Americans have always had a deep and beloved love affair with big automobiles. In America, this is a love and hate relationship. American consumers love a roomy car and equate large vehicles, especially with rear wheel drive, as safer to drive. The American government hates big cars because they believe that they eat more fuel and thus pollute more. While we now live in a world where those who want a large, rear wheel drive vehicle buy an SUV, there was a time not so long ago that you could buy a big car with go fast goodies. Take a look at this 1995 Chevrolet Impala SS for sale on craigslist in West Bend, Wisconsin. With an asking price of $16,500, is this garage kept black beauty the kind of ride you really want? Thanks to Pat L. for the tip!
In 1995, gasoline prices were relatively reasonable and Chevrolet was producing thousands of rear wheel drive Caprice models. Most went to law enforcement agencies, who have always preferred big sedans with V-8s and rear wheel drive. They have plenty of room, go fast, and can take a lot of abuse. Civilians could get a more luxurious version called the Caprice Classic. The other GM divisions had their versions to sell as well.
At the time, Chevrolet was marketing sporty versions of a number of their models. So it was natural that a go fast version of the Caprice was developed. While Caprice SS doesn’t wuite roll off the tongue, ressurecting the Impala SS name made all the sense in the world. Adding sportier suspension, a breathed on LT-1 V-8, and a monochromatic paint job gave them a huge, high speed cruise ship that some reports say could reach over 140 MPH.
The Impala SS you see here is advertised as a 56,500 mile example that is 99% rust free. Where the rust is on this vehicle is not discussed. The seller also tells us that they are the second owner and that if you are looking for one, this is your lucky day. That is basically all the ad says, which is sadly typical for a craigslist ad.
This lack of information forces us to rely on the provided pictures. These photos show us a fairly well cared for car that was obviously used as a car instead of being coccooned away in a climate controlled garage. The leather interior shows wear, mainly in the driver’s seat. The steering wheel cover keeps us from seeing the wear, if any, on the light colored leather wrap. It is, however, the most unique steering wheel cover I have ever seen and is amazingly color coordinated to the car’s interior.
One area that a prospective buyer might want to inspect would be the carpet. There are a few spots that may be from the car being smoked in. This is pure speculation on my part, but I have seen spots like this in cars that were owned by human chimneys. As always, nothing beats an in-person inspection. You just can’t go by pictures alone when spending this kind of money.
$16,500 is a lot to spend on a 27 year old car, but the Impala SS was a special vehicle. While we depressingly march toward a forced future of electric cars, vehicles like this are like dinosaurs watching the asteroid streak across the sky. Electric cars are going to be lighter and smaller by necessity. Cars like the Impala SS would still sell well today because our wants and needs haven’t changed for a long time. Too bad we will likely never see a car like this again.
Do you think Americans still want big, rear wheel drive cars with V-8 engines? Let us know how you feel in the comments.
You bring up interesting points Jeff, which we could discuss passionately.
I’ll comment on two sentences:
“While we depressingly march toward a forced future of electric vehicles.”
Exhibit A, California, 2035… if they can pull it off. The word ‘forced’ is what bugs me. Many of us have mostly not-pleasant recollections of a previous time when government intervention in the auto industry was particularly strong.
“Do you think Americans still want big, rear-wheel-drive cars with V-8 engines?” Yes, but we call them crew cab pickups or SUV’s.
Once an entity like EVs catch on with the elites they feel the need to ban tge percieved ‘bad’ and make the Percieved ‘good’ mandatory. That’s gonna blow up in their faces this time.
That’s the single ugliest steering wheel cover I have ever had the misfortune to cast my gaze upon.
Yes, cannot unsee that. Why…just why?
I have seen worse, but this one is near the top of the list for sure…
Only thing worse would be pink “fun fur”.
Easy on the editorializing. If people truly wanted big, rear-wheel-drive, V8 sedans, automakers would build them, government interference or not. In fact, there are two examples left: the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger. Chrysler has been keeping the Charger on life support for years with an endless stream of performance models, while the 300 has been banished to rental fleets. The demand for cars like this Impala SS just isn’t there.
Oh, people still want them, they just can’t afford them anymore. They are reserved for the elite now. BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Maserati, Maybach, all make multiple V8 model $100k+ sedans and most are still RWD. You don’t need FWD or AWD in Dubai or Saudi Arabia and gas is still cheap in the Middle East. I think it’s around 20 cents/gal in Iran. The electric cars are for us, not for them.
A Charger R/T with RWD and a V8 starts around $44,000, which sounds like a lot, but it’s a few thousand below the average new car transaction price. So if people truly wanted mainstream, full-sized V8 sedans, manufacturers could and would build them. It isn’t even necessary to stipulate the V8. The most recent version of the V6 Impala would outrun this SS, and still there were few takers.
Yep. When the govt. sets the CAFE standards at 50mpg? The manufacturers can’t offer Joe 6 Pack a true full size sedan. You’ll squeese your family of 5 into a compact SUV, and you’ll like it! Sad.
If this car were here in PA, I’d most certainly consider adding it to my collection of this generation. I’m the second owner of a 45k mile 94 Impala SS, 94 9C1, and a 93 Buick Roadmaster wagon. Love these “last of the true full size” vehicles. Say what you will about being outdated even when new, there’s nothing like the ride & overall comfort offered. Sure, these vehicles suffered from the cheapness in interior quality, but name one that doesn’t after the exploitation in use of plastic everything. Nice unmolested example for a very fair asking price, in my opinion.
