So this week we’ve taken a close look at the new 1957 offerings from all the domestic makers, courtesy of period write-ups in Motor Trend. Now imagine that you were in the market to buy a new car back then. After reviewing all the information and contemplating all the choices, which one would you have bought?
Would a dashing Dodge adorn your driveway? Or…
Perhaps there would be a Ford in your Future? Or…
Maybe a well-rounded Oldsmobile would be just right? Or…
Would you have expressed your independent streak with a pragmatic Rambler?
Certainly a lot to ponder…
As for me, there would have been only once choice at the end of the day.
I would have taken “The Forward Look!” While I could see myself in any 1957 Mopar–I thought they were all styling triumphs in their own right–my first choice would have been a Chrysler 300C. While the convertible is stunning with the allure of open air motoring, my pick would have been the 2-door hardtop. I love that roofline and feel it really completes the look.
So I would have been one of those customers seduced by a Siren, only to discover my dream was a demon. But just imagine the envious stares I would have gotten when I first brought that baby home!
My shortlist:
’57 Bel Air hardtop coupe, or better yet, Nomad wagon.
’57 Bonneville
’57 300C
’57 Imperial
Not really into the ’57 ford products or higher end GM this year (that would soon change). Only independent worth a look might be Stude President extended WB four door or the supercharged Golden Hawk in one of its better years.
None of the above. I would have found the guy selling Volvos and bought a nice new PV444. 1957 was the first year Volvos were sold in America.
As ’57 was also the 1st year for Saab US distribution, I would have gone to West Barnstable, MA and bought a new 93 from Kurt Vonnegut.
http://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/MSADA-AUGUST-Vonnegut-single-pages.pdf
Imperial if I could afford it, I love the Chrysler styling and the Imperial is the only one I trust them enough to do enough quality control on the car that I wouldn’t regret it.
1957 Oldsmobile 88 – I don’t want the slow slushy-ness of Dynaflow that a Buick would give me.
I love Ford’s styling but don’t particularly care for the Y-block.
+1 on the ’57 Olds!
Ditto on the 1957 Olds. Just so beautiful and smooth.
I would not even have gone for the J2 option (3 X 2 barrel carbs.). Just a single 4 barrel and that nice automatic. No matter how cheap gas was back then, it would be expensive to feed.
I did it once (used) and I’d do it again in this alternative universe.
Also, I would buy a lot of IBM stock and get a few apartments in the Dakota and the San Remo on Central Park West. You never know how the NYC real estate market might move.
1957 Olds 57 Super 88
Like the one i have. 🙂
What a beauty!
Luc, That is absolutely beautiful.
Um…
The one I currently own. 1957 Chevy Two-Ten Handyman wagon. Maybe I’d have special-ordered the sedan delivery with windows if I could have had it in 210 trim/interior.
Why? The clamshell tailgate became a one-piece liftgate! Cool.
283, Fuel Injection but hydraulic lifters. that model had 245HP. Overdrive. Harbor blue.
But that’s 1957.
Plans for today include C4 ‘Vette front/rear suspension with coilovers, LS power (probably a 5.3, which are very common). Tranny will be determined by budget at time of assembly.
Stereo wBluetooth, modern buckets. cupholders. A/C.
Design flaw with Nomad: liftgate is cut into drip sill. Notorious leakers. So I’ll take the Handyman.
Cross-country trip here we come! Cue Fastball…
Thanks for posting the video, which I had never seen before, though I loved the song long before YouTube. Now I can dream about taking that 75 Olds Delta convertible with the Airstream behind it on a fantasy trip.It can not get better than that, even in almost 2017.
I don’t know what I would have bought in 57, not having been around.
But today of course I’d like a 57 Plymouth like my father had, although if I can pick I’d up sell it a bit and go for a Belvedere with a V8-auto. Perfect family car.
For my commuter car I’ll go with a Triumph TR3, and for weekend chores a Fargo stepside pickup. And a Norton Dominator motorcycle in the garage.
