Like many, we're not fans of the current Chevrolet Impala because we find it, appliance like and frankly, ugly. We'll stop short though of saying that it's not worthy of the vaunted "Impala" nameplate because put up against any Impala that's come before it, it'll suck its doors off. However, for us at least, automobiles are more than highly efficient rolling dishwashers; they're tangible, physical, emotionally expressive extensions of either who we are or what we want the world to see us as. At the end of the day, though, cars are conveyances but as they've become increasingly perfect in their function, most today lack the purity of spirit that they once had - especially cars at he lower end of the price spectrum. Today, let's look at this 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS, in our humble opinion, the last Chevrolet Impala that embodied everything that pundits believe "Impala" stood for and that threw caution, common sense and practicality to the wind.
Before Ralph Nadar, before the IIHS, before the EPA, OPEC and insurance surcharges, styling was just about the only thing The Big Three were concerned about. Speaking of which, the reason why General Motors dominated the market like they did years ago was because, in general, their designs were better looking than anything from Ford or Chrysler. AMC had the 1971-1974 Javelin but aside from that they had nothing. Ford and Chrysler would, on occasion, have a desirable design or two, but by and large, GM's designs were far superior. Might sound like pure opinion, which in part it is, but based on sales, it's true. For certain, it wasn't because a Chevrolet Impala was a better car than a Ford Galaxie or Plymouth Fury but it was, again, as subjective as it may be, better looking. And while our '64 here pales in comparison to our beloved '61 bubble top, it's far and away more appealing to us than whatever derivatively styled bomb Ford or Chrysler was shilling at the time.
GM's big cars though were far from perfect. The 1961 Chevrolet's rode on top of General Motor's infamous X-frame that allowed designers to place the body of the car lower than ever on the frame. In an age of "longer, lower, wider", nothing bespoke of that quite like a GM "X"; many of the 1957-1964 X-frame GM cars are some of the most desirable of post War GM designs. Problem was, there were no frame rails outboard of the center of the frame. Despite the X frame being noticeably stiffer against twisting than any other contemporary frame, due to the center spine acting as a torque box, there was little to protect passengers from side impacts. As much as we hate to be construed as any harbinger of practicality but at the end of the day even the best looking of cars needs to be as safe as it can be. They also were never known as being the sveltest of handling vehicles either.
GM's design swagger carried over to the interior as well. The handsome, almost contemporary looking vinyl clad buckets and console available only on Impala's in "SS" guise. Chevrolet brochures bragged about how clearly laid out the instrument panel was adding that everything was in "easy reach". Seat belts, which automobile manufacturers were required to make at least available on automobiles starting in 1964, were standard on SS models, optional on other Impala models. By January 1, 1968 all vehicles sold in the United States were required to have seat belts for all sitting positions. Getting people to use them, of course, was something else entirely.
Begs the question then as to when did automobiles first start to become appliance like? We could argue that they've always been that to a certain degree given what they are, ultimately. However, American cars in particular really didn't start to become the perfect but soulless appliances they are today until the late 1970's. What with increasingly stringent governmental regulations, downsizing and competition from perfectly engineered albeit appliance like cars and trucks from Japan, what they've become today was inevitable. We just wish somebody would combine the design ethos of the old days with the engineering nof today's cars.
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