John Biaglow’s 1960 Chevrolet Impala is a Southern, purchased by the Wapakoneta man 23 years ago when he and his family lived in Snellville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.
Jim Krumel | For The Lima News
WAPAKONETA — Yes, men, it pays to listen to your wife.
Just ask John Biaglow.
The Wapakoneta man’s favorite toy, a 1960 Chevrolet Impala, came his way thanks to the keen eye of his wife, Fran. It is a Southern car, purchased when their family lived in Snellville, Georgia, a suburb just outside of Atlanta.
“Fran saw it while driving home from work and told me about it,” John said. “She knew I’ve always been a car guy. I went to take a look at it. It was a unique color and in beautiful shape. I had a 40th birthday coming up, so you could say I treated myself.”
The car has been part of their family for “23 years this summer,” John said. Family members fondly refer to it as “the old car.” It has transported kids to school, to ball practices, and out for ice cream on a hot summer’s day.
The Biaglows brought the car with them when they moved north to Detroit and later to Wapakoneta.
Chevrolet introduced the Impala in 1958 and it quickly became one of the best-selling American-made automobiles. It was General Motors’ most popular full-sized model through the mid-1980s, owning a spot on the assembly line until 1985. General Motors came back with the Impala twice after that: from 1994 to 1996 and from 2000 to 2020.
Bigalow’s car has “138,000 miles and change on it,” he says.
“I just enjoy driving it. I’ve taken it to the Woodward Avenue Cruise in Detroit and many car shows” he said. “I’ve always kept it road worthy. It’s been part of our family.”
