The Chevy Impala went out of production nearly two years ago, with the final example rolling off the assembly line at GM’s old Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant in Michigan on February 27th, 2020. Despite a new example not being produced for nearly two years, General Motors actually sold a handful of new Chevy Impala models last quarter.
With three units sold for each month in October, November and December, the automaker managed to sell a total of nine new Chevy Impalas in Q4 2021. Curiously, the automaker also sold 154 units for each month in Q1, 84 units for each month in Q2 and nine units for each month in Q3. Based on these figures, Chevy Impala sales for 2021 totalled exactly 750 units.
When it was still being built, the Chevy Impala was produced at both the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly (now Factory Zero) and the GM Oshawa Assembly plant in southern Ontario. Sales numbers for the tenth-generation Chevy Impala started out strong, selling 140,280 units in its introductory year in 2014, but declined each subsequent year. In 2019, when the vehicle’s demise was confirmed, GM sold just 44,978 examples of the long-running nameplate.
The last Chevrolet Impala produced was a Cajun Red example in the range-topping Premier trim level, which came equipped with the 3.6L LFX V6 gasoline engine and front-wheel-drive. The car was purchased by 93-year-old Chevrolet enthusiast Pinky Randall, a resident of Houghton Lake, Michigan who has maintained a collection of Bow Tie-badged vehicles throughout his lifetime. To be clear, this vehicle was the last Chevy Impala produced and not the last Chevy Impala sold. The nine examples that were sold in Q4 2021 were produced before the last Impala was built and were likely still left sitting on dealership lots awaiting a buyer.
Chevy Impala production at Oshawa Assembly
With GM abandoning many of its traditional vehicle lines to fund its ongoing $35 billion EV transition, it’s unlikely the Chevy Impala nameplate will be revived for a future model. The Impala name has come and gone from GM’s product portfolio in the past, though, so there’s still a small inkling of hope for the dedicated Impala fans out there.
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Comments
The Impala is a great car, we love our ’17. Plenty of space and cant beat the looks.
The biggest problem with the Impala and all GM vehicles, is they gastly overpriced for the quality of their interiors. The same reason Cadillacs don’t hold their resale value, let alone being of resemblance of what they should be. Technology doesn’t make it a luxury car, it’s a combination of all sums of the car.
The biggest problem with the Impala and all GM vehicles, is they gastly overpriced for the quality of their interiors. The same reason Cadillacs don’t hold their resale value, let alone being of resemblance of what they should be. Technology doesn’t make it a luxury car, it’s a combination of all sums of the car. The real shame here is, GM decided to kill the Impala, in favor of keeping the lowly Malibu.
Not a Caddy article. The Malibu and Impala were right on top of each others segment. The ‘mid-size’ Accord now classifies as a full-size. Either bump up the next Malibu and create a new compact Cavalier (a 20 plus year name), or demote the Malibu to compact and have a new Impala. Goldilocks coverage of appliance cars. The Spark seems to hold it’s spot well.
I am fairly certain that the Honda Accord was classified as a large sedan dating back to 2008. If it has held that classification until “now”, that I do not know.
I own three significant Impalas, a 1965 Sport Coupe ( Over a million sold and a record that still stands), a 1996 Impala SS ( The last RWD , V8, body on frame Impala ) , and a 50th Anniversary Edition ( Only 3900 Built ). Would love to get a 2020 the final year!
Another vehicle at GM that rotted on the vine! Never made any updates other than cosmetic’.
It got a modern powertrain. That’s not an update?
Advertisement was the key to its demise.Haven’t seen an ad for the Impala in years,just the look alike Malibu.If was two door,rear wheel drive,a V8 Stick and an SS it would have sold big just like my 95 SS.
My favorite body styling for the Impala was the 1965 model year for the older version and the 2000-2005 model year. Had a 2004 Impala LS, absolutely my favorite. Love the body lines and those round tail lights. Kinda reminds me of the Nissan R34, another personal favorite.
The Impala did not fail due to GM it failed because the market left this segment. None of the direct competitors are left and it was the last to leave.
If you want to hate hate the public who has turned their backs to cars like this.
The fact they are still selling unsold cars is a real sign the public was not interested.
This was a very good car and the Lacrosse was even better but when production stopped there was more than one model year of these sitting waiting for owners.
