The '57 Bel Air is "one of the worst cars ever made" according to this article...

[Lebowski]

The Iconic Chevy Bel Air Is Actually A Dud

Here’s a controversial opinion; the iconic Chevy Bel Air is actually one of the worst cars ever made. We’re not talking about every Bel Air made, however, just the 1955-57 model. That’s three years worth of cars Chevy probably wishes didn’t exist! 

 

 

 

 

The problem is there’s nothing original about the Bel Air. Chevrolet took the most generic 1950s car design they could and mass-produced it. Maybe because it had the Chevy logo people thought more highly about it then they should have? On the bright side, the car itself drove fine.

 

 

https://www.moneypop.com/spend/the-worst-cars-ever-made-will-make-you-rethink-your-buying-options/5/

 

 

Who writes this crap? And who the hell is Moneypop.com? 

[joe_padavano]

Why does anyone waste the time to read those clickbait articles?

[ancientgrubs]

Absolute BS. I've even seen people building Lego with 1955 coupe

[TerryB]

The tri-five Chevy may not have been designed like a custom bodied car but it sure found a market when it was made and for years afterward.  They define the mid fifties change to better styling in the family car class.

[Matt Harwood]

I don't know how much truth there is to the rumor but I have heard that the GM designers HATED the '57s. Management instructed them to add chrome and fins so they went wildly overboard expecting the awful design to be rejected because it was so ugly. Instead they put it into production.

[Billy Kingsley]

After clicking that spam "article" your computer probably has more viruses than this forum has posts.

[8E45E]

Why post something like this?

 

I grew up when these cars were 'daily drivers', and were amongst the most reliable, trouble-free cars in their day, which would explain why so many still survive.  Contrast that to the '57 Ford which actually outsold Chevrolet that year, but their survival rate is far lower.  Tri--Chevys were an excellent starting point for many a high-school student into their first set of wheels, and have very good, fond memories of them!

 

Craig 

[John_S_in_Penna]

The article in the link consisted of only 2 short paragraphs.

It's clear the author knows little about old cars.  If he did,

he would offer much better justification for his claim.

 

Perhaps he wanted to gain attention by being "controversial";

but instead he discredited himself.  "One of the worst cars ever

made," he says, because " Chevrolet took the most generic

1950's car design they could and mass-produced it."  Huh? 

 

There have been quite a number of poor cars over the years,

I'm sure, but I doubt that those Chevrolets should be included.

Edited August 21, 2020 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[R W Burgess]

42 minutes ago, TerryB said:

The tri-five Chevy may not have been designed like a custom bodied car but it sure found a market when it was made and for years afterward.  They define the mid fifties change to better styling in the family car class.

*

True!

Call them what you may, but they were happy times with happy looking cars. Compared to what is seen on the show room floor today, I'd say the auto industry has taken a left turn into the ditch. They are now the most unappealing cars that I have ever seen.

[60FlatTop]

From 1960 to about 1966 my grandfather made a lot of money selling '55-'57 Chevies, mostly 6 cylinder Powerglides. We would have 10-15 cars on the lot and most of the other stuff wouldn't start after sitting a few days. He would buy from the wholesales lots the big dealers in Rochester, NY ran at the time.

I started driving around 1964 and had owned newer cars before I tried out a couple of the mid-50's Chevies. I didn't care for them, a 4 door BeAire sedan V8 3 speed and a 6 cylinder wagon. After driving the later stuff they were too trucklike for my taste, dated. But then, I had money to buy the newer cars from selling all those Chevies. I usually had a Buick.

 

New cars today, I was looking at the Buick Lacrosse yesterday and was surprised you had to ante up for the Avenir trim go get 6 cylinders. I guess that 4 puts out some HP....... if you run it at 6700 RPM. Makes me smile and shake my head. Chevy Impala is the same.

[padgett]

I really like that deep green. Personally always liked the tri-five chevvies and think the 57 the best (first year for fuel injection).

OTOH do not understand what the purpose of the article was, certainly must not be paid by the word.

 

Seems interesting cars come in cycles and from about '55 to '70 every year cars got better. Then they got fat and slow and talk of cars war not PC. By 1980 they were slimmer and still slow. I'd put 1984 as a turning point (when the Fiero came out but was slow) and starting about 1990 things really got going again to about 2012. After that horse power became absurd, a pony car was near 200" long and over 4,000 lbs. Electronics were king but everything became proprietary and little was documents. Except for crate engines which came with their own tuning programs. No big if a nerd but nerds rarely have a "need for speed".

