.

By 1953, Chevrolet had revamped its lineup completely, and streamlined its sedans to three models: a base-level 150; mid-trim 210; and the high-grade 240 Bel Air. The Bel Air was a four-model line and was extremely successful because it cost just 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. But it was the introduction of the well known small-block V-8 in addition to the classically styled 1955 Chevys that made the next 3 years classics. Available as 2- and four-door sedans, coupe and convertible, wagon and even a two-door wagon called the Nomad, these "shoebox Chevys" were hugely effective.

That '57 Chevy boasted larger and distinctively styled tailfins, a special grille, and a readily available fuel-injected V-8 engine. The lightweight and fairly compact size of the mid-50s Chevys made them favorites amongst lovers, and are among the most in-demand designs by collectors. The 1958 model year boasted big modifications for the Chevy lineup, literally, as the cars and trucks acquired size and weight.

Chevy also dropped the numerical designations, with the Del Ray at the bottom, Biscayne in the middle and Bel Air slotted right listed below the Impala. A substantial restyle in 1959 cast the Bel Air a little additional down as the Impala gained in stature and body styles. This was the pattern for the next a number of years, with the only standout Bel Air the 1962 Sport Coupe, which included a 409 cu.-in.

By the 3rd generation presented 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 huge sedans in 1971 the Bel Air was at the bottom rung, and the name was dropped completely when Chevy decided to call all of its huge sedans Impala in 1976.

Metal Glass (Material) Chromium Vinyl Fabric Rubber (Product) Salmon (Color) Gray (Color) Black (Color) 3 in (Stroke) 3.75 in (Bore) 60.5 in 74 in 115 in 195.6 in 3165 lbs Rear side panels: Bel Air On front dash, passenger side: Bel Air Make & Design: 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 General length: 195.5 inches Weight: 3165 pounds Horse power: 162 at 4400 revolutions per minute Pounds per horsepower: 19.5 Price: $2,166 Typical 1955 wage: $4,128 per year Time you 'd work to buy this cars and truck: about 6 months.

I have a sensation that this will be among the more questionable Meh Car Mondays I have actually done, however I believe it's one that has to occur. Abnormally for Meh Vehicle Monday, I'm going to be concentrating on an automobile with not just a substantial following, but one that is probably an actual automobile icon.

It's the 1955-1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. Everybody, everybody, settle down! I can hear you. You're mad. You're specific that all of those posters with Bel Airs in front of 1950s diners simply 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 ideal? All those old car collectors can't be incorrect? Can they?Of course they can.

It's not great. It's just sort of ... there. And I preserve, in the context of mid-to-late 1950s American cars and trucks, the Chevrolet Bel Air was really simply a meh automobile. Sure, the Bel Air managed to do something unprecedented in mehcardom, which's to somehow defy its fundamental mehness to become something more.

All of its primary design traits were things other cars had also, and were middle-of-the-road examples of them. It had a big, eggcrate grille (full width by 1956), huge chrome bumpers, two-tone paint, modest tailfins, and all the heavy chrome precious jewelry of the era. There's absolutely nothing actually striking or standout about its style, and as such it's frequently close to the unclear image of what people think of when they hear "1950s cars and truck," normally in turquoise-and-white.

Sure, a little number got engines with an early fuel-injection system, and the power numbers on some of the V8 alternatives were reputable, whatever was played really, very safe and no engineering threats or developments were taken. It was, really, just fine. Commercials of the age were hyperbolic as all '50s ads were, like this one where a guy's ghost is chewed out about the "sassy" efficiency and the "timeless appeal" of the '57 Chevy, along with the guarantee of "genuine chrome:" These Chevys from the age were definitely on par with the lower-end offerings from the other big American carmakers, Ford or Chrysler or Nash or any of them, however it's perplexing as to why and how these Chevys in some way got their iconic status and not, state, a 1955-1957 Ford or Nash.

The ease of access 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-sustaining feedback loop. These Bel Airs were decent, if generally plain American automobiles of the 1950s, however they were an excellent value and did their task well.

Bel Airs at a vehicle show today have become clichs; can anybody keep in mind the last time they were actually delighted to see a brought back Bel Air? Sure, the two-door wagons are cool, and any well-preserved automobile from that long back has some interest, however it says a lot when a vintage car elicits a yawn.

Maybe this truly isn't the vehicle's fault itself, it's because of a certain laziness of human nature. Something works, it's unchallenging however attractive, so, what's the damage in doing it once again? And once again, and once again, and again. There's other iconic cars with big followings that appear over and over again, naturally, like Mustangs or Corvettes, or air-cooled Volkswagens, but I believe those cars, and even other automobiles with significant followings, all have a little more happening with them to validate their getting away the meh trap due to sheer exposure that the Bel Air simply never had, ever.

But the Bel Air has somehow managed to go even beyond something that's simply a fantastic starter traditional and has actually fallen off into a void of loaded with self-important tradition, obviousness, those, and, let's face it, boredom. The Bel Air was good cars and truck, standard and maybe fairly uncreative, but driven down the dull meh blandway to the parking lot of Meh's Restaurant, looking like a sparkling chrome suppository drizzled with neon, by the knowledgeable however incurious hands of many Bel Air-smitten individuals, each doing the same thing to the same cars and trucks, and revealing them in the same method, often at the same time, in the exact same location.