Hmm I could run my life quite nicely on 1957 hardware…
First choice would be a 1957 Imperial Crown Coupe Convertible, preferably in “Sunset Rose” over white leather.
That Dodge collapsible at the beginning of the article looks mighty good to me!
T-bird, I love those tail fins.
’57 Chevy. Or Chrysler 300.
I’d have to go with a ’57 Olds Super 88 2 door hardtop Hydra-Matic like we had around ’68. The deep blue color like we had would be perfect. But an electric wiper motor conversion would be a must in these rainy parts.
Runner up would be a ’57 Chevy convertible, 283 4 barrel 3 on tree with overdrive since the 2 speed powerslide would be a slippery slope. Black or white with red interior.
As a second car for running around town and back and forth to work, a ’57 beetle will do nicely.
Knowing what we know in 2016, I’d probably go with a Buick. The ’57s are kind of quirky and cool, and in ’57, the Buick slogan probably applied in a real way – “When Better Cars are Built, Buick Will Build Them.”
In the fall of 1956, the Chryslers and DeSotos were undoubtedly appealing, as they still are. If the test drive had revealed a floppy body and various defects, that may have been enough to send me back to the Buick dealer.
I would have bought a sleek Chrysler New Yorker hardtop coupe – and then spent the next 2-3 years regretting my choice.
Or maybe the last two-seat Thunderbird, if I didn’t have a family.
I’m a very practical fellow, and a bit of a contrarian. I would have bought a Rambler. I admit it! (Well, maybe it would have been a Rebel with a V-8. ?)
Seconded on a V8 Rebel, and perhaps a Minor 1000 for city usage, though I admit a Premiere hardtop and a Borgward Isabella Coupe would’ve captured my attention as well.
Bearing in mind the local market and wages in those days I might have been lucky to have a well used prewar bomb to run around in so for this example I’ll use my fathers circumstances, A new Vauxhall Velox would have graced the driveway in 57 he was driving a 54 Velox so it feasable he could have got another to replace it after going the usual route of aquiring overseas funds transferring said funds to the UK and paying for his car that way, Balance payable on delivery, To get an American car required a no remittance import license unavailable to the ordinary peasantry exporting farmers could get them and they subsequently often bought American cars, Chevrolets sold very well where my Dad worked except for in 1957 something went wrong and despite good supply buyers were scarce.
In ’57 I had enough experience of Euro cars that I couldn’t have tolerated any of the US stuff. Assuming that my adult tastes would have been the same, probably would have bought a Simca. One year later the Rambler American would have pulled me back onshore.
A Chrysler 300C, and a Thunderbird for the shopping. And a Bentley Continental for Sunday best.
I like to drive fast so:
Either a Chrysler 300C with the optional 390 hp 392 hemi. Unbeatable on the open road.
or
’57 Chevy 210 two-door sedan in all white with the 283/283, three-speed w/overdrive, and HD suspension, brakes, etc. Unbeatable, period (except for a Corbette with samengine and 4 speed).
Tough, tough question. I have several answers.
Sitting where I sit now and with cost no object? Easy – 57 Chrysler 300C, with the Stude Golden Hawk as the plan B if the Chrysler dealer was too hard to deal with.
Back then in my current state of life looking for a mid range new car to last until my next one in 3 years? A Pontiac or Olds would be appealing for their high resale and their great drivetrains, as would be a Dodge or DeSoto for their great looks and handling.
As the guy who bought a Kia Sedona in 2012 because max utility for minimum money and planning to keep it for the long haul? The Stude Commander-trim 4 door wagon would be interesting, but a Rambler wagon might have turned my head too, all depending on price. Or maybe a Ford Ranch Wagon, each with the biggest engine.
Final answer? A closeout 56 Packard Caribbean, then wait until 1959 for a whale of a deal on a 2 year old Packard station wagon. 🙂
Tough call !!!!!
a) that’s cheating!
b) that’s clever! I’d also take a Caribbean over any ’57 model. Make mine a hardtop with pushbutton Ultradrive.
