September 18, 2025 • 32 mins
The episode explores the historical significance and enduring appeal of the 1995 Chevrolet Impala SS. It traces the vehicle's origins as a concept car born from enthusiast demand, highlighting its unique blend of retro design and modern performance. The source details the engineering choices that shaped its identity, such as its Corvette-derived V8 engine and performance-tuned suspension. Furthermore, the episode examines the Impala SS's market reception and cultural impact, noting its unexpected popularity and influence, especially within the hip-hop community, before concluding with a discussion of its lasting legacy as a sought-after classic and a symbol of a particular era in American automotive history.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okay, imagine the mid nineteen nineties for a second. The
car world, it's changing, getting a lot more sensible.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
You could say, Yeah, fuel efficiency was suddenly a big deal.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
We'll drive was everywhere exactly, and those big rumbling American
V eights they felt like relics, almost charming, but kind
of fading away a bit.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah, things were getting quieter.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
And then boom, out of basically nowhere, this car shows
up and it just completely flips the script on all
those trends. Uh huh. It somehow managed to blend that
old school American muscle feel with this modern, almost defiant swagger.
It really did. Today we are doing a deep dive
into the nineteen ninety five Chevrolet and Paula SS.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
That specific year. Yeah, a good one.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
In our mission for you listening is to really unpack
why this car, this kind of dark horse that often
gets overlooked in the big picture. Why it wasn't just another.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Sedan, right, it became something much more.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
How did it become such a cultural phenomenon, and why
is it still so loved by husiasts today.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
It's a great question.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
By the end of this you'll have the inside track.
You'll get its origins, the engineering choices, some pretty clever ones,
oh yeahs, surprising market impact and that lasting legacy. And
we'll sprinkle in some surprising facts in those aha moments
along the way.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
And what's really fascinating here, and we'll dig into this
is how the Impala SS wasn't just you know, another
car off the line. It was this bold statement from
General Motors right.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
At a time when GM felt safe, maybe a little
boring exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
They were often seen as playing it safe, focusing on practicality,
maybe cost cutting, definitely mass appeal over just raw passion.
So we're going to trace its roots, look at the
specific engineering, some unconventional stuff there, examine how it succeeded
when maybe it shouldn't have market wise, and then talk
about why it still resonates, you know, decades later.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
So it kind of raises that big question right up front.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
It does, how did this car built on what was
honestly an aging platform, yeah old bones, How did it
grab so much attention, go against the grain and become
this well, this modern classic.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
It's a testament to something vision luck, maybe.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Both, probably a bit of both. A great story though.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
That really is the core of it. Isn't it. And
to really get the nineteen ninety five in Paula SS
to understand its impact, yeah, you kind of have to rewind.
We got to trace the history of the Impalla name itself.
It's pretty storied.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Oh, absolutely, it goes way back.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
It first showed it way back in nineteen fifty eight.
And initially it wasn't even its own model, right. It
was a trim level, yeah, the top tier trim for
the Chevy bel Air. Super stylish, kind of the fancy option,
meant to make a statement, definitely dressed up. But it
didn't stay just a trim level for long. By the
sixties it was its own thing, yeah, and it became
basically synonymous with well, what you might call American automotive excess.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Huh, that's a good way to put it.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Big bold, big bold, powerful, lots of chrome. It was
like the quintessential American car, but with Syria style, serious
presence and sometimes serious performance too.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
For sure, the sixties were really the IMPALA's golden age.
It was like the American dream on wheels, wasn't.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
It totally freedom, prosperity.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Families took road trips in them. Teenagers cruised main street
hot rodders loved them too, great canvas.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
And then nineteen sixty one, Ah, Yes, the SS, the
super sport that changed the game.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
It really did. Suddenly the Impala wasn't just a stylish cruiser,
it was a legit performance car.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Came legendary fast Instantly.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
You had those monster VI eights, the famous.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Four h nine She's real fine, my four and.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Nine exactly, and later the three ninety six, the four
to twenty seven, big blocks plus they look the part,
special badges, bucket seats, often sportier suspension. You knew an
SS when you saw.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
One, power and style hand in hand to find a
whole generation of muscle.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
But then came the seventies, and things changed dramatically, almost violently,
for muscle cars.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Yeah, the party started winding down.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
You had tougher emissions rules, that OPEC, oil crisis, fuel shortages,
People's taste were changing too.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Right, Big V eight suddenly seemed less.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Practical, way less practical, and the mighty Impaula especially the
SS started to fade. The name stuck around, but it
ended up on much more well pedestrian cars, sound.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Size less powerful, kind of lost its.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Mojo, totally lost it. Sparkle, its muscle. It just became
another big sedan, not that symbol of performance. It once
was the idea of a supersport Impala. It seems like
just a memory.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
So it sounds like by the early nineties that Impella name,
especially SS, was kind of like a ghost, a whisper
from the past very much. Yeah, and cheval as you said,
they were in the spot where they really really needed
some excitement, some genuine passion back in the showrooms desperately
because their main full sized car, the Caprice. I mean
it was solid, reliable, bulletproof practically. Yeah, cops loved them,
(04:51):
Taxi plice loved them. My grandpa probably would have loved one.
But it didn't exactly scream performance or cool did it.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Not even remotely reliable. But yeah, uninspiring is the word.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
So what made this group of engineers look at that car,
the Caprice, and think, yeah, this is what we use
to bring back the SS seems counterintuitive.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
It does, doesn't it. And that's a great question because
it really speaks to like internal passion winning out. If
you connect it to the bigger picture, it shows how
sometimes the best ideas don't come from the marketing department
or the executive's upstairs, right, They come from people deep
inside who just love the cars. In this case, the
idea for a modern Impaula SS came from this well
(05:30):
almost underground group of GM engineers and enthusiasts.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Really like a skun quirks thing kinda.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
They saw potential in the Caprice's bebody platform and he
was old. Yeah, but they also knew it was tough,
solid bones, even if they weren't glamorous.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
The real spark, the moment it kind of broke through
that corporate cautiousness, was at the nineteen ninety two SEMA show.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Ah Sema, Yeah, the big aftermarket show in Vegas.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Exactly. Imagine the scene, all these wild custom cars, aftermarket
parts everywhere, and then Chevrolet, often seen as kind of conservative,
rolls out this concept and it just floors everyone.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Well was it?
Speaker 2 (06:05):
It wasn't some spaceship concept. It was a nineteen ninety
two Caprice but heavily modified, transformed into this sinister black beast,
blacked out, totally deep black paint, lowered way down, aggressive stance,
and the kicker under the hood a Corvette LT.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
One V eight. WHOA, Okay, that's a statement, a huge statement.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It was like GM saying, yeah, we still remember how
to do this, a nod to their own muscle car
passed hidden inside this fleet car body.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
That's a killer visual So it wasn't just the looks.
It had the heart of a vet.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Absolutely. The visual impact alone was huge. Sleek, all one color,
blacked out trim instead of chrome.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Right, getting rid of the chrome makes a big.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Difference, a massive difference. It sat on these cool seventeen
inch wheels, looked really planted, really sporty, understated, but totally intimidating.
At the same time, I bet p noticed noticed the
reaction from the public, from the media, it was overwhelming.
Enthusiasts for rebuzzing, critics were raving. It was immediate wow.
