Here’s Why the 1996 Chevy Impala SS Was Really Cool
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The 1996 Chevy Impala SS was a bright spot of the 1990s -- and a star in the General Motors lineup. Today I'm reviewing the '96 Impala SS, and I'm going to show you all around the Impala SS. Then I'm going to drive the Chevy Impala SS and explain what it's like on the road.
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DOUGSCORE CHART: www.dougdemuro...
Imagine breaking into Doug's house and hearing Doug say "This! Is a Mossberg 590 A1 shotgun".
Hahaha 😂😂😂 👏👏 u funny mayne...
U funny...
Anthony Yee Doug wouldn’t be the type to own a gun, more of an expensive security system kinda guy but yeah lol
Anthony Yee - that’s funny right thurrrr bro!!!
Anthony Yee lmao 😂
"I'm going to start with the quirks and features of this shotgun"
You just know there's a guy out there with an Impala SS, Marauder, and a Grand National.
His mustache must be magnificent.
Not "must"
IT IS
The holy trinity of underrated, obscure muscle
@@yenkocamaro6965 The Grand Nationals were great, but they weren't full-size cars like the Impala SS or Marauder.
Good lord
I got my 94 & well.... I do have a beard. 🖤
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition has entered the chat
“The Impala too fast, young head honcho, 160 on the dash, feel like Fernando Alonso...”
Barik Singh ayy
Haha I remember that song but can't remember the name
Loved this car in Midnight Club 3. Had one in red
nostalgy
I just started playing this game again. Shits hard
This is a legit Bucket List Ride.
my buddy got a buick roadmaster (same car) but uglier really but it was like $500 just needed a baljoint was a pretty fun car exept he burt a valve and drove the shit out of it...
i question the quality of your list
@@steveneumeyer681 Your questions are of little concern my friend.
This 96 and a coupe 67 impala are a must have
@@c.s.s.5326 people are haters
The '96 IMPALA SS model was the last & dopest car GM built under that name...in my eyes, it is a classic car
I agree.... ALL the Impalas after this were pieces of shit.... and STILL are
I had 2 of them before I got locked up lol
Fact
I swear Brah you right simply a classic
Bro, I salute you. I drove the police car version and it was a monster. I also liked the trunk space because you could put several bodies in it provided they were duct taped appropriately ... I think my record was 5. You could also stock a small armory in the trunk space. When you hit the gas and hit the lights and sirens, man it was pure adrenaline and one time we caught air and that was like a magic carpet ride. In hindsight, I wished I t-boned a bad guy's car to see what the front end push bar could do but no such luck.
Doug is the type of guy to state his height as 6' 3" on cold days and 6' 4" on hot days due to thermal expansion
LMAO
@@smarterthanyou4320 damn you alright dude?
@@smarterthanyou4320 Wowahhhwowooooooooh this guy isn't making fun of you no need to swear that much.
Maybe he is 6'4" in the morning and 6'3" in the evening as his spine compresses throughout the day?
@@smarterthanyou4320 chill
I love how this channel goes from reviewing a $1,000,000 car one day, to a '96 Impala the next. Best car review channel, hands down.
He explains why he does that in his second channel
100 percent agree, best car review channel period.
@@VincentCVazquez Not even close. Top gear is the GOAT
That Impala is not a million dollar car?
@@herbiehusker1889 to many it sure is !
When my pops had this car, I loved it as a kid. I get so excited when I still see nice ones on the road- miss him dearly and we had some good memories in that whip.
Same reson we love ours, the original owner. Close friend of the family, and the man that walked my wife down the aisle at our wedding, as both of her parents had passed on.
I bought it 5 years before we got married, but it has always been her car.
Your pops sounds like a hell of a guy with great taste, thanks for sharing about your father, I've owned several of these cars and still do.
The wheel/tire setup makes this car. Looks so gangster
Austin King people who sit in the passenger sit always got the most shit to say ☠️
Completely agree. For whatever reason it reminded me of a BMW on steroids, and it was because of the rims/tires.
@Austin King why you gotta be an asshole? post your car up big guy
@Austin King your yee yee ass haircut isn't gangster
Austin King ur face ain’t gangster either.
Doug the kind of guy to self-quarantine at CNC Motors.
He needs some place with plenty of quirks and features to find.
Billie Eyelash we know. I don’t think you understood the joke did you?
@@Ben_Mayall come on bro give Karen a chance...
the128boy cmu 😂😂😂😂👌🏻
This is one out of the only few Doug is the type guy jokes that actually made me laugh... Seriously lol
2016: this!
2017: thiss!
2018: thissss!
2019: thissssssss!
2020: thisssssssssssss!
Man dougs thiss word is getting longer over the years
Lestat Lunar 2021 🐍
ckneasel thissssssssssssssssss
It’s not doug, it’s dougie
for april fools he should have uploaded a 15 minute video but its just a closeup of his face saying "TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS" for the whole time
He says Impala wrong
My dad had one from 1995 to 2004. Favorite car we ever had. Looking at this video brought back great memories like making the car do its first burnout when he let me try it shortly after I got my drivers license... oups... and transmission failed shortly after that, which I got blamed for, but now thanks to your video I know it was not my fault but a common failure! time to settle the old family dispute... Thanks Doug!
Reminds me of a family dispute that took 5 years to settle between me and my dad.
Had an 85 Caravan, 2.2 auto, that used to eat CV joints every 6 months. He and mom thought Inwas abusing it, when the only vehicles I rode hard were my own, after building them to survive it.