I agree in large part with your comments but I think GM could have tried harder. I am one of the what – 40%? – of Americans who are obese. I can tell you that the seat bottom in a Camaro is basically the same dimensions as a Suburban. If Impala had been offered with a bench seat, there would be a significant market niche that would never disappear. I had a slew of Impalas which I loved but I am relegated to Mercedes and VW sedans because they are built for bigger and taller drivers. If the public doesn’t want 4 dr sedans, why are Tesla Model Ys and the Hyundai and Kia sedans selling like hotcakes?
“selling like hotcakes” I hate that saying, is that a upper Midwest thing you guys say?. I do which Chevy would keep one general sedan with different models on it like the ’40s-’70s like Bel Air, Biscayne, Caprice and still the same car overall. I believe Ford is bringing a rugged Fusion for the US to replace the Edge, maybe that’s an incentive to keep Malibu (at least an ICE version) around.
It ranked #2 in its class behind the the v8 Charger, which is still being produced and sold like hot cakes.
And yes, gm did have a huge part in sunsetting this Impala…no marketing, no R&D to match the selling v8 Charger and moving those dollars to EV.
But I agree the public went to CUVs rather than sticking with a sedan.
Does anyone know the reason(s) why GM decided to employ different assembly plants for the Impala, LaCrosse and XTS when all three were all basically the same car?
I think they quality built all three at Oshawa Assembly at different times ,the last being Impala and XTS, I think ?
Martin:
Sales:
2008: 311k
2010: 172k
2012: 169k
2014: 140k
2017: 97k
2018: 56k
GM spent huge on the 2014 model and sales continued to decline and depended more and more on rental fleet business.
THAT is why it died. No number of new grilles reverses that kind of sink.
No it wasn’t totally because of shrinking market! Wouldn’t have anything to do with an engine that went back to 2007-2010 and a transmission from the stone ages! Then again, current Equinox suffers from that ancient transmission situation! Call it what you want, but it is nothing other than no investing/updating your products. Toyota, Honda are having no major issues selling sedans!
EXACTLY!
As GM Goes, So Goes the Nation
The younger generation doesn’t have the affinity for Chevrolet going back over there lifetimes.They can remember there parents’ Chevys from the nineties, but they didn’t purchase them, nor do they have life experiences with the older models. The “Classics “ were from the older generation, admired but not longed after. Come the 2000’s and up to today, crossovers, SUV’s, CUV’s are their generation of vehicles. Also the baby boomers that are nearing their 70’s don’t drive as much and keep their cars a lot longer than before, thus the majority of purchases are from the younger generation.
I have a 2012 Impala with 380850 miles, still driving today! Best car I have ever had! Qished they come back out!
Toyota discontinued it’s long running Avalon due to the market. No one is buying large sedans.. The Avalon has been a great over the years but it doesn’t make sense financially to keep producing large sedans. Impala suffered the same fate just a few years earlier.
My wife has a 2019 Impala. We’ve had no problems. Plenty of room. Rides nice. Its a good car.
I wouldn’t worry unless Toyota discontinues the Camry, but yes, the market for large sedans is small. Mercedes, Lexus, Audi, Dodge, and maybe Chrysler will be able meet the need.
Our ’15 black LTZ with mojave interior has been utterly reliable, and still looks like new, despite it sitting outside. Style will stand the test of time (well the dash maybe a little funky). Now that everyone’s driving a breadbox, the big sedan’s flair really stands out.
Quitting the small car market is another mistake from Mary Barry.
SUV is higher ATP whether small or large. Then EV will be even higher. Get used to it or buy a hyundai.
You think just like GM does!! Eventually this mentality will come back to bite them! Not everyone currently has $60k to spend on a new vehicle. Buyers who are “currently” in a low budget situation will buy from a manufacturer who offers what they want and not that benefits the current years financial incentive packages of the top execs! Quite likely those buyers will be happy with those cheap reliable entry models and advance up the chain to Acuras or Lexus. Of course, US manufacturers don’t care because they are interested in immediate financial gratification, screw the long term! Sad but US manufacturers have been on that course for quite sometime.
Toyota quit selling the Avalon before gm stopped the Impala.
I had a 2004, front bench seat V6 Impala. I really liked the car. I kept it until 100,000 miles in 2016. I always maintained the car.
