I've Noticed Something

"Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast." (twostrokesmoke)
10/05/2015 at 18:06 • Filed to: None

I like the old Lead Sleds and have been looking around and noticed, that for some reason the ‘67 Impalas go for about 4 times the price of most other cars of the same vintage, including Impalas of the previous or following year.. .Why? What is so special about the ‘67 Impala?

DISCUSSION (21)

Your boy, BJR > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
10/05/2015 at 18:15

The show Supeenatural

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Your boy, BJR
10/05/2015 at 18:16

That might explain why my wife is okay with me getting one. She watches that all the time.

camaroboy68ss > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
10/05/2015 at 18:17

I think it boils down to rarity and desirability. 1967 is just one of those years in Chevy’s history were all the models looked great. So many people look to 67 as a good year for a classic Chevy. Plus I don’t think many 67 Impalas have survived. I see roughly 4 or 5 66 and 68 impalas to one 67. I like the 67 but they are just way to big of car. I’m more drawn to the “x” frame 58-64 impalas. The 58-59 being some great mild custom car material

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
10/05/2015 at 18:18

I don’t think it’s purely the connection to Supernatural , nor being a lowrider *or* donk icon. Probably a combination of all of the above, collector desirability for looks, and something to do with production numbers - more ‘67s were made than ‘66s by a big margin, but not as many as ‘65 or ‘68. It’s got a refined roofline compared to the ‘66, and arguably looks better than the ‘68.

Brian, The Life of > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
10/05/2015 at 18:21

Do they really go for more than the ‘68s? Those cars are near identical except for the taillights ... I personally prefer the round taillights of the ‘68 a bit more. Anyway, both these cars are highly desirable by the lowrider guys. No wonder since they are dead sexy with their hardtop, fastback-y goodness.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/05/2015 at 18:23

That explains it. I like it because it is one of the last cars that seems to have any indication that fins were once a thing. If you follow that line that ends at the back door, you can almost imagine it as having evolved (devolved?) from a fin. It’s a cool look.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Brian, The Life of
10/05/2015 at 18:25

From what I’ve been seeing yes. But that might be because I haven’t wandered too deep into the classic ads. The ones that are reasonably proced seem to be basket cases for some reason.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Brian, The Life of
10/05/2015 at 18:31

From what I was seeing in production numbers, there were over 50% more ‘68s made. If one is choosing between two things nearly identical and one is rarer, that could count for a good bit of it... though I must say I also don’t personally like the tails on the ‘68 as much, and I’m probably not alone. Polarizing, perhaps.

El Rivinado > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
10/05/2015 at 18:37

Supernatural. No, seriously, that’s probably it. Every time a particular car model is on a TV Show or Movie, it instantly shoots up in price and popularity, particularly if the show is currently running.

I mean don't get me wrong, the 67 is my favorite of the classic Impalas, especially in terms of aesthetics. But as long as Supernatural is running, everyone will pay big money to think they're the Winchester brothers, especially if it's a four door model in black.

Brian, The Life of > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/05/2015 at 18:38

Production differences ... now that makes sense!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Brian, The Life of
10/05/2015 at 18:44

From what I was looking at, production numbers for full-size Chevies took a nose-dive in ‘66, particularly Impala. I mean, seriously dived - something like 500k Impalas a year down to under 200k. They facelifted, introduced the swoopy roof, and WHAMMO - sales picked back up (to around ‘65 or better), improving from ‘67 on through ‘68 (7 or 800k? Something like that). Which means: ‘66 is rarer, nobody wanted it then, few want it now. ‘67, well received, fewer of them. ‘68 - trading on the ‘67’s brand revival, lots made.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > El Rivinado
10/05/2015 at 19:00

From what I can tell the color doesn’t seem to be the issue. All of the 67s are up now.....If you see one that isn’t that high though, point it out to me.

Berang > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
10/05/2015 at 19:14

Peer pressure.

El Rivinado > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
10/05/2015 at 19:18

Color’s not that big an issue, but for some people those models are just that more desirable. Think of how much more cash people charge for 69 Dodge Chargers because they’re orange or how many people are charging more for 77-78 Trans Ams because they have the black and gold trim with the screaming chicken on the hood. Granted, there are always more factors regarding desirability than just iconography, but damned if it doesn’t play at least a somewhat substantial part in how they end up being priced.

There’s one for sale on Craigslist in my area, it may be a bit high, but it is an SS model, so at least the price is a bit more forgivable.

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/521775…

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > El Rivinado
10/05/2015 at 19:24

Ah, a fellow San Diegan. Yeah, being an SS does make it a little more forgivable, but that’s still too steep for what I’m thinking of spending.

ranwhenparked > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
10/05/2015 at 19:34

It’s like the ‘57 Chevys, some cars just develop a following for whatever reason. I think the 1940 Chevrolets used to have a similar appeal among the people that were “of age” when they came out, but that cooled down after a while.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > ranwhenparked
10/05/2015 at 19:37

Maybe, but I don’t see that happening with the ‘57. Those things are through the stratosphere now. same with ‘59 Caddies.

ranwhenparked > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
10/05/2015 at 20:01

It did sort of happen once, during the Japanese economic bubble in the ‘80s, ‘57 Chevys and ‘59 Cadillacs went absolutely off the charts in auction prices, then values kind of corrected in the early ‘90s, and its taken 25 years for them to get really crazy again.

They’ve pretty much always been desirable and always worth something, but in terms of really stratospheric values, they have both peaked, declined, and then peaked again.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > ranwhenparked
10/05/2015 at 20:06

I also put a lot of the blame for that one the Barrett-Jackson guys as well.

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
10/05/2015 at 20:38

They were well suited for demolition derby’s.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > John Norris (AngryDrifter)
10/05/2015 at 20:41

I can see that. same with 70’s Lincolns.