I love my 96 Impala SS! I bought it new, and have no plans on selling it. I love the size of the car, it has a presence on the road that others just dont have (especially after I lowered it more) Sure wish the Impala was rwd again.

 

I'd say this puts to rest the so-called need for rebates to sell them, and the question as to if a new version would sell. Judging by the fact that these things sold for $22-25K new, and most are still selling for that 6 years later (a few out here are selling for over $30K ), it seems they are still in demand, huh?

 

What were the total b-body production numbers across the line from 94-96 (Caprice, cop cars, taxi, etc)?

 

I know that they sold about 50k - 55k 9C1s a year. I don't know about the civilian line or the complete total. I have it in a book somewhere but I can't look it up because I am at work right now.

 

Bit of Impala Trivia:

*The reason for the limited number in '94 was a shortage of the special wheels.

*Chevy 2 studio chief John Albert noticed his neighbor has lowered and customized a late-model Caprice with big wheels and dark paint. He liked it so much he showed it to Chevrolet General Manager Jim Perkins. Perkins instructed John Moss to work up a similar car for the 1992 SEMA show. It was named in honor of the large muscle-cars of the 60's. Because it was such a hit at the show, it was rolling off the production lines 14 months later.

*Over 3,000 Impala SSs were exported in 1995.

*The police package was available on the Caprice for $1159 in 1995. You got a whole slew of police-edition specific equipment, much of which also came on the Impala. However, the Impala didn't have all of the special heavy duty equipment of the police package Caprice. It's generally cheaper to get an Impala and add on the missing equipment than to get the Caprice 9C1 and bring it up to Impala standards.

http://impala.homeip.net/impala/faq/#index

If you want to know what came on the 9C1 package:
http://impala.homeip.net/impala/faq/#police

 

You could also option out a 9C1 with any of the luxury options found on the Caprice LS, I've heard this called "Chief's Pkg."

As a former owner of a '94 Caprice LS LT-1, I really liked the car, I converted mine to SS style. I loved the performance the LT-1 provided. The Caprice LT-1 didn't come with alot of the performance upgrades that the ImpalaSS or 9C1 had such as my Caprice had rear drum brakes while 9C1 and Impala SS had discs, my Caprice had a 2.93 rear end while the ImpalaSS had 3.08 which when I raced a stock ImpalaSS vs. my slightly modded Caprice (CAI & Hypertech) my front bumper was at the Impalas front door so the ImpalaSS edged me out at the end of the quarter mile it was still pulling on me ever so slightly. Also ImpalaSS got dual electric fans but my Caprice had the HD towing pkg. which was 1 electric fan and a belt driven fan.

Suspension was alot softer on a Caprice but the towing pkg. firmed it up somewhat. Something I always thought was interesting was the LT-1 B-Bodies came with true dual exhaust while our F-Bodies dual to single to dual outlet.

I really which I could really find a nice '96 9C1 for a daily driver.

 

Hey 30thZ28 6speed, here is a link for you to see. I would love to get one some day too. http://www.keymotorsusa.com/1996.html

 

Did the SUV and pickup truck owners cast their votes in Florida or something?

 

Good one.

 

Accord and Taurus have been in the top sellers the last 15-20 years...plus the auto industry has convinced people RWD is unsafe compared to FWD. This was due to many reasons...packaging (FWD has more interior room), safety (FWD is more forgiving and has better traction), and cost (transaxle is much cheaper to make). People don't buy Honda's because they are FWD or RWD...they buy them because they are great cars for the average buyer and have a reputation GM would kill for. I would say 9 outta 10 car buyers either don't remember enough about RWD or care enough either way for it to be a big enough factor for someone to choose a brand x RWD car over a Honda or Toyota. Also keep in mind the key youth segment is all focused on FWD Performance. Sure adding a RWD midsized sedan to your segment will gain back a few older buyers who curse FWD and some performance people....but to get more buyers they will have too build a car that can compete with the imports in terms of overall quality. I also don't see Chrysler's LX cars being that affordable also in the current Intrepid sense.. I think they have plans to move the Strarus up to take some of the buyers who would buy the current Intrepird...but couldn't afford the upcoming LX.

 

Actually, he is, I believe, referring to passenger cars only, not light trucks...

RP has said before that the general public has a preferenc for FWD on passenger cars, but seem to be willing to accept RWD in light truck applications.

Now, that said, I think that has a lot to do with the fact that there are very few choices in the passenger car market that are RWD. Cadillac CTS is proving a 4-door car with RWD can sell very well.

 

You're 100% about how the industry (for lack of a better word) misled people by exaggerating the safety benefits of FWD over RWD when the real reason was ease and lower cost of manufacture.

But actually, it's the older buyers that prefer FWD. That's why Cadillac is having heartburn deciding if the next DeVille should be RWD, and why Buick will still have a big FWD car, even if they also get a RWD. "mid-drivers", say mid 30s to mid 50s are who want RWD. That's where the money is, and that's why you have every car company putting out "RWD sport sedans", because this is the age group that's buying Lexus & Infinity sport sedans, BMWs (not the "M" cars), even Cobra Mustangs, Camaro SSs, and the group GTO is aimed at.

There is no convincing of anyone needed, other than that of the automakers in the US to make these cars. Trust me, I've been looking into this for the past couple of weeks (my "small project").

Kids want FWD because of the massive aftermarket for it (the best selling sports coupe is still the Mustang, and more "Kids" buy Mustangs than than any other sports coupe.....period). It's cheap to own a 4 cylinder economy car. That's why so many of them buy them & hop them up. But when they buy sports coupes, they buy Mustangs.

BTW, Intrepid is in fact moving up market, but not as far as I think you're getting at. The V8s of course will be up market, but the rest of the line won't be much more than a GTP ($28K or so).

In short, the switch to RWD all about winning over the buyers who are actually willing to spend money on a new car. Even here at this site, look at how many people went for Camaro SS versus a stripped base model Z28. That puts things as clearly as anything I could possibly say.

 

You can spin it any way you want, but most light trucks are used primarily as passenger cars anyway. The general public doesn't make that differeniation when they make a purchase and the number crunchers don't make it when they count total sales either. These numbers seem to indicate folks prefer vehicles that are RWD.


2001 Top Ten Sales Numbers- from Edmunds.com

1. Ford F-Series -- 911,597

2. Chevrolet Silverado -- 716,051

3. Ford Explorer -- 415,921

4. Honda Accord -- 414,718

5. Toyota Camry -- 390,449

6. Ford Taurus -- 353,560

7. Dodge Ram Pickup -- 344,538

8. Honda Civic -- 331,780

9. Ford Ranger -- 272,460

10. Ford Focus -- 264,414


RWD accounts for 5 of the top 10 and 2,660,567 vehicles versus 1,754, 921 for FWDs in the top 10. That's nearly a million more vehicles in one year alone.

 

Oh, I agree.... I'm just saying that RP made the point once that car buyers have shown a preferance to WRD, while truck buyers have shown they are willing to accept RWD. I don't think they 'primary use' of the vehicle has anything to do with it, really.

Now, most of us know that a FWD truck isn't very practical as far as hauling paylod goes, and there have been precious few RWD cars over the last decade or two... so, while I would have to agree with RP's numbers, I think they are skewed by the number of choices being offered.

Again, I offer CTS as an example of how a new, modern RWD car can be successful. It will be interesting when some higher-volume RWD cars hit the market... liek D/C's Intrepid / 300n et al.