It literally started to self destruct. Every 3 months was another issue. The horn even stopped working. I also had a 2007 Mailbu with a front end issue that the dealer could not repair (lucky it was leased) and my all time favorite, a Citation that was a brand new company car that I purchased when I left the job. That car had a bad engine. Needless to say, I will never get a Chevrolet product again.
We had a 2006 impala SS, very nice, we loved it, but the had the 5.3L engine with AFM. It started using oil only about 35K miles in. Then started fouling plugs and they needed to be replaced about once a year. NO WARRANTY coverage on it of course! We finally traded it off for the new (at that time) 2014 Impala, with the 3.6 engine. Not quite the same car and performance we had with the 2006 Impala SS, but a great car none the less. We unfortunately traded it for the Opal built, new Buick Regal GS. That could of been a great car also, but GM hardly promoted or advertised it. At only about 10K miles we had to Lemon Law that car. It developed dash board electronic problems, and between GM selling off Opal and the strike of 2019, our dealership couldn’t get the parts to repair it. It could of been a great, sporty, fun sedan but it seemed GM just threw in the towel on all sedans except Cadillac. Its just too bad. If I want a sedan, a good American brand, now I have to go to Dodge for a Charger.
I replaced my 143,000-mile Mercury Marauder with a 2018 Dodge Charger GT Plus once Ford announced they are discontinuing sedans after the 2020 MY.
I was looking into buying a 2016, looked great, did the research, may still , I bought a F150, just couldn’t afford it at the time.
I was looking into buying a 2016, looked great, did the research, may still , I bought a F150, just couldn’t afford it at the time.
Just one of many mistakes GM, discontinuing a product once they get it right and not updating it.
One of many mistakes GM had made over the years, discontinuing a product once they get it right and not updating it.
Amazing!
First GM Killed the Electric Car, now they want to resurrect it. Stay tuned for which method GM’s EV Kills you… maybe electrocution?
We looked at an Impala in 2017 and the only thing that stopped me was no AWD since we live in a snow belt, and I commuted 70 miles round trip to work on 2 lane roads. I had a Cadillac SRX Platinum Premium at the time and ended up with an AWD XTS Premium. Since then, we have gotten a 2017 CT6 AWD Premium and a 2020 CT6 AWD Premium Luxury. We also have a 2002 Cadillac DHS with a 32 valve Northstar and 110K miles on it
GM/Chevy and Cadillac have gotten rid of the big sedans and are trying to shove SUV/CUV, mall crawling pick-ups and now these god-awful EV’s down our throats and dig deeper into our wallets.
I have a 2019 impala premier v6 305 hp. I’ve put camero strips on the hood and trunk and aftermarket 20in. Wheels on her. Ive traded my 2017 impala ls for it. Even though gm never made an ss in this body style. I Did!! Impala SS on the rear panel s just like the 1994-95 and 96. Bad Ass! Every where i go people ask me when did gm make the ss in that body style? I always tell them this idea was mine. Loving every minute of this. They should bring this car back as SS/rear wheel drive. (Dark gray with matt black stripes and five spoke wheels)
If GM had given the Impala and the SS the advertising budget like the Silverado, they would still be in production. Another big mistake just like Buick named the Lucerne instead of the LeSabre; which the dealers begged for and could have build the Pontiac Firebird by Buick which would give Buick a much needed sports car. Everyone can’t crawl in a Corvette nor climb in a Silverado.
The Automakers employ or depend on in- house and secondary as well as public trending numbers to justify furthering product vs sales.
It was clear to GM that skewed sales vs production costs did not justify a quickly evaporating market for large sedans except those that offered great quality,design,engineering as well as commitment ie
Toyota Camry …even Avalon became a victim and nobody pays much attn to Nissan these days anyway!😄My Dad owned a beautiful new ’56 Bel Air 2 tone coffee and creme coupe and my uncle a showstopping ’58 Impala(1st year)Convertible SS Baby Blue ..mmy 2 favourite Chevys besides a ’67 or ’68 Soft/T-top 427.🥰
Pinky Randall passed away, here is his obituary, he’s mentioned in the article.
Lifelong Houghton Lake resident Murl “Pinky” Randall, 94, Houghton Lake, died Jan. 9, 2022, in Pensacola, FL.
Visitation will take place Sunday, Jan. 16, at Christler Funeral Home, Houghton Lake Chapel, from 1 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. with a Masonic service at 6 p.m.
