Chevrolet Impala Wagon: Perfect For Tailgating

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Tailgating with a Nine Passenger Chevrolet Impala Wagon

The Chevrolet Impala Wagon: Perfect for Tailgating

Tailgating is an American tradition that's been around for a long time. It's defined as a social gathering around the open tailgate of an automobile. They take place in a parking lot, hours before an event begins.

For many when they think tailgate, they think pickup truck. However, my first memory is centered on a nine passenger Chevrolet Impala Wagon. Here we'll dig into some of the unique features that make this classic car King of the tailgate party.

Chevrolet Impala Wagon

I grew up in a typical middle-class environment in the 1960s. We were fortunate enough to have two cars. Mom drove smaller cars from the American Motors Corporation, like [the Rambler American]. A few years later she signed up for [a used AMC …show more content…

Unless you want to make two trips everywhere. You cannot haul nine people at one time in [an AMC Javelin AMX]. There are a few other advantages to this rear facing seat besides the increased passenger capacity. If you live in the Northeast, or in other snowy areas of the country winter traction is an issue.

On nine passenger station wagons from the 60s, the third row seat is just behind the rear axle. Having three average size people in this seat adds more than 350 pounds after the rear wheels. The farther back the seat, the more leverage it applies to the down force. This provides far superior traction than throwing snow in the back of a pickup truck. In fact, with [a good set of tires] and a locking rear differential, the station wagon turned into a snowmobile.

Another advantage of the third row seat is it folded down into the foot well area. This increased rear storage capacity. On the 1964 Impala Station Wagon the middle passenger seat also folded flat. Now you have weatherproof transportation for sheets of plywood or drywall.

The Power of the

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