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Greetings and Welcome to The 405 Coffee Break with O.K. Solberg
New episodes tend to air over the local KMMR radio station @ 5 minutes past 4PM each M-F. And have been doing so, nearly every week since Sept 2018.
I'm D.J. Rasmussen, O.K.s friend since junior high, possibly your neighbor & this websites maintainer, whom strives to get each episode's show notes written, the transcript proofed and the audio posted to the internet within a few hours of that days KMMR air time. NOTE: recently been publishing most new releases by 4:30PM.
Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy the time we can spend together.
I wanna again welcome you to The 405 Coffee Break. Guys, it's a new week. How'd you fare over the 4th of July? Good, I hope. Lots of fireworks, lots of fun. Did you eat a hot dog? Get your cup of coffee, glass iced tea, bottle of water. Let's see what's happening.
OK Solberg:Spring wheat not doing much, $5.53 a bushel. 550lb steer calves not moving much now, so I'm gonna tell you a Canner bull at PAYS In Billings weighed 2,020lbs brought $2.33 a pound. That's $4,706 for a canner bull. A 100lb fat lamb in Billings stand about the same $3.35 on the top end. But guys, there's more, much more.
OK Solberg:Okay. Okay. It's Monday, and you know what that means. It's Jay and Joe's Motor Monday, the day we look at horsepower one Monday at a time. Now if you remember two weeks ago, it was the Ford Falcon. Today, the Chevy Impala.
OK Solberg:But 1st a bible verse. Psalm 78 verses 3-4. Things that we have heard known that our fathers have told us, we will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation. Psalm 78:3-4
OK Solberg:Well, here's some things that our fathers told us. So listen up. There are cars and then there are automobiles that become part of the American family album. The Chevy Impala belongs in that 2nd group. Now its story began in 1958, one year after I was born.
OK Solberg:Chevrolet originally intended the Impala's as a glamorous top of the line Bel Air. Did you know that? But buyers had other ideas. They loved it so much that beginning in 1959, the Impala became its own series. And for generations of Americans, it wasn't just transportation. Well, it was a family vacation.
OK Solberg:How about the 1st date, the wedding getaway car, the trip to college, the Sunday drive after church. Over its remarkable run from 1958 through 2020, Chevrolet built and sold roughly 16,800,000 Impala's, making it one of the best selling full size automobiles in American history.
OK Solberg:The body styles changed with time. There were elegant 2 door hardtops with no center pillar. Remember that? Sporty convertibles that let the summer sunshine pour in practical 4 door sedans for growing families, roomy station wagons loaded with luggage and children, sleek coupes, and later modern front wheel drive sedans that carried the famous name into a new century.
OK Solberg:But but if there was one year that truly stood above the rest, it would be 1965. Chevrolet sold an astonishing 1,046,514 Impalas that year. Just think about that for a moment. That works out to nearly 2,867 Impala's sold every single day.
OK Solberg:What? 2,867 Impala's sold every day, about a 120 every hour. Roughly 2 brand new Impala sold every minute of every day around the clock for the entire year of 1965. No American automobile before or since has reached a million sales in a single model year quite like that.
OK Solberg:Part of the magic was choice. Choice. We had a choice. If you wanted economy, there were Chevrolet's dependable 230 cubic inch 6 cylinder engine. Wanted a little more punch? The 283 V8 had already earned a loyal following.
OK Solberg:Need more muscle? Chevrolet offered the famous 327 V8. That 327 You gotta love it, the big 396 turbojet and eventually the legendary 409, an engine made famous not only on American highways but in songs.
OK Solberg:Later generations introduced the powerful 454 big block. And by the 1990 and 2000's modern fuel injected V6 and V8 engines kept the Impala relevant for a new generation of drivers. The styling evolved too. The fins of the late 1950's gave way to the clean sculptured lines of the 1960's. The long wide cruisers of the 1970's reflected America's love affair with comfort.
OK Solberg:Downsizing came in the late 1970's. Front wheel drive arrived in the 1990's. And through it all, one thing never changed, the name on the fender, Impala. Named after the graceful African antelope, it promised speed, elegance, and confidence. Police departments trusted them.
OK Solberg:Taxi fleets depended on them. Families filled them. And guys, collectors still cherish them today. And more than a few teenagers dreamed about owning one someday. According to Chevrolet, the Impala was featured in more than 3,000 movies on the big screen.
OK Solberg:But like it goes, all good things must come to an end. Finally, in 2020, only six years passed after more than six decades, Chevrolet quietly ended production of the Impala. By then, America had changed. Buyers wanted SUVs and crossovers.
OK Solberg:The era of the big family sedan was fading, yet the Impala's legacy remains parked in garages even today, rolling through hometown parades, polished at weekend car shows, and remembered in family photographs where someone is always leaning against the hood with a smile.
OK Solberg:Some automobiles simply carry people from one place to another. The Chevrolet Impala carried America through generations. The end. Great story. Great car.
OK Solberg:So until next time. As you go out there, remember now, don't be bitter.