OLD CARS: Impala’s impressive run began in 1958

Article content

Detroit and the rest of North America were mired in an economic recession in 1957 – the first major economic downturn since the end of the Second World War. And against that backdrop two new cars were introduced in September and October. Both would have a profound impact on the companies that built them.

The first was the Ford Motor Company’s all-new Edsel, an entirely new line of medium-priced cars that represented a big gamble on the part of Ford.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

OLD CARS: Impala’s impressive run began in 1958 Back to video

The second car was a new variation of the full-size Chevrolet, a two-door coupe. It was called Impala.

Edsel would become an enormous failure and would be built for only a few years.

Impala would become one of the most successful automotive nameplates ever for Detroit.

The story of Edsel has been well documented. Ford in the early 1950s was enjoying enormous success with the all-new car that had been introduced for the 1949 model year. Those sales allowed the company to surge past Chrysler Corporation and become Detroit’s No. 2 automaker.

Ford’s next goal was incredibly ambitious. It wanted to compete head-to-head with General Motors, which at the time held 50 per cent of the market. But Ford executives quickly realized they were limited by having three divisions, while GM had five.

Ford bosses thought the answer was an all-new division to compete with the likes of GM’s medium-priced Pontiac and Oldsmobile and Chrysler’s Dodge and DeSoto. The new division could fill in some of the gap left wide open by Mercury.

But changes in the economy and in buyers’ preferences were so abrupt over the five years of Edsel’s development that Ford was caught with an expensive dud. The recession occurred between August 1957 and April 1958 and most of the Detroit companies suffered. But what was worse was the collapse of the medium-priced car market. Demand for any medium-priced car fell like a rock. Edsel sales were much smaller than anticipated, but the collapse also caught DeSoto. Chrysler swiftly ended DeSoto production in early 1961.

Contributing to the turmoil was the ambition of the lower-priced brands such as Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth. Since 1955, all three low-priced divisions had been able to offer V8 performance to its customers, as well as a style and fashion previously the domain of more expensive cars. By 1957 or 1958, you could order a new Chevrolet, Ford or Plymouth, and it could be as well-equipped as any Pontiac, Mercury or a Dodge or DeSoto.

Among them was the all-new Impala from Chevrolet. It was roll out a month after Edsel’s introduction, also as a 1958 model.

The handsome-looking Impala was offered as a two-door coupe or convertible. It was part of GM’s celebration of its 50th year of production. Special anniversary models were introduced for every GM brand, and the new Impala was Chevrolet’s contribution to the corporate party.

For the 1958 model year, Impala was part of the Bel Air line. But there were unique differences between it and other Bel Airs. Impala’s wheelbase (117.5 inches) was longer than the other Chevrolets. Impala interiors were also much more special, featuring unique additions such as a two-spoke steering wheel and colour-keyed panels with brushed aluminum trim.

Impala also offered equipment such as power windows, power brakes, power steering, air conditioning and a signal-seeking radio.

Impala looked special. It featured more chrome than the Bel Air models, as well as three round taillights on each side, rather than the two placed on the other Chevrolet models.

Just as important, Impala included cross-flag insignias above the side moldings, as well as bright rocker moldings and fake rear-fender scoops.

Overall, the all-new top-of-the line Chevrolet offered important styling cues from Corvette.

The standard V8 for Impala was the 283-cubic-inch engine, with a horsepower that ranged from 185 to 230. When equipped with the optional Rochester Ramjet fuel injection, horsepower was boosted to 250.

Adventurous Impala owners could purchase a big block Chevrolet V8 – the 348. In single four-barrel form it produced 250 horsepower. But equipped with three two-barrel carburetors, the horsepower was increased to 280.

In general, all of the new full-size Chevrolets were special for 1958. They were longer, lower and wider than the 1957 models. They were also heavier, by about 300 pounds. And they featured, for the first time, dual headlamps. Moreover, those iconic tailfins found on the 1957 Chevrolet models were replaced by deeply sculptured side fenders.

The new Chevys sat on a new frame that was in the shape of an elongated “X”. Chevrolet claimed its new frame offered increased torsional rigidity. But more importantly, the new frame allowed Chevrolet to lower its passenger compartment. That was a big deal in Detroit in the late 1950s, as customers were clamouring for longer and lower cars. One of the reasons why Ford sold more cars than Chevrolet for 1957 was that Ford’s all-new Fairlane was longer and lower.

But that changed in 1958. Chevrolet outsold Ford. And its secret weapon was the all-new Impala. The glitzy Chevrolet cast a spell over buyers. A total of 55,989 convertible Impalas were sold, while 125,480 coupes were sold. The Impala wouldn’t be offered as a four-door until 1959. Still, its 1958 sales accounted for 15 per cent of all Chevrolet sales.

What makes the 1958 Impala so special today is that it represents a bridge between two decades. Its appearance bears no resemblance to the 1957 Chevrolet, nor does it have much commonality with the 1959 models. The 1958 Chevrolet Impala stands alone.

It wasn’t supposed to be that way. It’s understood that GM’s full-size 1958 bodies would be continued for at least an additional year, but GM stylists got a whiff of what style-leader Chrysler was cooking up and decided to advance their design program. And so GM’s 1959 models were dramatically different. They were universally longer and lower and were styled in a somewhat controversial manner.

For 1959, Impala became a standalone line and became Chevrolet’s premier nameplate. While Impala was offered as a two-door coupe and convertible for 1958, for 1959 it could also be purchased as a four-door sedan or hardtop, or a station wagon. It met with extraordinary success, as over 473,000 Impala models were sold.

Sales were slightly better for 1960 and 1961, at about 491,000 units each, and then surged to almost 705,000 units for 1962. In that year, Chevrolet car sales topped 1.2 million, and buyers preferred the most expensive Impala models.

That’s not to say that Ford sales tanked. The company’s all-new Galaxie experienced sales equally as impressive, but the Edsel was a painful memory for Ford executives. Over three model years, just over 117,000 Edsel cars had been built and sold. Only 2,846 were produced for 1960.

But the Impala would suffer no such failure. The name would be attached to full-size Chevrolet automobiles for several decades and over 10 generations. The final Impala was built for the 2020 model year.