And that reaction, that genuine excitement, was what finally convinced
(07:13):
a somewhat reluctant GM management to actually build it, to
green light a production version.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
So the enthusiasts basically forced their hand in a way.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah, it proved there was a real hunger for something
like this, something beyond just basic transportation. It just shows
how sometimes the best ideas bubble up from people who
are passionate about the product. Itself. They saw the potential
in that boring Caprice, They.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Saw the muscle car hiding inside.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Exactly, they unleashed its hidden DNA.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Okay, so they get the green light. But building this concept,
especially on that B body platform, that sounds like it
came with its own set of challenges or maybe opportunities. Oh,
definitely both, because here's where it gets really interesting, right.
Bringing that SEEMA concept to life wasn't easy, especially given
the foundation the GMB body, the old Warhorse. Yeah it
(08:03):
underpinned the Caprice obviously, but also the big Buick Roadmaster.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
A wagon too, the old custom cruiser.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Right, And while it got an update in ninety one,
its basic design went back to the late seventies.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Ancient in car terms.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
By the nineties, totally ancient. And think about what else
was out there. Everyone was moving to lighter, front wheel
drive unibody cars that was modern.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Seen as the way forward. For sure.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
The B body it was rear wheel drive, body on
frame and had a live.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Rear axle, which sounds really old fashioned. That solid rear axle,
just a beam connecting the wheels. Sturdy, but not exactly
sophisticated compared to independent Bruce suspension.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Hardly cutting edge tech for the mid nineties.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Not at all. But here's a twist. The genius of
it maybe that aging architecture. It had a secret weapon.
It's sheer robustness. And that body on frame design also well,
unlike those newer unibody cars which integrate the body and
frame for lightness and efficiency, b body had a separate
heavy duty frame. It was designed in an era when
(09:04):
cars were just built, tougher, maybe overbuilt, and a truck
frame almost kinda yeah, And that meant the engineers could
drop in that powerful LT one V eight. They could
tweak the suspension pretty heavily without worrying about twisting the
whole structure out of shape.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Ah, so the old design could handle the power better exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
It was inherently strong. It saved a ton of development
time and money because they didn't have to re engineer
the fundamental structure. They could focus on the go fast spits.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
So that perceived weakness the old school design actually became
its biggest strength for this project.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Precisely, they turned a negative into a huge positive. It
was the perfect canvas because it was old and tough.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
So using those sturdy, older bones let them really focus
on the heart of the beast, that LT one engine.
That's where it really started to feel different from a
Caprice right absolutely.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
What's fascinating is how they created the synergy using existing
strong parts to make something exciting without breaking the bank.
The heart was that five point seven liter LT one
V eight, And like we said, it wasn't just any
old V eight. It had pedigree borrowed street from the
C four Corvette and the Camaro Z twenty eight high
performance roots definitely now in the Vet and Camaro. It
(10:12):
was tuned for screaming high end power. For the Impala SS,
they tweaked it slightly, oh so different camshaft profile, different intake.
Maybe they tuned it more for low end torque. So
it produced two hundred and sixty horse power, which was.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Good, still respectable, very respectable, but.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
It made three hundred and thirty pound feet of torque,
and it made it lower down in the rev range.
That meant it felt really strong off the line, really
responsive in everyday driving.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
More usable power for a heavy sedan.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Exactly, and compared to the standard Caprice V eight, the
old LO five with maybe two hundred horse power, it
was a night and day difference just way more punch.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I bet and the transmission no manual option.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Right, no automatic only. It used GM's four L sixty
four speed auto. But this wasn't some slush box. It
was a pretty heavy duty unit capable of handling the
lt ones torque had to be and crucially, it sent
power to the rear wheels like a proper muscle car should,
and it did that through a limited slip.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Differential AH pulse attraction. Well, limited slip important for getting
that power down, very important.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
It stops you from just spinning one wheel when you
nail the throttle or corner hard. Gives you much better
traction and stability.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Makes it feel more planted definitely.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
And they even tuned the transmission itself for quicker firmer shifts.
It complemented the engine made it feel sporty even without
a clutch pedal.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
So they really thought about the whole package. It wasn't
just an engine swap. They made it more than just
a powerful caprice. They focused on handling, the look, the
whole feel.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
They had to to live up to that SS badge.
It needed more than just horse.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Power exactly, so the suspension. They didn't just leave the
floaty Caprice set up right.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
No way, big changes there.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
They lowered it about an inch, which immediately gave it
that aggressive stance, huge visual difference, and stiffer springs to
cut down on body roll. Plus performing shocks bilstings I think.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Yep, high quality bilstem shocks. They provide much better damping control,
especially when you're pushing it, keeps the car settled.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Right and thicker anti roll bars front and rear. Those
help keep it flat.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
In the corners, resists that body lean, makes it feel
much more connected to the road.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
And then the wheels and tires. Massive upgrade there. Those
seventeen inch aluminum wheels.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Compared to the Caprice's little fifteen inch steelys with hubcaps.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Night and day totally, and they wrap them in good
performance tires. You have good rich Compta's grippy stuff.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
So the whole combination lower stiffer, better shocks, bigger wheels,
stickier tires. It resulted in a car that felt surprisingly
capable for its size, planted confident.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Now, okay, let's be real. It weighed what over four thousand.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Pounds, yeah, about forty two hundred pounds a heavy car.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
So it wasn't exactly going to handle like a Miada,
more of a grand Tour, right, Yeah, a highway missile.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
That's a perfect description. Great for covering miles quickly and comfortably,
with way more confidence than a standard Caprice. But yeah,
not a nimble canyon carver. Still surprisingly agile for its bulk.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
But that's styling, That all one color look that was
just as important as the performance, wasn't it. Moving it
away from the Caprice.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Image absolutely critical. It transformed the car's personality. That monochromatic look, especially.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
The black iconic. It had to be black at first.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Only black for the ninety four model, Just deep, menacing black.
It amplified that aggressive stance perfectly.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Then they added a couple more colors for ninety five.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Yeah, for ninety five you could also get dark cherry
metallic and dark green gray metallic. Nice colors. But the black,
that's the impala SS color in most people's minds.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Totally, and it minimized the chrome right blacked out trim.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Yep, got rid of most of the bright work you'd
see on a Caprice or Roadmaster, gave it that modern,
meaner look, less fussy.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
And a subtle spoiler on the back just.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
A small lip spoiler added a touch of sportiness without
being too loud or boy racer kept it looking kind
of sophisticated but tough.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
And the inside got upgrades too, not just a caprice interior.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
No, definitely not big changes inside leather bucket seats much
more supportive than.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
A bench seat, huge difference.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
And a center console with a floor shifter that was
actually pretty rare for a b body then most had
the shifter on the column.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
You gave it a much forty year driver.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Focused feel exactly, and you got a proper gauge cluster
with a tachometers so you could actually see what the
engine was doing. Another performance car essential.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
So the whole package inside and out felt special, modern comfort,
but with that nod to the old muscle car SS.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Models, it really blended those elements well.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
So for the driver it wasn't just faster. It felt different,
looked different, sounded different. It had character, It projected an
image and it could back.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
It up precisely that total package. That distinction was absolutely
key to its appeal.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Right. So the Impala SS goes into production for the
nineteen ninety four model year, built down in Arlington, Texas
alongside the regular Caprices and.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Buicks get rolling off the same line, and the.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Price around twenty two thousand dollars initially, which you adjust
for inflation, that's like forty five thousand dollars today roughly.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Yeah, somewhere in that ballpark. So definitely a step up
from a base Caprice, a premium price.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
But for what you got the LT one, the suspension,
the look. The heritage people saw it as a bargain, didn't.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
They Absolutely tremendous bang for the buck. Where else could
you get that kind of size, presence and V eight
performance for that money in the mid nineties.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Good point, not many places, and Chevy they weren't expecting
huge sales. Initially, they thought it was going to be
kind of niche.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Yeah, their projections were pretty modest. They figured enthusiasts would
buy it, maybe some police departments for unmarked.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Cars, yeah, the detective.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Special exactly, and maybe some folks nostalgic for the old
SS days. They weren't really banking on it being a
mainstream hit. And then what happened, Well, this is where
the market just kind of threw GM a curveball. It
raises that interesting question, you know about what the spreadsheets
predict versus what people actually want. Right to GM's genuine
surprise and Paula SS was a huge hit, way bigger
(16:02):
than they expected. How big That first year ninety four
they sold just over six thy three hundred, which beat expectations,
But then in nineteen ninety five it jumped to over
twenty one.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Thousand, Wow, triple the sales.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Yeah, people just responded to it. That mix of the
retro vibe, the real performance, the sheer presence on the road,
and the fact that it wasn't insanely expensive. It just
clicked with a lot of different buyers.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And it wasn't just sales numbers right. It kind of
seeped into the culture.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Oh big time. It quickly became this pop culture icon.