 

We may be turning a corner to "something else" again. What, I have not a clue but suspect it will not involve as much driving.

 

[Pfeil]

2 hours ago, joe_padavano said:

Why does anyone waste the time to read those clickbait articles?

 

More like. Why does anyone waste the time to read those clickbait articles written by non car people non experts.

 

 { Even Wikipedia got it right;

Revolutionary in their day, they spawned a cult following that exists in clubs, websites and even entire businesses that exclusively cater to the enthusiasts of the Tri Five automobiles. All featured a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. They remain some of the most popular years for collectors and hot rodders.^[2][3]

1955-1957 were watershed years for Chevrolet, who spent a million dollars in 1956 alone for retooling, in order to make their less expensive Bel Air models look more like a Cadillac, culminating in 1957 with their most extravagant tailfins and Cadillac inspired bumper guards.  }^]

 

Talk about a great car for the money!    And in those three years with the same basic body shape GM styling turned out three distinct / different adaptations not to mention all of the subset models of each years shape.

 

Did anyone notice the absence of a author on that article. That article was a opinion, and a opinion without a authors name really tells you something about the person behind it.

[60FlatTop]

1 minute ago, Pfeil said:

That article was a opinion, and a opinion without a authors name really tells you something about the person behind it.

 

I have an opinion. The author picked up his $50 check and his wife smiled when he set the bag of groceries on the table.

 

Oh, my other opinion about tri-five Chevies,  comes from being an actual owner and driver.

[Pfeil]

I'm going to my weekly Friday car guy lunch today. I'll probably drive one of my Pontiac's or maybe my Olds. There might be another Pontiac or Olds that shows up too but there won't be a Cad or Buick in sight. There quite possibly might be a dozen or so 55-57 Chevys though.

[Matt Harwood]

[TerryB]

I had a great time with my 55 Chevy!

 

[Lebowski]

2 hours ago, 8E45E said:

Why post something like this?

 

To stimulate conversation. Isn't that what this forum is for? If you can't think of anything intelligent to say then feel free to move on to the next thread but with 15 responses in 3 hours it's obviously got a few people talking.... 

[60FlatTop]

Friday, for a lot of us the high point will be a fish fry.

[TerryB]

10 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said:

Friday, for a lot of us the high point will be a fish fry.

Where!  😀

[padgett]

I prefer Bun-Bun.

[8E45E]

2 hours ago, Lebowski said:

 

To stimulate conversation. Isn't that what this forum is for? If you can't think of anything intelligent to say then feel free to move on to the next thread but with 15 responses in 3 hours it's obviously got a few people talking.... 

Then you could have found a link where someone has something intelligent to say!!

 

Craig

[Lebowski]

32 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

Then you could have found a link where someone has something intelligent to say!!

 

Stupid people like the author of this article are entitled to their opinions too which is why I posted it since I knew that most people here would disagree with it....

[R W Burgess]

3 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

 

I started driving around 1964 and had owned newer cars before I tried out a couple of the mid-50's Chevies. I didn't care for them, a 4 door BeAire sedan V8 3 speed and a 6 cylinder wagon.

*

Bought this '56 on the cheap, a 6 cylinder with a 3 speed. We have driven it all over the place, fun car, still gets thumbs up.😄

[Lebowski]

29 minutes ago, R W Burgess said:

*

Bought this '56 on the cheap, a 6 cylinder with a 3 speed. We have driven it all over the place, fun car, still gets thumbs up.😄

 

That's a nice looking Handyman. I had one a few years ago with a 327 and 4 speed that was fun to drive but it had some body work that wasn't the greatest.... 

 

 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Market seems to disagree with article.  

 

Swapped my nicely restored 56 210 2 door, of which I was 3rd owner for a corvette which I regret to this day

[John_S_in_Penna]

I recall reading that the cross-hatched grille of the

1955 Chevrolet was influenced by the Ferrari's.

 

Picture being around in the fall of 1954, when the

1955 cars were being introduced.  Almost all cars

for 1955 were departures from the old styling cues,

and were beautifully done.  It's no wonder that 1955

(also during a period of prosperity) was record-setting.

[TerryB]

I have an auto magazine from 1956 that says the 1956 Chevy grill was a response to the less than enthusiastic response to the 1955 style.  At one time I liked the 55 grill better but now I prefer the 1956 styling more.

[George Cole]

So every time one of us clicks on that trash article, the author gets paid by his advertisers?  

