The incredible Impala

When I was a kid, my highest aspiration in life was to own a Chevy Impala SS. A 1960 two-tone red and white convertible would have been nice, with a throbbing V-8 under the hood and a big continental kit on the tail.

When I was 11 I saw a ’63 SS parked on a side street in New Delhi, India, and nearly had a heart attack. In a country where copies of 1950s Morris Oxfords (a.k.a. Hindustan Ambassador) were the last word in motoring, this vision represented some sort of Holy Grail.

Instead of an SS Impala, I got a Nova. With a six-cylinder engine. Not quite the same thing for a high-school kid. Even visually, the Impala SS stood out, with more chrome trim, a fancier bucket-seat interior and, crucially, three taillights per side. The Bel Air and Biscayne made do with two. Dads drove Biscaynes. The captain of the football team had an Impala SS.

The first Impala (still carrying the Bel Air designation) was the ’58, the one with the neat spear on the side and a choice of a shameful six or two V-8s, the 283 or the 348. It was a huge car, and it was innovative, too: Full coil-spring suspension, a new ventilation system, anti-dive braking with built-in leveling and foot-operated parking brakes were new for 1958.

The post-war boom was on and this was a good year for Chevrolet, which produced more than 125,000 Impala coupes and 55,000 convertibles. I remember when a ’58 Impala could be picked up for pocket change, but today a mint convertible fetches $45,000.

By 1959, the Impala was the best-selling Chevrolet. The SS ("Super Sport") version appeared in 1961, costing just $54 extra. For that shocking outlay you got spinner wheel covers, a 7,000-rpm tach, stronger suspension and brakes, power steering and the all-important badges. Of course there were many engine options, ranging up to the 360-horsepower 409 of Beach Boys fame. A million Impalas were sold in 1965, which is why you still see them now and then.

The Impala SS nameplate was attached to GM’s last full-sized platform in 1996, and I remember driving one of those beefy but boss-looking boats down to Washington, D.C., where I got some odd stares at an environmental conference.

The Impala SS of 2004 features a supercharged 240-horsepower 3.8-liter V-6 with a cool, all-black exterior. I found it a reasonably good performance car, but not quite the rip-roaring road burner I’d expected. Maybe it’s not the fault of the car. Part of the problem, I expect, is the lack of open road and license-risking abandon.

With a four-speed automatic transmission, expect it to get 18 miles per gallon around town and a decent 28 on the highway. Unlike the new GTO (another famous old nameplate), it’s not a gas guzzler, but you might be feeling the pinch with gasoline at $2 a gallon. Given the fact that so many of us drive fuel hogs and are experiencing sticker shock at the pumps, here are a few tips that may keep you from pegging the fuel gauge needle on "E."

Slow down, because cars and trucks lose about 1 percent in fuel economy for each 1 mile per hour above 55 mph.

You can get a 5- to 10-percent fuel savings by using your cruise control to maintain a constant speed on uncrowded highways.

The Department of Energy says a badly tuned engine will cost you a 20-percent fuel penalty.

While you’re getting the engine checked, also look at tire pressure. It’s quite common for tires to be under-inflated by 8 pounds, which increases rolling resistance by 5 percent.