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By 1953, Chevrolet had upgraded its lineup completely, and simplified its sedans to 3 designs: a base-level 150; mid-trim 210; and the high-grade 240 Bel Air. The Bel Air was a four-model line and was hugely successful because it cost only a little bit more than the base and mid-level trims.
From 1950 through 1954, all Chevrolets, including the Bel Air, boasted a straight six under the hood. However it was the introduction of the famed small-block V-8 in addition to the classically styled 1955 Chevys that made the next 3 years classics. Readily available as 2- and four-door sedans, coupe and convertible, wagon and even a two-door wagon called the Wanderer, these "shoebox Chevys" were extremely successful.
That '57 Chevy boasted bigger and uniquely styled tailfins, an unique grille, and an offered fuel-injected V-8 engine. The light weight and relatively compact size of the mid-50s Chevys made them favorites amongst enthusiasts, and are amongst the most popular designs by collectors. The 1958 design year boasted huge modifications for the Chevy lineup, actually, as the automobiles acquired size and weight.
Chevy likewise dropped the numerical designations, with the Del Ray at the bottom, Biscayne in the middle and Bel Air slotted right listed below the Impala. An extensive restyle in 1959 cast the Bel Air a little additional down as the Impala acquired in stature and body designs. This was the trend for the next several years, with the only standout Bel Air the 1962 Sport Coupe, which included a 409 cu.-in.
By the 3rd generation introduced in 1966, the Biscayne was at the bottom and the Bel Air in the middle, and in 1969 it became sedan and wagon only when the two-door was dropped. When Chevy upgraded its big sedans in 1971 the Bel Air was at the bottom rung, and the name was dropped entirely when Chevy chose to call all of its big sedans Impala in 1976.
Metal Glass (Material) Chromium Vinyl Fabric Rubber (Material) Salmon (Color) Gray (Color) Black (Color) 3 in (Stroke) 3.75 in (Bore) 60.5 in 74 in 115 in 195.6 in 3165 pounds Rear side panels: Bel Air On front dash, guest side: Bel Air Make & Model: 1955 Chevrolet hardtop Maker: General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Michigan Engine: V-8, overhead valves, 265 cubic inches Transmission: 3-speed manual Height: 60.5 inches Wheelbase: 115 inches Width: 74 inches Overall length: 195.5 inches Weight: 3165 pounds Horsepower: 162 at 4400 revolutions per minute Pounds per horse power: 19.5 Rate: $2,166 Typical 1955 wage: $4,128 per year Time you 'd work to buy this automobile: about 6 months.
I have a sensation that this will be among the more questionable Meh Cars and truck Mondays I've done, however I think it's one that has to happen. Unusually for Meh Automobile Monday, I'm going to be focusing on a cars and truck with not just a considerable following, however one that is perhaps an actual automotive icon.
It's the 1955-1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. Everybody, everybody, settle! I can hear you. You're upset. You're certain that all of
those posters with Bel Airs in front of 1950s restaurants just can't be lying to uswe have laws to avoid that sort of thing, do not we?Is it even legal to make shirts covered in meh cars? It can't be right? All those old car collectors can't be incorrect? Can they?Of course they can.It's not great. It's simply sort of ... there. And I preserve, in the context of mid-to-late 1950s American cars and trucks, the Chevrolet Bel Air was truly simply a meh cars and truck. Sure, the Bel Air handled to do something unheard of in mehcardom, which's to in some way defy its inherent mehness to become something more.
All of its primary style characteristics were things other cars had too, and were middle-of-the-road examples of them. It had a huge, eggcrate grille (complete width by 1956), big chrome bumpers, two-tone paint, modest tailfins, and all the heavy chrome precious jewelry of the era. There's nothing truly striking or standout about its design, and as such it's frequently near to the vague image of what people envision when they hear "1950s car," normally in turquoise-and-white.
Sure, a small number got engines with an early fuel-injection system, and the power numbers on some of the V8 alternatives were reputable, whatever was played extremely, really safe and no engineering risks or innovations were taken. It was, truly, simply fine. Commercials of the age were hyperbolic as all '50s ads were, like this one where a guy's ghost is screamed at about the "sassy" performance and the "traditional beauty" of the '57 Chevy, together with the promise of "real chrome:" These Chevys from the age were definitely on par with the lower-end offerings from the other huge American carmakers, Ford or Chrysler or Nash or any of them, however it's confusing as to why and how these Chevys in some way got their iconic status and not, state, a 1955-1957 Ford or Nash.
The accessibility and ubiquity of Bel Airs made them easy to restore and keep going, and communities of owners grew, and on and on, which just produced a self-sufficient feedback loop. These Bel Airs were decent, if normally plain American automobiles of the 1950s, however they were a good value and did their task well.
Bel Airs at a car program today have become clichs; can anyone keep in mind the last time they were actually thrilled to see a brought back Bel Air? Sure, the two-door wagons are awesome, and any unspoiled cars and truck from that long ago has some interest, however it states a lot when a traditional cars and truck generates a yawn.
Maybe this truly isn't the automobile's fault itself, it's because of a certain laziness of human nature. Something works, it's unchallenging however attractive, so, what's the harm in doing it again? And again, and again, and once again. There's other renowned automobiles with substantial followings that show up over and over once again, naturally, like Mustangs or Corvettes, or air-cooled Volkswagens, but I believe those cars and trucks, and even other vehicles with substantial followings, all have a bit more happening with them to validate their escaping the meh trap due to sheer exposure that the Bel Air simply never had, ever.
However the Bel Air has somehow handled to go even beyond something that's just a terrific starter timeless and has fallen off into an abyss of filled with overbearing custom, obviousness, those, and, let's face it, monotony. The Bel Air was decent car, traditional and maybe relatively uncreative, but driven down the dull meh blandway to the car park of Meh's Diner, looking like a glistening chrome suppository drizzled with neon, by the proficient however incurious hands of many Bel Air-smitten individuals, each doing the exact same thing to the exact same cars and trucks, and showing them in the same way, typically at the same time, in the very same location.
