OBI WAN
02-12-05, 11:09 AM
San Antonio Express-News For the first time since the mid-'90s, a Chevrolet bearing the Impala name will be getting a V-8 engine.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/D_IMAGE.101688cd0b5.93.88.fa.7c.9c20917a.jpg (Photos Courtesy of General Motors)
Above: The 2005 Impala SS comes with a $28,425 price tag. The current Impala has been a good seller for GM, tallying more than a million sales since introduction.
Below: Chevy's Monte Carlo SS two-door coupe, like its Impala SS four-door sedan, has front-end styling that includes dual-split grilles with a black-diamond crosshatch pattern.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/D_IMAGE.101688cd0b5.93.88.fa.7c.9c2116fd.jpg
And for that matter, the Monte Carlo, which last had a V-8 a long time ago, maybe in the '70s, also will be getting one.
At the recent Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, General Motors North America President Gary Cowger and GM Vice Chairman Robert Lutz introduced the redesigned 2006 Impala and Monte Carlo to automotive journalists during a media preview.
The Impala name goes back to 1958, when Chevy introduced it as the top-of-the-line version of its full-size sedan, which that year featured rounded front and rear fenders (a year before the introduction of the radical rear fender wings on the 1959 models).
Monte Carlo was introduced in 1970 as a midsize sport coupe model and became a darling of NASCAR racing.
Both went away in the mid-'80s after some radical redesign and downsizing. The Impala name was briefly resurrected in the mid-'90s for a special Impala SS version of the long-running full-size rear-drive Chevy Caprice, built at the GM plant in Arlington. That car, along with the rest of the Caprice and Buick Roadmaster wagon lines, was discontinued after the 1996 model year, along with V-8 engines in Chevy sedans. (You could still get one in the Corvette and Camaro, of course.)
For 2000, GM revived the Impala name on a new larger-than-midsize sedan with front-wheel drive and V-6 power, and a year later added a two-door version of this model to the lineup, bringing back the Monte Carlo name.
The current Impala, which has undergone evolutionary changes but no major makeovers since its introduction, has been a good seller for GM, tallying more than a million sales since introduction.
Coupes don't sell that well these days, but even so, the Monte Carlo has been a success, GM says, probably based on a combination of its edgy styling and retro name.
Chevy introduced SS (SuperSport) models of both of these front-drive cars last year, with some sporty styling cues and a supercharged version of the Impala and Monte Carlo's 3.8-liter V-6 engine. What was missing, of course, was a V-8, even a normally aspirated one.
It seemed almost criminal to roll out SuperSport cars with V-6 engines, and the 240 horsepower of the supercharged V-6 is less than that of the normally aspirated V-6 engines in some Japanese midsize sedans, such as the 260-horsepower Nissan Maxima, 270-hp. Acura TL and 275 hp. Infiniti G35, for instance.
With its $28,425 price tag, the 2005 Impala SS has, besides the supercharged engine, upgraded audio, tires, cast-aluminum wheels, leather sport bucket seats and oil pressure gauge and a supercharged performance-equipment package (boost gauge, performance suspension, unique rear spoiler and dual exhaust).
The '05 Monte Carlo SS, at $28,225, has pretty much the same upgrades.
But for 2006, we will see the return of the small-block V-8 to these nameplates. The engine in the Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS will be the new LS4 5.3-liter V-8 with "displacement on demand" technology that cuts out four of the cylinders at highway speeds to help raise fuel economy by up to 12 percent.
This engine will be rated at 303 horsepower and 323 foot-pounds of torque. It will be normally aspirated, but perhaps an aftermarket supercharger kit will be available — maybe already is, since this is a version of an engine that has been around at GM for a long time and is used in similar form in other vehicles including the midsize GM sport utilities.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/D_IMAGE.101688cd0b5.93.88.fa.7c.9d73afc9.jpg (Photos courtesy of General Motors)
Above: The Impala allows access to a storage area beneath the rear seat when the cushions are folded down and expands the trunk's cargo area with the seat back also down.
