Quote Originally Posted by Dave Severson View Post
Hadn't thought about it much before, but '57 was sort of the end for a styling era.... I think that whatever marque you care to talk about '57 was really the end of the "simplicity and functional" era, wasn't it???? So many way kewl things on the '57's, Chevy had the dual four 283, Ford had a supercharged 312, Olds had the J-2, and of course Chrysler was just beginning to tap the performance potential of the Hemi....!
Absolutely! I think the styling which was pretty simple and "utilitarian" through '53-'54, was staring to accelerate! The boxy look of the '53-'54s, and even some '55s, disappeared. Some of those same cars changed quickly from '55-'57, gaining "more highly stlyed" changes. In that "light", it is not a stretch to understand why the styling took another big jump... adding lots more "bling". Like so many things in life, once we humans get started, we often go too far!

A side note of interest... the sales advantage was held by Ford through '57, but Chevrolet took over after that. If you ever read Iacoca's bio, he was a sales manager for them at the time, and said Ford built a string of lemons during that era. He tells of driving '57-'60 models to sales eetings, and had things happen like doors popping open on a bump. I'm sure that, plus the styling of cars like the '57 Chevy, added to Ford's decline in sales.

One last observation. I have been obscessed with customs and rods since '58. What other car, besides the '57 BelAir, is almost never dechromed, or restyled??? It is almost a "stand alone" achievement, in the world of auto styling! (The '53 to '55 Studebaker might be one, of very few.) :-)