You started seeing it everywhere. Movies often is the cool
bad guy car, the getaway car. Really, music videos, tons
of music videos, especially in hip hop. It became really
closely associated with urban culture. With hip hop. That sleek, black,
imposing look just fit that aesthetic perfectly. It represented a
(16:51):
certain kind of understated cool, certain kind of success. Had
that presence definitely, and that look also made it a
fantastic car for customization. People loved modifying them.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Oh yeah. Likewise, big wheels.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Were huge, oversized chrome rims sometimes called docks or boxes
depending on the style, lowered suspensions, slammed to the ground,
custom paint jobs, killer sound systems. It became this canvas
for personal expression.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
So people really made it their own totally.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
It reflected the owner's style, their aspirations. It wasn't just
a car, it was a statement.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
And the critics, the car magazines, what did they make
of it?
Speaker 2 (17:28):
They definitely took notice too, and they had some interesting takes. Generally,
it was praised for its value, its character, that quality
that was missing from so many boring nineties sedans. Right
Car and Driver had that great line, calling it a
Caprice with attitude, and they noted its surprising agility for
such a big car set. It handled way better than
you'd expect.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
High praise from them.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Yeah, Motor Trend liked its muscular good looks and strong performance.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
They got the appeal, but were their downsides?
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Criticism Some reviewers, especially the ones really focused on the
latest tech, pointed out the old platform you couldn't ignore
its seventies roots entirely fair enough, and for the real
performance purists, the lack of a manual transmission was a
definite sticking point an automatic only muscle car. Some people
just couldn't get past that. Yeah, I can see that,
(18:19):
But overall the takeaway was clear. The Impala SS found
its own unique spot in the market in a world
filling up with smaller, kind of bland cars. It stood out.
It was this blast of old school American power and style,
proving people still wanted that.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
It really did carve out its own niche It filled
avoid people maybe didn't even know was there exactly. Okay,
So let's zoom in on nineteen ninety five. Because you
hear it all the time from enthusiasts, from collectors, the
ninety five Impaula SS is often called the sweet spot,
the best year of the run. Why is that?
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yeah, you do hear that a lot, and there's some
good reasons for it. The car only ran for three years,
remember ninety four, ninety five, ninety six, right short run. Mechanically,
the ninety five was very similar to the ninety four,
same engines, same basic setup, but it got some key refinements.
Subtle stuff, but things that made a difference. Black one, well,
the interior materials got a bit of an upgrade. Some
(19:13):
of the harder plastics from the ninety four were replaced
with slightly softer touch materials, and the dash and door
panels just made it feel a little bit more premium inside,
nice little touch, and maybe more importantly for drivers, they
tweaked the suspension tuning slightly for ninety five. The consensus
among many enthusiasts is that the ninety five tune hit
this perfect balance between ride comfort and handling. Maybe a
(19:34):
little more composed than the ninety four, a bit more
refined without losing the sporty feel.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Interesting, so dialing it in just right, kind.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Of perfecting the formula. Yeah, And like we mentioned, ninety
five was the year they added those two extra colors,
with the dark cherry and the green gray metallic.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Gave people options beyond black exactly.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Still black was the hero color, but having choice was good.
So you put those things together. Slightly, nicer interior, arguably
the best suspension tune, more color choices, and yeah, for many,
the ninety five is the pick of the litter, the
Goldilocks year pretty much.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Yeah, And what's fascinating is how those small changes they
enhanced what was already working without messing up the core
appeal right exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
They didn't dilute the character. They maybe just polished it
a bit under the hood. That LT one V eight
unchanged for ninety five, still making.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
That reliable power and that great sound.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Oh yeah, that throaty V eight rumble definitely set it
apart from a Qui Caprice. Performance was still strong for
a big sedan back then. Zero to sixty around seven seconds,
quarter mile around fifteen seconds, respectable.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Numbers, especially for a car they could haul six people
and a trunk full of groceries.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
That was the beauty of it, the ultimate sleeper in
a way, huge practicality alongside the performance.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Was there anything else new for ninety five? Any tech changes?
Speaker 2 (20:49):
One significant change? Yeah, it was federally mandated for ninety five.
The Impala SS got obed two.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
AH on board diagnostics two the standardized computer SYSTM.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Right. Basically, the car's brain got smarter, especially about monitoring
emissions and engine performance. It was a big step forward
for diagnostics and environmental reasons.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Did it affect performance or how the car felt, Well.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
It meant slightly different engine electronics, different computer controls for
the average driver, minimal impact on how it felt day
to day for aftermarket tuners trying to squeeze out more power.
It presented some new challenges for a little while figuring
out the new system. But the key thing is the
ninety five model absolutely kept that raw, kind of unfiltered
driving experience that made the SS special. It was still
(21:37):
fundamentally that cool, powerful, slightly old school sedan, just with
those few nice refinements gotcha.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
So it hit that perfect balance, that sweet spot just
before things started heading south for the Bee Body. Sadly yes,
because here's where the story gets interesting again, but also
kind of bittersweet. Despite the Alee success, despite the passionate fans,
the Impala SS was swimming against the tide.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Was it really was facing some serious headwinds.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
The big one was just the cost of building that
old D body platform.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
It wasn't cheap, No, the manufacturing processes were older, less
efficient compared to the newer platforms.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
GM was developing in an.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Era where cutting costs and boosting efficiency was everything. It
stood out and not in a good way on the balance.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Sheet right, and GM itself was changing direction strategically massively.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
They were putting their money their focus on front wheel
drive cars, but even more so on trucks and SUVs.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Yeah, the suv boom was really starting to take off, the.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Exploding and trucks and SUVs were way more profitable for
GM than big sedans were. The writing was kind of
on the wall for cars like the Impala SS, even
if it was popular.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
It's a corporate strategy trumped niche success.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
That's often how it goes in big companies, and it
illustrates that point perfectly. You connect this to the bigger picture.
It's a classic case a successful, beloved product gets sacrificed
for the sake of broader goals, market trends, profitability across
the whole corporation.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
A tough decision, but maybe unavoidable from their perspective, probably so.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
By nineteen ninety six, GM made the official announcement the
entire B body line was being discontinued, Caprice, Roadmaster, Custom Cruiser,
and Paula SS.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
All of them, and the reasons they gave pretty straightforward.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Declining sales for full size sedans overall, the whole segment
was shrinking, and crucially they needed to retool that Arlington,
Texas plant to build more trucks and SUVs. All the
money exactly, GM was pivoting hard towards where the market
and the profits were heading.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
So nineteen ninety six became the last year for the
Impala SS, and ironically it sold the most units that year,
didn't it incredible? Right?
