San Ramon Street Sighting - 1967 Chevrolet Impala Wagon

Here's another old shoot from the archives. It's a 1967 Chevy Impala wagon with some pretty wild patina.

Danville Street Sighting - 1958 Chevrolet Impala

I needed a theme for this week's posts. In the previous feature of the '46 Ford convertible I mentioned that sometimes I find good cars outside of a repair shop in Danville. So I guess that's what we'll do. Second in the series is this 1958 Chevy Impala.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1959 Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan

My God, has it really been almost two years since we last visited with Fifties Guy? My schedule doesn't allow me to visit San Francisco as often as I used to, and that means fewer opportunities to stop by the street-parked collection of the man I like to call Fifties Guy. Keen readers will remember his steel menagerie of chrome boats. Every so often he buys one, sells another, but always has enough old cars to stay busy with their upkeep. Here's a 1959 Chevy Impala flattop.

Danville Street Sighting - 1962 Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan

It's been a good four years since I last photographed a '62 Chevy Impala for a feature here. I've previously mentioned that old Impalas are such a fixture in California's car culture, I tend not to pay much attention to them. However, they are still historic and still special even though GM rolled out nearly 705,000 of them for 1962. What clinched it for me to shoot this one was its relatively stock appearance and the story it tells.

Alameda Street Sighting - 1970 Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan

Admittedly I usually don't like photographing really beat-up cars but I do if they're interesting or uncommon. A 1970 Chevy Impala four-door hardtop used to be a common sight on America's roads, but certainly isn't anymore. GM produced over 600,000 Impalas in 1970, the vast majority of which were V8 cars. This number does not even include low-trim Biscaynes and Bel Airs or high-trim Caprices! I have seen an estimate of 46,000 for Impala Sport Sedan production but no actual number seems to be available.

Campbell Street Sighting - 1968 Chevrolet Impala Wagon

On rare occasions I encounter an interesting vehicle used by a business for advertising, that's cool enough to feature here. And sometimes I'd like to give that business a free plug. This car belongs to the owner of Jalisco Mexican Food in Campbell, California. My friends in San Jose introduced me to Jalisco a few years ago (they're friends with the owner) and I've been coming back ever since for their really good beef tacos.

Berkeley Street Sighting - 1960 Chevrolet Impala

Turquoise is such a 1950s-1960s color. Long before everyone went mad for metallic teal in the '90s, you had nice hues like this. In some lights it looks blue, in others green, but it's kind of a happy, optimistic color in keeping with an optimistic time. The chrome was thick, cars were big and floaty and if you weren't careful you might cut yourself on the tail fins. This '60 Chevy Impala sedan is Tasco Turquoise with matching interior, and just enough Ermine White to prevent being overwhelmed by all that turquoise.

Alameda Street Sighting - 1965 Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan

San Jose Street Sighting - 1962 Chevrolet Impala sedan

Second in my series of "Where were you in '62?" is this 1962 Chevy Impala sedan. Being an Impala, it's one of the more common American classics. This is due in no small part to the ridiculously large number of Impalas the General cranked out back in the day. They were fantastically popular cars with American car buyers.

Petaluma Street Sighting - 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS

I always told myself I'd try to avoid featuring "cliched" cars here at California Streets. You know which ones I mean: 1957 Chevy Bel Airs, 1965 Ford Mustangs, and especially 1964 Chevy Impalas. Why? Well, the "Six Fo" Impala is one of the quintessential cars associated with lowrider culture, and thus is often found rocking small wire wheels with spinner hubcaps, whitewall tires and featuring a bright color, pinstriping and/or airbrush work. Good thing I found one that .... looks exactly like that. Oh dear.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1971 Chevrolet Impala Custom

I don't know of very many cars that embody the early 1970s in America better than this light metallic green 1971 Chevy Impala Custom. Depending on whose numbers you look at, GM sold some 668,000 full-sized, mostly V8-powered Chevy boats in '71 - and that's including a two-month production halt due to a United Auto Workers strike. It was an amazing time, before anyone cared much about emissions or fuel economy or what was going on in the Middle East. Airbags and the OPEC oil embargo were two years away. Life was good, sales were strong, and you could still buy one of these babies with about as much power as a brand new 2011 Camaro SS. And if you crashed this car you probably never realized it. It either happened so far away it didn't effect you, or you weren't alive to find out. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but this is a truly huge car.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1965 Chevrolet Impala

With General Motors in a state of constant turmoil and the parade of brands getting the axe, one nameplate sticks in everyone's mind when they think of GM: Chevrolet. It's easy to forget amid all the chaos of a really screwed-up economy that there were once brighter times.