At first I was going to say that the car would look better with whitewall tires. Then I noticed that those ARE whitewall tires. How about washing the whitewall strip! The car would look 100% better.
I think totally differently than Jaunty, I think a base model car looks better with black wall tires, body colored rims and dog dish caps. More in line with the cars minimal chrome and options
Wasn't the Impala the mid level car at this point? Wedged between the Bel Air and the Caprice? My family had a blue Impala identical to this when I was very young, before we bought the Fury from Grandpa. Something about it (probably nostalgia) makes me dig this car.
No. The last year for the Bel Air was 1975. For '76, the only full-size Chevrolets were the Impala and the Caprice Classic. This particular car, though, is the lowest-end full-size Chevy for '76. The Impala came in two four-door versions, sedan (pillared) and hardtop, the latter of which was called the Sport Sedan. It also came as a two-door hardtop called the Custom Coupe. I still think these cars look better with whitewall tires and full wheel covers, as these images show.
That was the style back then, even on the intermediate/midsize cars. People didn't do things that made their car look like a cop car unless they were the elderly cheap penny-pinchers.
Gotcha. I wasn't certain. I think there was a 75 Bel Air on here recently. I assumed (incorrectly) that it carried on until the model change. I knew it didn't make it into the redesign.