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Over forty one thousand sold in ninety six, the highest
sales of the entire.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Three year run, So people knew it was the end
and they rushed out to get one.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Seems like it word got out. Enthusiasts realized this was
their last chance. There were hardly any changes for ninety.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Six, though it did change.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
The biggest thing was they swapped the digital speedometer from
ninety four ninety five for traditional analog gages, which actually
a lot of enthusiasts preferred, felt sportier, more classic.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Yeah, I can see that. Anything else.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
A slightly revised center console design, but really minor stuff.
The core car was the same, and.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
As production was ending, it instantly became a collector's item.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Almost overnight, people knew they were buying a future classic.
The end of an era. When that last b body
rolled off the Arlington line in December ninety six, that
was the end of GM's traditional big rear drive V
eight sedans.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Wow. The last of its kind.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Truly a full size V eight powered, rear drive American
sedan on a platform with roots in the seventies. Nothing
like it would come from GM again for a long time, and.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
It left a big hole in Chevy's.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Lineup, a huge hole. They brought back the Impalla name
in two thousand, but front wheel drive.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
V six mostly not the same thing, not.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Even close, lacked the SS's charisma. The V eight rumble,
that musclecar soule. It just wasn't a successor in spirit.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
So it makes you ask that question, Yeah, what do
we lose?
Speaker 2 (25:01):
What gets lost when efficiency and market trends completely take
over from character, from heritage, from that pure automotive passion
the impaulass represented. It's a real trade off.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Definitely something to think about. So it's place in history.
The nineteen ninety five in Paula SS clearly made a
mark that went way beyond just being.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
A car, right, Oh, absolutely, It transcended sheet metal and horsepower.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Look it's performance. Yeah, it appealed to such a wide
range of people. You had the hardcore car guys who
appreciated the engineering, yeah, the sleeper aspect, and then you
had the customizers, the tuners ye who saw it as
this perfect blank slate.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
The great platform to modify.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
And then there's the whole hip hop connection. It became
a genuine icon in that community, a symbol of what
success style, all of.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
That success style, individuality, a certain understated power. You saw
it constantly in music videos. It fit the aesthetic. That
low slung, imposing look became part of the visual language
of the culture, especially linked to lowrider style as it evolved.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
So it wasn't just bought, It was adopted embraced by
a culture very much so.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
And what's fascinating is how this car, born from this
specific moment, kept influencing things for years. That affordability and
the strong aftermarket support really cemented its role as that
canvas for personalization.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
The big wheels, the paint, the stereos.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Exactly, people poured creativity into them, chrome rims, filling the
wheel wells, wild paint jobs, sound systems that could shake
the block. They became rolling works of art, extensions of
the owner's personality.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
And what about its impact on Chevrolet itself?
Speaker 2 (26:36):
On GM, it had a really positive impact on Chevy's image.
I think it proved maybe even reminded GM itself that
they could still build exciting cars, cars that enthusiasts actually wanted,
even on an old platform, even with corporate.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Pressures, showed they still had that performance.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Spark exactly, and you could argue it kind of paved
the way or at least kept the door open for
later performance models like the Chevy Ssadan they did from
twenty fourteen to twenty seventeen.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
The Holden based one another rear drive V eight sedan.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Right that car felt like a direct spiritual successor to
the Impala SS, same kind of formula. So the Impala
SS legacy lived on in a way.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
And today it's status now clearly still very much love well.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Absolutely, it's a bonafide sought after classic, now a real collectible.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
What are they worth?
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Good ones, well maintained examples, especially low mileage original cars,
they can easily fetch twenty thousand dollars, thirty thousand dollars
sometimes even more often way more than they cost new,
even adjusted for inflation.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Well, it's strong value.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
Very strong. And you've got dedicated enthusiast communities like the
National Impala Association keeping the flame alive.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
Sharing tips, restoration advice.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
Exactly, forums, Facebook groups, car shows. There's a really vibrant
culture around owning and maintaining these cars. People are still
modifying them to exhaust systems for more rumble cold air,
intakes suspension tweaks to make them handle even better.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
So the passion is definitely still.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
There, undeniably. It shows that power full connection people can
have with a specific car. How it becomes more than
just metal, glass and rubber. It becomes a focal point
for a community.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
Okay, let's try and wrap our heads around this one
last time. Why Why does the nineteen ninety five and
Paula ss still grab us, still fascinate us decades later
in a car world that looks totally different now.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
It's a great final question.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
I think part of it is it feels like a bridge,
a bridge between arrows. It's got that definite nod to
the sixties muscle cars. You see it, you hear it.
The soul is there, but it was built with nineties tech,
ninety sensibilities in some ways a modern take on an
old formula, and here we are cherishing it in the
twenty first century.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
It occupies a unique space in time, and it.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Feels like it was born from passion right not cooked
up by a marketing committee, engineers who just wanted to
build something cool.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Yeah, it wasn't a focus group car.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
And by doing that, they proved that even when everyone
was going small and front wheel drive, people still craved
that big, powerful, rear drive American V eight experience. It
tapped into something fundamental about driving pleasure.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
And if you connect that to the bigger picture, I
think its lasting importance really comes down to its authenticity.
Oh so the Impala SS wasn't trying to be anything else.
It wasn't pretending to be a BMWM five or some
efficient Japanese sedan. It was just unapologetically American, loud and proud. Yeah,
that vight rumble, the big size, the head turning design.
(29:28):
It knew what it was and for a lot of people,
it represents that final roar, the last gasp of that
specific kind of American car before SUVs and crossovers just
took over everything.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
The end of an era embodied in one car.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Exactly, And it also shows you how nostalgic can work
when it's done right. They brought back a legendary name,
but backed it up with real performance that resonated with
modern buyers. It wasn't just trading on past glory, good
bit white and yeah, okay, it wasn't perfect. It was heavy,
the platform is old, fuel economy was terrible.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Uh huh yeah, probably not as strong suit, not at all.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
But somehow those flaws they don't really detract, They almost
add to its character, make it more real.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
More endearing, makes it feel honest.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Right, and it really makes you think about those intangible things,
those qualities that turn a car from just transportation into
a symbol, a piece of history, something people connect with
on an emotional level.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
The nineteen ninety five Chevrolet in Paula SS really is
more than just a car, isn't it. It feels like
a symbol of what can happen when that passion meets opportunity,
even within a giant corporation, defying the odds to become
this modern classic Elsea. That mix of the retro style,
the V eight power, the surprisingly decent handling just stood
(30:43):
out in a time when cars were getting kind of similar,
kind of bland.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
It had personality loads of it, and for anyone.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Who owned one or even just drove one, it was
this gut level reminder of why cars can matter so much,
not just as tools, but as expressions of freedom, of individuality,
of just raw fun power. Yeah, and now, as the
whole car world shifts towards electric, towards autonomy, fundamentally changing
what a car even is, the ninety five Impaula SS
(31:10):
just stands. There is this loud, proud testament to a
different time, a time when cars were bold, maybe a
bit brash, and build simply to put a smile on
your face.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Its story really is one of unlikely success, huge cultural impact,
and a legacy that just keeps going, a true American
icon that kind of swam upstream and won people over definitely.
So as you listening, reflect on this deep dive and
think about where cars are heading, consider this in this
new era of complex tech, electric motors, self driving features.
