Month: July 2011

Transition To The Late 50s Chevrolet (The Quick Gear Changes)


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Part 1 of 3

I wonder what it was like fifty years ago. I mean being a teenage boy during the great years following WWII. Oh, wait a minute, I do remember and it was great. It seems my best friend (Richard Haber) and I lived on our bikes. We lived in Jersey City, New Jersey and would ride our bikes everywhere. Each September we would ride about two miles to the Chevrolet dealer in town and sneak a look at the new models a week or so before the formal release date. I literally remember looking at the printing embossed in the taillight lens to verify the model year of the car, 1956, it read.

Now, of course, I have a different perspective about the battles between the car companies. Car companies then really meant the American car companies, G.M., Ford, Chrysler and the others like Nash, Studebaker & Willies. I have written a few posts about Chrysler’s moves during the second half of 1950s. Chrysler skipped an entire year and brought out the 1958 cars in 1957 just to get an edge. The funny thing that I do not remember is what G.M. was doing with the Chevrolet line during the same time frame. G.M. was also moving quickly. In fact, G.M. had three significantly different designs in 1957, 1958 and 1959.

Let’s start when the fun begins, the 1955 Chevy Bel Air. This was a real breakaway design in more than one way. First, the body style and dimensions were much changed compared with the 1954. Secondly, the V8 engine also introduced in the 1955 model added numerous options to the Chevy line. Also, Air Conditioning was added as an option.

Click Here To See The 1955 Brochure

The 1956 model just built on the 1955 models, but somehow they look much bigger. The two cars (1955,1956) had the same exact wheelbase but the 1956 model was about two inches longer. The ’55 front grill was also replaced with a full width grill and the back end started the move towards the “fins craze”.

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The next part of this post will explore the 1957 and 1958 models. Things change a lot and very, very quickly too.

1972 Vega Station Wagon (Kammback)

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 Notice the front bumpers are cut on both sides of the grill,
I've seen this in several other pictures on the Web.

There is a lot to tell about the 1972 Vega, some of which involves me and an ex-girlfriend in Washington D.C. in 1972. Well, the girlfriend part is rather boring but Bonnie, was the proud owner of a very simple Vega in 1972, while we were dating. Her car had a simple 2 speed transmission and was very, very slow. Apparently, the Vegas were not all like hers, thank goodness.

The Vega was a unique vehicle. It was a part of a Corporate G.M. project that started in 1969 to help fight off the VW, Toyoto and Datsun lead in the sub-compact car category. According to Wikipedia, a dedicated team was established under one manager to design and bring the car to market in 24 mouths. The team succeeded but the car had mixed reviews. The car won Car Of The Year from major magazines and also made other magazine’s worst cars of all time list.

The cars basic style came from the Fiat 124 sports coupe, the car I was driving in 1972. Also, the aluminum block engine was originally tested in a Fiat sedan. Thanks go out to the Italian’s.

1972 models were essentially carried over from 1971 with a few refinements and additions. Vibration and noise levels were reduced by a revised exhaust system and better driveline damping and the rear shock absorbers were revised. The Turbo-hydramatic three-speed automatic transmission and a custom cloth interior were new options and a glove box was added.[19]

Apparently, my ex-girlfriend did not buy the 3 speed option.

 
Original script logo was replaced in 1973

One other interesting note relates to the cars tenancy to rust.

The original design provided for the full inner fender liners from the beginning. But at a cost review meeting the finance department cancelled the liners, as they would have added $1.14 per side, or $2.28 per car to the product cost. One of the program objectives was to produce a 2,000-pound car to sell for $2,000.00, and every penny was watched. Five years later, after GM had spent millions to replace thousands of sets of rusted-out Vega fenders in the field….

Click Here for extensive information from Wikipeadia on the Chevy Vega

© Fred Winograd copyright 2011