Earlier this month it was announced that General Motors would extend the operations of its Consolidated Line in Oshawa, Ontario to 2016. The line was originally scheduled for closure in mid-2014, but was given a two year extension to produce the outgoing Impala Limited for sale to rental companies and government organizations.
The redesigned 2014 Impala features a flashier exterior and a more upscale interior to help attract retail customers. According to the Automotive News, GM wants individual buyers to account for 70 percent of Impala sales, as the outgoing model and iterations before it were commonplace on rental lots.
By continuing to produce the outgoing Impala until 2016, GM can fulfill the market for fleet vehicles without devaluing the current Impala by selling off fleet versions in large quantities.
“The Impala Limited has done extremely well. Our fleet customers know the car and like it,” GM spokesman Chad Lyons told Automotive News. “It’s a business opportunity that we want to continue to fulfill.”
Automotive News also points out this isn’t the first time the General has pulled such a move. When Chevy introduced the redesigned 2007 Malibu, it continued to offer the outgoing model to fleet buyers as a 2008 Malibu Classic. They did the same thing with the 2004 Malibu, offering the outgoing model as a Chevrolet Classic.
Comments
I am sorry to have to say this but this car needs to go the way of the (Old GM). I understand money is money I just think GM needs to work on its Image. That’s just my opinion peeps 🙂
Not a bad decision actually. Why cheapen/lower resale values of the new Impala by flooding the market with buybacks and daily rentals? Keep the classic body to supply the rental companies and keep resale values of the new Impala high with fewer of them available as used cars. Look at how the Equinox is holding its value compared to others which are readily available as rental buybacks by the hundreds.
Ford did this for over 10 years with the Crown Victoria before it went away and made a lot of money doing it.
dpach, Regarding the value you make a very good point. I was more concerned with GM’S Image and not the resale value of the vehicles. I guess I see it as a bad form of advertising, considering most people know the Impala is made by GM. (Me typing out loud again).. lol 🙂
Resale Value should also help the company Image. 🙂
As the former owner of an ’08 Impala LTZ, I miss that car. Once I replaced the Goodyear tires with Michelin’s this car performed it’s duties extremely well. What I miss the most is the huge trunk. Although it was my wife’s car, I used it to haul large objects when I needed it. Lay the rear seat down and it was like having a small pickup truck for long items and the space between wheel wells was enough to swallow wide items. Compared to the Impala, the trunk in the Lacrosse she now drives looks like a mailbox. Good for groceries, nothing else.
I can see why the Impala is a favorite of fleets, and keeping it in production as long as sales sustain it makes excellent business sense for GM.
My sport red 2006 LT is still going strong. I think I’m currently at around 116,000 miles. I love it.
I love my 05 impala, 262,000km on it now. The W-body might not be a favorite for the journalists but the cars are everywhere in eastern Canada (and New England). They are relatively cheap, quiet, good on gas for their size, large (as Vettedriver stated above) and easy to work on. My 05 with touring tires is as quiet as a coworker’s 2012 Fusion. The 2014’s are impressive in every aspect, but the 9th gen are attractive from a utility point of view.