18 axles in 5 years, one, popped inner joint, on a BRAND NEW shaft.
Inner ones rarely let go, especially when new. That time, it had 5 miles on it, and my wife was with me. She verified the Inwas slowly leaving a parking space when it let go, and hadn't been pushing the van hard on the way there.
Whike repacing it, still under warranty, I called a friend, and had her come over. One of the dealer techs, at the local Dodge dealer, and had her look it over. She pulled out a tape measure, wrote down the measurements, andnwent in to get dad, then asked.
Did you replace the engine or transmission?
Yes. How did you know that ?
Because the driveline doesn't line up with the mounts. It's almost 2.inches off, left to right, which puts too much stress on the drivers axle, and too little tension on the passenger one. That's why the inner passenger one ket go, as it had too much flex. You owe your son an apology. About a dozen of them.
Loosend the top mounting bolts, and it slid about an inch and a half over, fine tune from there, and torqued down. No issues after that.
Had the van another 5 years before passing it on to a friend that needed a vehicle, so he could drive out to get his kids on the weekend. He got another 3 years out of it, and did the same for one of his friends.
No idea how long she had it, but I hope it served her well.
Nope you done it. .. Own it.
This car and the Mercury Marauder are so cool!
Yes, the Marauder is NICE!
A supercharged Marauder on air bags is my "attainable dream" daily driver - gotta love a Panther!
mr. regular had a video on that, you should check that out if you haven't already.
I was after a marauder forever. Finally got a modern SHO instead, but the idea was the same as this, fast black sinister sleeper. Doug should do a new SHO now that they are gone from production.
Panther platform in general is a killer
This car has something. I don't even know what it is, but it's got it. It's just cool.
Corvette LS motor.....thats all.
Tim Curtis not an ls.. lt1 motor based on the og smallblock chevy
@@TheAwesometacos 94-96 SS had corvette engine.
Tim Curtis which is the lt1 not an ls. The ls1 debuted in the c5 corvette in 1997
A certain... . . . ...je ne sais quoi...
I like how you brought up how they were often stolen in SoCal. A buddy in Costa Mesa had a cherry-colored '96 for a week before it was stolen. Never saw it again and he was devastated, was his dream car. F-ing savages, man.
And now the democrats are promoting said savages
I feel bad for you lot
@@nikifalcon Keep your politics out of our cars.
@@lillamar7773 exactly
@@lillamar7773 sad but it’s true... and my dad still has his 1996 ss 80k original miles one owner
@@lillamar7773 to be fair there is a certain party that continually tries to fuck the car community.
Im 21 and bought my 96 impala in May of 2021 for $1500. She's a little rough but that comes with setting in a field, in the oklahoma sun for 15 years. I got her running in that field and I absolutely love this car! P.S she's the daily
HEY im from New Zealand and was wondering if they are hard to find and buy in the US.
This with a grand national both in black would be an incredible pair of cars to own.
Agreed.
Yes!!!👍🤜🏻
Yessir!
You could loan them out for rap videos and make a fortune
Midnight Club: LA (COMPLETE EDITION) always brings you to the Impala SS and the GNX, but not the Marauder!
My favorite car reviewer reviews my favorite car.
USAirsoft i wish he would review old outback
Ok
Damn dude wasn't expecting to see you here lol. Im happy to see my favorite airsoft channel also has good taste in cars too 😍
This.
And a mercury Marauder.
@@99thpeanut59 I wish, or Ford crown Victoria
Actually, in the mid-'90s is when that "apply brake to shift from park" interlock first began to appear. Before that, you could shift out of park *without* stepping on the brake, which caused many worn shifters to actually *fall out* of park on their own, and wound up running over people. Adding the brake interlock was a safety requirement imposed by the government in the mid-'90s. So they needed to put a label on there to prevent the confusion of older drivers who had never had to step on the brake to shift out of park before.
At the age of 2½, my little brother crashed my mom's car. It was a 1981 Dodge without any shift interlock. He climbed over the bench seat from the back seat into the front seat, hung onto the steering wheel with both hands, stretched his foot down to the gas pedal, then moved his right hand from the steering wheel to the column shifter. We had left him in the back seat and we were checking the vitals. Engine oil, power steering, Etc. were checked with the engine off, then the transmission fluid was checked with the engine running (per the manual). When I started the engine, kid bro was still in the back seat. After checking the tranny fluid, we heard the engine rev up: dad was closer to the passenger side, so as he went around the passenger side of the engine compartment, I went the other way and I got to the driver's window just in time to see the car go into "D" and shoot forward out the car port and down the driveway. He's always been big for his age (IIRC, he was over 10 Lbs/4.5 Kg at birth) and is now north of 6 ft (1.88m) tall.
So, yes, my little brother lived (so did the car) and he is still alive and kicking. This is on the list of reasons why I'm not a fan of automatic transmissions. Too easy to drive. Every automobile I have ever bought myself for myself has had a clutch pedal manual transmission.
So, yes, shift interlock was not a thing in the USA in the 1980s and earlier. It was common for vehicles in the 1990s to have instructions printed either on the dashboard or near the gear shift indicating that the brake had to be depressed in order to shift from park.
I was going to comment but you beat me to it. ;)
@@olliehopnoodle4628 THIS is why we have a shift interlock as one of our quirks and features.
Honestly irked me that Doug didn't know that.