Below: The engine in the Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS will be the new LS4 5.3-liter V-8.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/D_IMAGE.101688cd0b5.93.88.fa.7c.9c251b75.jpg
Why put a V-8 in these cars at this time? My theory on that is simple: because DaimlerChrysler came out with the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine in the new Chrysler 300 sedan and Dodge Magnum wagon last year and this year will roll out a new Dodge Charger, a sedan version of the Magnum, with the same engine. Those cars also have the displacement-on-demand setup.
One big difference between the Chevy models and the Chrysler and Dodge vehicles: The Impala and Monte Carlo still have front-wheel drive, while the Chrysler and Dodge products are built on rear-drive platforms.
GM says the V-8 models are expected to compete in the "hotly contested midcar segment" that includes those Chrysler division vehicles.
Among the features: In the Impala, there will be a new flip-and-fold rear seat, and both cars will get revised suspension systems designed to provide a good mix of ride comfort and deft road handling, always a hard goal to achieve. Usually, one precludes the other — the harder the suspension, for better handling, the rougher the ride — and vice-versa. But if the meter shifts more toward one direction than the other, you can bet it will be toward better handling for a car bearing a V-8 engine and the SuperSport designation.
Safety features will include antilock brakes and traction control on both cars; Impalas will get side-curtain roof-rail air bags, and seat-mounted side air bags will be optional on the Monte Carlo SS.
Besides the V-8 in the performance models, the rest of the line will get new V-6 engines, GM says.
The base engine in the Impala and Monte Carlo will be a 3.5-liter rated at 210 horsepower and 220 foot-pounds of torque, replacing the current 3.4-liter V-6 that turns out 180 horsepower and 205 foot-pounds of torque.
Next will be a new 3.9-liter V-6 built on the same architecture as the 3.5-liter engine, the company says. It will be standard in midlevel models and will produce 240 horsepower and 245 foot-pounds of torque — about the same as the current supercharged V-6, but normally aspirated.
Among other features of the 2006 Impala and Monte Carlo, taken from GM media materials, are revised exterior styling with bold headlights and taillights; retuned suspensions with a wider track; new 16-, 17- and 18-inch wheels and tires; enhanced antilock braking system and traction control; comfortable interiors, including improved seat upholstery stitching and redesigned instrument panel components; Nuance Sandstone leather seating (optional except on SS models); new audio systems; optional remote start; and standard OnStar.
The unique flip-and-fold seat in the Impala rear-seat cushions flips forward to allow access to a storage area beneath the seat with the cushions down and expands the cargo area from the trunk with the seat back also folded down. With just the seat cushion flipped forward, there are grocery-bag hooks on the top.
Chevy says the new Impala instrument panel "wraps around into the door panels and has a double-hump design that is reminiscent of early Corvettes." Wood or brushed-aluminum trim will be standard on all models except the Impala SS, which comes with what GM calls a "technical-pattern" trim panel.
The Monte Carlo gets a "cockpit-style" instrument panel, the company says, along with a sporty chrome shifter.
Other features include optional dual-zone climate control system, driver information center, steering wheel-mounted cruise control, optional steering-wheel audio controls and an optional eight-way heated power driver seat/six-way heated front passenger seat on Impala models with leather. A six-way heated power driver and front passenger seat will be offered on Monte Carlo models.
Audio systems will include a base AM/FM/compact disc unit with six speakers an up-level MP3/CD radio that can accommodate XM satellite radio, another that adds a six-disc in-dash CD changer, and on the Impala, an optional premium Bose system.
Chevy says the Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS models will have unique front-end styling, including "dual-split grilles that have a black-diamond crosshatch pattern."
All Monte Carlo models will have a rear decklid spoiler, but the SS will have a unique spoiler Chevy says is "suggestive of NASCAR-style spoilers."
Both SS models will have "Corvette-inspired" bright exhaust tips, the company says. The uplevel Impala LTZ and SS will come with rear spoilers, and a spoiler will be optional on the lower-priced LT model.