Mr. Randall’s funeral will take place Monday, Jan. 17, at 11 a.m. at Houghton Lake United Methodist Church with the Rev. Kevin Harbin officiating. Visitation will be held at the church Monday from 10 a.m. until the time of the service.
Burial will take place at Roscommon Township Cemetery.
A full obituary will appear once it becomes available.
So sorry to hear about Pinky’s passing but what a great long life he had. As a Chevy Impala lover, I would love to own the last Chevy Impala made but I am sure there are many like me who are interested in the car or being kept in the family.
They should build a full size electric car and call it the Ampala. Amp from electricity and Pala from the iconic impala. Could have a lightning bolt stabbing thru the old impala emblem for the logo!
My Dad was always a GM guy. He owned Pontiacs and Chevrolets as long as I can remember. The first one I remember was a 1948 Stylemaster Chev straight 6 and 3 on the tree. He sold that car to a cousin of mine to do mail runs just before I was 16. Was I some pissed off then. Anyway the last car that he owned was a 1965 Impala one of the sharpest that he ever owned.
I currently own a 2015 Impala LTZ with the 2.6 L V6 and it may be my last since Impalas aren’t being made any more. My Impala’s engine was built at the St.Catharines Power train Engine plant which is about 3 km from where I live and the car was built in Oshawa so it’s all Canadian and I am also all Canadian and very patriotic . My wife drives the Impala a little more then I do because I drive a 2009 Silverado and in the Summer I drive a 1991 Camaro Z28. which hasn’t seen a winter in over 20 years I know GM builds good engines be it V6 or V8 because I was a Dynamometer operator doing durability engine testing at the St.Catharines GM engine plant for 30 years. It is a shame that the Impala, an icon of the automotive age has been dropped and gone forever.
Sad what has happened to Chevrolet and GM in general. I am currently driving a 2014 Chevy Cruze with 196,000 miles on it. It’s a great car with good mileage and no problems. When the time comes for a replacement, it probably will no longer be a GM even though I worked there for over 39 years!
My first car was a ’65 Impala SS. It was a lot more car than a 16 y/o needed. 🤣 The only Impala I ever owned.
I’m on my 2nd Impala on a row (2019).
Love it.
I’d buy another tomorrow without thinking twice.
When I was young and broke I would always find an old Impala or Caprice for $500 of less They were simple to fix and even when they were rotting out and had hundreds of thousands of mile always got me to school and work. The last generations were just sad.. I wouldn’t even want one for free. Sad what a once great car brand has become!
I had purchased a new 2017 Impala Premier, black with white/wheat leather interior. I almost lost it to another buyer because of miscommunication on down payment, but I got it…even then that combination was rare. It had every option. I loved it, my favorite car…it was solid, had every technology I could want, with 305 HP V6… A beautiful car.. Anyway, had to sell for reasons I can’t get into here, but I believe that car especially in that configuration with have collectable value…
I currently own (as of this writing, May 2023 w/ 38k miles) a 2017 Impala Premier. Every Option. Black exterior with Light Wheat leather interior too. SUCH A BEAUTIFUL CAR.
I had purchased a new 2017 Impala Premier, black with white/wheat leather interior. I almost lost it to another buyer because of miscommunication on down payment, but I got it…even then that combination was rare. It had every option. I loved it, my favorite car…it was solid, had every technology I could want, with 305 HP V6… A beautiful car.. Anyway, had to sell for reasons I can’t get into here, but I believe that car especially in that configuration with have collectable value…I have a Chrysler 300 now and love that too…
The problem as still the problem is the 3.6 motor with cam chain stretch. If you know something is wrong fix it , something GM does not do. Too many gremlins , electrical and a long history of poor customer service. No wonder people dump GM stocks.
I had a 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2018 Chevy Impala. All new, top of the line model and loved them all. I had zero problems with all of them and was devastated when they discontinued the model. I presently have a 2021 Chevy Blazer. So far, I am happy with it but I would have gotten another Impala if possible.
I have rented both Impala and Malibu. The Impala is far and above the finer automobile. Why GM chose to keep the Malibu amazes me. I’ve owned a 2002 and 2007 Impala both great cars.
I have a 2014 Impala LTZ with 119,000 miles and I love it. Still rides very good. No major problems at all.