There’s really already so much content available about the ’55 Chevrolet, and for the “Tri-Fives” in general, that it can be a task to come up with something new to say about them. Doing so isn’t my intent here, as Paul Niedermeyer had expertly summed up the reasons why the ’55 Chevy was arguably General Motors’ “Greatest Hit” in this post that originally ran a decade ago. Instead of adding to or expanding upon that canon, I simply wanted to share a few pictures of this ’55 that I had spotted in traffic in my neighborhood just over a year ago. Its festive green color, officially called “Regal Turquoise” from the factory, seemed fitting for the holidays.
The word “evergreen”, which may be used metaphorically as a noun or an adjective, is used to describe something or someone with an enduring or constant quality. While the “Neptune Green” shade on this ’55 Chevy paint color chart from PPG is probably closer to the hue of a pine tree than what we see on our featured car, I’d say that Regal Turquoise is still green enough to fit with December, even if it looks more similar to the color of a Christmas tree ornament. There are some classic vehicles that qualify in my mind as having an evergreen quality, regardless of how many decades ago they were originally produced. Early Ford Mustangs, C2 Corvettes, and the Chevy Tri-Fives like this car, though very much tied to the time periods in which they were new, seem never to have fallen out of fashion as universally loved and respected classics.
This year was the one in which I had started seeing reruns of my old essays for Curbside Classic that had originally been written and scheduled for publication six years ago. This gave me pause to think about just how much has changed, both within my own life and also in the world in the six years since 2015 when, with Paul’s low-key encouragement and persistence, I took the plunge of writing for this site instead of merely submitting my photographs to the Curbside Cohort for consideration. I now feel a bit like a CC “evergreen”, now with over four hundred entries under my belt. It has been hugely rewarding to write about the vehicles I have found interesting, almost like a belated discovery that homework, even if self-assigned, could actually be fun. This is perspective that was sorely lacking from my years spent in school, but a very welcome development.
Looking at my body of work, the tone of my essays has largely ranged from metaphorical to autobiographical, though sometimes heavy on the latter. It has not been unintentional or accidental that as significant changes have occurred in my life over the past six years, many of my themes have become more highly personal. Such pieces have been therapeutic to write and have been one way for me to take greater control of my own narrative, among other things. I thank all of you in the readership, and especially Paul, for allowing me the agency to express myself, and also for your engagement with comments that have been funny, informative, encouraging, corrective, gracious, or simply appreciative in expressing gratitude for my efforts here. With this being my last contribution of new content for the year, I simply leave you with these words and pictures with all my best as we all wrap it up. I look forward to connecting here with all of you in 2022.
Total (non-Corvette) 1955 Chevrolet production: just under 1,704,000.
Total production of the mid-range 210 line (above the 150, and below the Bel Air): ~805,300.
Total 210 four-door sedan production:~317,700.
Original base price of our featured car: $1,819 (before options), or roughly $18,800 in 2021.
The 210 four-door sedan was the second-most popular ’55 Chevy, after the Bel Air four-door, which outsold it by about 27,600 units. The least popular ’55 Chevy was the Nomad two-door wagon, with less than 8,400 units sold.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Sunday, October 11, 2020.
Great to see this old car in such good shape. That color was quite popular on the ’55 Chevy. I still remember going to the Chevy dealership during new model announcement week to see this car. The dealership was at 184th Street or 185th Street on the east side of The Grand Concourse in The Bronx. The dealership was packed with people looking at the new Chevy’s. They were unbelievable in style let alone V8 engines! Four fender visibility was touted. Interiors, especially on the Bel Air, were striking. My friend Georgie Jones’ father Clyde bought one. I remember riding in it around Sacandaga Lake near the Adirondack Mountains. Nice car. Bridge Motors, the Dodge dealership was just up the street. People were milling around in there, too, but not as they did at the Chevy showroom.
I’m not sure what first caught my attention when I discovered Curbside Classics, but it was probably something by Paul Neidermeyer. Then Daniel Stern became my go-to guy, with his hilarious slant 6 stories. Now I brighten whenever I see Joseph Dennis on the byline.
Sincerely, an outstanding job, gentlemen. Happy New Year. Looking forward to more rewarding prose from you guys in 2022.
That’s how it was for me too.
Came for the “GM deadly sins”; stayed for the rest.
Photographing a true Curbside Classic in motion is like, 100x harder than taking a picture of a parked car. And you have so many CC’s in motion! I don’t know how you do it, but I commend you for it!