The Impala and Monte Carlo will be built at GM's Oshawa No. 1 plant in Ontario, Canada, which has undergone more than $350 million in upgrades to produce these new models, GM says. They will go on sale in late summer.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/D_IMAGE.101688cd0b5.93.88.fa.7c.9c20917a.jpg (Photos Courtesy of General Motors)
Above: The 2005 Impala SS comes with a $28,425 price tag. The current Impala has been a good seller for GM, tallying more than a million sales since introduction.
Below: Chevy's Monte Carlo SS two-door coupe, like its Impala SS four-door sedan, has front-end styling that includes dual-split grilles with a black-diamond crosshatch pattern.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/D_IMAGE.101688cd0b5.93.88.fa.7c.9c2116fd.jpg
And for that matter, the Monte Carlo, which last had a V-8 a long time ago, maybe in the '70s, also will be getting one.
At the recent Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, General Motors North America President Gary Cowger and GM Vice Chairman Robert Lutz introduced the redesigned 2006 Impala and Monte Carlo to automotive journalists during a media preview.
The Impala name goes back to 1958, when Chevy introduced it as the top-of-the-line version of its full-size sedan, which that year featured rounded front and rear fenders (a year before the introduction of the radical rear fender wings on the 1959 models).
Monte Carlo was introduced in 1970 as a midsize sport coupe model and became a darling of NASCAR racing.
Both went away in the mid-'80s after some radical redesign and downsizing. The Impala name was briefly resurrected in the mid-'90s for a special Impala SS version of the long-running full-size rear-drive Chevy Caprice, built at the GM plant in Arlington. That car, along with the rest of the Caprice and Buick Roadmaster wagon lines, was discontinued after the 1996 model year, along with V-8 engines in Chevy sedans. (You could still get one in the Corvette and Camaro, of course.)
For 2000, GM revived the Impala name on a new larger-than-midsize sedan with front-wheel drive and V-6 power, and a year later added a two-door version of this model to the lineup, bringing back the Monte Carlo name.
The current Impala, which has undergone evolutionary changes but no major makeovers since its introduction, has been a good seller for GM, tallying more than a million sales since introduction.
Coupes don't sell that well these days, but even so, the Monte Carlo has been a success, GM says, probably based on a combination of its edgy styling and retro name.
Chevy introduced SS (SuperSport) models of both of these front-drive cars last year, with some sporty styling cues and a supercharged version of the Impala and Monte Carlo's 3.8-liter V-6 engine. What was missing, of course, was a V-8, even a normally aspirated one.
It seemed almost criminal to roll out SuperSport cars with V-6 engines, and the 240 horsepower of the supercharged V-6 is less than that of the normally aspirated V-6 engines in some Japanese midsize sedans, such as the 260-horsepower Nissan Maxima, 270-hp. Acura TL and 275 hp. Infiniti G35, for instance.
With its $28,425 price tag, the 2005 Impala SS has, besides the supercharged engine, upgraded audio, tires, cast-aluminum wheels, leather sport bucket seats and oil pressure gauge and a supercharged performance-equipment package (boost gauge, performance suspension, unique rear spoiler and dual exhaust).
The '05 Monte Carlo SS, at $28,225, has pretty much the same upgrades.
But for 2006, we will see the return of the small-block V-8 to these nameplates. The engine in the Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS will be the new LS4 5.3-liter V-8 with "displacement on demand" technology that cuts out four of the cylinders at highway speeds to help raise fuel economy by up to 12 percent.
This engine will be rated at 303 horsepower and 323 foot-pounds of torque. It will be normally aspirated, but perhaps an aftermarket supercharger kit will be available — maybe already is, since this is a version of an engine that has been around at GM for a long time and is used in similar form in other vehicles including the midsize GM sport utilities.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/D_IMAGE.101688cd0b5.93.88.fa.7c.9d73afc9.jpg (Photos courtesy of General Motors)
Above: The Impala allows access to a storage area beneath the rear seat when the cushions are folded down and expands the trunk's cargo area with the seat back also down.
