History

From 1994 to 1996, Chevrolet produced the Impala SS as a high-performance, uplevel Caprice model.

• It was the first 4-door to wear the "SS" designation.
• It was the first Impala SS in 25 years.

In 1993, General Motors was showing off a full-size, rear-wheel-drive concept car that could be offered as a replacement for the Chevrolet Caprice sedan. The Impala SS is a Caprice LTZ with a dressed-up exterior and Corvette ZR1 engine. The car is generally sold as a police vehicle, but the show model is outfitted with new grille, deck-lid spoiler and monochromatic paint scheme: It's all black.

The Impala SS also has redesigned rear and side windows and 17-inch aluminum wheels. The interior boasts bucket seats and a new center console, instrument panel and door trim.

Chevy General Manager Jim Perkins said the Impala SS is being shown around the country in what auto makers call "clinics," where buyers look over the car and say what they like and don't like about it. Mr. Perkins said no decision has been made for a scaled-back Impala to replace the Caprice. But GM officials said the car is being considered as a replacement

An earlier car named Impala was a best seller for Chevy from the late '50s to the early '70s. During some of those years, Impala SS (for Super Sport) was the series' top-of-the-line sporty model.

Although side cladding hasn't changed, the car is lower by 1 1/2 inches for a vast improvement in the silhouette. Fatter tires on 17-inch, five-spoke alloys better fill its large wheel wells. Body-colored moldings replace chromium strips -- always a highly visible accent -- which also aids the visual reduction of a bulging midsection. The front end is sans bright work with the Caprice's egg-crate grille now a slim opening divided by a single horizontal bar. Rear-quarter windows have been reshaped by inserts wearing the familiar leaping Impala logo. Chevrolet, the name, does not appear on the car. Just the Impala logo and black-on-black lettering that discreetly, almost invisibly spells out "Impala SS" on the rear quarter fenders.

The LT1 engine, of course, is a firecracker, which explains why GM seems ready to install it in everything except the Geo Metro. (Now there's an idea.) With a whoosh and a snore from that cast-iron, friendly old V-8, it prances from rest to 60 m.p.h. in a smidge over seven seconds. There's power galore in mid-range acceleration and once unleashed, it allows that delightful mischief of punching around and ahead of fast-lane laggards and unsignaling wanderers who would cause us hurt and irritation. General Manager Perkins promises dressier Impalas in 1995 with dark green, burgundy and white added to the basic black. There will also be a floor-mounted shifter.

1996 was the final year for the Impala SS. Since its brief run, '94 to '96 SS models have taken on a "collectible" quality. But at its heart, Impala SS once again followed the same "magic formula" that Impalas had perfected over decades of popular success.

- Tony Tressel, a.k.a. NetMan