Cadillac Eldorado Brougham.
I really love the 57 Ford, any model or bodystyle, but might replace that Ford with a 57 Mercury 2 door wagon.
For me, either Fairlane with the 312 Y-Block or Mercury Turnpike Cruiser with the 430 Marauder.
Hmm…
– Chevrolet Bel Air Sedan
– Cadillac Fleetwood
– Cadillac Eldorado Brougham
– Jaguar Mark 1
– Jaguar XK120
– Rolls Royce Silver Cloud
– Bentley Continental
“Mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling”.
Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special
Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Limo with glass partition
Pontiac Bonneville Tri-Power
Buick Roadmaster 75
Chrysler New Yorker
DeSoto Adventurer
Ford Fairlane 500
Ford Thunderbird
All loaded with full available options but especially Factory Air
Chrysler 300C
Thunderbird
DeSoto Adventurer
Lincoln Premiere Landau
Chevrolet 3100
BMW 507
Could that forward look Chrysler top a Citroen DS? Tough one to call from here….
CR tested the luxury three in 1957 they said the quality of the Imp was disgraceful
maybe like the rest of the Chrysler cars they were selling them as fast as
they could build them This also happened to Buick in 55 and Ford in 57,
word got around fast and they paid dearly the next year
My brother once had a ’57 Olds 88 two-door sedan, base model, but a very nice car. I could go with an Olds 88 of some sort. The Hydra-Matic would be a strong plus.
If cost were no object, I would go for a Cadillac Sedan de Ville as being plenty plush and roomy. And, of course, there’s the Hydra-Matic again. For me, the ’57 Cadillacs were beautifully styled–less blocky than ’56 and before, and not as excessive as ’58 through ’60.
No Chevy for me; I never could get excited about them, and I always wanted just a bit more luxury than Chevy gave at that time. Besides, I don’t particularly want Powerglide, and I’m not fond of shifting gears myself.
Similarly, I think I would go with a Mercury over a Ford. It always bugged me that the Fords of that time left their shift mechanism looking so unfinished. For a few years at least, Ford allowed Mercury to be something more than just a tarted-up Ford.
Air conditioning would be a must, along with electric wipers. (Nothing like tromping on the accelerator in a car with vacuum wipers; when you need them the most, they go to sleep.)
In my fantasy world, none of these would be afflicted with the quality or rust problems that were so common in the real world.
I forgot how bad those vacuum wipers really were. Passing a truck on a rainy day was like driving blind
1957 VW Beetle sunroof, of course! Last year for the oval window…
I prefer being able to see out of my car, so I wouldn’t have been terribly disappointed if I had ordered in ’57 but Wolfsburg had moved on to the big-window ’58s by the time mine was built.
Well, they only made 25 Jaguar XK-SSs before the fire at Browns Lane. A lot of fun and a sound investment to boot. This chap seems to like his:
Well that was over 20 years before I was born. So I can’t say. But given the choice….. Probably one like in “Mermaids”. Liked the movie, loved the car. Even in the lilac color. Just very cool to me.
If the circumstances of my working life back then were comparable to the ones Iv’e had in my actual lifetime.
And if things were going well and I could afford a new car, without a doubt it would have been a base model Plymouth 2 door with a V8 and the fabulous new Torqueflite.
Edit, Just read the road test,Torqueflite not available on base model Plaza.
Have to have a Powerflite.
For me it would have been the Dodge or the Plymouth. I’d have gotten a small V8 in it and an automatic. Two doors would have been fine.
If my Dad would have had anything to do with it, it would been a slant six with three on the tree. That was his 55 Dodge Crusader’s configuration.
Either way, Ontario winters would have quickly taken their toll.
I wouldn’t have bought a car at all, I’d have bought a Chevy Cameo pickup with a V-8 3 speed. Or possibly a top trim Ford Ranchero…
Like the Ranchero idea. I think I could feel at home with that one best.