[Guest]

 Yea, he's right, who would want one of these?

[JamesR]

I think the '57 Chevy is one of the most over-rated vintage cars, in terms of it's market value, but I do like them. I regret not buying the '57 four door wagon that I looked at a couple of times back when I was a kid. It was reasonably solid and all original and was more or less road ready, but it was like $700. That's about what I paid for my  7 or 8 year old 1970 SS 396 Chevelle about that time. 😄 And my clean-ish 1970 Monte Carlo a few years later.

 

I never really liked that the '57 sort of over shadowed the '55  in historical significance, at least in some peoples' eyes. The '55 was a real new direction for Chevy, and probably the perfect styling to showcase the fantastic new engine. I also don't like that some Chevy guys act like the '57 was the top of the line for that year. No folks. it wasn't...Chevy was the bottom of the line.

 

But try as I might, I can't dislike the iconic '57 Chevy. It symbolizes the optimism of the time. Put tailfins and a lot of chrome on an otherwise ordinary car, and lots of Americans thought they were upscale. That's pretty cool, in a way.

[Steve9]

My mother worked at Westlake Chevrolet in Seattle in the late fifties . I recall her saying what a dud the 58 Chevies were. Many issues plagued these cars. What is was I don’t know, it wasn’t important to me then or now. But anybody trashing the 55- 57’s don’t have a leg to stand on. Popular cars when new, still popular now.

Edited August 22, 2020 by Steve9 (see edit history)

[victorialynn2]

Well, I like the ‘57 Chevy, but I prefer my Ford. 💗

[padgett]

In five years mine will be AACA eligable. Can put top up or down in my garage. Nice SLK230/320 is under $5k these days. Only problem - with top down there is no place to put groceries.

Part of the reason I decided against an XLR is that it needs over 7' of overhead clearance.

 

[MikeC5]

I have to side with the '55 as being a much cleaner design.  It doesn't need a lot of chrome to look good.  

[Lebowski]

1 hour ago, padgett said:

In five years mine will be AACA eligable. Can put top up or down in my garage. Nice SLK230/320 is under $5k these days. Only problem - with top down there is no place to put groceries.

Part of the reason I decided against an XLR is that it needs over 7' of overhead clearance.

 

No offense but I would take Victoria's '57 retractable over your foreign job any day of the week. As for groceries, shouldn't the passenger seat and floorboard hold several bags of food?

[TerryB]

1 hour ago, padgett said:

In five years mine will be AACA eligable. Can put top up or down in my garage. Nice SLK230/320 is under $5k these days. Only problem - with top down there is no place to put groceries.

Part of the reason I decided against an XLR is that it needs over 7' of overhead clearance.

 

Nice newer design car that will be appreciated after we’ve had our fill of SUVs.  Best time to get one is before others decide its a good buy and push the price up.  I had hoped to do the same with the Saturn/Pontiac two seater but missed my chance.

[victorialynn2]

36 minutes ago, Lebowski said:

 

No offense but I would take Victoria's '57 retractable over your foreign job any day of the week. As for groceries, shouldn't the passenger seat and floorboard hold several bags of food?

Thank you, but I happen to be a fan of the SLK’s also. I took a weekend trip in one. Storage is  an issue. Lol

Edited August 22, 2020 by victorialynn2 (see edit history)

[JACK M]

I would take a 58 over any tri 5.

But I'm not much of a GM guy.

[victorialynn2]

23 hours ago, R W Burgess said:

*

Bought this '56 on the cheap, a 6 cylinder with a 3 speed. We have driven it all over the place, fun car, still gets thumbs up.😄

I know where the YO is! It’s close to my dad’s old place. 

[Pfeil]

3 hours ago, MikeC5 said:

I have to side with the '55 as being a much cleaner design.  It doesn't need a lot of chrome to look good.  

 

The reason to me that the 56-57 looks better is because they have the futuristic front and rear sweep cut wheel house styling. The 55 looks odd because it has it in the front but has the old style for the rear, as in new and old wheel house styling.

 

I love the flair on the rear wheelhouse.

 

 

 

And of course the first GM  car that used sweep cut styling the 1954 Oldsmobile Starfire which is TWO styling cycles ahead of Chevrolet and Pontiac.

 

 

 

 

Also note that sweep cut wheel house styling is a design FEATURE and should NEVER  be used with a fender skirt.

 

Edited August 22, 2020 by Pfeil (see edit history)