still a 4 door, lol, nothing super or sporty bout that

Velle Addict wrote:

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Carl Stevenson wrote:

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Well, as you may notice in my signature, that is one are where you and I will certainly not agree.  The 94-96 Impala SS cars have to be one of the best cars made in the 90's, hands down. Good performance, handling, comfort, fuel economy, looks, resale value...........just tell me when to quit!

Oh, and do you happen to know what body style choices were available for the very first Impala SS models back in 1961

 

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I agree 100% Carl!    One of the meanest looking cars of the 90's and still one of my dream rides.  That LT1 and those looks made that car live up to the "SS" heritage.   The real shame of this car is that GM killed it off.   To this day,  ask any veteran police officer which car was the ultimate cruiser and the 9C1 Caprice wins hands down.  That 9C1 was the birth of the 1990's SS Impala.

 

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We have a local man who was a corporal in the RCMP detachment. He retired a few years ago. They were down to 2 9C1 cars that were supposed to get retired from the fleet and the rest were all Crown Vics. He convinced the higher ups to keep the 9C1 cars past their scheduled retirement mileage so he could keep driving them until he retired. He hated the Fords. Slower, worse handling etc etc!

 

Here they are the best ever....


Regarded as the best Police car ever until ....... 

Anyone know if the 9C1 option was available on mid to late 80's Parisiennes ?

I remember reading that when the 442 package came out it was available on all Cutlass models except for he wagon. Imagine a '64 more door 442?

These 3 are pretty fast 4 drs. When I was young I didn't like 4 dr sedans at all. Now the cars and my tastes have changed as I get older....

I tend to agree with a 4 door ss car is kind ot strange. It is a superior car than the 60's, no doubt. Just dosen't sit well. Imagine a 4 door z-28, grand national, gsx, gt40, etc.. some things should be left alone.

65Camino wrote:

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I agree a 4more door car is and always strange as for performance. I think of them as family cars. But I am a single guy. One of the reasons I picked my Mustang was it had a back seat.

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LOL... a back seat, it hardly has a front seat. Big Ray gets in and out with the help of a crowbar. The old right knee has had hockey injury surgeries so we literally place our hand on the ankle lift and bend to get the leg in the car. I wear 34 inch leg pants on a 6'2' frame, it aint easy getting in that little pony.

There was a time when a 2dr. car was more stylish and sporty but those days are long gone, especially since no one buys 2drs. anymore. On top of that they don't fit me!

Back in the 60's and 70's, many 2 doors (like Ray's!) were large enough to be family cars.  As the overall size of vehicles in general shrunk over the next couple of decades, virtually all 2 doors became impractical as family cars so 4 doors began to predominate.  If you have a family and a limited budget that only allows for one car but still wanted something sporty, what else was available to fill those needs except a performance 4 door, hence the proliferation of "GT" type cars with all the performance, handling and braking that anyone could ever want, but with just a couple of extra doors added on.  I personally have no issue with these types of cars at all, but then again, I was a big fan of the BMW Bavaria when it first came out in 71, arguably the first "sports sedan" so I have been used to the notion of a performance 4 door for almost 40 years.

In an effort to pull this thread back from lunar orbit, the point I was making is completely unrelated to the number of doors (or even windows) a vehicle has.

It is all related to actual vehicle performance. We've been reminded that the Chevy SS and the Pontiac 2+2 were trim options, but surely we can agree that General Motors played up the "performance" mystique when advertising these models (or options as they were in some years).

Never did Chevy comment, in any ad that I'm aware of, about how beautiful those SS interiors were, or how sporty those SS emblems were without also blatantly implying you'd love the brute force at your fingertips when you bought one of these top-of-the-line behemoths. They raved about available power all the way up to 425 hp. And, the Beach Boys never sang a song........"She's real fine, my 2-3-5".



Did Chevy wax eloquent about that the stunning performance of that Straight 6/Power Glide sheep-in-(SS)-wolf's-clothing? No, they did not. It was all about the Super Sport with 327, the SS396 or SS427..................all while they pumped out too many grandma cars equipped with very low performance, but all dressed up with SS heraldry.

That's what I'm trying to say. One of their many mistakes was in dressing up so many 6-cylinder and low-horse 283 cars for battle with fancy emblems while only arming them with BB guns. And, so, over the years the mystique wore off. The SS, and other cars like the 2+2, should have been real performance cars all along......not necessarily with only the top available engine, but with at least enough engine and suspension to get out of the way of an on-coming train.

I'll never forget the first time I pulled up beside a '63 Impala SS with those sweet SS wheel covers AND A 6-BANGER EMBLEM on the fender. I laughed out loud.....and it wasn't anything to do with the number of doors.

P.S. And for those talking about today's V6 engines, I'm talking about another era and just the beginning of many, many stupid decisions to follow.  By the way, have you ever actually driven a Straight 6/Power Glide B-body with standard suspension?

-- Edited by 67HEAVEN on Friday 13th of March 2009 07:38:22 PM

67HEAVEN wrote:

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In an effort to pull this thread back from lunar orbit, the point I was making is completely unrelated to the number of doors (or even windows) a vehicle has.

It is all related to actual vehicle performance. We've been reminded that the Chevy SS and the Pontiac 2+2 were trim options, but surely we can agree that General Motors played up the "performance" mystique when advertising these models (or options as there were in some years).

Never did Chevy comment, in any ad that I'm aware of, about how beautiful those SS interiors were, or how sporty those SS emblems were without blatantly implying you'd love the brute force at your fingertips when you bought one of these top-of-the-line behemoths. They raved about available power all the way up to 425 hp. And, the Beach Boys never sang a song........"She's real fine, my 2-3-5".



Did Chevy wax eloquent about that the stunning performance of that Straight 6/Power Glide sheep in (SS) wolf's clothing? No, they did not. It was all about the Super Sport with 327, the SS396 or SS427..................all while pumping out too many grandma cars equipped with very low performance, but all dressed up with SS heraldry.

That's what I'm trying to say. One of their many mistakes was in dressing up so many cars for battle with fancy emblems while arming them with BB guns. And, so, over the years the mystique wore off. The SS and other cars like the 2+2 should have been real performance cars all along......not necessarily with only the top available engine, but with at least enough engine and suspension to get out of the way of an on-coming train.

I'll never forget the first time I pulled up beside a '63 Impala SS with those sweet SS wheel covers AND A 6-BANGER EMBLEM on the fender. I laughed out loud.....and it wasn't anything to do with the number of doors.

P.S. And for those talking about today's V6 engines, I'm talking about another era and just the beginning of many, many stupid decisions to follow.  By the way, have you ever actually driven a Straight 6/Power Glide B-body with standard suspension?

 

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I follow almost all of it but am not clear on one point (and you won't hurt my feelings if you answer contrary to my opinion!).

Do you feel the 94-96 Impala's do or don't earn the right to carry the SS emblem?

 

Those Impalas absolutely deserve the SS name, especially in light of what else was available in the marketplace at that time.