A new Pontiac – not a Bonneville, too expensive – but perhaps a nice Safari four door wagon. If I had the cash, maybe a nice Lincoln Premiere or even a Continental Mark II.
Well, I was 5 years old when these cars came out but then I would have probably gone for one of the Chrysler Corp. two door hardtops like the Dodge at the top of the article. My uncle had a 1957 Plymouth hardtop that he purchased lightly used and I was much impressed by it. Of course now I know that Chryslers of this era would rust to death in three or four years so maybe I wouldn’t want one.
Now, with the wisdom of the ages, I would rather have an Olds coupe with the four barrel carb and Hydramatic. As people have said these are thirsty but oh so smooth. Second choice would be one of the two seater Thunderbirds with one of the high output engine options; not a great car but one I would enjoy driving today.
If money is no object, Imperial, or Chrysler 300.
If money is some concern, then definitely an Olds.
If I’m an average guy shopping for price, hopefully my crystal ball is working, and I’ll wait for a ’58 Plymouth, or ’59 Ford.
Well, this is ‘way too easy!
A 1957 Chevy 210 4 door hardtop.
In 1974, Hot Rod Magazine had a feature in March, I believe, celebrating the 1957 Chevy in all its various trims, and the photo that caught my eye was an incredible photo of a 210 sports sedan with the single spear chrome trim running the length of the side, featuring a white roof, a red middle and below the trim, white.
I recalled that it was a 150 model, but a few years ago, commenting here about this car, Paul kindly corrected me and said it had to be a 210 trim level and posted a picture of one in that color scheme, but in blue & white.
I don’t have that photo, and haven’t found one online, as I would have posted it.
Anyway, that’s the exact car and model I would want!
My top 3, no particular order:
(2-door hardtop, in dark blue & white two-tone if available)
DeSoto Adventurer
Studebaker Golden Hawk
Ford Fairlane 500
Now I’ll go back and raise a glass to the picks of the other commentators. ?
Desoto Adventurer in black and gold. One of the best looking post-war cars.
+1. Even down to the colour (see photo below…)
Assuming my 1957 persona had the income of today:
I’d shop for a two tone, ’57 Plymouth Belvedere 2 door sedan (1950’s hardtops often squeaked & rattled too much, post sedans were more solid), equipped as the one in today’s road test article.
Perhaps a two-tone turquoise/white combo.
Chevy Bel Air, just on the available options alone. I could have optioned it out to be a Cadillac if I wanted.
Easy question to answer for me. If I had been of adult car-buying age in October, 1956 when the 1957 models came out (in reality, I was only 5), there would only be one car for me, a 1957 Buick Century Caballero Station Wagon.
Still spot on for awesome wagon. I always dug these more than the Nomad/Safari!…..Runs for cover….
OH, yes. Absolutely. That, or maybe the Olds Fiesta for ’57. But the Buick’s prettier.
I’m going to go with the popular choice here and say a Chrysler 300
If we’re restricting the pick to 1957 American cars, it would be:
– Buick Centrury sedan or wagon
– Studebaker (any except the Scotsman)
– Plymouth coupe (Christine!!!)
On paper the Chrysler looks very good with the best automatic transmission. However, quality control is iffy at best. I don’t know much about Ford, but their automatic transmission is not quite what I would like it to be I think. So this leaves GM.
Both the Powerglide and Dynaflow (twin or triple) don’t have a passing gear. Then the nailhead V8 is not a great design from my point of view. This leaves Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Cadillac. Cadillac is a bit overdone with chrome, and Pontiac is in transition to a more flashy image. This sort of leaves Oldsmobile, which is not really a favorite of mine either. Perhaps a Mercedes 300SL or a 190SL?