(31:41):
What core elements from the Impala SS's spirit, that authenticity maybe,
or that passion driven design, or just the pure emotional
thrill of driving. What parts of that do you think
car makers absolutely need to remember? What should they carry
forward even into an electric future.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
That's a great question to ponder.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
What lessons from this last gasp should maybe never be forgotten.
Keep thinking about that and keep exploring
Okay, imagine the mid nineteen nineties for a second. The
car world, it's changing, getting a lot more sensible.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
You could say, Yeah, fuel efficiency was suddenly a big deal.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
We'll drive was everywhere exactly, and those big rumbling American
V eights they felt like relics, almost charming, but kind
of fading away a bit.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah, things were getting quieter.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
And then boom, out of basically nowhere, this car shows
up and it just completely flips the script on all
those trends. Uh huh. It somehow managed to blend that
old school American muscle feel with this modern, almost defiant swagger.
It really did. Today we are doing a deep dive
into the nineteen ninety five Chevrolet and Paula SS.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
That specific year. Yeah, a good one.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
In our mission for you listening is to really unpack
why this car, this kind of dark horse that often
gets overlooked in the big picture. Why it wasn't just another.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Sedan, right, it became something much more.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
How did it become such a cultural phenomenon, and why
is it still so loved by husiasts today.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
It's a great question.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
By the end of this you'll have the inside track.
You'll get its origins, the engineering choices, some pretty clever ones,
oh yeahs, surprising market impact and that lasting legacy. And
we'll sprinkle in some surprising facts in those aha moments
along the way.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
And what's really fascinating here, and we'll dig into this
is how the Impala SS wasn't just you know, another
car off the line. It was this bold statement from
General Motors right.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
At a time when GM felt safe, maybe a little
boring exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
They were often seen as playing it safe, focusing on practicality,
maybe cost cutting, definitely mass appeal over just raw passion.
So we're going to trace its roots, look at the
specific engineering, some unconventional stuff there, examine how it succeeded
when maybe it shouldn't have market wise, and then talk
about why it still resonates, you know, decades later.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
So it kind of raises that big question right up front.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
It does, how did this car built on what was
honestly an aging platform, yeah old bones, How did it
grab so much attention, go against the grain and become
this well, this modern classic.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
It's a testament to something vision luck, maybe.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Both, probably a bit of both. A great story though.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
That really is the core of it. Isn't it. And
to really get the nineteen ninety five in Paula SS
to understand its impact, yeah, you kind of have to rewind.
We got to trace the history of the Impalla name itself.
It's pretty storied.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Oh, absolutely, it goes way back.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
It first showed it way back in nineteen fifty eight.
And initially it wasn't even its own model, right. It
was a trim level, yeah, the top tier trim for
the Chevy bel Air. Super stylish, kind of the fancy option,
meant to make a statement, definitely dressed up. But it
didn't stay just a trim level for long. By the
sixties it was its own thing, yeah, and it became
basically synonymous with well, what you might call American automotive excess.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Huh, that's a good way to put it.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Big bold, big bold, powerful, lots of chrome. It was
like the quintessential American car, but with Syria style, serious
presence and sometimes serious performance too.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
For sure, the sixties were really the IMPALA's golden age.
It was like the American dream on wheels, wasn't.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
It totally freedom, prosperity.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Families took road trips in them. Teenagers cruised main street
hot rodders loved them too, great canvas.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
And then nineteen sixty one, Ah, Yes, the SS, the
super sport that changed the game.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
It really did. Suddenly the Impala wasn't just a stylish cruiser,
it was a legit performance car.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Came legendary fast Instantly.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
You had those monster VI eights, the famous.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Four h nine She's real fine, my four and.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Nine exactly, and later the three ninety six, the four
to twenty seven, big blocks plus they look the part,
special badges, bucket seats, often sportier suspension. You knew an
SS when you saw.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
One, power and style hand in hand to find a
whole generation of muscle.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
But then came the seventies, and things changed dramatically, almost violently,
for muscle cars.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Yeah, the party started winding down.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
You had tougher emissions rules, that OPEC, oil crisis, fuel shortages,
People's taste were changing too.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Right, Big V eight suddenly seemed less.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Practical, way less practical, and the mighty Impaula especially the
SS started to fade. The name stuck around, but it
ended up on much more well pedestrian cars, sound.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Size less powerful, kind of lost its.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Mojo, totally lost it. Sparkle, its muscle. It just became
another big sedan, not that symbol of performance. It once
was the idea of a supersport Impala. It seems like
just a memory.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
So it sounds like by the early nineties that Impella name,
especially SS, was kind of like a ghost, a whisper
from the past very much. Yeah, and cheval as you said,
they were in the spot where they really really needed
some excitement, some genuine passion back in the showrooms desperately
because their main full sized car, the Caprice. I mean
it was solid, reliable, bulletproof practically. Yeah, cops loved them,
(04:51):
Taxi plice loved them. My grandpa probably would have loved one.
But it didn't exactly scream performance or cool did it.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Not even remotely reliable. But yeah, uninspiring is the word.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
So what made this group of engineers look at that car,
the Caprice, and think, yeah, this is what we use
to bring back the SS seems counterintuitive.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
It does, doesn't it. And that's a great question because
it really speaks to like internal passion winning out. If
you connect it to the bigger picture, it shows how
sometimes the best ideas don't come from the marketing department
or the executive's upstairs, right, They come from people deep
inside who just love the cars. In this case, the
idea for a modern Impaula SS came from this well
(05:30):
almost underground group of GM engineers and enthusiasts.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Really like a skun quirks thing kinda.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
They saw potential in the Caprice's bebody platform and he
was old. Yeah, but they also knew it was tough,
solid bones, even if they weren't glamorous.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
The real spark, the moment it kind of broke through
that corporate cautiousness, was at the nineteen ninety two SEMA show.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Ah Sema, Yeah, the big aftermarket show in Vegas.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Exactly. Imagine the scene, all these wild custom cars, aftermarket
parts everywhere, and then Chevrolet, often seen as kind of conservative,
rolls out this concept and it just floors everyone.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Well was it?
Speaker 2 (06:05):
It wasn't some spaceship concept. It was a nineteen ninety
two Caprice but heavily modified, transformed into this sinister black beast,
blacked out, totally deep black paint, lowered way down, aggressive stance,
and the kicker under the hood a Corvette LT.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
One V eight. WHOA, Okay, that's a statement, a huge statement.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It was like GM saying, yeah, we still remember how
to do this, a nod to their own muscle car
passed hidden inside this fleet car body.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
That's a killer visual So it wasn't just the looks.
It had the heart of a vet.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Absolutely. The visual impact alone was huge. Sleek, all one color,
blacked out trim instead of chrome.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Right, getting rid of the chrome makes a big.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Difference, a massive difference. It sat on these cool seventeen
inch wheels, looked really planted, really sporty, understated, but totally intimidating.
At the same time, I bet p noticed noticed the
reaction from the public, from the media, it was overwhelming.
Enthusiasts for rebuzzing, critics were raving. It was immediate wow.
And that reaction, that genuine excitement, was what finally convinced
(07:13):
a somewhat reluctant GM management to actually build it, to
green light a production version.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
So the enthusiasts basically forced their hand in a way.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah, it proved there was a real hunger for something
like this, something beyond just basic transportation. It just shows
how sometimes the best ideas bubble up from people who
are passionate about the product. Itself. They saw the potential
in that boring Caprice, They.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Saw the muscle car hiding inside.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Exactly, they unleashed its hidden DNA.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Okay, so they get the green light. But building this concept,
especially on that B body platform, that sounds like it
came with its own set of challenges or maybe opportunities. Oh,
definitely both, because here's where it gets really interesting, right.