@@aislingmairead4939 It's not that it isn't a quirk. It's that Doug didn't know it wasn't standard at the time. I love Doug's videos but he gets some funny things 'wrong'. Another video he didn't know what the 'loud' button was on a cassette player. There are just some features a car guy like Doug, even though he is a bit young, should know.
Have been wanting one since I saw it as a child. My pops always had the wagon versions but this has been on my bucket list. Seems that each time I have the cash to buy, something comes up. I am still holding to this dream in my late 30's.
I'll never forget this car. It's what I took my driver's license test in. It was absolutely amazing and I still love them. I want one so bad.
They let new drivers drive an impala SS?! wth I never got to drive an 8 cylinder car
@@patricioperez7323 lmao kinda dangerous if you ask me
@@patricioperez7323 not always a they let thing. Some states, you bring your own car. That's the case in NY, where my wife, daughter, and I all got our DL.
Took mine in a 66 Charger, wife took hers in a Chevy conversion van, daughter in my 89 Taurus SHO.
There, live in Ohio now, you drive to the test site, park, and move up to the line, and the licensed driver waits, while the permit holder takes the tester with them, on the streets around the site. No closed course, no provided vehicle, it's run what ya bring.
Have a friend who took his in my 70 Challenger R/T, and another that tooknhers in my 93 Spirit R/T, both manual, and both passed.
The chevy ss should’ve been the impala ss I think rwd V8 no FWD plz
@@kevinfox500 I understand why they would make/let you bring your own car, but van? A *van* van?
This car is brought to you by: The background of basically all 90s rap videos
A black Impala SS was also allegedly driven by the assassin who killed the Notorious B.I.G.
And movies too
Chi-Town California I don't think you could call the guy who killed him an "assassin". An assassin is someone "who kills a politically prominent person for fanatical or monetary reasons".
@@Charliefox71 But wouldn't an you consider him to be political in terms of being in a gang? Yes its not government politics but he was a pretty big figure in the whole "Crip vs Blood" shit so i'd consider him to be assassinated because he was important .
Donk style
"what are your intentions with my daughter?"
"today, im gonna take her on a tour and see all her quorks and features, then im gonna get her on the road and see how it rides, and then im gonna give her a doug score"
Well... make sure she's home by 11, I need to get to the auto parts store tomorrow.
I only care about the "weekend" category.
😂😂😂😂
Lol bro I'll be mad
And for more of my thoughts, click the link below to check my column autotrader.com/oversteer where I've rounded up what all I like about her and I've also listed some other girls who are single
Had a 95 SS from 2003-2009. First car, lots of memories. Put Flowmasters on and managed a 14.6 second 1/4 mile one cold-ish night at Bithlo speedway outside Orlando. The LT1 was for real despite the massive weight. Got rid of it when gas prices first started spiking. Wonderful vehicle!
You could say that the 1996 Impala SS was a “Camaro In Retirement”.
Interesting! I had that Camaro Z-28, 1978, in my life, also. Hubby made me sell it-military families going overseas do not get garages in family housing areas, and that is where we went.
z28 in retirement
I smiled throughout the entire video.
OMG, I genuinely love this car.
They drive like butter 🥞
@@Garbagejuicewaterfall Oh comments like this make me happy. Someday, someday.
My dad used to have 1989 Chevrolet Caprice Classjc Brougham. Man you have no idea how much I miss that car.
Maybe someday when I have enough money I'll buy one. Just to go back to those good old says.
Caprice/Impala = Elegant af in the exterior; Cheap plastic af in the interior
I love them too! I drove one that was for sale once. It was not in as good of condition, but still cool! It had good low end grunt
The king of 90's drive-by shootings
So true
If you were in the hood and saw one of these coming at you, you were about to have a very bad day lol.
Unless the gangsters can't afford them, then they would just steal a Nissan maxima.
@@j_freedMaxima? you live in a strange hood my man
@@dmax5678 you'd have to use your AK??
Nov 1995 I bought a Dark Cherry Metalic Impala SS. It was my daily driver for 16 years. I put a cold air intake, an free flowing exhaust one it. And flash tuned it. It freed up 45 horse power and dynoed at 305hp. Up from the stock base dyno of 260hp. I won many trophies at car shows and drag racing events over the 16 years of ownership. I sold the car in 2011 with 380,000 miles on the clock. It ran a best quarter mile of 14.3 seconds at 98mph on drag radial at Houston Raceway Park on a very cold crisp low humidity day. The wife was jealous, because I was always rubbing (Buffing) on her, the car..😁
The "apply brake to shift from park," logo will have been due to the fitment of an interlock between the brake pedal and gear lever.
Whilst it's common sense to apply the brake before shifting from park, interlocks weren't commonplace until the 1990s (and some people wouldn't have bothered before shifting)
This! before that you can still shift your car without applying the brake. Used to do it all the time in my 83 Cutlass😂
And in 2010, this interlock would then go on to become a legal requirement on all new cars sold in the US.
Came here to say that. My first car didn't have an interlock. I got an Audi 5000 a few years later and it had an interlock that was installed after the recall.
They put there for old people so they didn't forget. My grandma never stepped on the brake when she got her first car with an automatic in the late 60's and used to leave black marks on the garage floor with her 67 Impala
Well I just said this too I didn't realize you had already said this but you're absolutely correct
ThiSS is a
Wanna be a baller, shot caller
Twenty-inch blades on the Impala
Black was the "Bowling Ball" Impala!