The Powerglide in a Chevy would be your best option, as they were reliable – and so were the cars. The “passing gear” merely kicks down to first. It worked pretty well, but remember, these cars were designed for the U.S. highway system and generally lower speed limits and few limited-access highways were around. The later models (longer, lower, wider) would take care of that during the construction of the interstate highway system.
My parents owned a 63 Impala with power glide that I drove to college, so I do know about them. Before that I drove a 50 Buick with dynaflow, so I know about the first generation dynaflow too. My parents had a 57 Chrysler which was before I started driving, so don’t know much about it from the drivers point of view. Passing gears are very useful on two lane highways, not so much on multilane divided highways.
My first choice would also be the Chrysler 300, but I’d take any Dodge or DeSoto convertible or hardtop as well. However, I’d go over them with a fine-tooth comb. I do quality control for a living, and I can’t believe those awesome Mopars were ever allowed to leave the factory with the problems they had. I’d also go for a Corvette with fuel injection and the 4-speed. For something a little different a Studebaker Golden Hawk would do nicely.
Continental Mark 2, Chrysler 300……. and looking back with years of hindsight, I’ve always kind of admired the 57 Packard. Yeah, I know it’s not a real Packard and all of that but look what they did on a shoestring budget. It was actually ahead of its time. It’s actually a nice looking car. Eighteen years later GM would turn a Nova into a Cadillac with much better results. To give it some snobbery it should have been marketed as “The International Sized Packard.” Then the size is seen from a different perspective. They were doomed in the end but it’s fun to guess ” what if?”
NOT knowing what we know now I probably would’ve gone Plymouth based on past reputation and (then) present style. Plaza two-door sedan in light aqua with V8, if budget permits add overdrive and maybe two-tone.
On further review I probably would’ve gone Ford – again, Custom Tudor V8/OD with radio, heater and not much else – later in the model year since didn’t the ’57 Mopars show their problems right off while the Ford’s rustbuckety ways didn’t show up for a couple years?
I would have to select a Olds 98 Holiday Coupe. The 3 piece rear window and exhaust through the rear bumper was beyond cool. Thought these were the old car to have along with its Buick sibling when I was in college 20 years later. Remember shedding a tear over them when I would see one in the scrap yard at that time.
My Dad was 23 years old when the 57 model year cars came out….He was interested in a 57 Thunderbird…..but my Grandfather scolded him and said for the price of a T-Bird, he could buy 2 Chevies……..so my Dad was looking at a Bel-Air Convertible…and my Grandfather said that for the price of a Bel Air Convertible, he could get two 150 or 210 series sedans…..so my Dad ended up buying a 1957 Chevy 210 2 door sedan with the straight 6 and powerglide.
Simple choice for me, and likely Paul, a Porsche 356A, Coupe, but it wouldn’t take any arm twisting to make it a 356A Speedster. If it had to be only domestic, then a ’57 Corvette 283 c.i.d F.I. with a 4 speed, both tops. Cars of different worlds, but both giving huge smiles. Additionally, if there is no budgetary limit, a 1957 Ferrari Testarossa or a 335S, or even a MB 300SL Gullwing. Given reality and a real life budget, then give me a Ford Customline 6 cylinder with 3 on the tree. The 356 or the ’57 fuelie would have been dreams, but more attainable several years later as used cars compared to the Ferraris or MB. Dreams, and reading about years’ past dreams are the pleasures of Curbside Classics in the present.
There was one on the Barret-Jackson website:
Hrm, ’57. I suppose barring certain European imports, I’d have to go with a Nomad, preferably in a beige or butterscotch and white if they came like that, or a Ford Cameo pickup in actual cameo color scheme. (I think those were a ’57 offering, may be wrong. ) 🙂
Also, Studebaker Golden Hawk would definitely be in the running. 🙂
We had a 57 Ford – bought used in 59. The doors didn’t fly open on curves but it wasn’t very well built (it was filled with rattles, the headliner sagged, the upholstery wore out quickly, the radio and clock died) and became a rust bucket in no time. Virtually every one of these cars in the Midwest had rusted headlight bezels within three or four years. The 57 Chevy – a car I’ve never liked – seemed better built than the Ford or Mopar products and it was obvious at the time.
