factory correct exhaust and they reproduce the dual outlet exhaust for the 454 Chevrolets.
https://waldronexhaust.com/product/1975-76-chevrolet-full-size-v8-454ci-dual-cat-back-exhaust-w4-mufflers/
Yes, an very enjoyable write up. It would be interesting to somehow know the drivetrain components on this rolling relic. I’m guessing it was the 350. Was the inline 6, 250, gone by ’75? If not, likely regulated to basic model fleet sales.
A beloved late uncle of mine was a lifelong Chevrolet man. Except for strictly IHC trucks and tractors on his farm. One of his rides was a new ’75 Impala like this one. His had the 400 siamese bore small block. First year for a cat converter and HEI ignition. I drove it once when nearly new and found it had just adequate power.
A couple of slightly younger friends took a three-month transcontinental road trip after college graduation in ’76. They used a well worn high mileage ’71 Impala from this generation. They made it back but the car was totally done.
Thank you! I say deep in the text that the car has a 350, and that the 6 cylinder was only standard through 73.
Appreciated! Somehow, I missed that info.
Did these cars have multiple rooflines within the same years? I see the 71 2dr with the hardtop roof. By 74-75, j see both that older design and the one with the giant fixed window within the roof (ugly). The sedan has two windows within the doors in 71-73 ish. Then I see the added center like window on the sedan in 74. Why? Then I see the two windows in the door and also a fixed window in the roof c-pillar. What confuses me is that I see multiple rooflines for coupe and sedan within the same model years after 73. Was it a model thing? Or a trim level thing? I don’t remember this many options.
There were two framed window sedan roofs, this one was second one. It was built at the same time as the six-window roof on 4-door hardtops. Since that roof is a lot longer, look at where the trunk lid stops on this car. Now that I’ve seen how short that lid is and how long the filler gap up to the window was, the design looks very cobbled together.
Y’ask me, these godawful things looked like a cobbled-together design even on the day they left the factory.
Jon, I’m so glad you chose to repost this article for the end of the year. I seem to have missed it the first time around and am happy to have had a second shot. Your observations are keen and I particularly like the paragraph where you wrap up the relativity of youth.
As goes the line from Scarface, “Every day above ground is a good one.”
Thanks! I always find a few really good articles I missed when the CC Best Of week rolls around.
This is 1975 and look at all the effort GM put into the design of that wheel cover. Ugliest cover I’ve ever seen. Cheap and ugly, just like GM was in the mid 1970s. Things got better with the 1977 full sizers.
I hadn’t really thought about it, but you’re right. Those hubcaps are pretty lame. The Caprice caps were better, probably because Chevy would prefer you to buy a Caprice.
70s wheelcovers in general were the ones that were so bad that they turned styled wheels into a must have. These were among the worst.
The General Manager of the company I started working at in 1977 drove one of this generation, not sure of the year, in high end Caprice form. A few years later he replaced it with an identically configured down-sized Caprice, just at the time our Engineering department was moved about a mile away from the HQ offices and plant. So the old Caprice was donated to Engineering and we could sign out the keys to drive it over to the factory (we rarely needed to go to HQ offices to meet with Sales or Finance guys 😀). There were a few 90° corners and a 25 mph school zone between our office and the plant, and after a few engineers were spotted by management driving at high speeds, the “motor pool” was discontinued. But before the end, the Caprice’s whitewalls were pretty scrubbed from high speed cornering, and more than one run to the plant was interrupted by a pit stop to recover a hubcap which popped off and rolled down the street. Until I drove that Caprice I thought that was an urban legend, but I’d never owned a car with full wheel covers.
I hadn’t realized until today that the ’74-6 opera window coupe used the same bulging trunk lid, roof, and concave back window as the earlier hardtop, though it looks like the side window’s top is more horizontal to line up with the big opera window.
The sedans would have looked
less strippedmore upscale with fully chromed window frames. The ad shows thin chrome, which I didn’t remember on Chevies. In the 60s, GM’s pillared sedans usually had significantly more rear legroom than the hardtops, but I can’t remember if that was true for these B bodies.Like Jeff says above, I’m so glad this made the “Best of 2022” list as I missed it the first time around. Nice piece Jon. So much to unpack here, being a 1960 model m’self.
Your reflections on age and youth are spot on. And keeping moving is key. While I don’t do the gym, I walk everyday, and wash my cars, by hand, religiously. 8 wheels, cleaned twice a piece, is 16 deep knee bends (held whist scrubbing). This used to be 12 X 2 = 24 when we had my wife’s Lancer before giving it to our granddaughter… talk about youth! But I digress as usual.
For me, Impalas were part of my own youth as 2 of our family cars were Impalas of the previous generation. We had a ‘66 coupe with the fastback roofline, and a ‘68 coupe with the custom roofline. What I find weird is the brochure pic showing the four flavors for 1975. Of the two coupes shown, there appears to be a typo. The one with the fastback roofline is labeled the “Custom Coupe”, while the one with the more formal roofline is labeled “Sport Coupe”… me thinks they got this backwards.
Anyway, I could go on about Impalas as these were the first cars in my youth I could easily identify by model year, due to exactly what you cite about the previous generation. And while the sheet metal was pretty much (if not exactly the same) from ‘71-‘76, you still had noticeable year to year model changes. When the downsized ones came along in ‘77, it was a lot harder to tell them apart. Either that, or I’d lost interest in identifying my Chevys then having switched over to Ford, although we had a really nice “Little Caprice” in the form of a triple-red 1977 Chevrolet (Nova) Concours. 2-door coupe, 305… not to shabby for the Malaise Era.
Anyway, Merry Christmas/Happy Hollandaise/Happy New Year to you and everyone here at CC!!!!
I don’t agree. Different grilles and taillights; different wheelcovers and paint colours and interior colours…a whole different header panel for ’79 versus ’77-’78, etc. Pretty much along the lines of most of the changes made on the pre-downsizing cars for what GM euphemistically called ‘model year identification’, which translates to Grownup as planned obsolescence.
It got a lot harder to discern the model year starting in ’80; almost no changes made clear up through ’85.
I began driving when these cars were new. They were absolutely no fun to drive. You sat low with a cheesy plastic dash filled with idiot lights, tried to see over the hood, slid across the vinyl bench seat, and poured gasoline non-stop into their tanks. 4200 pound cars with the road feel of a mattress on a row boat.
At first opportunity, I ditched these road barges for the next 40 years. Not until 2013 did I return to a “full sizer”, which had by then been reduced by 1000 pounds, and a yard in length, and got triple the gas mileage. Instead of a floater, it was an Interceptor.
So, no thanks. It may look like fun to someone unaccustomed to this era of family cars, but I assure you that fun has rarely ever, been experienced in them.
In Rust Belt Ohio, this car would be snatched up for demo derby.