You beat me to it 😂
Call her, get laid tonight.. swisher rolled tight
Mark A 🤣🤣🤣
@Taylor Lemoine That's what I think of. MTV Cribs and Master P with the color changing paint. I thought it was amazing as a young kid
18:28 The Impala did have some history there in the Middle East but the Caprice name was far more popular in that market. Fun Fact: The 1999-2017 Chevy Caprice SS trim model (based on Holden Caprice) retained the Impala logos for the Middle Eastern market.
and it always brings back memories of the signal drag races between the SS and the Maxima
Doug quickly learned that a nice mild 350 Chevy is not to be underestimated. Kids these days... That thing would've been a rocket in the mid-1990's.
My 2006 impala ss makes 450hp
@@jimtom4878 that's an LS though not a small block. I kinda liked the the Bonneville GXP myself. My mother-in-law has a 2013 3.6 Impala and for something that big even it moves pretty good.
Doug, the type of guy who closes the fridge with his hips
IDK why i laughed soo hard when I read this!
😆😆😆😆
This is the funniest comment I've seen in a long time
Lol 😂
HOLY CRAP!! That's it! You nailed it. He is that type of guy. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Doug is type of guy who reads all "Doug is type of guy" comments and give them personal best Doug score.
What I like most about this car is the fact that it has the attitude and design philosophy of something from the 70s with the huge overhangs, massive V8, the old school thinking, etc, but is very much a 90s car. It's not even like they tried any 'retro' styling, it's a bonafide 90s car with the soul of something from 2 decides prior.
these big bodies were meant for older people that prefered 70s style cars thats why they are all big. like fleetwoods, town cars, caprices, roadmaster etc
'70's cars were weak emissions slug gas hogs, this car's soul is more like 1950's-1960's...
Best looking sedan ever made, no other sedan has such seamless bumper integration, the bumpers are symmetrical with the lights, no unnecessary angles just long wide curves, smooth and sleek.
Buick ,GM and Ford made large sedans into early 2000s that’s when they started going away. American cars used to be large up until about 20 plus years ago.
It's not massive. It's a small-block, most 1970's cars were equipped with big block V8's exceeding displacement sizes of 400 cu in or 6.6L.
When Doug reviews classics like this, I like to think it’s the first time a young car person is discovering this. Like a history lesson.
For me it is :)
Actually yes
Yup
A great lesson from a pretty cool teacher (:
Americans: Call a Car SS
Germans ever since '45: We don't do that here
Because a car with SS in its name wouldn't sell here in Germany 🤷🏻♂️😂.
Ha, that’s a good one
And the fact that is black
A friend of mine owned in Germany a Camaro 6.2L. That's how it's called. You know which one.
@@IJustHitTheFan Ehrenmann.
"It's so quick!!!"
"Acceleration gets a 1 out of 10"
yeah that was not fair...21:14...I'd be very happy with that in a bog standard 90s V8...should of got a 4 or 5 by modern standards.
@@bradford_shaun_murray pretty sure he uses an objective scale for his acceleration scores, if this was a 4 or 5, then the top end would have a bunch of tens. 7 seconds is pretty bloody slow.
Should be at least a two or three maybe, a one is for cars like the Yugo😂😂😂
He uses a scale.
For example:
0-60 in 4.5s would be a 3.
0-60 in 8.6s would be a 5.
No matter how old the car is and how good it was back in it's day.
Acceleration is meaningless anyway, because even a boring Tesla would blow away 99% of cars, even many exotics. Acceleration numbers just aren't very interesting anymore.
I was 7 years old playing in the front yard when my dad came home with a '95 Impala SS. I learned to drive on it and he still has it, stock, to this day. I adore that car, I love to drive it, and I love it's stance.
I haven't interacted with any '96s. It's a shame that you lose all your cupholders for that kinda doppy floor shifter. And those analogue controls are a *massive* downgrade, imo. The digital display makes that dashboard. Honestly who cares about the tach, it's an automatic, haha. Also, though it didn't chirp, we do have a factory door remote.
Ooh the early 90s GM digital dash, I was 20 when I got my 2nd car and had to learn to read needles after 4 years of a giant glowing display
Agreed, I'd have the '95 Impala SS with the digital dash and the column shifter over this one. Couldn't care less what RPM that motor was turning anyway.
cloudkitt lmk if you dad wants to sell it. I’d love to check it out. ❤️❤️👍
You like how the digital looks, but a speedometer with tach is an upgrade any way you cut it. And even with an automatic, a tach is useful if you care where you are in your power band. I have an automatic ‘97 Ford 7.3 van and wish it had a tach.
@@mr.butterworth It's not a race car. There's a reason Rollers don't have tachs. It's luxurious and more relaxing when you aren't concerning yourself with such pedantic matters as how quickly your engine is turning.
I have had this car since 1999. I brought my new born son home in it. This car is part of the family! She is a Great piece of machinery!
"dn" turned upside down spells "up" - Ingenious cost savings by GM.
damn, i was not expecting that
Quirk alert!!
That’s wrong, it’s an uppercase D therefore it doesn’t work
@@averyseeton4037 damn! No wonder GM went bankrupt - they could have saved millicents per car.
Tommy Litz yeah 😅
Doug- WOW! this is faster than I thought...it's pretty quick!
Doug Score- 1 for acceleration
Robert Thomas that’s because he holds all vehicles to modern standards. Anything that doesn’t go 0-60 in less than 6 seconds gets a “1” for acceleration. I personally think he should adjust to the time that it was around, but I guess it helps us understand it in today’s world or something like that.
