1970 Chevrolet Caprice (or Impala)

One of my favourite vehicles form before my time.  What’s really confusing was that this ’70 Chevy was beautiful, but I could not decipher whether or not it was an Impala, or a Caprice.  Had they had their iconic emblems on the body, I could tell real easy.  The Caprice had the “Crown” emblem with the fleur-de-lis on it, and the Impala had the, well, impala icon on it.  The Chevy Impala was named after the African antelope which was known for its exceptional speed (almost up there with the cheetah).  Dubbed as “The Baby Cadillac” from its creation in 1958 to the mid to late 1970s seeing that it was on the same platform as the Eldorado, Coupe/Sedan De Ville, Electra 225 (Deuce And A Quarter), Delta, 98, Bonneville/Catalina, and so on and so forth.

One major feature that made the Impala stand out during it’s first decade of existence.  Every year, it was different.  Even if the body style was the same, there were other distinguishable as well as indistinguishable feautures on most GM cars of the 60s.  I thought about my parents seeing that they had a 1969 Impala, and the ’69 and ’70 models were virtually the same with the exception that the ’69 grill was flush, and the rear bumper had vertical taillights.  The ’70 model, its front bumper as well as the fenders and hood are angled atop and bottom the dual headlights whereas the center is angled in the middle-such a contrast from the previous year, and the rear bumper has vertical tailights (like I said, I wasn’t even born yet, I just happen to read up on cars over the years).

In early ’97, I bought a model kit of a ’70 SS (Super Sport), and I’ve yet to assemble it.  Probably because of the sentimental value of the ’69 that my dad had.  I ask him would he ever buy another one.  He said maybe, if the money was right.

Well, my time tonight is winding down, maybe at another convenient time, I’ll delve further into this iconic hot rod.  One last thing, the Impala was more sport than luxury, and the other way around with the Caprice.  Still called The Baby Cadillac of its generation.  The Caprice has resurface in recent years, but it’s exclusive to Law Enforcement (I’ve heard that in some parts, it’s available to the public), but it’s pretty much a last generation Impala with curves…  Confusing as always…

Well, my time has wound down.  I leave you with a few other shots of this iconic vehicle (shot in HDR, of course).  Enjoy the shots.

Namaste.