Bringing that SEEMA concept to life wasn't easy, especially given
the foundation the GMB body, the old Warhorse. Yeah it
(08:03):
underpinned the Caprice obviously, but also the big Buick Roadmaster.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
A wagon too, the old custom cruiser.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Right, And while it got an update in ninety one,
its basic design went back to the late seventies.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Ancient in car terms.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
By the nineties, totally ancient. And think about what else
was out there. Everyone was moving to lighter, front wheel
drive unibody cars that was modern.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Seen as the way forward. For sure.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
The B body it was rear wheel drive, body on
frame and had a live.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Rear axle, which sounds really old fashioned. That solid rear axle,
just a beam connecting the wheels. Sturdy, but not exactly
sophisticated compared to independent Bruce suspension.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Hardly cutting edge tech for the mid nineties.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Not at all. But here's a twist. The genius of
it maybe that aging architecture. It had a secret weapon.
It's sheer robustness. And that body on frame design also well,
unlike those newer unibody cars which integrate the body and
frame for lightness and efficiency, b body had a separate
heavy duty frame. It was designed in an era when
(09:04):
cars were just built, tougher, maybe overbuilt, and a truck
frame almost kinda yeah, And that meant the engineers could
drop in that powerful LT one V eight. They could
tweak the suspension pretty heavily without worrying about twisting the
whole structure out of shape.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Ah, so the old design could handle the power better exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
It was inherently strong. It saved a ton of development
time and money because they didn't have to re engineer
the fundamental structure. They could focus on the go fast spits.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
So that perceived weakness the old school design actually became
its biggest strength for this project.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Precisely, they turned a negative into a huge positive. It
was the perfect canvas because it was old and tough.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
So using those sturdy, older bones let them really focus
on the heart of the beast, that LT one engine.
That's where it really started to feel different from a
Caprice right absolutely.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
What's fascinating is how they created the synergy using existing
strong parts to make something exciting without breaking the bank.
The heart was that five point seven liter LT one
V eight, And like we said, it wasn't just any
old V eight. It had pedigree borrowed street from the
C four Corvette and the Camaro Z twenty eight high
performance roots definitely now in the Vet and Camaro. It
(10:12):
was tuned for screaming high end power. For the Impala SS,
they tweaked it slightly, oh so different camshaft profile, different intake.
Maybe they tuned it more for low end torque. So
it produced two hundred and sixty horse power, which was.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Good, still respectable, very respectable, but.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
It made three hundred and thirty pound feet of torque,
and it made it lower down in the rev range.
That meant it felt really strong off the line, really
responsive in everyday driving.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
More usable power for a heavy sedan.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Exactly, and compared to the standard Caprice V eight, the
old LO five with maybe two hundred horse power, it
was a night and day difference just way more punch.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I bet and the transmission no manual option.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Right, no automatic only. It used GM's four L sixty
four speed auto. But this wasn't some slush box. It
was a pretty heavy duty unit capable of handling the
lt ones torque had to be and crucially, it sent
power to the rear wheels like a proper muscle car should,
and it did that through a limited slip.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Differential AH pulse attraction. Well, limited slip important for getting
that power down, very important.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
It stops you from just spinning one wheel when you
nail the throttle or corner hard. Gives you much better
traction and stability.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Makes it feel more planted definitely.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
And they even tuned the transmission itself for quicker firmer shifts.
It complemented the engine made it feel sporty even without
a clutch pedal.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
So they really thought about the whole package. It wasn't
just an engine swap. They made it more than just
a powerful caprice. They focused on handling, the look, the
whole feel.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
They had to to live up to that SS badge.
It needed more than just horse.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Power exactly, so the suspension. They didn't just leave the
floaty Caprice set up right.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
No way, big changes there.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
They lowered it about an inch, which immediately gave it
that aggressive stance, huge visual difference, and stiffer springs to
cut down on body roll. Plus performing shocks bilstings I think.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Yep, high quality bilstem shocks. They provide much better damping control,
especially when you're pushing it, keeps the car settled.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Right and thicker anti roll bars front and rear. Those
help keep it flat.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
In the corners, resists that body lean, makes it feel
much more connected to the road.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
And then the wheels and tires. Massive upgrade there. Those
seventeen inch aluminum wheels.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Compared to the Caprice's little fifteen inch steelys with hubcaps.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Night and day totally, and they wrap them in good
performance tires. You have good rich Compta's grippy stuff.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
So the whole combination lower stiffer, better shocks, bigger wheels,
stickier tires. It resulted in a car that felt surprisingly
capable for its size, planted confident.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Now, okay, let's be real. It weighed what over four thousand.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Pounds, yeah, about forty two hundred pounds a heavy car.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
So it wasn't exactly going to handle like a Miada,
more of a grand Tour, right, Yeah, a highway missile.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
That's a perfect description. Great for covering miles quickly and comfortably,
with way more confidence than a standard Caprice. But yeah,
not a nimble canyon carver. Still surprisingly agile for its bulk.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
But that's styling, That all one color look that was
just as important as the performance, wasn't it. Moving it
away from the Caprice.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Image absolutely critical. It transformed the car's personality. That monochromatic look, especially.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
The black iconic. It had to be black at first.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Only black for the ninety four model, Just deep, menacing black.
It amplified that aggressive stance perfectly.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Then they added a couple more colors for ninety five.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Yeah, for ninety five you could also get dark cherry
metallic and dark green gray metallic. Nice colors. But the black,
that's the impala SS color in most people's minds.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Totally, and it minimized the chrome right blacked out trim.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Yep, got rid of most of the bright work you'd
see on a Caprice or Roadmaster, gave it that modern,
meaner look, less fussy.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
And a subtle spoiler on the back just.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
A small lip spoiler added a touch of sportiness without
being too loud or boy racer kept it looking kind
of sophisticated but tough.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
And the inside got upgrades too, not just a caprice interior.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
No, definitely not big changes inside leather bucket seats much
more supportive than.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
A bench seat, huge difference.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
And a center console with a floor shifter that was
actually pretty rare for a b body then most had
the shifter on the column.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
You gave it a much forty year driver.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Focused feel exactly, and you got a proper gauge cluster
with a tachometers so you could actually see what the
engine was doing. Another performance car essential.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
So the whole package inside and out felt special, modern comfort,
but with that nod to the old muscle car SS.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Models, it really blended those elements well.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
So for the driver it wasn't just faster. It felt different,
looked different, sounded different. It had character, It projected an
image and it could back.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
It up precisely that total package. That distinction was absolutely
key to its appeal.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Right. So the Impala SS goes into production for the
nineteen ninety four model year, built down in Arlington, Texas
alongside the regular Caprices and.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Buicks get rolling off the same line, and the.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Price around twenty two thousand dollars initially, which you adjust
for inflation, that's like forty five thousand dollars today roughly.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Yeah, somewhere in that ballpark. So definitely a step up
from a base Caprice, a premium price.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
But for what you got the LT one, the suspension,
the look. The heritage people saw it as a bargain, didn't.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
They Absolutely tremendous bang for the buck. Where else could
you get that kind of size, presence and V eight
performance for that money in the mid nineties.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Good point, not many places, and Chevy they weren't expecting
huge sales. Initially, they thought it was going to be
kind of niche.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Yeah, their projections were pretty modest. They figured enthusiasts would
buy it, maybe some police departments for unmarked.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Cars, yeah, the detective.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Special exactly, and maybe some folks nostalgic for the old
SS days. They weren't really banking on it being a
mainstream hit. And then what happened, Well, this is where
the market just kind of threw GM a curveball. It
raises that interesting question, you know about what the spreadsheets
predict versus what people actually want. Right to GM's genuine
surprise and Paula SS was a huge hit, way bigger
(16:02):
than they expected. How big That first year ninety four
they sold just over six thy three hundred, which beat expectations,
But then in nineteen ninety five it jumped to over
twenty one.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Thousand, Wow, triple the sales.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Yeah, people just responded to it. That mix of the
retro vibe, the real performance, the sheer presence on the road,
and the fact that it wasn't insanely expensive. It just
clicked with a lot of different buyers.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And it wasn't just sales numbers right. It kind of
seeped into the culture.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Oh big time. It quickly became this pop culture icon.