These cars came out when I was in high school and it was instantly my dream car, hands down. Even 27 years later these still look great and garner attention. Someday, I will have one. This one seems like a fair price for an unmolested example
DrillnFill, although I was long out of school, I thought the same thing when they first came out. I just had to have one!
I had a black 96, they had a few differences over the 95 and 94’s including a floor shifter in the console, an analog dash with tach, and OBD2 diagnostics. Fun big car that ran and handled surprisingly well.
Yeah, I like the 96s the best. Mainly due to the shifter and the gauges.
And don’t forget the smaller rear quarter glass in the 96 as well
Also let’s not forget the smaller more streamlined rear quarter glass
This car just about makes me cry , I’m almost 60 yrs old & grew up watching the 1st round of muscle cars as a lad and had to be a teenager when the most miserable time for a new car dawned on the world the early 80s. I of course had colonnade cars to cut my teeth driving which were cheap then but the 80s cars were the worst IMHO and here we are once again going off the cliff again getting rid of what many of us really enjoy a sweet ride . We finally made it to new highs in automotive technology history (challenger, Mustang & Camaro) even my truck has 395 hp only to kill it off because of some BS ! Does anyone remember TBoone Pickens preaching we were going to run out of oil next year! And here we are still have oil but now it’s AL Gores ghost that’s doing us in for what? It’s so sad to me the stupidity that comes out of our leaders mouths except I don’t believe them anymore.
Still kicking myself for ordering a 95 crown Vic black- sports package – when I just should have gone to the Chevrolet dealership and picked up one of these better impala SS off the lot.
and then there was the Mercury Marauder
Marauder was 10x better than the Chevy.
Id likely have gone Ford also Dave lol. More of a subdued look. Did Yours have the key dual exhaust, 20hp bump to 210hp and some more tq, plus a 3.27 gear vs 2.73 if i recall 👍. Same as the trailer tow pkg equipped model. Either way its Chevy taillights lol. Cool 😎 Ford LTD for sure man.
The Imp had 3:08 rear gear.
A neighbor of mine bought the marauder and I bought a 96 impala ss. Sold my 96 with 224k miles on it. We lined up many times. Impala smoked the marauder every time by car lengths. We both did a few mods after a couple years. Still the same results. Never had any major issues with mine. It was a great car.
This car is a sled. Not nearly enough power to the rear wheels to move it down the road. These cars still wallow even with the suspension modifications from the factory. The trunk space isn’t all that great either. Asking $16000 for a $10k car puts it on a dream list.
I am in the family that believes that a crew cab dually with a Duramax/Allison Motor/trans is a much better option and you can do more with it.
A sled? People talk about the P71 Crown Vic cop cars as fast, but ask the cops who had both in their departments, they all preferred the 9C1 Caprice. They all said the Chev would smoke the Fords. For as large as they are, they ran and handled well. Again, think size. Rear wheel drive, full size platform, a Camaro they are not. I’ve had well over 120 cars that I can remember over a 50 year period, and the Impala was a fairly powerful car with excellent road manners. I wouldn’t take it autocrossing though…
I saw the first prototype for the SS at SEMA in ‘93, it practically caused a riot! There were dozens of cash offers for it, that day! I wrote for a coupla magazines back then and reviewed it, glowingly of course. This one would be tempting but my ‘97 Camaro SS 6-sod ‘vert would get mad…
“What Americans Really Want: 1995 Chevrolet Impala SS’
No, what they wanted was the perfect size ’77 after the previous ones had become so bloody ridiculous.
GM wishes they’d gotten the sales of the ’77 B Body as opposed to what they generated by this whale.
Unfortunate. Such a trim design morphed into this pig.
No bloody way.
Lipstick on a pig.
I paid a lot less than his ask for my first gen. CTS-V and it’s a lot more car. Sure, not quite as roomy, but 400hp, 6-speed manual, and proper suspension make it one heck of a car to drive. Gets 25 mpg on the freeway, too.
I agree. The Impala SS was always “meh” to me. But that first gen CTS-V, that was something else entirely!
i have a black cherry 95 imp ss and love it. best driving car i everowned. also have its bigger cousin 96 roadmaster estate wagon. what a hoot to drive them around.
Awesome looking car! I’ve always loved this generation Chevy Caprice and Impala SS
We had the Oldsmobile versions . The first was an 84 Delta 88 Brogham coupe , sweet , then a 92 Ninety Eight , Then the 2002 Buick LeSabre . The 98 and LeSABRE were 3.8 v6 but ran great with front wheel drive. The change to front wheel drive on these big cars was close to seamless in my opinion. I also had a 77 Riviera, a super car with a big V8 , 400something , and a 1980 Olds Eighty Eight Diesel which always ran great until I hit a pole at 89000 miles. I was going for 100,000 but didnt make it. Those full size GM cars were my absolute favorites , especially the coupes. I think once the country gets contaminated with electrics , these old full size GM cars will be back as classic collector cars with a premium price tag. I drive a Honda now which is great for current times however it doesn’t have the look or performance of these old cars like my 77 Buick Riviera. That car rode like a dream and it had all the power anyone could have wanted . And it was rear wheel drive .
If no one wants these cars, why do they sell for nearly what they cost new when they have low miles? I despise SUVs that eat gas and cost a ton to insure. And they all all ugly.
An unnamed police dept took their new one out and ran passes as fast as it would go on the local airport runway. On the fifth or seventh high speed maximum braking run the heat faded and boiled the brakes. The car went off the runway into a ditch and was totalled. The warranty claim was denied, owner abuse.
Price has been lowered to $15,500. It’s becoming an even sweeter deal.