Agree. In addition, it’s not just seeing the car coming, but getting a photographic device ready (phones are so handy these days), and hitting the shutter while panning the subject. Getting the car in focus while the background is blurred is a true talent. I used to do that with limited success at Cayuga Dragway Park, back in the 35 MM film days.
I actually DROVE one of these with a six. In the 70s, my cousin’s family who were adventuresome & offbeat in some ways, had one of these as a 2nd car, they let me drive it around the block. Treadle-vac, powerglide and all. Sorry if this is clutter… just something I remember.
People’s firsthand experiences with these cars as you’ve shared here are what elevate the CC experience! Not “clutter” by a longshot. I can imagine that by the ’70s, even if it was a beloved Tri-Five, seeing it as a regular driver must have made it look like a real anachronism. Kind of like the ’68 Skylark one neighborhood lady drove when I was a teenager in the late ’80s / early ’90s.
Ha! Joseph, did you live in far-eastern Indianapolis. Could’ve been my grandma. She once said she loved trouncing the malaise-mobiles away from the stoplight, this was when she was well into her 80s. Lived to be 99.
I owned a 1955 150 six cylinder when I was 18 years old (1965) living in Connecticut. It was my second car. Dad found it at an auction of Connecticut Light & Power company used cars. It had a zillion miles on it and I rebuilt the six to end the oil burning. It was plain black exterior with a black and white interior. The cheapest model available. It had no factory radio.
What a killer find! The ’55s were so elegant and graceful compared to the later one’s especially the ’57, in my opinion. And Happy New Year, Joseph
The best American car of the post-war era. You captured it perfectly.
The father of my grade school friend Adel Towadros, who were from Egypt, had a ’55 in this same color. If it was really cold and snowy–like here in Eugene today–he would drive Adel and his sister to school, and if the saw me walking, they’d stop to pick me up. It was so nice to get into that warm Chevy.
And on the days they passed by a minute or two too early, I can remember seeing that green ’55 crunching through the snow, with a cloud of condensation from its exhaust.
Joseph, your decision to start writing and become a regular here at CC is one of the very best things that’s ever happened here. It’s been such a pleasure to see you unfold in so many ways through your posts. I’m always impressed that you maintain a regular weekly schedule (including today); but then that kind of self-imposed discipline can be very fulfilling.
Looking forward to many more from you in 2022.
Paul, thank you so much. For everything. It’s funny as I’m thinking about how you probably asked three times over the course of many months back then if I’d be interested in adding words to the pictures I’d submit to the Curbside Cohort. And I was always like, “Nah, I’m good.”
But now, history has played out in a very rewarding way for me. I realize that I’ve come to see the regular scheduling of new material much like exercise: the more I do it consistently, the easier it gets and the better I become at it.
I think my biggest mental obstacle to start writing here wasn’t necessarily lack of confidence in my writing abilities, but rather with being unfamiliar with WordPress and also fear of misformatting an essay.
I’ll put this out there for anyone reading this who has thought about contributing to Curbside Classic who may have these same fears I once had: WordPress is actually pretty user-friendly. And as far as formatting goes, you’re probably going to make some mistakes at first, as I did.
No big deal. You’ll probably get the same helpful pointers I got, and you can keep it moving. The writer’s guide on this site is pretty spot on should you decide to give that another look.
I think what sets this site apart are the different voices and writing styles that come together. I’m happy to be a part of that stew. I’m always happy to see a new contributor, as I’m sure are many CC readers.
This car certainly brings back memories for me. The one totally mainstream car that my paternal grandfather bought was a new ’55 210 like this, although his was likely Neptune Green, and it had a white roof. This Chevy was preceded by a Willys 440 and a Hillman Minx, and then a series of Ramblers came afterward.
Thanks Joseph, for your contributions, and I always look forward to your next find.
With American cars of the 50s the words sufficiency and restraint don’t really spring to mind, especially from GM. With this particular car they do. I think that is one of the things that gives this car that timeless quality.
Looking at these images I see where Rootes got their styling for the ’58 Humber Hawk, our family car for a while during my early years.
Joseph, thanks for combining your car finds with a personal perspective, it makes for riveting reading.
You are definitely one of the “evergreens” on CC – I think I have read most of your consistently well constructed articles and certainly enjoyed the way you have tied personal experiences to the featured vehicles. As Paul has said many times, it is the human connection that really makes this site special….
My Dad bought a new 210 in November 55, Skyline Blue two door sedan with an Ivory top, it was a six with Power glide. Dad wanted a stick, but the dealer talked him into the slush box. He never bought another automatic until 1975. It had no radio. No power anything. I recall the steering wheel was enormous. The cords in your neck would bulge as you went around corners! I remember the invoice said $1500 and change. Tin worm attacked this thing with a vengeance. He kept patching the quarters and the eyebrows to no avail. I got it with my driver’s license in 1960 and drove it for two years until it literally dissolved before my eyes!
