CHEVY PRICES IMPALA SS AT $22,495 (Plain Dealer 3/3/94)

   General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet division last week produced

the first Impala SS in 25 years, a sporty version of its Caprice

sedan that will start at $22,495.



   The GM division plans to build about 5,000 Impala SS sedans,

which have a 260-horsepower version of the Corvette's 5.7-liter

V-8 engine. Black is the only color available. 



   The first cars should arrive in dealerships in the next month,

a Chevrolet spokesman said.



   "We think we have a real winner on our hands," Jim Perkins,

Chevrolet general manager, said as the first Impala SS rolled off

the line at GM's Arlington, Texas, plant. "We've already taken

5,000 orders for this car, and we believe we can sell a lot

more."



   The 1994 Impala SS has a standard four-speed automatic

transmission, high-speed tires, anti-lock brakes, dual front air

bags, an alarm system, leather seats and an AM/FM stereo. The

only extra-cost options are a compact disc player, a rear-window

defogger and an engine-block heater.



   A well-equipped Caprice LS sedan with a 200 horsepower,

4.3-liter V-8 engine costs $22,168.



   The idea behind the Impala SS literally came from the street,

the GM division said in introducing the car. Chevrolet's chief

designer, John Cafaro, had noticed a certain souped-up Chevrolet

Caprice driving through his neighborhood. The sedan was lower to

the ground and its trim was painted black.



   Cafaro brought the car into the studio and used it as a model

for the division's own design that went into production about 13

months later.



   The Impala SS was first shown as a concept vehicle in late

1992 at a convention for companies that supply add-on parts.



   "All we were trying to do was tweak the interest of the

automotive aftermarket," said Dave Hansen, director of

engineering and product development for Chevrolet. "But what we

had on our hands, show after show, was an overwhelming reaction

by customers to put this car into production."



   The Arlington assembly plant builds the Chevrolet Caprice,

Cadillac Brougham and Buick Roadmaster.



Chevrolet plans to build about 5,000 Impala SS sedans, which have

a 260-horsepower version of the Corvette's 5.7-liter V-8 engine.

Black is the only color available.