1976 Bicentennial Impala

[Guest]

Does anyone out there remember Cheverolet offering a Bicentennial Impala?<BR>These cars came in Blue or White with special road wheels and Bicentennial emblems.<BR>They were alot sportier than a base Impala and really stood out. I have yet to locate anyone that can confirm if this car was built however, It's been over 20 years since I have seen one I know that they exist.<BR>Please let me know your thoughts and thank's.<BR>Pat

[novaman]

I checked the Old Cars Price Gudie and the NADA blue book and there is no listing for a Bicentennial Impala. It could have been a regional promotion thing like in the carolinas you have the Earnhardt Monte Carlo 1995? and 1996 Jeff Gordon edition Monte Carlos. These were a Chevrolet Carolina region Dealer package that was added to the cars.

[Guest]

You might be thinking of the Spirit of America series (I think that's what they were called) The cars were white with red and blue stripes. Novas, Impalas, and Vegas could get the treatment. I saw one for sale (in primo shape, I might add) here in Charlotte NC, by a company out of Florida (Classic motorcars?). So, yes, they do exist.

[Guest]

The previous writer is correct. These were called "Spirit of America" models. An important point that's being overlooked is that they were 1974 models, not 1976 as you might have expected. If you're doing internet searches for 76's, this may be why you're not turning anything up. <P>They have always been fairly rare, which I guess is a nice way of saying they were a sales flop. I lived near a major Chevy dealer in 74 and don't remember more than a couple of them.<P>I have seen them from time to time in Hemmings. There was a decent (but not outstanding) one at the Auburn Fall auction. Can't recall if it went through the auction or was at the car corral. Might check the Kruse Auction website for auction results and see what it brought. <P>I remember seeing the entire "Spirit of America" line up (Vega, Nova, Impala) in some sort of print ad, or brochure but don't have one for reference. Might watch eBay for literature on this unusual car.

[Guest Graham Clayton]

Pictures of the Vega and Nova "Spirit of America":

Just a Car Guy: 1974 Spirit of America Vega, Nova, and Impala

[Sweepspear]

I recall seeing a fair number of the Impalas back then. Maybe even Caprices?

But don't recall ever seeing a Vega or Nova decked out that way.

[john2dameron]

I knew a guy in Richmond VA that had an Impala. A local friend bought one of the Nova's and it rotted completely down in just a few years.

[rocketraider]

I remember seeing all three here. There was one white Impala and at least two blue ones. Both the Nova and Vega here were white.

Not offered on Caprice- strictly for the Impala Sport Coupe, which still had a reasonably attractive roofline. To this day I still can't warm up to the 74-76 Custom Coupe/ Caprice roofline. It was just ugly. The B-O-P versions of the GM B-body maintained a vestigial quarter window, which improved the huge 3rd window styling some.

The best looking of those year cars was probably Oldsmobile's 1976 Royale Crown Landau, which blinded the heinous 3rd window and added a padded vinyl top with a brushed stainless trim band. That Hurst conversion gave those cars a much more graceful and balanced appearance.

The GM C-body coupes used that awful half-acre-of-glass side window styling too, but it was better executed than the B car. Cad used a small landau window on all of theirs; Olds & Buick had special extra-cost trim options that decreased the window size and improved theirs a lot.

If they had put the quarter window's beltline at the same level as the door glass, it would have been a little better. As it was, looked like there were two completely different workgroups styling it- one doing the part ahead of that stupid vertical B-post, the other doing the part aft of it.

Edited October 6, 2012 by rocketraider (see edit history)

[GARY F]

dont know about the chevy, but in 76 i bought a new GMC, called the spirt of 76 with its own decal, logos, & seats