Below: The engine in the Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS will be the new LS4 5.3-liter V-8.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/D_IMAGE.101688cd0b5.93.88.fa.7c.9c251b75.jpg
Why put a V-8 in these cars at this time? My theory on that is simple: because DaimlerChrysler came out with the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine in the new Chrysler 300 sedan and Dodge Magnum wagon last year and this year will roll out a new Dodge Charger, a sedan version of the Magnum, with the same engine. Those cars also have the displacement-on-demand setup.
One big difference between the Chevy models and the Chrysler and Dodge vehicles: The Impala and Monte Carlo still have front-wheel drive, while the Chrysler and Dodge products are built on rear-drive platforms.
GM says the V-8 models are expected to compete in the "hotly contested midcar segment" that includes those Chrysler division vehicles.
Among the features: In the Impala, there will be a new flip-and-fold rear seat, and both cars will get revised suspension systems designed to provide a good mix of ride comfort and deft road handling, always a hard goal to achieve. Usually, one precludes the other — the harder the suspension, for better handling, the rougher the ride — and vice-versa. But if the meter shifts more toward one direction than the other, you can bet it will be toward better handling for a car bearing a V-8 engine and the SuperSport designation.
Safety features will include antilock brakes and traction control on both cars; Impalas will get side-curtain roof-rail air bags, and seat-mounted side air bags will be optional on the Monte Carlo SS.
Besides the V-8 in the performance models, the rest of the line will get new V-6 engines, GM says.
The base engine in the Impala and Monte Carlo will be a 3.5-liter rated at 210 horsepower and 220 foot-pounds of torque, replacing the current 3.4-liter V-6 that turns out 180 horsepower and 205 foot-pounds of torque.
Next will be a new 3.9-liter V-6 built on the same architecture as the 3.5-liter engine, the company says. It will be standard in midlevel models and will produce 240 horsepower and 245 foot-pounds of torque — about the same as the current supercharged V-6, but normally aspirated.
Among other features of the 2006 Impala and Monte Carlo, taken from GM media materials, are revised exterior styling with bold headlights and taillights; retuned suspensions with a wider track; new 16-, 17- and 18-inch wheels and tires; enhanced antilock braking system and traction control; comfortable interiors, including improved seat upholstery stitching and redesigned instrument panel components; Nuance Sandstone leather seating (optional except on SS models); new audio systems; optional remote start; and standard OnStar.
The unique flip-and-fold seat in the Impala rear-seat cushions flips forward to allow access to a storage area beneath the seat with the cushions down and expands the cargo area from the trunk with the seat back also folded down. With just the seat cushion flipped forward, there are grocery-bag hooks on the top.
Chevy says the new Impala instrument panel "wraps around into the door panels and has a double-hump design that is reminiscent of early Corvettes." Wood or brushed-aluminum trim will be standard on all models except the Impala SS, which comes with what GM calls a "technical-pattern" trim panel.
The Monte Carlo gets a "cockpit-style" instrument panel, the company says, along with a sporty chrome shifter.
Other features include optional dual-zone climate control system, driver information center, steering wheel-mounted cruise control, optional steering-wheel audio controls and an optional eight-way heated power driver seat/six-way heated front passenger seat on Impala models with leather. A six-way heated power driver and front passenger seat will be offered on Monte Carlo models.
Audio systems will include a base AM/FM/compact disc unit with six speakers an up-level MP3/CD radio that can accommodate XM satellite radio, another that adds a six-disc in-dash CD changer, and on the Impala, an optional premium Bose system.
Chevy says the Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS models will have unique front-end styling, including "dual-split grilles that have a black-diamond crosshatch pattern."
All Monte Carlo models will have a rear decklid spoiler, but the SS will have a unique spoiler Chevy says is "suggestive of NASCAR-style spoilers."
Both SS models will have "Corvette-inspired" bright exhaust tips, the company says. The uplevel Impala LTZ and SS will come with rear spoilers, and a spoiler will be optional on the lower-priced LT model.
The Impala and Monte Carlo will be built at GM's Oshawa No. 1 plant in Ontario, Canada, which has undergone more than $350 million in upgrades to produce these new models, GM says. They will go on sale in late summer.