Dad and I both wanted a 57 Thunderbird in 57 – it was our favorite year of the two-seat iteration.
Because I was a regular viewer of this show, I secretly wanted a 57 Imperial convertible (Dad was a Ford man and wouldn’t have approved):
My automotive lust began with the ’57 Thunderbird, even though I was only 10 years old at the time, there’s no doubt that I would have made that my first car choice in that year. Even by 1965 when I got my first car, I was still looking at the ads in the L.A. Times for the T-Bird, and hoping that I could find one that was suitable. Dad wouldn’t allow it, though, he thought they were too old and too high mileage by then. I guess in a way my ’57 T-Bird lust continued unrequited through the years, for when the new retro Bird came out, that old desire was reignited, and I was bound and determined to have one, which I did, as you know, in the form of my ’03 Bird.
Interesting about your recall of the ’57 Ford. Dad bought our ’59 Galaxie Club Victoria new that year (from Walker-Buerge Ford in Santa Monica, which I believe is still there simply as Buerge Ford). I remember it being a pretty solid car, never any major problems, it carried us all over California and even to the ’62 Seattle World’s Fair on family vacations. Dad loved the Thunderbird roofline look. All the early kinks must have been worked out by the third year iteration of that Ford, I certainly don’t remember any of the issues you mention (and rust, of course, was a non issue out here).
I, too, had another secret desire back then, a ’57 Lincoln Premiere convertible. I still have an ad from Holiday magazine that year featuring the Lincoln in front of a swanky New York hotel. But that was an unattainable world back then, so it remained in the back recesses of my imagination. I still love the ’57 Lincolns to this day, though!
Don, Buerge Ford is long gone – buildings and all. It was Chrysler-Jeep toward the end.
Neighbors had 59 Fords, a Country Squire and a Sunliner convertible – as I recall, they were much better built. And Ford outsold Chevy that year, in good part due to the simple but handsome styling of the Ford vs the crazy batwing design of the Chevy.
We went to the Seattle World’s Fair – a fair trek from IN – in our 61 Falcon (that replaced the 57 Fairline 500)!
Oh, wow, guess that shows it’s been a long while since I’ve been to Santa Monica. I had no idea, of course that led me to looking up Buerge Ford and finding out it closed two years ago, and that there has been a proposal for a four-story mixed use retail/residential complex there. Maybe it has gone ahead at this point. Buerge Ford had been in business for nearly 100 years. Tempus fugit!
That reminds me, when Dad bought the ’59 Galaxie, my mother, who was a fairly attractive and stylish woman in her mid-40’s at the time, was asked by the management to pose for some publicity photos for the dealership (she was also friends with the wife of the sales manager, so that probably helped). I remember several 8×10 b&w glossies of her sitting at the switchboard and greeting customers, with several ’59 models in the background. I haven’t seen those photos in years, not sure if they still exist in our family archives, but you can bet I’m going to search for them.
Can’t imagine your family crossing the U.S. to the Seattle World’s Fair in a ’61 Falcon, must have been quite an adventure. Dad’s ’61 Falcon 4-door company car (that I learned to drive in) seemed so small and cramped for my brother and me in our 6-foot+ gangly teenage years. Even the ’59 Galaxie two door was a struggle for the two of us to get in and out of the back seat, which later led Dad to buy our first four door family car, a ’63 Mercury Monterey, as I have probably mentioned.