I thought the SS was rated closer to 6 to 6.5 for 0 to 60. The Z28 with a slightly different tuned engine was in the upper 5s.
Michael I think you’re right. I raced one of these when I had my 2001 Celica GTS and we were neck-and-neck the whole time, basically. My car went 0-60 in around 6.6 to 6.8 seconds.
Exactly lol.
These cars will do 0-60 in 6.5 to 7 stock, that is legitimately fast, then and now. We just live in an era where people expect numbers that will glue their eyes to the backs of their skulls. And there is no practical purpose for that level of acceleration in the real world, nor is it comfortable.
I remember the print ad: “Lord Vader, your car is ready.”
Wasn't that for the grand national?
@@sairix No, it was definitely the SS
I have a picture of this SS advertisement!
@jayjaylen75 but it's spelled "definitely"
Found it here: images.app.goo.gl/fX9TyoTgV3GXupeY6
I drove one as a patrol vehicle and it was fun to drive and became an extension of my body; what I mean by that is you could do a lot with that car once you were used to it. There was a hot “Corvette package” that was amazing to drive. The square back Impalas were great too relative to what was available at the time.
I had a 89 Caprice with a 5.7 it was pretty damn fast , it used to be a police car.
Doug, the type of guy that wears a t-shirt in the winter and 2 t-shirts in the summer.
Christian DeLuca fucking Hilarious
I believe he is mormon and the other shirt is the required undergarment
Shorts 12 months a year. Unbelievable when you are older than 15.
He 2nd shirt is for absorbing sweat and he sweats less in winter
Lots of people do it... for winter it helps keep you a little warmer and helps avoid cold nipples showing. For summer it helps sweat show up less on your outer layer.
My parents had a fully loaded Light Adriatic Blue 1994 Caprice Wagon with the towing package. Options included upgraded brakes, self leveling air suspension, strengthened frame, oil cooler and transmission cooler, heavy duty cooling fan, 2.93:1 limited slip rear end, and the LT1. This is one of the last truly good sounding V8 equipped cars, in my opinion. I used to love listening to our car idle as a kid. Nice and smooth, deep, and subtle, until you floor it. I witnessed our completely stock wagon make 282hp / 330 lb-ft to the rubber on the dyno, back when that was necessary for emissions testing. Needless to say, the LT1's power was definitely more than advertised. These are very underrated vehicles in more than one way. Not much else can seat 9 people while towing 7000 pounds behind it. I will always put this above the Vic/Marauder, even if the Caprice/Impala might seem like the faster, better looking "underdog". Young people might not remember this, but there was a time when the streets of New York City were flooded with these in yellow paint AND black and white instead of Fords. This is the only car that police departments have ever bothered to completely renew after the end of their expected life as a police car. I suspect these would still have been the car of choice for most police departments if GM continued to make them. I had never heard about transmission issues with these until very recently. We had no problems with ours for the entire 150,000 miles we owned it. Doug makes fun of "90s GM quality" a lot, but I guarantee these B-Bodies will easily outlast just about everything he's ever owned, at least, if you can find one that hasn't been trashed.
This was a great comment. I'm super jealous about the blue '94 wagon. I found a pristine '96 blue wagon (no wood paneling) and a cloth blue interior on eBay in 2014. Man I regret not getting her.
@@alpaljl Thats just like ours. No wood and matching blue cloth interior. I wish we never got rid of it.
I purchased a 1996 Buick Roadmaster wagon LT-1 right off the lot, complete with faux wood. Kept it for 21 years. Loved it. Doug's correct - the 4L60e grenaded at 35K. GM must have improved some of the guts since the replacement trans lasted over 200K.
@@zf4hp24 I had never heard about those transmission having issues until just this year... I've always had good luck with 700r4 and 4L60 transmissions.
@@zf4hp24 damn I forgot about that Roadmaster having the LT1...but I remembered the Caprice LTZ having it, poor man's Impala... don't remember if it was cheaper though. My buddy still has an SS, it's got a 427ci LSX block with twin turbos and a Tremec T6 in it now... street driven with stock appearance, minus 20" SS clone wheels.
"The acceleration is... wow... surprisingly quick. " 1/10
it sounded pretty cool when it accelerated though
Modern standards.
My Roadmaster has long tube headers and a rather free flowing exhaust and it sounds pretty sweet at WOT but it’s a lot of noise and not a lot of go
Yeah I don't get that either. My buddy had one when I was growing up and I remember it being fast as hell for a big car. I would say at least a 3.
@@dr2stroke611 You should hear my husband when he accelerates, and he also gets a 1 out of 10.
Great video, you nailed it on overall B' bodies.. Two interior things I'll share to help you geek out even more. The dome light for 94 was square and round in 95 and 96. Second, 94/95 had cup holders that got deleted in 96 with the shifter. Last, for shocks all the SS came factory with Bilstein's.
"It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks"
Blues Mobile too
@66Vertigo the cop car package affiliation was a big draw for this car, then and now.
@ all the cops by me now drive chargers / explorers. used to be nothing but crown vics.
THIIIISSSSSS! Is a 1974 Dodge Monaco "Bluesmobile"...
Yeah that's a great movie. (:
Doug doesn't know there was a time when you didn't have to push the brake to put a car in gear...
Typical Millenial
@@kublackard Millennial here, knew that.
