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By 1953, Chevrolet had actually redesigned its lineup totally, and streamlined its sedans to 3 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 considering that it cost only a little bit more than the base and mid-level trims.

From 1950 through 1954, all Chevrolets, consisting of the Bel Air, boasted a straight six under the hood. But it was the introduction of the renowned small-block V-8 in addition to the classically styled 1955 Chevys that made the next three years classics. Available as two- and four-door sedans, coupe and convertible, wagon and even a two-door wagon called the Nomad, these "shoebox Chevys" were extremely successful.

That '57 Chevy boasted bigger and uniquely styled tailfins, a special grille, and an offered fuel-injected V-8 engine. The light weight and relatively compact size of the mid-50s Chevys made them favorites among lovers, and are among the most popular models by collectors. The 1958 design year boasted huge changes for the Chevy lineup, literally, as the vehicles gained size and weight.

Chevy also dropped the mathematical classifications, with the Del Ray at the bottom, Biscayne in the center and Bel Air slotted right listed below the Impala. A comprehensive restyle in 1959 cast the Bel Air a little further down as the Impala gained in stature and body styles. This was the trend for the next numerous years, with the only standout Bel Air the 1962 Sport Coupe, which included a 409 cu.-in.

By the third 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 revamped its big sedans in 1971 the Bel Air was at the bottom sounded, and the name was dropped completely when Chevy chose to call all of its huge sedans Impala in 1976.

Metal Glass (Product) Chromium Vinyl Cloth 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, traveler 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 General length: 195.5 inches Weight: 3165 pounds Horsepower: 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 purchase this vehicle: about 6 months.

I sense that this will be among the more questionable Meh Cars and truck Mondays I've done, but I think it's one that has to take place. Uncommonly for Meh Cars And Truck Monday, I'm going to be concentrating on a vehicle with not just a substantial following, however one that is probably a real vehicle icon.

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

It's not good. It's just sort of ... there. And I keep, in the context of mid-to-late 1950s American cars and trucks, the Chevrolet Bel Air was truly just a meh cars and truck. Sure, the Bel Air managed to do something unusual in mehcardom, and that's to in some way defy its fundamental mehness to end up being something more.

All of its primary style characteristics were things other automobiles had also, and were middle-of-the-road examples of them. It had a huge, eggcrate grille (complete width by 1956), huge chrome bumpers, two-tone paint, modest tailfins, and all the heavy chrome precious jewelry of the age. There's absolutely nothing truly striking or standout about its style, and as such it's often close to the vague image of what individuals picture when they hear "1950s vehicle," generally 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 really, really safe and no engineering threats or developments were taken. It was, truly, just fine. Commercials of the age were hyperbolic as all '50s advertisements were, like this one where a man's ghost is chewed out about the "sassy" efficiency and the "traditional appeal" of the '57 Chevy, in addition to the pledge of "genuine chrome:" These Chevys from the period were definitely on par with the lower-end offerings from the other big American carmakers, Ford or Chrysler or Nash or any of them, but it's confusing regarding why and how these Chevys somehow got their renowned status and not, say, a 1955-1957 Ford or Nash.

The availability and ubiquity of Bel Airs made them easy to bring back and keep going, and communities of owners grew, and on and on, which simply produced a self-sustaining feedback loop. These Bel Airs were decent, if generally plain American cars of the 1950s, but they were a good value and did their task well.

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

Maybe this really isn't the car's fault itself, it's because of a particular laziness of human nature. Something works, it's unchallenging however attractive, so, what's the harm in doing it once again? And once again, and again, and again.There's other renowned automobiles with huge followings that appear over and over once again, obviously, like Mustangs or Corvettes, or air-cooled Volkswagens, but I think those automobiles, and even other vehicles with considerable followings, all have a little more going on with them to justify their escaping the meh trap due to large exposure that the Bel Air just never had, ever.

However the Bel Air has actually in some way handled to go even beyond something that's simply an excellent starter classic and has actually fallen off into an abyss of loaded with overbearing tradition, obviousness, those, and, let's face it, monotony. The Bel Air was good cars and truck, conventional and maybe fairly uninspired, but driven down the dull meh blandway to the parking area of Meh's Diner, looking like a glowing chrome suppository drizzled with neon, by the proficient but incurious hands of many Bel Air-smitten people, each doing the very same thing to the very same automobiles, and showing them in the very same way, often at the very same time, in the exact same location.