Even as I start to type this, I realize that I’m about to dive into the deep end of a filthy, unchlorinated public pool of hypocrisy. And then I’m going to swim around a bit. I feel like I’m being hypocritical because one of the Founding Ideals of this site is that anyone and everyone is welcome, no matter how miserable or boring or obscure or perverse their car obsessions are. And I believe this, with every rusty nut in my soul. At the same time, I think it’s okay to express opinions about cars, even negative ones, because, well, that makes life interesting. Hell, I even let our crankiest, most acerbic writer lambast one of my favorite cars ever, and sure, I also wrote a rebuttal, but the point is sometimes it’s just cathartic to lambast a car, especially one with such a huge following. And that’s what I’m going to do right now, as I tell you that if I learned a drunk, hungry wizard appeared and turned every ’57 Chevy into a nice corned beef sandwich, I’d be just fine with that.
The 1957 Chevy – part of the “Tri-Five” series of cars from 1955 to 1957 – is arguably the most iconic “American” car. I have American in quotes there because it’s not really America – it’s the icon of this idealized 1950s America, the source for what people call Americana, and all of the hokey, overplayed, tired miasma that surrounds it. For a classic car pushing 70 years old, there’s still a shocking amount of them around. About 1.5 million of these were made, and to their credit, it feels like most of those are still kicking, taking up way too many spots at classic car shows, surrounded by those creepy upset kid dolls and with open trunks showing old window stickers and newspaper clippings.
It’s not like the ’57 Chevy was such a bad car – it wasn’t – but it wasn’t that great a car, either. Sure, they had the legendary 265 cubic inch V8 that was introduced in 1955, but the overall engineering was about as unimaginative as you can, ironically, imagine. They handled about as well as most 1950s big American cars, which is to say lousy, like moving a couch on a furniture dolly. You could get them in like 19 different body styles and literally hundreds of two-tone and solid color combinations, and while that’s great and all, I can’t fathom why these became the default 1950s car over any number of their contemporaries.
I mean, when you want a Hawaiian shirt with cars on it, for reasons maybe you don’t feel comfortable admitting, chances are you’ll get something like these:
They’re covered in ’57 Chevys (and maybe some ’56s?), Bel Airs, convertibles, the occasional (and more interesting) Nomad, but all still these same cars. Sure, you can find shirts with other cars, but the dominance of the ’57 Chevy can’t be denied. Or justified, as far as I’m concerned.
I just don’t get why this happened? How did this one particular car get to be so dominant, develop such a colossal fanbase, establish such a massive aftermarket industry, and just come to dominate the mainstream classic car community for so damn long? How did this car end up with its iconic status to the point that it’s become essentially synonymous with ’50s America, and almost the expected follow-up any time anyone even says the year 1957?
There’s certainly other cars with rabid followings and strong associations with a particular time and place and culture and representations in art and Hawaiian shirts and all that, of course. The Beetle comes to mind. But the difference there is that when the Beetle grew in popularity and became an automotive icon in the 1960s and 1970s, at that time, it was somewhat unique in the mainstream culture, at least in America. It was foreign, small, weird, technically strange, and an outlier amongst the mainstream cars around at the time. It stood out. It became popular as a reaction against mainstream culture, which sort of makes its eventual climb to fame more understandable.
But the ’57 Chevy? I mean, it was fine, but was it really all that different than its big competitors of the era? Why did this car:
…get so much more fame and notoriety and lasting legendary status over, say, this car:
Ford actually outsold Chevy in 1957, even. And sure, there’s plenty of love for these cars, but it doesn’t quite reach the ethereal status of the Chevrolet. Or what about one of these:
Dodge certainly had the same sort of over-exuberant jet-age styling as the Chevy, and was maybe even more exaggerated. Hell, even the Nash had a similar sort of dual-fuselage jet-type hood ornament as some of the Chevys:
But, of course, none of these cars reached the level of the Chevy. And they’re just not that different. I mean, sure, there’s plenty of differences, but we’re not talking differences like what the Volkswagen was to American cars of the time. There are differences in details and trim and specs, but if you had to describe all of the cars I showed here just now in general terms – big V8 heavily chromed two-tone sedans with Paleolithic chassis designs – it would apply equally well to any of them.
