2012 Impala To Get 6-speed And 3.6 V6

P71_CrownVic · May 4, 2011

Chevrolet’s sedan lineup will soon be one of the freshest in the industry – boasting the all-new Sonic and Cruze as well as the recently unveiled 2013 Malibu – but there is one obvious outlier: The Chevrolet Impala.

An all-new version of the Chevy Impala was originally planned to debut this year on a rear-wheel drive platform, but the market crash of 2008 forced GM to scrap those plans. GM then placed a higher priority on bringing the Cruze and redesigned Malibu to market, pushing plans for a new Impala back to at least 2014.

The Impala is scheduled for a 2012 refresh, but that update won’t address the car’s aging W platform, which dates back to 1988. However, the 2012 Impala will finally retire its 3.5L and 3.9L engines in favor of GM’s much more modern 3.6L V6, and a six-speed automatic will replace the current impala’s archaic four-speed gearbox. A few exterior tweaks are also expected for 2012.

“There’s no doubt that the Impala is longer in the tooth than we would traditionally run a vehicle,” Rick Scheidt, Chevy’s vice president of marketing, admitted.

It remains to be seen, however, if the Impala’s 2012 update will be enough to keep up with vehicles like the 2013 Ford Taurus. As it stands, the Impala is one of the most heavily discounted vehicles in GM’s lineup with 75 percent of all sales going to fleets.

When the all-new Impala arrives in 2014, expect a more up-scale vehicle along the line of the Buick LaCrosse with a price tag intended to differentiate it from the Malibu.

The Impala is a great car already...not the most modern...but it's extremely efficient, big, comfortable, and affordable.

LINK

05GMCZ71 · May 4, 2011

I got to drive a new Impala as a rental once, I was very impressed with it. My only complaint was the small side view mirrors and over plastic interior. I would take one in a heartbeat over any of it's competitors though.

MikeNH · May 5, 2011

I would never call the current Impala a great or even a good car but is does meet the rest of the things you listed. It'll be nice to see it emerge with a powertrain (and hopefully an interior) that isn't from 1993. I also hope they fix the horrendous throttle lag the current model has. Seems like 1/4 of the pedal travel does nothing from a stop. I'll admit the current ones are a comfy place to spend time on long drives (I've easily driven dozens of Hertz' Impalas over the years) but the only thing keeping the model alive right now is fleet sales. It'd be nice to see GM complete the transformation of it's FWD sedan lineup it's had going on for a bit now. First the Malibu made a huge jump into being a real contender, then the Cruze and now hopefully this will round out their offerings as another great option.

P71_CrownVic · May 5, 2011

I would never call the current Impala a great or even a good car but is does meet the rest of the things you listed. It'll be nice to see it emerge with a powertrain (and hopefully an interior) that isn't from 1993.

So a car that's as reliable as the sunrise, extremely efficient, cheap and easy to maintain, has enough room for just about anything, and is affordable is not even a 'good' car in your book?

But I suppose a Focus that approaches $30 grand and has more electronic gimmicks than the space shuttle is A-OK?

AThomas7782 · May 5, 2011

I would never call the current Impala a great or even a good car but is does meet the rest of the things you listed. It'll be nice to see it emerge with a powertrain (and hopefully an interior) that isn't from 1993.

So a car that's as reliable as the sunrise, extremely efficient, cheap and easy to maintain, has enough room for just about anything, and is affordable is not even a 'good' car in your book?

But I suppose a Focus that approaches $30 grand and has more electronic gimmicks than the space shuttle is A-OK?

Bravo, you found a way to get Ford into the discussion!

MikeNH · May 5, 2011

Maybe I wasn't clear enough before- the Impala is not competitive within it's segment, at all. The only reason it sells so well is because of fleet sales. Yes, you can get them for a low price but that's the only benefit. Just about every midsize or large FWD sedan these days is reliable, efficient, spacious and cheap to maintain. I wouldn't call the Impala easy to maintain though- most anything requiring work on that back cylinder bank is gonna be a rough time. After my time in the dealership I can say with 100% certainty that if you want easy to work on, Toyota beats just about everything in the FWD world with Honda being close usually. Only cars where I noticed obvious engineering to improve serviceability.

