1964 Chevrolet Impala SS
Bob Dylan’s 1964 anthem, “The Times They Are A-Changin,” still speaks to anyone who embraces change as the only constant in life. What’s cutting edge today will eventually become dated. What’s stylish will fall out of fashion. What’s popular will become passé.
As Dylan’s folksy music was mobilizing a generation of young people in the ’60s, radical change was overtaking the American automobile industry. Full-size cars were beginning to lose the battle for youthful buyers against sporty intermediates and a brash new segment buster called Mustang. Detroit came under fire for building unsafe automobiles. A sweeping government mandate for cleaner emissions was on the horizon.
Chevrolet’s ’64 Impala was like a poster child for the inevitability of change, but even with an all-new and improved replacement waiting in the wings, it went out to a standing ovation. Sales of the Impala Super Sports increased from approximately 150,000 in ’63 to more than 185,000 in ’64, while sales of Impalas overall jumped from 832,000 to a whopping 890,000. That’s impressive for a car serving as a closing act for a run that began in 1958.
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