You started seeing it everywhere. Movies often is the cool
bad guy car, the getaway car. Really, music videos, tons
of music videos, especially in hip hop. It became really
closely associated with urban culture. With hip hop. That sleek, black,
imposing look just fit that aesthetic perfectly. It represented a
(16:51):
certain kind of understated cool, certain kind of success. Had
that presence definitely, and that look also made it a
fantastic car for customization. People loved modifying them.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Oh yeah. Likewise, big wheels.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Were huge, oversized chrome rims sometimes called docks or boxes
depending on the style, lowered suspensions, slammed to the ground,
custom paint jobs, killer sound systems. It became this canvas
for personal expression.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
So people really made it their own totally.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
It reflected the owner's style, their aspirations. It wasn't just
a car, it was a statement.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
And the critics, the car magazines, what did they make
of it?
Speaker 2 (17:28):
They definitely took notice too, and they had some interesting takes. Generally,
it was praised for its value, its character, that quality
that was missing from so many boring nineties sedans. Right
Car and Driver had that great line, calling it a
Caprice with attitude, and they noted its surprising agility for
such a big car set. It handled way better than
you'd expect.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
High praise from them.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Yeah, Motor Trend liked its muscular good looks and strong performance.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
They got the appeal, but were their downsides?
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Criticism Some reviewers, especially the ones really focused on the
latest tech, pointed out the old platform you couldn't ignore
its seventies roots entirely fair enough, and for the real
performance purists, the lack of a manual transmission was a
definite sticking point an automatic only muscle car. Some people
just couldn't get past that. Yeah, I can see that,
(18:19):
But overall the takeaway was clear. The Impala SS found
its own unique spot in the market in a world
filling up with smaller, kind of bland cars. It stood out.
It was this blast of old school American power and style,
proving people still wanted that.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
It really did carve out its own niche It filled
avoid people maybe didn't even know was there exactly. Okay,
So let's zoom in on nineteen ninety five. Because you
hear it all the time from enthusiasts, from collectors, the
ninety five Impaula SS is often called the sweet spot,
the best year of the run. Why is that?
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yeah, you do hear that a lot, and there's some
good reasons for it. The car only ran for three years,
remember ninety four, ninety five, ninety six, right short run. Mechanically,
the ninety five was very similar to the ninety four,
same engines, same basic setup, but it got some key refinements.
Subtle stuff, but things that made a difference. Black one, well,
the interior materials got a bit of an upgrade. Some
(19:13):
of the harder plastics from the ninety four were replaced
with slightly softer touch materials, and the dash and door
panels just made it feel a little bit more premium inside,
nice little touch, and maybe more importantly for drivers, they
tweaked the suspension tuning slightly for ninety five. The consensus
among many enthusiasts is that the ninety five tune hit
this perfect balance between ride comfort and handling. Maybe a
(19:34):
little more composed than the ninety four, a bit more
refined without losing the sporty feel.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Interesting, so dialing it in just right, kind.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Of perfecting the formula. Yeah, And like we mentioned, ninety
five was the year they added those two extra colors,
with the dark cherry and the green gray metallic.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Gave people options beyond black exactly.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Still black was the hero color, but having choice was good.
So you put those things together. Slightly, nicer interior, arguably
the best suspension tune, more color choices, and yeah, for many,
the ninety five is the pick of the litter, the
Goldilocks year pretty much.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Yeah, And what's fascinating is how those small changes they
enhanced what was already working without messing up the core
appeal right exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
They didn't dilute the character. They maybe just polished it
a bit under the hood. That LT one V eight
unchanged for ninety five, still making.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
That reliable power and that great sound.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Oh yeah, that throaty V eight rumble definitely set it
apart from a Qui Caprice. Performance was still strong for
a big sedan back then. Zero to sixty around seven seconds,
quarter mile around fifteen seconds, respectable.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Numbers, especially for a car they could haul six people
and a trunk full of groceries.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
That was the beauty of it, the ultimate sleeper in
a way, huge practicality alongside the performance.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Was there anything else new for ninety five? Any tech changes?
Speaker 2 (20:49):
One significant change? Yeah, it was federally mandated for ninety five.
The Impala SS got obed two.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
AH on board diagnostics two the standardized computer SYSTM.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Right. Basically, the car's brain got smarter, especially about monitoring
emissions and engine performance. It was a big step forward
for diagnostics and environmental reasons.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Did it affect performance or how the car felt, Well.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
It meant slightly different engine electronics, different computer controls for
the average driver, minimal impact on how it felt day
to day for aftermarket tuners trying to squeeze out more power.
It presented some new challenges for a little while figuring
out the new system. But the key thing is the
ninety five model absolutely kept that raw, kind of unfiltered
driving experience that made the SS special. It was still
(21:37):
fundamentally that cool, powerful, slightly old school sedan, just with
those few nice refinements gotcha.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
So it hit that perfect balance, that sweet spot just
before things started heading south for the Bee Body. Sadly yes,
because here's where the story gets interesting again, but also
kind of bittersweet. Despite the Alee success, despite the passionate fans,
the Impala SS was swimming against the tide.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Was it really was facing some serious headwinds.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
The big one was just the cost of building that
old D body platform.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
It wasn't cheap, No, the manufacturing processes were older, less
efficient compared to the newer platforms.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
GM was developing in an.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Era where cutting costs and boosting efficiency was everything. It
stood out and not in a good way on the balance.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Sheet right, and GM itself was changing direction strategically massively.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
They were putting their money their focus on front wheel
drive cars, but even more so on trucks and SUVs.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Yeah, the suv boom was really starting to take off, the.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Exploding and trucks and SUVs were way more profitable for
GM than big sedans were. The writing was kind of
on the wall for cars like the Impala SS, even
if it was popular.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
It's a corporate strategy trumped niche success.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
That's often how it goes in big companies, and it
illustrates that point perfectly. You connect this to the bigger picture.
It's a classic case a successful, beloved product gets sacrificed
for the sake of broader goals, market trends, profitability across
the whole corporation.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
A tough decision, but maybe unavoidable from their perspective, probably so.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
By nineteen ninety six, GM made the official announcement the
entire B body line was being discontinued, Caprice, Roadmaster, Custom Cruiser,
and Paula SS.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
All of them, and the reasons they gave pretty straightforward.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Declining sales for full size sedans overall, the whole segment
was shrinking, and crucially they needed to retool that Arlington,
Texas plant to build more trucks and SUVs. All the
money exactly, GM was pivoting hard towards where the market
and the profits were heading.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
So nineteen ninety six became the last year for the
Impala SS, and ironically it sold the most units that year,
didn't it incredible? Right?
