2014 Chevrolet Impala Named MAMA Family Car Of The Year At Chicago Auto Show

By Bob Gordon
Louisville Bureau
The Auto Channel

Chicago February 6, 2014; The Midwest Automotive Media Association announced today that the 2014 Chevrolet Impala has been named the winner of its fourth annual Family Vehicle of the Year award. The completely redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Impala impressed MAMA’s journalist members with its design, ride and features.

To qualify for the award, vehicles had to have four doors, start at less than $50,000, appear at one of MAMA’s two annual rallies, and be new or significantly updated in within a year of the 2013 Spring Rally, which took place last May.

The MAMA Spring and Fall rallies feature up to 100 manufacturer vehicles for journalists to drive and evaluate.

The Auto Channel’s Larry Nutson who is also the treasurer for the Chicago based Auto writers group reviewed the Impala, here are some excerpts from his review.

2014 Chevrolet Impala; Chevy says design is the number one reason for making a purchase in the full size sedan segment. The 2014 Impala is completely new and represents a fresh approach to design and style. The appearance is very fluid with sweeping body contours and an outstanding dual-cockpit interior. The Impala rides on a 1.2inch longer 111.7inch wheelbase. On the inside this yields 5.7 inches of more legroom. Even the Impala badge has been re-done.

Impala Designer Steve McCabe’s overview of the exterior and interior highlighted items like the free-flowing front end giving the Impala more presence on the road. The Impala has an overall bold stance and features three side highlight sculpture lines. Interesting to note is that this Impala is the last new car from GM that was influenced by Bob Lutz. For example, the original design was for just two side windows in the doors for the DLO…daylight opening. The much better looking three-widow side that we now see is his influence. The taillights are not LED but look like it. A small design detail in the shaping of the taillights influences aerodynamics.

You can read Larry's complete 2014 Chevrolet Impala review HERE