U mean a clutch
@@kublackard ok boomer
www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/19/toddler-car-deaths/1779551/
According to that, it wasn't until around 2010 that automakers even had brake-shift interlocks on all vehicles. they say that they first started appearing in the mid-80s, by Audi.
--
Anyways... lets assume every single person learns this fact about shifting out of park in cars with automatic transmissions between the ages of 15 and 20, then every second we have three new people learning this fact!
9:15 The brake pedal / shifter interlock was very much a new thing around 1996. So, to avoid the confusion, lots of cars got this "apply brake" note all over the place.
To this day, I still occasionally pull on a shifter and have that "WTF" moment. Especially when those interlock devices fail, leaving you stranded.
On the 06-14 impalas there is safety switch on the solenoid next the shifter in case you run into that problem. But glad you commented on this because I thought the same thing when Doug pointed that out lol
Thank you. I have notice DD find a few really common things on older cars note worthy. Make me feel old.
I thought this came from the Audi unintended acceleration "issues." The solution to the "problem" - being that you had to have your foot on the brake after the Audi drivers, who SWORE they had their foot on the brake, didn't, and sued the snot our of Audi.
Also I think it is not really that common, especially on the international scale. In Europe we drive manuals mostly and until I drove an auto I had 0 idea you have to press brake.
My father got "stuck" at a gas station in the 90's right after buying a '94 Thunderbird and filling it up for the first time. My dad was hopping mad he couldn't get it to go into drive. Finally he let my mom give it a try and she had no problem. She told him "You have to step on the brake."
It is second nature now, but back then I would always just plop it into drive at gas stations, etc.
I love when Doug really shows how young he is on things that were normal when these cars were out. The "apply break to shift from Park" thing is NOT just something people always knew what to do. It wasn't until 1992(this car came out in 1994) that applying the brake to shift out of park was mandated. Prior to it cars COULD just shift into drive with no break applied.
Still reminds me of the one time Doug was bewildered by a car that had the high beam switch on the floor and he was like "This ONE car has this weird quirk"
The gas cap behind the license plate is the one “old school” feature I wish modern cars still had
Today they don't have it due to saftey. If you get rear ended
And quarter windows
Its cool until some jerk pins you to the back of your car at a gas station while you're filling the tank and hes too dumb to know where the front of his car ends... I might be speaking from experience
I used to have an 87 Ford Fairlane, it had the fuel filler behind the license plate. It had a button in the dash to release the flap but a spring would still hold it up. It didn’t take me long to work out if you disconnect that spring you could hit the switch and you numberplate would fall down and stay down. Good for going past speed cameras and toll bridges. Just had to flip it back up by hand.
I used to have 91 caprice and couple times when getting gas ppl told me I was on the wrong side it blew their mind when I showed them the gas cap was behind the license plate.😂
I'm from Mississippi and these were popular and everywhere!!!! They were and are still loved.
The way Doug says “AND” really butters my toast.
I like the way he starts all his videos with "Thhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssssssss"... hahaha!
My father was a general manager of a gmc dealership in the early 90's. His demo car was a caprice classic, blue on blue with the rear fender covers. Loved that car. Awsome vid
Yup, there it is, my car crush from the 1990s. Almost bought one!
My 1980s car crush was the Buick Grand National/GNX.
A beast!
87 GNX one of the baddest cars ever built
@@ddub5074 For its time, at least.
Agreed. I was in the same place, except I also really liked the SuperCoupe Thunderbird.
Where i live, a car called “SS” sounds very weird...
I see what you did there, HILARIOUS🤣
George price I’m lost
Might as well embrace it.
There's tons of them especially the old muscle car era of the 60's
@@manamongstboyz8956 OP is German, and the SS in German history was the Special Forces branch of the Nazis. Basically the ones who did all the war crimes. Hence his joke which is well done.
FINALLY he's talking about this beauty! One of the coolest GM cars from the 90s for sure!
@@itsme-ri5mw you where probably born in the 90s
@@itsme-ri5mw it is a cool car and I and nobody else here don't give a flying fuck about what you think.
And yes, I did love to play ping pong when I was a kid and teenager but haven't in a while. Still a fun game though lol 😂
@@itsme-ri5mw You have to be a car guy to appreciate this car. If you know what you're looking at, it's definitely cool. If you ask any layman: "it looks like my grandmother's car"
Every baller had these in the 90s especially if you grew up in the hood
Doug should also do a 2003-04 Mercury Marauder... The last of the great rear wheel drive "Body- on -frame" Full size American performance cars
I see one of these almost every morning at the gas station I work at, looks amazing in person
Every Cholo's favorite car next to the 60's Impala.
BOMBON187 those or square bodies.
That shit is thugged out
😂 fr I bought one back when I used to wear dickies and Cortez no lie
Good taste if you ask me so cool car
This or a 98 gold accord or 90s Astro van
Dougs eye sink farther into his skull when he slams on the gas
Doug: Damn that's quick
Doug: I give the acceleration a 1/10
0 to 60 is 7 sec that's why
Acceleration is the one objective dougscore metric. Anything below 3 seconds gets a 10, anything above 7 seconds gets a 1.
@@mathess811 so? Most cars in Europe do 11s, even in USA 7s for huge sedan is good. Dougs scores are garbage generally but he's acceleration scores are just insanely stupid.
wykydytron well it works in his inscription
@@wykydytron My NA six cylinder sedan does less than 7. His acceleration score is objective. It's an index. Doug considers anything above 7 to be not worth scaling. I don't entirely agree, but honestly it's definitely the right ballpark. Once you hit 8/9 seconds you're dealing with regular cars where it doesn't really matter how slow it is anymore- just that it's not fast.
