The decline of the American automobile industry and the simultaneous decline of the city of Detroit are well known nationally and commented upon extensively here, and the gradual revival of both has been as well. Automotive metaphors for the fall and rise of the industry and the city are not difficult to find on the streets of Detroit and its environs, as I found in my first visit to the area earlier this year.
Less than 24 hours in the Detroit area passed before I found this 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air in plain white, a four door post sedan rather than a more glamorous convertible, hardtop coupe, Nomad, or Sport Sedan. It is a fine representative of a bread and butter product of GM and Detroit at their peaks, and in its rough but apparently complete and restorable condition, it appears ready to rebound, much like the city itself.
The owner of this Chevy appears to be quite proud of it and to be keeping it on the road as-is for now, parking it in full view of drivers and pedestrians on the street instead of hiding it in an inner corner of its apartment building parking lot, and giving it new tires whose whitewalls still have their protective blue coating. The apartment building was a senior living facility, which makes me wonder whether the owner may be a retired auto worker who bought the Chevy as a retirement project, or even the car’s first owner since 1957 or second owner since the 1960s. Whatever its story may be, this 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air appears ready to fly the flag for Chevrolet and Detroit for many years to come.
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Wow! This Chevy has all of the earmarks of an elderly person who has driven sparingly for decades. The old Chevy has low miles and has always been there for short trips to the grocery and maybe to church. If it is in the parking lot of living quarters for seniors, I would bet that it was not bought so much for a resto project, as it is a car that someone’s great grandma has driven since her husband died in maybe 1968.
I remember 15 or 20 years ago, it was still not unheard of to see something from the 50s still used as a daily driver, often by an elderly lady who had clearly had the car for eons. But time has marched on, and cars in this condition still in semi-regular use just aren’t seen anymore.
I can remember being on I 95 in Rhode Island back in the mid 80’s and seeing an elderly couple being chauffeured in a 1950 DeSoto limousine. They had a very “old money” vibe about them.
I had forgotten how tall and chunky these ’57s were. Not really that pretty.
I will take a much more modern 1957 Plymouth with the build quality of a 1957 Chevy.
Sorry, you want the Plymouth, you get the build quality.
Ditto for Fords.
Which goes to show why its the Chevy that’s the (overblown) classic.
Yes – I would call a 57 Plymouth with the build quality of a 57 Chevy ordering something that is not on the menu.
I tried thinking of some attribute of the 57 Ford that was better than that of the Plymouth or the Chevy, but came up empty. The Plymouth wins in looks, performance (maybe a tie with Chevy here) and handling, while the Chevy was tops in build quality, long term durability and resale value. I really like the 57 Ford, but can’t think of anything it did better than either of the others.
It SOLD better than either of the others!
Good point! I knew there had to be something. 🙂
Might as well order a ’57 Plymouth with the build quality of a ’97 Honda.
Our local CKD assembly solved the build quality issues, put together properly they are quite a good car.
THIS is why Chevrolet could foist a slogan like “Chevy Runs Deep” on the American public.
Peter DeLorenzo noted in “The United States Of Toyota”, 20 years ago, when GM was replacing Corsica with the rebooted Malibu, how they benchmarked the Honda Accord in designing the ‘Bu.
Only thing was…given design cycles and such, or shall we call it what it really is – the natural order of automotive design – by the time Malibu came to market, an all-new Accord had hit the streets.
So GM’s bread-and-butter midsize sedan was obsolete the moment it hit the showroom floor.
In contrast, the ’55 Chevrolet took a back seat to NO ONE in its class. The mantra was “go all the way, then back off”. The ’56 had a firmer ride but was the best-handling car in its class. The ’57 adapted 14″ wheels and a slightly softer ride.
The ’57 has been validated nine ways to Sunday after its less-than-stellar model year sales. First as solid used cars, then as hot rod/custom material. Newer Chevies may have had a “jet-smooth” ride, but it was easily 1970 before a full-size Chevy delivered the overall driveability of the Tri-Fives. Furthermore, because of the car’s enduring popularity, modernizing with disc brakes, sway bars and the like is easier than just about any other classic vehicle of the era. Or you could keep it stone stock and be able to competently drive it as this person is doing, it was well-enough engineered for its day, unlike later years with too-small brakes and tires, for example.
