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Credit the Chevy design team for making the roads a better place to travel at night now that they’ve awakened from their comas and done away with those insidious “Cheerio” taillamps on the Impala.

There was debate as to which was worse, being stuck behind a blue hair traveling at 40 m.p.h. in the center lane or behind an Impala at night and having those lamps staring back at you like a General Mills billboard.

For the ’06 model year Impala has undergone a major redesign with new headlamps, chrome accents on the deck lid, chrome Impala logos on the body panels and body-colored door handles and moldings. And no more Cheerio taillamps.

“While you always knew when following an Impala with those taillamps, it had a like-it-or-don’t-like it effect, and we chose a less polarizing look,” said Mark Clawson, Impala marketing director, in bidding cheerio to the Cheerios.

Bob Lutz, head of advance product development for General Motors, said Chevrolet brought out the retro HHR because “we have Impala and Monte Carlo and needed something with more emotional appeal.”

Though the ’06 Impala lacks styling pizzazz, it still is the unsung hero for Chevrolet and GM: The top-selling sedan for both and the top-selling domestic sedan in the industry. Only the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, two other bland sedans, outsell it.

Impala sold more than 290,000 copies last year, and Clawson is counting on meeting or exceeding that this year.

It should help that the 2006 Impala adds an eight-way power driver’s seat, side-curtain air bags front and rear, CD player, cruise control and overhead assist grips as standard. Yet it lowers the base price by $1,100.

While trying to wean consumers from incentives with lower stickers, Chevy still offers a $1,000 rebate to encourage a successful new model launch.

The midsize, front-wheel-drive Impala is built on the same platform and in the same Oshawa, Ontario, plant as the Buick LaCrosse and Pontiac Grand Prix.

At Lutz’ prodding, LaCrosse adopted “quiet tuning,” insulating the car to isolate noise, and the unusually quiet Impala has adopted the same technology.

Lutz also insisted that body panels line up without gaps and screw heads and fasteners be covered. Impala follows the party line and goes one better by adding cloth aprons behind the front seats to hide the metal slide rails. Nice touch.

It also helps to offer something novel, and Impala does: flip-and-fold rear seat cushions. Lift one or both of the bottom cushions and flip them forward against the backs of the front seats to expose a stowage compartment large enough to hold a laptop computer or slim purse–the opening is only 4 inches deep.

Or leave the seat bottoms against the backs of the front seats and lower the rear seat backs to create an extended cargo hold for items that don’t all fit in the trunk.

“If we’re going to get people moving out of sport-utility vehicles into sedans, we have to offer the cargo carrying flexibility they came to expect in their SUV,” Clawson said.

Nice touch.

Impala offers a trio of new engines for ’06: A 3.5-liter, 211-horsepower V-6; 3.9-liter, 242-h.p. V-6; and a 5.3-liter, 303-h.p. V-8 with displacement on demand (DOD) in the performance SS.

They replace the 3.4-liter, 180-h.p. V-6; 3.8-liter, 205-h.p. V-6; and 3.8-liter, 242-h.p., supercharged V-6 from 2005.

Both new V-6s feature variable valve timing for smooth and quick, yet quiet, acceleration and better off-the-line power than the engines they replace. The Impala LT we tested came with the 3.5-liter V-6 that not only had good pep, but also a 21 m.p.g. city/31 m.p.g. highway rating.

With DOD in the 5.3, 4 cylinders shut off at cruising speed to conserve fuel. A dash display shows when in 4-cylinder mode.

“Rather than say `trust us,’ we put the gauge in,” Clawson said.

It’s the same V-8 that will be offered in the redesigned 2007 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban full-size SUVs that come out early next year. The engine also will be teamed with an electric motor in GM’s first hybrid versions of those SUVs a year later.

So is Impala earmarked for hybrid power?

“I can’t speak on a hybrid down the road,” Clawson said. “Hybrids are getting a lot of hype, but you have to pay for two propulsion systems and when you get 31 m.p.g. [3.5-liter] without the cost of two systems, is it really necessary?”

Ride is impressive. No jolts or jarring, just stable contact with the road and no tendency to float. Smooth, quiet ride but there’s body lean in corners and turns. For optimum, pinpoint handling and precise steering response, you have to move up to the SS.

The 3.5-liter V-6 models come with 16-inch, all-season, radial tires; the 3.9-liter V-6 models with 17-inch, touring radials for smooth, quiet ride at higher speeds.

The SS has 18-inch performance radials and performance-tuned suspension for precise steering response and more agile handling for those who drive more aggressively.

Other noteworthy Impala features include standard remote engine start with a twist. It not only starts the engine at the touch of the key fob from the house, it also activates the air conditioning or heater to cool or warm the cabin based on outside temperatures. And, in the winter, it will turn on the windshield defroster and rear-window defogger.

The panic button on the key fob does something new, too. Press and hold it so the car bleats a warning for all to hear, or press the fob once and let go and the car chirps three times to let you know where it is in the parking lot.

And there are two power plugs and two cupholders upfront and one power plug and two cupholders in back.

Clawson said rivals beat Impala in only two categories: The Ford Five Hundred has a bigger trunk (holds eight golf bags), the Chrysler 300C has a higher horsepower engine (340-h.p. Hemi V-8).

We found another shortcoming. Chevy took pains to come up with new fashionably stitched, rich looking “tailored” cloth seat covers. To keep the fabric from sagging or wrinkling, a firmer foam cushion was used. That makes the seat backs stiff and less forgiving–more so upfront than in back.

Another gripe, Impala comes in LS, LT, LT2, LT3, LTZ and SS versions. Why so many?

The Impala LT tested starts at $21,860 and includes air conditioning, power windows, locks and mirrors, remote keyless entry, cruise control, AM/FM stereo with CD player and digital clock and rear window defogger.

You’ll want to add anti-lock brakes with traction control at $600, the flip-and-fold seat for $225 and perhaps a power sunroof for $900.

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TEST DRIVE

2006 Chevrolet Impala LT

Wheelbase: 110.5 inches

Length: 200.4 inches

Engine: 3.5-liter, 211-h.p. V-6

Transmission: 4-speed automatic

Fuel economy: 21 m.p.g. city/31 m.p.g. highway

Base price: $21,860

Price as tested: $22,865. Includes $600 for four-wheel anti-lock brakes with traction control; and $225 for LT2 equipment group with 16-inch aluminum wheels, AM/FM stereo with CD and MP3 player with auxiliary jack for MP3 players, leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls and rear flip-and-fold seat. Add $660 for freight.

Pluses: Redesign with clever new feature, a rear seat-bottom cushion that lifts up to reveal a storage hold. Outstanding ride, quiet cabin. Two new V-6 engines with added performance. New 5.3-liter V-8 with displacement-on-demand for the high performance version that delivers 303 h.p., yet shuts off 4 cylinders when not needed to conserve fuel. Remote engine start standard.

Minuses: Not exactly stunning styling. Stiff cloth seat backs and bottoms. Small exterior mirrors.

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Read Jim Mateja Sunday in Transportation and Wednesday and Friday in Business. Hear him on WBBM Newsradio 780 at 6:22 p.m. Wednesdays and 11:22 a.m. Sundays.

jmateja@tribune.com