Could you imagine Doug doing the review on the impala with 24” rims 😂
With a marijuana leaf hanging down the rearview mirror.
Not a great fan of the aftermarket rims or marijuana perfume however the logo of the marijuana leaf actually comes from a plant and you can also find marijuana buds right here on the ground. - Doug
I never owned one of these, but owned the Buick and Cadillac counterparts, the roadmaster and Fleetwood (only difference, mechanically, was unless tow package equipped, the impala SS had a hotter rear end, otherwise exact same). Fast, comfortable, and surprisingly decent fuel economy. Should have held on to both of them, cause man they have appreciated in value over the last half decade.
Couple of fun facts: The 17 inch wheels were unique to the Impala because they had a 5 inch bolt pattern while other GM RWD platforms used 4.75 inches. They also had rather shallow backspacing, so Camaro or Corvette wheels wouldn't fit. This was the last sedan and station wagon platform from GM to use full body-on-frame construction. (edited)
Ford and Chrysler are 4.5" bolt circle... Chevy/most GM is 4.75"... Chevy pickup, some full size GM, wagons 5"...
@@BuzzLOLOL my bad, you're right.
Do you know who manufactured those wheels? I ask because I had family in wheel manufacturing that may have made those but idk
Doug is the type of guy to burp and say “excuse me” when nobody’s around
Hypremium :D 😹😹😹😹😹😹
Doug IS the type of guy”” at least use correct English.
I do that lol
Hypremium :D I do that
@@MrBon3sz Ditto :-) Coincidentally today I did that in my huge apartment complex lobby with super tall ceilings where the echo went on for so long that I had to laugh (which I did…).
11:13 - first thought - this switch is is where te center of the manual windows crank would be - they could build just one type of the door panel.
i think that caprice had powered windows too
@@Targoon_Music option on the Caprice. They were very lazy and cheap and used the manual crank hole as Maciek O stated
I remember riding in one of these back in the late 90s as a kid and feeling so intimidated by the looks and sound. Bad ass wheels 🏁
11:11 window switch is mounted there cause on a cheap trim level that’s where the crank for the manual windows would be
Back in '99 I was at a tech school for automotive technology. GM had a contract with them in which all totaled vehicles were donated to the school. A '96 SS had come off the transport trailer hard enough to set off the air bag which shattered the windshield, totaling the car. Instead of repairing the car, the shop instructor stripped it down and put the engine in a '58 Oldsmobile Rocket. Several modifications were necessary lol. I personally installed power windows and locks on it.
One of my dads best friend owns a 96 SS in black, and at the street literally beside his street there’s a Cherry SS, pre cool for such a rare car
Dawson Strachan “pre cool”
The 90's may have not produced many great cars but man it was a much better time in this countries history. We would all be happier living like we did back then
21:16 The best engine note I've heard in a while.
LS 62s!👑🥇😁
I heard better sounds, but this is pretty good.
@@LITTLE1994 Very well. I meant the Impala SS had the best engine note I've heard in a while, not the best one I've heard in my whole life.
The lt1 pushrod makes a very unique and deep growl. Love hearing mine
Doug: "wow it's pretty quick"
Also Doug: Acceleration 1
This score is objective (the only one) and is based on the 0-60 time.
If the Impala SS gets an 1 for acceleration, I wonder what the base Caprice would get... so it kind of makes the whole "Corvette engine" thing useless and the whole idea if it doesn't have ANY effect on the score...
These were under 7 seconds 0-60. Not sure where 7.5 comes from.
When he did that pull I thought, yeah that's a 5.7L V8
@@kevin9c1 I see times ranging from 6.5-7.4 with a 15+ second 1/4
I remember one of the ads for this car pertaining to the initial color offering of black. It read: "Lord Vader, your car is ready"
Nah, Vader would buy German
Everyone knows Vader's car was the Buick GNX
@@neocommenter This was the actual ad: i.imgur.com/OHUfh8q.jpg
The confused look on Doug’s face after he floors it is priceless! I could almost read his mind as he’s thinking how in the hell does this behemoth move like that with only 260hp?
It’s like the Matt Foley of cars.
THIS... is at the top 3 of my dream cars.
100% agree
Doug demuro the type of guy to break into your house and review your lawnmower
Michael Wakim insert *doug demuro tone* this is a 2012 lawnmower and today i’m gonna show u why for 12,000$ THIS is a bargain
“We have bulletproof vests and 96 SS’s“ -Mack 10
"96 Impala, the new double S, before the 20,000 mile mark I gave it to sis" -DJ Quik
@R Robert haha yes good catch! that song is hard as fuck!!
Mac 10 actually, but 40 used to have one of these.
Wanna be a balla,
Shot calla
20 inch blades on THHHHIIISSSSSSS
MaD707MaN DJ Quik gave one to his away to his sister before the 20 thousand mile mark.
I have a 1996 Impala SS! DGGM color. Still Running Strong! Fun to Drive! Glad I can have a Impala SS!
Doug sounds like he has experience with stealing an Impala.
He must have at least with his crew and he didn't steal he must have driven them after it was stolen lol
doug has the negros steal the cars like in menace 2 sosiaty
90s Impala's 1980s Caprice and any G body car was a the hot cars to steal during the 90s and 2000s
@@SODMGGOKU definitely racist but not misspelled.