What’s also surprising is how much the designers of the ’57 Chevy seemed to, well, not like the car. The 1957 model was supposed to be all new, but the new design wasn’t ready, so Chevy’s design team had to tart up the ’56 as best they could to make it feel new and different. The roof and doors and rear deck are carryovers from ’56, but there was a lot of pressure to make the ’57 look different. This Hemmings article notes how the designers felt about the car:
One man who worked on designing the ’57 Chevy is Robert Cumberford, who today lives in France. He distinctly remembers that not a single person who worked on the 1957 car liked the design. He recalls working 84-hour weeks with others in a crash program to design the ’57 model and that Harley Earl wanted the car to look as big as possible. To accomplish that, stylists stretched the fender profile to an extreme length, pushed the headlamps as far apart as possible and took the grille across the entire front end.
You can see how widened everything is, the grille, the lights shoved as far to the edges as possible, all to make the car look as massive as possible. These changes seem sort of bonkers when you look at the ’56, which was already an incredibly wide-looking car:
The designer mentioned above, Robert Cumberford, actually once commented on a Dean’s Garage story, where he found an old sketch he did for the 1957 redesign – which he described as an “emergency re-style”:
He says directly that
“It was a thrash, none of us who worked on it liked the damn ’57, and now it’s the one people revere. Go figure.”
Again, this was one of the people who designed the damn car.
But I have to be honest – I don’t think the car is all that bad, really. And I like the two-door wagon Nomad version, especially.
But that said, I cannot fathom why this particular year and model ended up becoming so wildly dominant in the classic car scene. I remember so many local car shows that seemed to have rows and rows of these things, and I’ve seen them on so much bad art that romanticizes Route 66 and paints in James Dean and Marilyn Monroe in front of ’57 Bel Airs, and I’m just sick of them. I don’t get it! I never have, and I likely never will.
I feel like in recent years the saturation of ’57 Chevys is abating a bit, as the population that really latched onto them is getting older and less likely to take them out. I’m not exactly sure how the market is for these things still – it seems pretty steady, maybe with a slight decline – but I can’t help but think we’re only a few decades out from a time when the last of the people who genuinely give a crap about these cars has died off, and there will be a massive glut in the market of unwanted ’57 Chevys, complete with stacks of Hawaiian shirts and trunks full of award plaques.
Maybe then I’ll get interested, when they’re so cheap and undesired that you can buy one for pimples and cram in the drivetrain from a Nissan Leaf and use it as your electric around-town car, or something. Who knows.
What I do know is that if I never see another ’57 Chevy again, I think I’ll be just fine. I’m happy to hear all the arguments why I’m not just wrong, but wrong and ugly, and deep down I know I have the abuse coming. But I just couldn’t keep quiet any longer.
Top photo and all images: Chevrolet unless otherwise noted
I’ve always considered ’59 Caddies to be the most “Americana” cars with the iconically tastelessly ridiculous tailfins and acres of chrome, with the Dodges of the era as a much cheaper second place. I mean, the tri-five are fine but I really don’t see why they’re so popular
It’s not hard to make an aggressively 50’s American car — the Soviets did it with the GAZ 21 Volga, for example — so it really doesn’t make much sense why people just decided that ’57 Bel Airs were the thing.
I had a much less loved 1958 Bel Air for several years. It was a 4 door, but had the 348 “W” big block and a Powerglide. Inevitably, everywhere I drove it someone would comment on how they never see 58s because the 57 was so much more popular. I always found the double headlight look to be more aesthetically pleasing and I miss that 58 sometimes. I find them way more interesting than the 57 due to how common it is.
I dunno, man, but give me a Nomad to use as a hot hatch, and i’m a happy man.
I grew up in the Sixties. My dad always bought Fords, and I liked them too. My super-irritating cousin was in the Chevy camp and they had a ‘57. I took a dislike to Chevys in general and that model in particular that lasts to this very day.
Thank you for this! I have never liked the 1950’s “jet age” look. My dad is a classic boomer who thinks the ’57 is the coolest looking car ever made. Please see if you can find a wizard to turn all tri-5’s into corned beef sandwiches.
There were a lot of them and then the aftermarket took over. The equivalent Buicks and Oldsmobiles were really interesting, but you can spend a lifetime looking for trim pieces, with the Chevys, you can buy everything. They were affordable Cadillacs at one point in time and regular guys could buy them. They required the simplest tools to work on. And finally they represented an idealized time in the history of white, middle class Americans.
It is just because “fifty seven Chevy” is pleasing to SAY.
TRY IT… then change it to 56, 55 or 58. Then change it to Ford, Dodge or Buick.