P71_CrownVic · May 5, 2011

I wouldn't call the Impala easy to maintain though- most anything requiring work on that back cylinder bank is gonna be a rough time.

Having done spark plugs on a 3.8 W-body car, I can tell you that they are easy as pie.

Just about every midsize or large FWD sedan these days is reliable, efficient, spacious and cheap to maintain.

Those are benefits as well.

P71_CrownVic · May 5, 2011

I would never call the current Impala a great or even a good car but is does meet the rest of the things you listed. It'll be nice to see it emerge with a powertrain (and hopefully an interior) that isn't from 1993.

So a car that's as reliable as the sunrise, extremely efficient, cheap and easy to maintain, has enough room for just about anything, and is affordable is not even a 'good' car in your book?

But I suppose a Focus that approaches $30 grand and has more electronic gimmicks than the space shuttle is A-OK?

Bravo, you found a way to get Ford into the discussion!

Yep.

05GMCZ71 · May 5, 2011

The 3.5 & 3.9L engines? When did the Impala's get those? Last I heard they had the 3.1 and 3.8???

highspeedvehicle · May 5, 2011

The 3.5 & 3.9L engines? When did the Impala's get those? Last I heard they had the 3.1 and 3.8???

The 3.5l+3.9l motors started when they refreshed the Impala for the 2006 Model. The previous model had the 3.4+3.8 from 2000-2005.

05GMCZ71 · May 6, 2011

Wow, and they are already out of date? That's pretty sad

MikeNH · May 6, 2011

Wow, and they are already out of date? That's pretty sad

The engines are pretty modern, some have the AFM and I think some even have the VVT similar to the new V8s but the 4 speed auto is a joke these days. And the 3.6 V6 is lightyears ahead of both motors anyhow so it will be a solid upgrade for the powertrain. Add in some interior updates and it should be a very nice car.

P71_CrownVic · May 6, 2011

Wow, and they are already out of date? That's pretty sad

The engines are pretty modern, some have the AFM and I think some even have the VVT similar to the new V8s but the 4 speed auto is a joke these days. And the 3.6 V6 is lightyears ahead of both motors anyhow so it will be a solid upgrade for the powertrain. Add in some interior updates and it should be a very nice car.

Yeah...the 4-speed is a joke. Never mind the fact that an Impala with the 3.5 + 4-speed will get 30MPG + on the highway.

Yeah...that's a "joke" all right.

If the 3.6L and 6-speed don't significantly improve fuel mileage (at least 10%), then there is NO REASON to even bother with the 2012 upgrades.

MikeNH · May 6, 2011

Wow, and they are already out of date? That's pretty sad

The engines are pretty modern, some have the AFM and I think some even have the VVT similar to the new V8s but the 4 speed auto is a joke these days. And the 3.6 V6 is lightyears ahead of both motors anyhow so it will be a solid upgrade for the powertrain. Add in some interior updates and it should be a very nice car.

Yeah...the 4-speed is a joke. Never mind the fact that an Impala with the 3.5 + 4-speed will get 30MPG + on the highway.

Yeah...that's a "joke" all right.

If the 3.6L and 6-speed don't significantly improve fuel mileage (at least 10%), then there is NO REASON to even bother with the 2012 upgrades.

Fuel economy isn't everything. The 4 speed in the Impala suffers the same way the 4 speed in the trucks do- the ratio spread is too wide. At highway speeds if you want to pass someone you'll likely end up with a 4-2 downshift and have the engine screaming. That and while the 3.5/3.9 might not be bad engines, they're certainly not great either. They sound awful when you get on them and like I said before they are absolute garbage off the line because of the transmission (more likely the torque converter) requiring a silly amount of engine speed before any movement happens. Go ahead and continue to quote web pages, I'll continue to base my opinion on actual experience gained from driving these cars. The modern powertrain will make the Impala drive much nicer and the interior upgrades will hopefully mean someone other than fleet buyers will actually take one home.