Plot twist. The car in the review is actually stolen
11:05 The reason the power window switch is located there is because they used the same door panels pretty much from 91-96 and that would be exactly where the hole is for the manual window crank.
"Lots of these cars were stolen, that is probably why the owner installed an alarm" People, you don't get this sort of insight in any other car reviews. Doug is the best!!
Love it.
The ultimate sleeper car.
And this button in the glove box fires the missiles.
Doug thank you for doing this episode. The 96 Impala SS is my all time favorite car. I own a 94 Caprice wagon myself with the LT1 engine.
Had one of these in 96- still my all time favorite car.
Regarding the "apply brake before shifting from park" sticker: just a few years earlier, you typically did not need to apply the break in order to get it out of park. It really was something new at the time.
I like these cars! I bought one in 2001 when I was 21. It was from South Carolina with no rust. Doing a few bolt ons; 160°thermostat, flowmaster exhaust, power programmer and 3:73 gears, really wakes these things up! Still have it....won't sell it.
Gears! 😁
I got spin tech mufflers on mine. I just got my turned pcm back so I'm curious to see how this 93 octane tune wakes it up. Got to get some gears next
Imagine being able to afford a 260 horsepower V8 monster at 21
This post made by European 1.4 econobox gang
Mike McKay perfect for when we were in highschool, you get run off the road with dinky engines
I’m thinking about getting one , pros and cons on it ?
Saw an Impala SS a week ago in NW Florida that looked basically just like this one. Beautiful car and those factory wheels never get old.
I would rather watch this than a LaFerrari review, to be honest. Thanks Doug!
I was fully expecting to hear "Protected by Viper, stand back."
Pharoahe F34 I absolutely remember that
Lol. I had a Viper security system that talked. I thought it was cool then, but now... 😬
Doug says "quirks and features" to himself while asleep
"Thhhhhhhis is my REM Sleep and it's one very interesting part of my nightly routine, and tonight i'm going to review this Dreaming Sequence and i'm going to show myself some quirks and features"
He counts them instead of sheep
Doug is the type of guy to do so
He Cant sleep with out saying it
Traded my 1990 corvette in on that car, when it first came out in 94. It was a nice car that rode really nice.
“These are very popular to steal... you can have a good time in it... very easy to steal” Doug have you stolen one before??
American Truck Nation he stole this one
In my youth I jacked w few cars. GMs were like Playschool security.
@@Tiralful How old are you now?
Its Thug Demuro what do you expect
JeffsDead 😂😂😂
"Lord Vader, your car is ready" I had a 96 and loved it!
Absolute best ad for a new car ever. I had a nearly-new 96 in highschool, and its a miracle I didn't kill myself or get arrested. I also learned how to drift in the damn thing too
@Squirmin Herman the one eyed German It was also the original ad for the 94, i.pinimg.com/originals/fa/3d/7f/fa3d7fa4b7ad51110829501f12f2d74a.jpg
@@The_Angry_Medic Car & Driver first coined the term for the '87 GNX, then GM 'borrowed' it for the '96 Impala SS ad.
*Is not “Was”. I still smile when I see one of these on the road.
96 SS owner. Last of the great cars.
Literally my favorite car of all time
Million dollar Porsche: I asleep
'96 Chevy: *I AWAKE*
Yep obtaining a SS Impala is far better than a Race Car.
Are you only interested in what you can get?
@@botulinum7143 basically, yes.
$20,000 classic Chevy that I can take anywhere VS a race car that can only be used on a race track.
Laser eyes
@@vector6977 Most cars can be converted to road legal cars. Track or not, a car enthusiast would get that Porsche.
4:20 I thought he was about to say that police officers are usually fat
Me too xD
@Squirmin Herman the one eyed German hahahahaa nothing funnier than a fat cop, you could just jog to freedom!
Actually, we're not.💪
@Squirmin Herman the one eyed German
Aren't 98% of rural Georgia residents morbidly obese? We've all seen Mama June and Honey Boo-Boo which no doubt represent everyone in Georgia outside of the metro Atlanta area.
I mean that would be a very true statement. Especially in small towns in my small town a guy locked up was being transferred to a bus to go to another jail. The jail mate pushed the cop. Then said cop couldn't get his fat ass up to get him. He ended up loose and took a car someone was driving and took it to the city where they were later apprehended by more fat cops.
5:30 The steering wheel was likely shared across so many cars because the airbag was a fairly new thing and probably expensive to design/tool/get approval for and therefore they used it across the lineup. Honestly, seems perfectly functional to me, maybe a little *too* square in the middle, but otherwise fine. I'll take that over a stupid Tesla yoke.
That was pretty much the standard design across brands back then, with the first gen airbags. The bags themself were rectangular, one size fits most, deas back then. Standard in cars as of 90 or 91, and trucks as of 94, so every wheel looked like that, back then.
Kind of like how third brake lights all looked the same from 86 until around 1998. Just kind of jammed on to meet the new lighting standards.
Indeed. I too would take these old school muscle cars over a stupid Tesla yoke. These Tesla battery robot cars are boring asFck. I like these old school combustion engine cars.
@@richardharris3423 have to agree, with the exception of the Plaid model. That launch control ajd the instant torque make it a fun play toy.
But, even though I enjoy driving my friends Tesla, not having the pulse of a V8, it just ain't the same. Love my 95 Impala, in part because it was handed down from a departed friend of the family.
@@richardharris3423go hj my