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Over forty one thousand sold in ninety six, the highest
sales of the entire.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Three year run, So people knew it was the end
and they rushed out to get one.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Seems like it word got out. Enthusiasts realized this was
their last chance. There were hardly any changes for ninety.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Six, though it did change.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
The biggest thing was they swapped the digital speedometer from
ninety four ninety five for traditional analog gages, which actually
a lot of enthusiasts preferred, felt sportier, more classic.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Yeah, I can see that. Anything else.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
A slightly revised center console design, but really minor stuff.
The core car was the same, and.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
As production was ending, it instantly became a collector's item.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Almost overnight, people knew they were buying a future classic.
The end of an era. When that last b body
rolled off the Arlington line in December ninety six, that
was the end of GM's traditional big rear drive V
eight sedans.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Wow. The last of its kind.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Truly a full size V eight powered, rear drive American
sedan on a platform with roots in the seventies. Nothing
like it would come from GM again for a long time, and.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
It left a big hole in Chevy's.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Lineup, a huge hole. They brought back the Impalla name
in two thousand, but front wheel drive.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
V six mostly not the same thing, not.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Even close, lacked the SS's charisma. The V eight rumble,
that musclecar soule. It just wasn't a successor in spirit.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
So it makes you ask that question, Yeah, what do
we lose?
Speaker 2 (25:01):
What gets lost when efficiency and market trends completely take
over from character, from heritage, from that pure automotive passion
the impaulass represented. It's a real trade off.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Definitely something to think about. So it's place in history.
The nineteen ninety five in Paula SS clearly made a
mark that went way beyond just being.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
A car, right, Oh, absolutely, It transcended sheet metal and horsepower.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Look it's performance. Yeah, it appealed to such a wide
range of people. You had the hardcore car guys who
appreciated the engineering, yeah, the sleeper aspect, and then you
had the customizers, the tuners ye who saw it as
this perfect blank slate.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
The great platform to modify.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
And then there's the whole hip hop connection. It became
a genuine icon in that community, a symbol of what
success style, all of.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
That success style, individuality, a certain understated power. You saw
it constantly in music videos. It fit the aesthetic. That
low slung, imposing look became part of the visual language
of the culture, especially linked to lowrider style as it evolved.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
So it wasn't just bought, It was adopted embraced by
a culture very much so.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
And what's fascinating is how this car, born from this
specific moment, kept influencing things for years. That affordability and
the strong aftermarket support really cemented its role as that
canvas for personalization.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
The big wheels, the paint, the stereos.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Exactly, people poured creativity into them, chrome rims, filling the
wheel wells, wild paint jobs, sound systems that could shake
the block. They became rolling works of art, extensions of
the owner's personality.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
And what about its impact on Chevrolet itself?
Speaker 2 (26:36):
On GM, it had a really positive impact on Chevy's image.
I think it proved maybe even reminded GM itself that
they could still build exciting cars, cars that enthusiasts actually wanted,
even on an old platform, even with corporate.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Pressures, showed they still had that performance.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Spark exactly, and you could argue it kind of paved
the way or at least kept the door open for
later performance models like the Chevy Ssadan they did from
twenty fourteen to twenty seventeen.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
The Holden based one another rear drive V eight sedan.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Right that car felt like a direct spiritual successor to
the Impala SS, same kind of formula. So the Impala
SS legacy lived on in a way.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
And today it's status now clearly still very much love well.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Absolutely, it's a bonafide sought after classic, now a real collectible.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
What are they worth?
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Good ones, well maintained examples, especially low mileage original cars,
they can easily fetch twenty thousand dollars, thirty thousand dollars
sometimes even more often way more than they cost new,
even adjusted for inflation.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Well, it's strong value.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
Very strong. And you've got dedicated enthusiast communities like the
National Impala Association keeping the flame alive.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
Sharing tips, restoration advice.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
Exactly, forums, Facebook groups, car shows. There's a really vibrant
culture around owning and maintaining these cars. People are still
modifying them to exhaust systems for more rumble cold air,
intakes suspension tweaks to make them handle even better.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
So the passion is definitely still.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
There, undeniably. It shows that power full connection people can
have with a specific car. How it becomes more than
just metal, glass and rubber. It becomes a focal point
for a community.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
Okay, let's try and wrap our heads around this one
last time. Why Why does the nineteen ninety five and
Paula ss still grab us, still fascinate us decades later
in a car world that looks totally different now.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
It's a great final question.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
I think part of it is it feels like a bridge,
a bridge between arrows. It's got that definite nod to
the sixties muscle cars. You see it, you hear it.
The soul is there, but it was built with nineties tech,
ninety sensibilities in some ways a modern take on an
old formula, and here we are cherishing it in the
twenty first century.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
It occupies a unique space in time, and it.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Feels like it was born from passion right not cooked
up by a marketing committee, engineers who just wanted to
build something cool.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Yeah, it wasn't a focus group car.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
And by doing that, they proved that even when everyone
was going small and front wheel drive, people still craved
that big, powerful, rear drive American V eight experience. It
tapped into something fundamental about driving pleasure.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
And if you connect that to the bigger picture, I
think its lasting importance really comes down to its authenticity.
Oh so the Impala SS wasn't trying to be anything else.
It wasn't pretending to be a BMWM five or some
efficient Japanese sedan. It was just unapologetically American, loud and proud. Yeah,
that vight rumble, the big size, the head turning design.
(29:28):
It knew what it was and for a lot of people,
it represents that final roar, the last gasp of that
specific kind of American car before SUVs and crossovers just
took over everything.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
The end of an era embodied in one car.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Exactly, And it also shows you how nostalgic can work
when it's done right. They brought back a legendary name,
but backed it up with real performance that resonated with
modern buyers. It wasn't just trading on past glory, good
bit white and yeah, okay, it wasn't perfect. It was heavy,
the platform is old, fuel economy was terrible.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Uh huh yeah, probably not as strong suit, not at all.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
But somehow those flaws they don't really detract, They almost
add to its character, make it more real.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
More endearing, makes it feel honest.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Right, and it really makes you think about those intangible things,
those qualities that turn a car from just transportation into
a symbol, a piece of history, something people connect with
on an emotional level.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
The nineteen ninety five Chevrolet in Paula SS really is
more than just a car, isn't it. It feels like
a symbol of what can happen when that passion meets opportunity,
even within a giant corporation, defying the odds to become
this modern classic Elsea. That mix of the retro style,
the V eight power, the surprisingly decent handling just stood
(30:43):
out in a time when cars were getting kind of similar,
kind of bland.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
It had personality loads of it, and for anyone.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Who owned one or even just drove one, it was
this gut level reminder of why cars can matter so much,
not just as tools, but as expressions of freedom, of individuality,
of just raw fun power. Yeah, and now, as the
whole car world shifts towards electric, towards autonomy, fundamentally changing
what a car even is, the ninety five Impaula SS
(31:10):
just stands. There is this loud, proud testament to a
different time, a time when cars were bold, maybe a
bit brash, and build simply to put a smile on
your face.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Its story really is one of unlikely success, huge cultural impact,
and a legacy that just keeps going, a true American
icon that kind of swam upstream and won people over definitely.
So as you listening, reflect on this deep dive and
think about where cars are heading, consider this in this
new era of complex tech, electric motors, self driving features.
(31:41):
What core elements from the Impala SS's spirit, that authenticity maybe,
or that passion driven design, or just the pure emotional
thrill of driving. What parts of that do you think
car makers absolutely need to remember? What should they carry
forward even into an electric future.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
That's a great question to ponder.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
What lessons from this last gasp should maybe never be forgotten.
Keep thinking about that and keep exploring
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