Actually, IMO, a 4-door BA sedan’s a great way to build a solid, enjoyable driver at a fraction of the expense of a more sought after convertible, hardtop or especially Nomad, which sadly, had water leak issues due to the rear window being cut up into the drip rail.
i think that chevy’s flying a rather tattered flag into the future.
seriously, grew up in detroit and when i was there it was rare to see a 57 survivor on the streets (circa ’79). most were gone, eaten by salt and potholes and accidents and 22 years of daily driving. this one must have been on the sidelines for a substantial portion of its existence or used incredibly sparingly. to find this in less than a day of being in the city is a pretty exceptional find.
pity there isn’t more of a history to go with this car.
This particular example happens to stay on the main street of Southfield, ( Civic Center Dr ) with a busy highway nearby, and people travel to Michigan from the south end either through I-75, or US-24, so the chances of being seen is pretty high for this Bel Air. But it’s one of the only few older cars not intended for display in the busy section on the other hand ( A McDonald on Woodward always has exotic cars like Roadrunner or Corvette, a detective firm has a ’50s Ford in Fraser ) There are few more, like a Ford Fairmont on 9 Mile Rd, a Plymouth Savoy on 10 Mile Rd, and a Chrysler New Yorker from the late ’70s on Outer Dr, but this Bel Air stays on the most populous area.
Welcome to what was the big seller for Chevy in ’57. Usually driven by people who thought Elvis was awful, and Little Richard was Satan himself. And their opinion of Jerry Lee Lewis would be even worse.
I’m always amused how what survives as an antique car is so slanted from what actually sold when they were new.
Yes, and your point is validated repeatedly in photos and movies taken back when cars like this were common sights on the roads of America.
It’s at the west end of Civic Center Dr and Telegraph Rd in an apartment building, and I see this Bel Air all the time always wondering about it. There are quite few Bel Airs around the area, but this one is the most plain and mysterious one.
By chance you could see my Volare on Civic Center Dr and Northwestern Hwy parked in the day time occasionally too.
When I lived in St Louis I used to see a mid-50s Oldsmobile running around and it was clearly a daily driver…bright smurf blue, lots of bad rust repair, but still running. I most recently saw it about 5 years ago.
The oldest thing I see now is a 70 Chevy Caprice 2 door that lives one street away…it too is smurf blue, black vinyl top, black vinyl interior, 4 spoke steering wheel that looks like it belongs in a Vega. Aside from cheap WalMart hubcaps it doesn’t look too awful…I see it parked at a White Castle nearby, don’t know if the driver is a customer or an employee.
This cool, old Chevy seems like an old, boarded-up gem of a Detroit building that seems like a good candidate for restoration. That said, I almost love it more for its patina – and wish it could be frozen just as-is. Really cool find, Robert. Thanks for sharing it.
Warms my heart to see a beat but loved ’57 still earning its keep in the real world vs. another over-restored garage queen crossing the block at some mine’s bigger than yours three-ring circus auction.
The best survivor DD I have come across was at a cruise night in Colton CA about 15 years ago. Some guy drove down from the desert in an un-restored Ford model T. Original black paint, top, and upholstery. The latter two were in shreds. Many layers of dirt/dust on everything. But it ran and drove. That was impressive.
I too think it has dignity with the patina. Restoration often involves totally rebuilding the car to be much better than it was leaving the factory. This doesn’t seem honest somehow.
You have to actually own and drive (= work on !) a ‘T’ or ‘A’ Model ford to understand how nearly unkillable they are .
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I’d prefer any model of ’55 Chevy but that’s just me .
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-Nate
There’s a light-industrial facility near my home of the past 16 years; every day driving home I’d see a near-showroom pale yellow with a brown quarter-roof ’76 LTD coupe parked in the same exact parking spot (wasn’t there on weekends though).
Last month it disappeared. I miss seeing it…..