Last-Ever Chevrolet Impala Bought By 93-Year-Old Michigan Man
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Back in February, GM Authority reported that the final Chevrolet Impala to be produced had rolled off the assembly line at General Motors’ Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant in Michigan. This wasn’t just the last of the current-generation Chevrolet Impala, but very likely the last Impala ever, with GM turning its back on sedans in favor of crossovers, SUVs and pickup trucks.
Chevrolet Impala in Cajun Red
Now, we’re happy to report that the last-ever Chevrolet Impala, a Cajun Red example, has found a home after it was purchased by 93-year-old Chevrolet enthusiast Pinky Randall. The Houghton Lake, Michigan resident is a lifelong Chevy fan and has maintained a collection of Bow Tie-badged vehicles throughout the years.
Randall knew GM had planned to discontinue the Chevrolet Impala, so he went into Classic Chevrolet in Lake City, Michigan to inquire about purchasing it. “I ordered it a year ago, he told local news publication The Houghton Lake Restorer. He and his wife Joyce later drove the car back from Lake City to Houghton Lake, which is about 30 minutes away.
“By golly, the car made it alright,” he said after arriving home. “It handles nice. I like it.”
1996 Impala SS in Dark Cherry Metallic
Back in 1996, Randall purchased the last 1996 Impala SS produced and was invited by Chevrolet to personally drive the vehicle off the line, something he described to The Houghton Lake Restorer as a “real honor.” He added the Dark Cherry Metallic performance sedan to his collection, which included six other Chevys at the time, but eventually sold it back to GM.
Based on the photos, Randall’s Chevrolet Impala appears to be a handsomely equipped LTZ trim model. He also has it outfitted with a custom front license plate reading “Mr. Chev” while his actual rear plate, which features his WWII veteran designation, reads “FINAL1.”
Chevrolet is estimated to have built 18,386 units of the Chevrolet Impala for the 2020 model year.
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reqing all the comments on impala. buffs cheers my heart. since i own 2. 61. impalas one bubbletop and anorher. convertible ….eeally wnjoy them
GM knows how to cut off their best products. Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saab and Saturn are examples. Just start to get the formula right and sales climbing from the self created cellar. Then cut the product off at the knees. I can’t stand station wagons disguised as SUV’s and mini vans. Usually underpowered. I’ll stick with sporty sedans and coupes thank you.
The reason for just 20,000 is GM had already told their suppliers the final amount of production needed regarding parts , so regardless of further demand the Impala was coming to an end. The supplier group needed to move on and retool for other parts.
Thank you Mr Randall for supporting GM and Team CHEVROLET. I was in Oshawa for the first Impala of this generation to roll off the line :-). Kinda sweet and sad to see it all come to an end.
I’ll turn 81 June 30 and I bought a Cajun Red LT Impala June 5 2020. Sold our 2015 LT to a Lady in Petoskey in upper lower Michigan. We live in the UP of MI. My first new vehicle was Baby Blue 1959 Impala then a Black 1963. When the last model change came GM never sent a nickel of Ad money on them. The last body style has won all kinds of awards and GM and it’s P/R Dept. did nothing with them. Safety award best buy from Kelly Blue 4 years in a row.. Sad that GM has dropped their best vehicle.
I’ll turn 81 June 30 and we just bought a Cajun Red LT Impala June 5 2020. We sold our 2015 to a Lady from Petoskey in Michigan upper lower. My first ne vehicle was 1959 Baby Blue Impala 2 door hardtop. Then just before getting married bought a new Black 1963 2 door Hardtop. GM wasted a lot of awards the last model change had gotten many Safety, Kelly Blue Best Buy Award 4 years in a row. GM never spent a nickel of Ad money on it, didn’t even use all the awards that it had gotten. Sad what a Poor P/R Dept. GM has. The truth its the best vehicle GM has made. Sad
I’m with MR CHEV I’VE OWNED 6 CHEVROLET CARS AND 4 WERE IMPALAS MY GRANDFATHER TOLD US WHEN WE WERE KIDS THAT CHEVROLET IMPALAS WERE THE BEST CARS GM EVER MADE AND HE LIVED BY THEM, AND SO DO I .. OWNED A 1973 IMPALA 1974 IMPALA 2000 IMPALA 2007 IMPALA AND I OWN A 2014 IMPALA I LOVE THEM AND I WISH THEY WOULD NIT STOP MAKING THEM
I hate they are getting rid of the impala We had a 2000 and kept it until 2019 got another chevy impala a 2018. Not everyone wants an SUV sorry chevy
Hate to hear GM is discontinuing the Impala. I have owned a ’66, a’73 and have owned my current Impala since 2005.