None of them work.
I do think the tri 5’s are especially good looking cars, although I’m not sure how much of its reputation is from good design versus exposure and groupthink
Adrian should do a breakdown on whether the design deserves its reputation or not
I’m not a huge fan of any of the tri5 cars, and the 57 is the one I like the least, but I get why they’re more popular than the ford, dodge, or nash. They look better, it’s not even close. They may not *be* better, but no one cares.
Mr. Roper’s Car!
A lot of the 50’s car argument is subjective, but I’d take a 55-56 Packard Four Hundred/Caribbean over any Tri-5 Chevy, with the possible exception of the Nomad.
It was functional, had nice proportions, and ran pretty well for that era. It was initially popular and accessible to the Middle Class, although those things weren’t the magic part. But if you were 15+ years old by the 1960’s, you will have the memory that they were immensely popular among young men because they were cheap and they were not foreign cars. They had a recognizable design, the car your Dad had owned, that was cool and easily personalized (shackles, loud exhaust, etc).
You stole my thunder. Yeah, my sister’s boyfriend owned one in black. Nice and clean, I don’t think he’d put in new pipes, just tasteful Crager mag wheels.
I can’t imagine wanting to drive one today. I had a couple of full-sized GM cars from the 60s as my first cars, and about the best thing about them is being able to say I drove ’em.
It is all about the x factor. Taylor Swift for example, or Nickleback if you want to either adore or dog on a But Rock group instead? They are both wildly popular to the majority, but the music is all very standard and basic.
I think the more often than not SBC and reliable enough auto Trans is what put the 55-57 in the books. the SBF was not as easy to hop up when these became hand me downs and Chryslers Hemi was interesting, but also not the normal swap material for hot rods of the time, so hot parts for full fendered cheap(standard) cars was not as prevalent. if anything I feel like the ease of customization in the 60’s for these old boats is what led to them being endearing for most of the boomers.
People (Americans?) have always become obsessed with the “one thing” to the exclusion of everything else that is also just as good.
Want to save some money? By one of those “other brands” – whether it be jeans, shoes, an address, or cars.
Even classic rock radio is like this. They’ll play the top 40-50 songs and totally miss out on some really awesome tunes from other artists. I can’t listen to radio (or streaming channels) like that. If I did, I’d go through a lifetime listening to the same short list of music forever and miss so much more.
I like the tri-five Chevys but not to the exclusion of everything else out there.
To be fair I know as a kid of the 1970s and a teen of the 1980s that it was far easier to get parts for the popular cars than it was to get parts for the less popular cars. That prob explains part of why a few models seem to be everywhere. Ford Model A cars have been the same way. 1st gen Mustangs too.
To me the Harley Earl cars were basically middle-brow America, with all that that entails. Virgil Exner was the real daring visionary. The 1957-1961 Chrysler Imperials were wild, daring Baroque designs. Each successive year was more out-there than the previous year. That was cutting edge. Another great design from that era was the 1958 Lincoln Continental with the reverse slant rear window. It was socking back then and shocking now.
The boomer era cars are getting cheaper and cheaper. You still see them out at something like the Good Guys show in Pleasanton and their owners could be congress.
It’s going to follow the path of the Model A and such – the demographic dies off and the rest of us find them interesting curiosities but not icons.
Agreed, I am happy about the prices coming down for the average hot rodder guys out there that are still into them. There is a big show in Woodland, CA called Midnight Mass with a lot of younger enthusiasts of those eras. They are guys with a lot of rockabilly aesthetics and enthusiasm for custom cars.
I also like it because I want to do something sacrilegious and EV swap something from that era.
They’re definitely not my favorite ’50s-era cars (I seem to prefer the Mopars in that regard), but I did have an aqua ’57 Chevy for my Barbies in the early ’90s, so I think that’s why I don’t mind them too much. Interestingly, the first ’50s decor Americana diner I went to was called Studebaker’s; I’m sure there were some Chevy posters or artwork in there, but I’m primarily remembering Studebakers everywhere. And everything was trimmed in chrome. (This would have been in Vermont or New Hampshire, very late ’80s or early ’90s.)
You know what wasn’t in that diner? Those freakin’ time out dolls. They won’t be missed when they stop appearing at car shows. Did you know that most of them don’t have faces??? Where do they come from?? And why??? They get worse the longer you look at them. Maybe they’re someone’s idea of the perfect child, sort of the way a ’57 Chevy represents an ideal time in American life to some people.
