My crappy rental - 2007 Chevy Impala

^ The Abarth 500 esseesse is written just like that. And I saw a TV ad in which the name was actually pronounced with audible 'e's in the middle and at the end. :?
 
That's the Essesse ;)
 
You know, as a German I have completely different feelings about a car company calling a model the "SS version" :p

You probably wouldn't want to own one of these then.

800px-Jaguar_SS_100_-_Hood_Ornament.jpg
 
Hehe square font AND wings! Combo!
 
So what you're telling me is that I may as well not spend the money to upgrade from "Chevy Aveo or similar" to "Chevy Impala or similar"... Or better yet, instead of renting from the airport rental stands, walk around the corner and rent myself a U-Haul F-150... Again.
 
I had a vendor meeting yesterday, and the guy sweet talked his way into renting a Corvette ZHZ for less than the price of a full size car. I was so jealous.
 
You know, boring as it was, the previous-gen (2000 to 2005) Impala was really a good car.

Okay, time to substantiate this admittedly ridiculous claim.

Was it a good car? Probably not. It had less wood trim, though.
Great basic transportation. We bought a model that had once been a rental car. Base trim, cloth seats, bright red. Great things about the car:

? Bench seating - that's right. A 2001 car with a front bench seat and a column shifter. Seats six very comfortably.
? Huge trunk - you could fit 2 bodies in there. (We fit 2 live bodies in there once, just to test the emergency trunk-release handle.
? Decent mileage - on highways, we got up to 31 mpg
? Reliable - With proper maintenance (oil changes, etc.) our car went 126,000 miles before we traded it
? Boring - yes, that's a good thing. You're basically un-noticed. My mum speeds often, and not once was she caught.
 
So what you're telling me is that I may as well not spend the money to upgrade from "Chevy Aveo or similar" to "Chevy Impala or similar"... Or better yet, instead of renting from the airport rental stands, walk around the corner and rent myself a U-Haul F-150... Again.

Oh you do not, under any circumstances, want to rent an Aveo.

Also lws: Did she perhaps never get pulled over because they thought she might be police? I know my brother rented a white one once, and he was amazed at how drivers would always let him in and there would be a sudden light up of brakes as they returned to the speed limit.
 
Last edited:
Nevertheless it's a fairly common abbreviation for "Super Sport" everywhere else...

Someone should have the guts to offer an SS version here in Germany. Only available colour: black...

178837213_2e53930de0.jpg



Yes that's what the actual badges look like on a VY SS commodore :O
 
Oh you do not, under any circumstances, want to rent an Aveo.

Also lws: Did she perhaps never get pulled over because they thought she might be police? I know my brother rented a white one once, and he was amazed at how drivers would always let him in and there would be a sudden light up of brakes as they returned to the speed limit.

Wow, how could I miss this important bullet?

? People will think you're an undercover panda-car and slow down

I mean, it's the same reason people from Rhode Island slow down when they see a black Dodge Charger in their mirror...
 
You know, boring as it was, the previous-gen (2000 to 2005) Impala was really a good car.

Okay, time to substantiate this admittedly ridiculous claim.

Was it a good car? Probably not. It had less wood trim, though.
Great basic transportation. We bought a model that had once been a rental car. Base trim, cloth seats, bright red. Great things about the car:

? Bench seating - that's right. A 2001 car with a front bench seat and a column shifter. Seats six very comfortably.
? Huge trunk - you could fit 2 bodies in there. (We fit 2 live bodies in there once, just to test the emergency trunk-release handle.
? Decent mileage - on highways, we got up to 31 mpg
? Reliable - With proper maintenance (oil changes, etc.) our car went 126,000 miles before we traded it
? Boring - yes, that's a good thing. You're basically un-noticed. My mum speeds often, and not once was she caught.

Let me kindly refute your points:

-Bench seating. Can't really refute this, but is it a problem for me as modern benches do not allow a real shifter, and since three-on-the-tree is long gone, it means a failmatic transmission.
-Trunk (Boot). So do the Camry and Accord- two other boring but better cars.
-When properly driven, particularly with a manual transmission, the Accord and Camry can average better or equal mileage.
-Reliable. That isn't anything special. Camrys have been known to pass the 350k mile mark without anything but regular maintenance, most start having trouble around 225-275k miles. My MX5 was a beater, but all while I was restoring it a ran perfectly, even after 184,000 abusive miles.
-Boring. Not really an advantage or disadvantage, though to me personally, I like things that are interesting to drive- the Impala and its Japanese competitors are neither.
 
Let me kindly refute your points:

-Bench seating. Can't really refute this, but is it a problem for me as modern benches do not allow a real shifter, and since three-on-the-tree is long gone, it means a failmatic transmission.
-Trunk (Boot). So do the Camry and Accord- two other boring but better cars.
-When properly driven, particularly with a manual transmission, the Accord and Camry can average better or equal mileage.
-Reliable. That isn't anything special. Camrys have been known to pass the 350k mile mark without anything but regular maintenance, most start having trouble around 225-275k miles. My MX5 was a beater, but all while I was restoring it a ran perfectly, even after 184,000 abusive miles.
-Boring. Not really an advantage or disadvantage, though to me personally, I like things that are interesting to drive- the Impala and its Japanese competitors are neither.

Yeah, but you've lived in Texas for a while, I'm sure you know how great it is to have a rolling couch on those long straights sometimes..

Also, a bench seat is brilliant. Especially for college when kids are always trying to cram as many people as they can into a Honda Fit.
 
Trust me, I would love a bench seat in anything bigger than a roadster- it's just that today's cars (safety maybe?) have no combination of bench seat + clutch, (with either a straight column-shift manual or an old-style stick on the floor). I do wish they'd bring that back.
 
Yeah, but you've lived in Texas for a while, I'm sure you know how great it is to have a rolling couch on those long straights sometimes..

Also, a bench seat is brilliant. Especially for college when kids are always trying to cram as many people as they can into a Honda Fit. get nasty with a sexy lady without the shifter going where it doesn't belong.

FTFY
 
Trust me, I would love a bench seat in anything bigger than a roadster- it's just that today's cars (safety maybe?) have no combination of bench seat + clutch, (with either a straight column-shift manual or an old-style stick on the floor). I do wish they'd bring that back.

Buy a used car? [YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuHdMWFIHVc[/YOUTUBE]
There, it weighs as much as a house and it's not even all that slow.

Oops :? I failed
 
Last edited:
So what you're telling me is that I may as well not spend the money to upgrade from "Chevy Aveo or similar" to "Chevy Impala or similar"... Or better yet, instead of renting from the airport rental stands, walk around the corner and rent myself a U-Haul F-150... Again.

When you get to the rental counter tell them you want a Malibu.

Trust me, I would love a bench seat in anything bigger than a roadster- it's just that today's cars (safety maybe?) have no combination of bench seat + clutch, (with either a straight column-shift manual or an old-style stick on the floor). I do wish they'd bring that back.

In North America atleast you can still get trucks with the bench seat. Otherwise you are SOL
 
Last edited:
Top