Cars like these were still around in my mid 60s youth (if rarely), and the narrow whitewalls make it look like one I could have seen then. Usually driven by an elderly person.
A green 4 door sedan is what makes this work. I think almost all of us here are so tired of the Bel Air hardtops and convertibles in an assortment of prototypical bright 50s colors, but this is what most of these looked like. I love this little slice of a former edition of “real life.”
Great pictures! The 55 Chevy looks gorgeous. I love the effect of a flash of bright color traveling through an otherwise drab world. You obviously accentuated the effect in the last photo, but are the others natural?
The car is fantastic, apparently having benefited from a lot of TLC which is refreshingly unusual for this model. I think the car my grandparents had before I was around was a 55 210 V8 four door, based on what I remember from pictures. They liked it and kept it for about 7 years.
You have a particular talent for photographing cars in motion. Not just the mechanical skill, but also being in the right place at the right time. A frustration of mine is spotting interesting cars in motion while I am driving. When I manage to get off a picture or two, the quality/quantity is rarely good enough to use for articles. The times I am walking and see something good, I’m way too slow to get pictures. You somehow manage regularly to be on foot and ready to get good photos, then to just happen to have great cars come along.
I also admire your consistency with writing articles. I can’t in my present life imagine having that level of scheduling discipline and time availability (or management) to publish nearly that regularly. Keep it up, I enjoy your pieces!
As much as I love the ’55 Ford, I’ve gotta admit that Chevy did an even better job of “getting things right” that year. A friend has a well-preserved ’56 fifty years ago, and its ride didn’t seem ancient then—I wonder what a stock ’55 would be like to drive today?
COLOR: I’m no expert, but this green vaguely reminds me of the GM hues that Fender was using on its cars back then—a story of its own. I admire owner of the ’55 for the pure restoration (I’ll guess the car is garaged for the winter)–nice to see.
I enjoy your articles, sir. Those photos are great. That ’55 is just perfect in every way to me. I sure would like to see it parked in my driveway. Keep up the good work and happy new year to you.
Thank you so much, everyone. My sincere thanks, and I also hope everyone has a great week leading up to this year’s end on Friday!
One thing I liked about this car, that some of you have referenced in the comments, was that it looked like what many ’55 Chevys looked like – it wasn’t a Bel Air two-door, but a post sedan with hubcaps on painted steel wheels. It seemed like it might have been much closer than many show cars to what most people actually experienced with the Tri-Fives back when these were more plentiful – in varying conditions.
In terms of the color of this car, I didn’t do any post-processing to enhance its turquoise-ness. It was really that brightly colored.
I’m glad you’re here, Joseph. Your articles are on my binge-reading shortlist for when I’m meant to be doing productive work—please keep going; my procrastination habit isn’t going away in the foreseeable future!
Loved this story and photos, Dennis!
The first car in our family that I can clearly recall is the ’55 Chevy 210 Delray club coupe that was purchased new in June of that year. Like the one mentioned by ell ess above, It was Skyline Blue with an India Ivory roof, with a matching blue and white all-vinyl interior. It was a 6-cylinder, 3-on-the-tree with no power assists, no radio, and dog dish hubcaps.
We kept it for 6 years, skipping over all the wild and crazy Chevys, and replaced it with a ’61 Bel Air, also a 2-door sedan. From what I remember, we had very little trouble with the ’55.
Joseph, I’m so sorry I called you by your last name in the above post! Put it down as a senior moment.
I do sometimes juxtapose numbers, such as 36 instead of 63, but not words (at least I hope not)!
No worries, friend! I still get “Dennis” all the time. 🙂 And thanks for the good words.
Thank You Joseph for being a writer here. Your posts are always a must-read for me, and your ability to get what I call the “Joseph Dennis Effect” with your photography (perfectly clear car in motion with a blurred background and depth of field for miles) is outstanding.
Please keep it up, and Happy New Year!
Look at that color chip card. Not one silver, gray, or black shade ( I won’t say color) in it.
I’ll get tired of smiling before I get tired of seeing a Tri-Five.
Awesome. I own a 1955 sport coupe. Can’t get enough of. LOVE IT. THANKS.
What a coincidence. I just bought this frame off restoration 55 210, 265 v8 with 3 speed overdrive. Been sorting it out the last few days. Whitewalls are mounted inside, After seeing your photos i think i am going to have them mounted on outside.