I bought my 2004 Impala SS Indy Limited Edition in ’05 with 15k mi on it. It is the 2556 of 4088 produced. It has the 3.8 Supercharged engine. It currently
has 107k mi on the odometer. This car most certainly is a keeper!
I have a 2017 Impala Premier. I love this car.
It luxurious, all the latest tech, safety,electronic gizmos. Power, performance, smooth, quiet, awesome Bose sound system. It’s a beautiful styled vehicle inside and outside. People are always impressed when they ride in this car the quality fit, finish.
I just traded in my 2014 Impala for a new 2020 love this car. Chevy missed the boat on the impala they should have made it in a performance vehicle and they could have completed with the Dodge Charger so sad .
They should have properly marketed the SS and they shouldn’t have shuttered the Holden brand either.
The SS/Commodore is what the Impala should have been. They had the Malibu as the midsize sedan, I never understood why they had two cars in the same segment because the Impala should have stayed full sized.
I have an 08 impala and it’s a pile of turds. It’s been nothing but problems since I bought the damn car. HVAC actuators going bad, bad wiring to the shifter and now I have some electrical issue between the fuse/relay box near the battery and the starter. I am starting to understand how GM got the reputation of “Garbage Motors”. This is the last modern GM vehicle I’m buying and the sad thing is that I wanted an SS or a G8 but nope, done with GM trash.
I hate to see the Impala be discontinued, I currently own a 2017 Impala premier and a 1972 Impala convertible, and have owned several other impalas 1963 and 1977 , I love the Impala and hate to see it go
GM has made a poor choice in discontinuing the Impala as with the Avalanche. Big people dont want squeeze into a small car and not everyone wants an SUV correct. I do hope they go back to a rear drive big car someday, but electric hybrids are taking over. Guess you’ll have to buy a Tesla Model S now. 😉
The Avalanche again? Look, people weren’t buying them. You don’t have to trust me, you can look at the sales figures for almost any car on the wiki page.
I wonder why they canceled the Impala?
Oh yeah, people weren’t buying them.
No, they shouldn’t build cars people don’t buy, that’s a bad business decision.
Time to be pedantic: “Based on the photos, Randall’s Chevrolet Impala appears to be a handsomely equipped LTZ trim model.”
…. it’s the Premier* trim. Snark aside, I have a Premier Midnight Edition. It is by all means an awesome sedan… I would love to see it come back soon, maybe even electrified.
I have owned 2010 + 2012+ 2014 + 2016 +2018 Chevy Impalas each was incredible ! Superb power + great large SEDAN smooth ride! Please Chevrolet have Mary barrow resign she has failed fire her now !
I’ve owned three Impalas. All of them were great cars. Comfortable, reliable, good on gas, safe, attractive… I love my Traverse, I understand why SUVs have taken over, but the Impalas were something special.
They should have redesigned it at least once more a couple years back, while sales were still good. Nothing too dramatic, none of the constant cries for RWD and V8s that no one would have really wanted. It would still have been a sedan, yeah, and a modern cruiser one rather than a high performance one, but they could have expanded the cabin, and updated the powertrain with the newest build of the 3.6L V6, and the nine-speed auto. It could have been offered with AWD to appeal to multi-climate drivers, and instead of lowered, raised a bit, or even just left at its height. It already sat fairly high, so as far as sedans go, there wasn’t much stooping. Perhaps there could have been a wagon variant. There was a wagon Impala in the car’s history, and that works well for Subaru.
It probably wouldn’t have been as big a seller as the Equinox, or the Blazer, but I bet it would have been well-received enough to keep it going into a modern age. A niche product with a classic name.
Sales started tanking the third year after the last redesign. It’s just not profitable to redesign a car that often.
No, they did right thing by killing it off as drivers just like yourself are buying crossovers now.
It’s fine though, the CUV craze will come to an end just like the station wagons and minivans did before them.
Maybe wait till later for the redesign, then. 2020 or 2021 wouldn’t have been nearly as much of a stretch as 2017. And I think it could have worked as a lifted wagon. Some of the purists would scream “blasphemy,” but then some people still think the Impala should have been made into a RWD with a V8. On the bright side, when the crossover thing calms down, there’s a good chance a variant of the Impala will make its way back into the lineup. It was doing fairly well for a decent length of time through the crossover transition. It really was a good car.