did you read autoweek's review of the 500? They made it sound like a hard tire'd(extremely high tirewear rating), massive understeering (.72 on skid), brake fading (smelly hot brakes slowing down from drag strip run) mess..

http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=102331

 

I think this is a common misconception: the Camry sells well in spite of being bland, not because it is bland. People buy Camrys for perceived quality, fit & finish, resale value, etc. Not because it's boring.

In many cases, it's better to polarize the audience than to put them to sleep. Yes, those 2-3 people won't like the Charger, but for each of those, there'll be another 1-2 people who think it's the cat's *** and make that the deciding factor in purchasing it in spite of any other shortcomings. Not many people will think the new Impala's exterior is so awesome that they must have one, which means the Impy is going to have to sell on other attributes and/or its reputation. Let's hope it brings those attributes to the table.

Having said that, it is a fine line to walk. Being radical like the 300 is fine if you're only hoping to sell 100-150k cars a year, because you'll probably find enough people that love it to find that many homes. But if you're looking to sell 200, 300, or 400k per year (assuming you have the instrinic attributes to support such a number), you can't be that far out on the edge styling-wise. Which is why the Camry is boring.

I think this is why the current Impy sells so well: its styling is different enough to get noticed, and it is also a competent car underneath. Even though neither factor is class-leading, put together they added up nicely.

 

well......no matter what we say on this thread, it's all conjecture and a year from now, we'll know at least part of the answer.

The press photos of the Impala were in my opinion, horrible...can't remember which site it was on, but the pics showed up about a week before unveil. Now....I've seen the finished car for well over the past year....and when I saw the picture, I said "wait.....that isn't the Impala.................oh wow...yeah, it is.......jeez that picture is HORRIBLE......the car looks small and 'toady'." .....and that is truly a shame. In reality, I think you'll find that the car is much better looking in person.....looks nothing like the first press photo.........go look at one in person and you be the judge for yourself.

Now...some thoughts ..... (seems I start a lot of my responses this way....)

AWD has its place...and I suspect we'll see it become more popular in the next three years....but it isn't mainstream. Performance is great in my book and if I were running the world, we'd have more RWD cars out there. But I'm not running the world.....so.........
My point: the mainstream market in the Premium Mid Segment is FWD and V6 power. That's where the volume is and I wager that's not going to change to any big degree. I believe the Impala will sell well because of its value, safety and comfort. (among other things) Further, I think the performance will surprise many. (hint: You'll probably find that the mid-level engine, a V6 will outperform the Supercharged 3800 in the current Impala SS....which outperforms the LT1 powered 94-96 Impala. (no great shakes to some...surprising to others) A step up from that is the 5.3 V8 with D.O.D....and having driven one, I think it will surprise many of you.....

The current Impala has a lot of happy owners. Guy, you even mentioned, if I recall, that you were pleasantly surprised a few months back when you rented one. (I may be wrong...correct me if I am) The Impala team looked at all the customer dis-satisfiers in the current car and then tried to fix every problem to turn a dis-satisfier into something the owner of the new car can be very happy with. Will it be a home run? Dunno...there are very few home runs anymore in this industry.....but I think it will continue to sell in volume...and I think the person looking for a mid-sized sedan will be impressed after having driven one equipped the way they'd buy one.

The current Impala has done well in terms of customer surveys and warranty expense (lack of warranty claims) and is built in Oshawa which consistently wins top honors for assembly plants in North America......has been since the days of Lumina......

So.....if you're looking for a RWD V8 sedan.....the Impala may not be the car for you........but my advice? Drive one first.....then judge. I think you may be surprised.

 

No Scott, you are 100% RIGHT! (though it was over a year and a half ago ).

The only bad thing I can say about the Impala is that it's FWD. That's it.

It's pretty quick, it's tossable (especially for a car that size!), although the current interior won't win any design awards, it certainly is put together well, and put on a great looking set of rims and tires and run a couple of chrome pipes out the back, and that current Impala's visual personality completely changes (if someone wants to do a photoshop, everyone will see what I'm talking about).

Again, it's not a car I'd buy, and it doesn't have the swoopy look of the Grand Prix or the reputation of the GTP. But it's not anywhere near as bad as alot of people (including myself) made it out to be.

That said, Pontiac's Bonneville is a totally different story!

The 300 and Charger Hemis are the only new sedans I'd consider buying myself (the CTS-v is overpriced IMO, and the idea of being behind the wheel of a 150mph, LS1 quick Neon though tempting despite being FWD, is pretty frightening).

 

Here I am! I love my '05 and would reccomend it to anyone!

 

Well, a year from now we'll be shopping for a car to replace my wifes 1999 Olds Intrigue GL, and only one of these cars will be on the list... and that's the Impala. She won't buy a Ford after our Thunderbird fiasco of the mid-90s (5.0L cars A/C systems had about 7,602 seals that would start leaking if you hit a railroad crossing too fast) and the Mopar is just plain unattractive to both of us. We will be looking at the new 2006 Hyundai Sonata and possibly even their large car (can't remember the name), but the Impala SS really might fit. She wants a front-driver for foul-weather ability (I'll admit that in snow or ice I would certainly rather be in her Intrigue than my GTO!) and the V-8 with DOD would probably work great for us (80% highway driving as a work commuter car) by delivering liveable fuel economy and performance, too. That said, it better be a HUGE step forward from the Impala rental I drove last fall while the GTO was in for freeze plug replacement... the interior of that thing was the biggest joke I believe I've ever seen! There must be about 10,000 parts; reminded me of a jigsaw puzzle! Only thing I can guess is that they had 20 or 30 different people working on that interior design in separate offices and they didn't meet until everything joined up on the assembly line. Compare that to our 6-year-old Intrigue interior and you know there is someone at GM that can design properly. And I'm not talking about materials and colors, necessarily, but DESIGN itself. Making things pleasing to look at and not just scattered around with no balance or logic. BTW, our 3.5L Intrigue has pretty good performance (the 1999 models had 3.29 axle; 2000 switched to a taller final drive and killed acceleration) and she averages 25-26 mpg after 111,000 miles on the clock. If the SS Impala can do that, and still have the standing start thrill of a V-8, we may be sold. Unless, of course, they decide to sticker it at $32,000+, then it will NOT be on the shopping list.

