I’ve been kind of blowing up RG with Broughams lately. “Klockau, geez man, ANOTHER ’70s tuna boat. Fercryinout loud!” Whoops. But hey, it’s not intentional. I just keep seeing vintage land yachts out and about, and have to immediately write it up. It’s an incurable issue with me. I love pretty much all classic and vintage cars, but it seems I always gravitate back to Broughamville. Caprice Classics, Fleetwood Talismans, Bonneville Broughams, 98 Regencys. I can’t help it, man!
So now that that’s out of the way, here’s another one. A 1976 Chevrolet Impala Landau coupe, espied by yours truly on one of the FB groups I’m on, Finding Future Classic Cars. A rare birdie. In 1976, Landau was king. And Chevrolet offered both Caprice Classic and Impala Landau trim packages, consisting of the aforementioned Landau vinyl roof in elk-grain vinyl, color-keyed wheel discs, sport mirrors and custom pinstriping.
1976 Caprice Landau, formerly owned by Jason Bagge.
Of the two full-size B-Body Landaus, the Caprice Classic was the clear sales winner, with 21,926 of the $5,284 coupes sold.
The Impala Landau, despite its thriftier $5,058 suggested retail price (before options, of course!), sold approximately half as well, with 10,841 built. The $4,763 Impala Custom coupe proved more successful, with 43,219 coming off the big-Chevrolet assembly lines.
1976, as I’ve mentioned before, was in my opinion Peak Brougham. You still had truly gigantic full-size Chevrolet, Pontiac, Olds and Buick B-bodies, not to mention the C-body Nimitz-Class Ninety-Eight, Electra, De Ville and Fleetwood Brougham.
Which brings me to today’s subject, a ’76 Impala Landau for sale in Chicagoland. The ice blue metallic paint, blue expanded vinyl interior and white Landau roof make for a pleasing color combination, and although she’s got a couple of rough spots, still looks presentable.
So many of these ’70s Chevrolets have fallen prey to wild and wacky customization with giant wheels, eye-squinting color combinations and foundation-rattling sound systems, that when I see one of these 43-year-old Chevys in original showroom condition, I take notice. Sure, it’s got some rust, but even as she sits in these photos, cuts a Broughamtastic figure even now.
And with all the red Mustangs, Challengers, Corvettes and Camaros at so many car cruises and shows in this day and age, I bet this Impala Landau would draw all kinds of attention at shows this summer. You just don’t see them any more. Hope whoever buys it keeps it stock. Stock 71-76 Chevys are a rare commodity in 2019. Intrigued? Then check out the ad, and see if you’re Brougham Material.