Chevrolet To Keep The Fleet-Only Impala Limited Till 2016

The best news about this is that the new Impala will not take the massive hit that the old model has already taken. Reminds me of the "Malibu Classic" GM allowed to stay around for a year. Only this time, GM is doing this the right way. Let the rental car companies have the old one; virtually all of the old Impala was paid for already.

I wish they'd change the name though.... Call it the Chevrolet SCV (Sedan, Commercial Vehicle) or something.... but take the Impala name off!

I think I will die before the W body does.

Agree with Drew, change the name to Chevy Commercial Vehicle (CCV) and sell it to the fleet's. Continue to tweak and strengthen it as a top quality product that can handle the abuse of commercial use and show the world that a fleet car can hold up, check out what we build for your family.

I believe that people can be sold on a quality product that is used by Fleet and then go check out the rest of the product line up and this would allow keeping residuals higher.

I wish they'd change the name though.... Call it the Chevrolet SCV (Sedan, Commercial Vehicle) or something.... but take the Impala name off!

Call it the Chevy Classic, Chevy Generica....or one of the old low line trims from the '60s-70s--Biscayne or Bel Air.

I wouldn't want to tarnish an old name like that with something widely regarded as disposable.

If it runs through 2016 they will definitely have gotten their investment back out of the W-body...wow...long run, many incarnations.

Won't this just reignite the perceptions that GM vehicles are piles of crap? Everyone who drives one will think it's the current model and wonder aloud why the company was bailed out, etc.

It's odd for certain...I don't like the idea of specific models for rental car fleets. I should be able to rent anything in an automaker's current lineup. As far as the '06-up W-Impala, I've probably rental driven at least a dozen or more of these over the years...I actually like them, decent driving car, nothing fancy but nothing awful either.

I don't think it's too bad to keep the Impala tag, that way it's easy to identify the car, for everyone to know what it is, and particularly in the future selling used. Impala tag will hold up better for resale than 'CCV'. I can see where the confusion would be an issue. I wonder if the actual name of the car is 'Impala Limited' and ;Limited is not just a trim level.

But we all know that what model it is. Joe Average probably doesn't. He'll rent this Impala, think it's unimpressive and wonder aloud why GM got bailed out.

Getting rid of the Impala name is the way to go. Since the 'Chevrolet Classic' name is used by the fleet-model Malibu, maybe call this vehicle the 'Chevrolet Limited' or something to that extent.

Edited November 3, 201311 yr by FAPTurbo

My dad recently traded his '08 Impala on a '13. He likes them. They're solid and sensible, with a comfortable, quiet highway ride. Perfect for fleets, yes, but also perfect for 69 year olds who don't want to deal with "infotainment" crap. His is black metallic.

I know a lot of people with Impalas and they like them. I hear the 12+ with the 3.6/6 speed they get great mpg and have some nuts. They are good buys in the used market.

but they handle terribly... they're only good for long distance interstate travel..

I avoid them when I can and will even select ToMoCo vehicles before I pick an Impala... they are my second to last choice (200/Avenger being the only option, I'll cancel my reservation and go counter book somewhere else)

for sure they are like white bread.

I feel like changing the name would go like this:

Agent: "We have a Chevrolet SCV for you."

Customer: "What's that?"

Agent: "You know the Impala? They changed the name. Same car."

just die already!