To make this realistic I’d assume being transposed to the US but with similar life circumstances as my current ones (reasonable wage, no debts, no kids, no g/f or any other, similar, money sucking persons in my life). Bearing this in mind, I would resist the urge to get a Chrysler 300c – this, people being what they are (and that has not changed since 1957!), may not look to the higher-ups at the firm as if I’m trying to up-stage them (never a good thing when your corporation is going through re-structuring). So it would probably come down to a DeSoto Fireflite 2-Door Sportsman but with 295 hp AND the 3-sp manual o/d. Performance was not as stellar as the 345 hp model, never mind a Chrysler 300c but not THAT far behind. And once it has been run-in, I’d take it to one of the more respectable hot rodders and have it modified so that it would be faster than any of the above (or most cars I’m likely to encounter on the road). Oh, yes: replace all shock absorbers with those Dutch Konis, fit heavier duty anti-roll bars front and rear and top it all with quality rubber (e.g., Dunlop racing).
If money and/or employment were of no consideration, possibly something nondescript like a Chev (albeit fitted with all mod cons available, including aircon) and… a Jag XKSS or a two year old Ferrari sport racer (or, if I could find one, a Pegaso Z102).
If I were in Austria, a Steyr 2300 Grand Vue… Expensive, but locally built and eccentric enough for an eccentric person like myself, so that the above considerations would not have applied.
Money being no object it would be – again – a nondescript European like an Opel and the same sort of sports car for the w/end.
I of course meant “may n̶o̶t̶ look to the higher-ups” etc.
altho I am a mopar fan (closely followed by Cadillac)
I think a black and silver 1957 Chevrolet Morrocco 4 door hardtop would do nicely.
(and 5,4,3,2,1…A 1957 WHAT????)
Is that the custom that uses ’37 Dodge headlamp pods as “Dagmars” and “Eldorado fins” to create a Chevillac? ?
I’d have to go back to my VW roots and get this:
I’ve always liked the looks of the 1957 Ford, so I suppose a Fairlane 500 2 door hardtop would have been my first choice for many years. Seeing the Rambler hardtop wagon again in the article, it struck me as both a good-looking and practical car as well as being outside the normal mold, and maybe even ahead of its time.
But heck, it’s 1957! When else could you buy anything remotely like a DeSoto Adventurer convertible? So reliability, and maybe even taste, be damned.
Then again, I saw this beautiful Fairlane at a local transmission shop a few days later. Ford did a great job that year styling-wise.
Given perfect hindsight, (and dough) the Imperial.
I wasn’t considering imports (or as they were called then, “foreign cars”) in my earlier post, partly because the articles mention only U.S. brands, and partly because I probably wouldn’t have bought one as much as I admire them. BMW 507? Gorgeous, but too expensive. Citroen DS? It would be hard to resist that hydropneumatic magic carpet ride, front-drive traction, flat floors, and aerodynamic style. But can I live without air conditioning (no), do I want to put up with the weak 4-cylinder engine and worst-of-all-worlds semi-automatic transmission? I doubt it. Would I be comfortable standing out everywhere I drive? Probably not.
What other forgotten ’57 imports were out there? The Borgward Isabella is pretty. The Toyopet Crown, nope, U.S. imports didn’t start until the ’58 model year, and they have to be pushed hard to run at American highway speeds. Can’t imagine Toyota ever making it big here. Finally there’s the VW microbus – it’s cheap, it’s practical, it’s cool. Maybe I’d get that for my ride….
Even as a six year old at the Johnstown Auto Show that winter, I knew which cars weren’t long for this world.
Which means I would have bought either a Hudson or Packard. Because they were so . . . . . . weird, odd, gone?
The much later me would have garaged it and used it only enough to keep it in running condition.
A “much later me” would have kept my 1964 Chevy I had in the air force.
Perhaps I should have said: “a much more mature me”?
My list of favorite 1957 cars:
’57 Chevy Bel Air, either 2 door, or even 4 door hardtop. A convertible would also be nice, but because it was unusual, the Nomad would also be awesome. Make mine turquoise & white.
’57 Corvette, any color, but it would have to have that white elliptical scoop behind the front wheels as an accent.
’57 T-Bird, but definitely WITHOUT that Continental Tire Kit.