And then there are those ’57 shorties or whatever they are called: 4 door chopped down to a 2door, since real 2 doors are much more expensive.
My dad bought a ’57 Bel Air 4 Door Wagon from his brother in 2006. It served as the first car for 2 of my younger sisters and my younger brother. He upgraded a few things such as the brakes, A/C, seatbelts, fuel injection, and such. She still runs great and is driven in local parades every year. My brother and I planning a road trip one day soon to take the car to his place now that our dad has passed. It will serve as a great memorial to him for years to come. They were in many ways the Camry of their day while also being a great platform for a hot rod. Overrated? Not this old girl.
I think Jason has it wrong on them dying out. Then generation that remembers their youth in 1957 will pass them down and their grandchildren will treasure them for memories they had with their grandfathers.
The Fuel injected and the Nomads are really the only 57s im interested in. Now 1959 chevy’s with the batwing and tear drop lights, thats where its at.
the batwing was just too polarizing for the masses at the time. lots of oddball stuff from the 50’s is only now gaining traction with preservationists.
I’m in between – I dig the outrageous ’58
I don’t see too many around here, and I don’t give a damn about all that Americana stuff, so I don’t get nearly as worked up about this car.
That being said, use of these vehicles should be expressly limited to drive-in theaters (hiding all your buddies in the trunk), grabbing a milkshake and burger at the local joint, taking Sally to the sockhop (and then deflowering her in the backseat afterwards at the overlook) and then street racing that asshole jock from English class.
Ooooh it’s been a while since I saw Robert Cumberford’s writing. I miss the old Automobile Magazine days of his design analysis, usually making Adrian’s critiques seem tame and gentle. I’d forgotten that he also had such a deep and diverse background in design.
It was David E. Davis, Robert Cumberford, Jean Lindamood and the rest that got me into cars in the first place. Great magazine.
Sorry, I believe the 57, along with the continental Mark II have the cleanest lines ever put on a car.
Better than the less “wingy” Olds J-2? https://images.classic.com/vehicles/a6afb5962b81484781770e83cf1431a6.jpeg?ar=16%3A9&fit=crop&h=338&w=600
That is definitely a nice but it also looks like it’s been chopped along with several other things to make it sleeker. Stock vs stock I’d definitely take the chevy. I’m taking the continental over both of them though.
I believe a Mr. Ward Cleaver was the proud owner of the above-pictured Dodge Mayfair.
MODERN! – Here’s the thing, the 55 chevy was a huge advance forward, especially when compared to the 53/54 before it. V8 power, modern rear axle and suspension, 12V electrics, wraparound windshields, pedals that hang down instead of coming up thru the floor, key switch starter on the dash, no buttons or floor pedal, and the options list puts it into modern car territory – things that were not available before, especially not on a chevy – Power steering, brakes, automatic, power windows, air conditioning, even – gasp, seat belts. Most came with modernish heater, and a radio – things that people take for granted now.
You could put a modern person in a 55-57 chevy and they could drive it without much coaching other than the auto quadrant isn’t PRNDL.
The 56 is really just a facelift, although they got a lot more power, and 57 added bigger 283, fuel injection with 1HP/cubic inch, turboglide transmission with PRNDL, and some would say more chrome and better looks. After 57, everything got fat – the 58s were 600 lb heavier, slower, more excess. These were cheap good cars, especially compared with what was available a few years before, or to the other manufacturers.
And you could hop them up easily – the small block chevy was cheap and easy to work on and easily double the power available from the six. It made a good hot rod sleeper. And that has a lot to do with staying power – new small blocks and transmissions are a bolt in, making future resto easy. Prices have gotten a bit stupid. 10 years ago, 10K would get you a nice 55 – 20 for a 57. Now a 55 is 30K in driver condition, and a 57 is 45-50K for a nice car. Everything is available for these from the aftermarket, to the point you can build an entire car with a credit card. you don’t have to worry about any parts at all. This is completely different from other makes, and years outside 55-57 chevies.
THE FIRST MODERN CAR most people could afford, on a low budget, at a time when everything was getting space aged.
Except all of the Big 3 came up with similar new models in 1955, which replaced the previous bulbous designs.
I do agree that the small block V8’s made these cars easy to hotrod and engine-swap. It’s sort of the same reason people took to the ’92-00 Honda Civics.
And the reason a running rust free 2000 – 2006 Silverado is suddenly worth more than it ever should be.