Yes Louis,
it actually saddens me also. We only donated our 2003 Impala two and a half months ago. It never failed us, was very dependable. My grandma had a 1966 Impala for over 23 years. I learned to drive in a 1970 Kingswood wagon, was also my first car. Later I bought a 1974 Caprice Classic. Then moved up to a Pontiac Grand Prix, then an Olds Cutlass.
There is an Impala street not too far away, the neighborhood was built in 1967. Along with Bonneville dr, Brougham, Electra, Eldorado, DeVille, Polara, Fury court, Corvair, Mustang, and Malibu. Many GM, etc. jobs afforded baby boomers an all brick, 3 bed, large double vanity basins 1.5 bath, plus large family rooms w/fireplaces and basements with 2.5 car attached garages. Averaging 1,450 square feet for about $25,000 back then. That nearly equaled just 2 to 3 years of take home pay for most of those buyers.
Chevrolet always had offered value and a level of luxury in the Impala and Caprice series for a reasonable price. However, the current model is expensive, although very nice, and spacious. Perhaps buyers noticing the Buick Lacrosse offers more prestige for just a bit more money? Or even the Cadillac XTS, which are essentially mechanically identical.
The base model is now a 2.3 litre 4 cylinder, and severely under powered.
My brother in law (a CPA) had leased one, along with a Traverse for his wife.
They are upper middle class, and he has traded down to an Equinox because of the Impala V6 LTZ being so expensive.
Some claim that planned obsolesence is directly relative to sales, but I found it very ironic that after the Opel Senator, the large Opel was the Omega, and the final large Opel. Omega means last, or end. So was it planned? Now PSA owns Opel.