 

GuionM, while I understand why you included the cars you did, the realities of the situation are quite different.

Impala is a volume model. It is expected to sell in huge numbers. Thus, it has to be more of "all things to all people." The Toyota Avalon sells in tiny number (comparatively). Sales goals for the 500 is just 100K units (Ford realizes that this car, while being mainstream, is more of a niche mainstream product). The 300 is also what I would call a mainstream niche product. It will sell about 150K units a year.

Thus, I think the Impala is a good mainstream car. Whether it will sell as well as GM wants, without rebates, I don't know. The one question I do have, though, is ........... if you are trying to be all things to all people, why is there not an AWD option??? To many people, this is almost a have to these days. Even Ford was caught by surprise in the demand for it. As it shows up in more and more vehicles, by the bigger players (not someone tiny like Subaru, or expensive like Audi), I really see it as being the next "must have" option.

For alot of people who live in the sunbelt............. it is still attractive. If they want to go visit snow............. or drive on minor trails to get a favorite fishing hole............. etc. Heck, it even makes a FWD car feel better (as in no torque steer). For many, it has many advantages (many of them perceived, I realize), with a very small trade-off (add-on of about $1500, and loss of 1 mpg).

Anyway, it is just a curiosity I have about GM's mainstream models these days. They could be leading in the AWD segment.............. but instead, they aren't even playing. Is GM worried that offering AWD in cars will take away from the very profitable SUV sales??

 

The question isn't what will sell more. In all likelyhood it will go: Camary, Impala, & then the 300, Five Hundred, Charger in whatever order.

The question is that all others save the Impala have a hook of some sort that will attract attention and buyers. The 300 has styling, the Five Hundred is pushing AWD (the 300 has it available too, but Ford seems to be pushing it more), Camary has Toyota's quality reputation, Charger has a strong performance image. What does Impala have?

 

price?

 

Yeah I agree, price.

Charger R/T and Impala SS are two cars that I am considering for my next purchase.

Impala's restyle doesn't help much IMO, as I see it as a retrograde move. The current Impala, at least was attempting a bolder "Chevy look" with it's round tail lights and creased fenders. I wish the '06 Impala had taken this theme further and bolder, versus it's retreat back to generica. Although I'll admit it looks better in person than in pictures...it's still not soul stirring.

Anyway, for me, the only way Impala will edge out Charger is by price. Between rebates, dealer discounts and my GM points...I'd expect to pay maybe $8,000 less for an Impala SS versus a Charger R/T with the Road/Track package.

 

FWD.

 

1) The Impala is a higher quality, higher value appliance. As mentioned previously, some of us consider FWD an advantage in an appliance and see no need for AWD.

2) I see the Impala as being the better choice as a competitor to the Camry, and there honestly isn't any reason to compete with the Avalon - seems to me that Toyota couldn't give that car away.

At the end of the day, the hook is value. The rest of the stuff in the segment is fluff. The Chrysler cars are polarizing due to their styling (or lack thereof). The 500 has so far made very little noise in the marketplace, and if it hasn't taken off by now, it really won't.

Impala, on the other hand, is not styled in a polarizing manner. Simple, clean, basic, functional... an ideal appliance.

Chevrolet's mission with the car needs to be to go head to head with the Camry and Accord. Beat them in every way they can be beat in the value equation:

Bigger, higher horsepower, more comfort, better quality, more features, better resale, better price, greater durability.

The car will sell itself to it's target market if those things are taken care of.

Basically, Chrysler has NEVER gone head to head with Camry and Accord, and the 500 really can't either. The last Taurus has left a bad enough taste in everyone's mouth (pick your reasoning - there's quite a few to choose from) that I doubt any Ford product will step up as a serious contender.

This segment is governed by the value equation, not styling or performance or RWD or anything else.

Value.

It's an appliance and nobody cares about styling in a toaster, but they WILL pay for the highest value toaster.

Friendly bet: Impala alone outsells the ENTIRE Chrysler 300 platform this year. Any takers?

 

One problem I see with the Impala is the resale value.. it plummets like a rock. It might be a good value new, but resale you will get killed....Maybe the newer one will hold better??

 

If it comes down between two toasters, and they both offer sufficient value and bread toasting ability.....I will usually go for the better looking toaster.

 

Pacer, the 2006 Impala will also have another competitor......... the Ford Fusion. This car will offer almost everything the Impala does, but will do it with a little bit of style.

The only thing the Fusion will not offer, at the beginning, is a high horsepower version. However, an SVT version is planned, and will be out sometime after the introduction. Unlike the Impala SS, the SVT version will be AWD.

Just because you see no merit in AWD (might it be because you are a diehard GM fan, and GM does not offer AWD in its passenger cars???), does not mean the buying public does not see the merits. If they didn't, Ford wouldn't be having such a hard time keeping up with the demand for the AWD versions of the 500/Montego/Freestyle.

Fusion is Fords higher volume midsize. Fusion and 500 sales combined, are designated to replace Taurus sales.