I love the flamboyance of the big Mopars, but if driving them, I found the size put me off, or the poor quality that road tests of the era were already pointing out was apparent, I would mosey on down the street.
Never cared for the styling of the 57 Fords. I sat in a 57 Thunderbird one day, way too cramped.
Buick, Olds and Pontiac? The styling? Just no.
Having never driven either, I come down to a Chevy or a Rambler as the only ones with acceptable styling and quality. Of those two, the Chevy is the better looking one, unless I grabbed an exceptional “death of the brand” offer on a Hudson branded Rambler, like this one.
Always has puzzled me why AMC went to the extra complication of branding Ramblers as either Nash or Hudson, rather than simply calling them Ramblers like they did in 58. With Rambler stamped into the grill, the Hudson badge is redundant.
Would definitely have to be a Desoto. Not a fan of gauche fifties styling, but these were beautiful cars by the standard of the day, and who doesn’t love those three afterburner taillights!
Make mine a Fireflies 2-door hardtop with the 325 poly V8, and of course Torqueflite.
Did they not all have Hemis?
I think you’re right. The ’57 brochure states that the 325 Poly was only available in the Firesweep. The Firedome & Fireflite had the 341, which I think was a Hemi.
Good question. The DeSoto Firesweep (on the low end) was basically a Dodge and used the Dodge 325 poly. The Firedome and Fireflite used the small 341 Hemi (as opposed to the bigger 392 hemi in the Chryslers).
OK, I forgot about the “cheap” Dodgesotos…
It would just need to be a Oldsmobile 98 four door sedan for me.
If I had the money, my list
Eldorado Brougham
Chrysler 300 coupe
Packard Hawk
Nomad two door wagon
Continental MK ll
and
Rambler Rebel
I think I’d be looking at a TR3, but the low-priced three were all pretty good looking in ’57. I’d probably take a Sunliner first, followed by a Belvedere hardtop, followed by this. Normally I don’t care much for ’57 Chevrolets, but this one’s hard to deny.
I would have bought a new Caddy. They were at the top of their game. I actually bought a ’57 Sedan de Ville in 1977. Only twenty years old but still a dream on wheels. It was my daily driver for a few years. Mine looked just like this one. I miss those old Cadillacs, I had five of them over time.
Since I always pretended my bicycle [Western Auto clone of a Schwinn Sting Ray], was a 57 DeSoto when I was a kid, it would be my choice for 57.
But even for a mental exercise, I can’t shake the practical DNA in my blood, so:
57 Studebaker. Scotsman or Commander. No V8s. They eat gas standing still, son!
57 Rambler and the ultimate for crazy styling:
57 Nash or Hudson [“with V line styling”].
My first car was a 1957 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer 2 Dr Hardtop. My second car was a 1957 Chevrolet Convertible. The Dodge was solid and ran like the hammers of hell. 350 4 Barrel I believe. Maybe a 325. Limited slip differential. Dual exhaust.
The Chevy was purchased in 1965 for $70 because it had 2 or three bad freeze plugs, a broken Fox Craft conversion floor shifter and burnt out glass packs. I fixed the shifter and the freeze plugs. It had headers and sewer pipe dump tubes. The crap had been run out of it, and I continued to do so. The white top and the black body were nice.No floor trunk, but nice quarter panels.
Don’t shoot me but I liked the Dodge better. Last Dodge and last Chevrolet i ever owned.
If I were the person I am now with the job I have back in 1957, I probably would have purchased a 1957 Ford Custom 300 sedan with a 292 and automatic transmission. Because every car I have ever purchased has been a Panther (1989 Crown Victoria, 2004 Crown Victoria, and 2010 Grand Marquis).
All either 2 door hardtops or convertibles”
Chrysler 300 C
DeSoto Adventurer
Dodge Royal Lancer
Olds Super 88 J2
Or, if I had a family, Buick 4-door hardtop wagon.
Given an identical place of birth as is on my actual birth certificate my choices would’ve been fairly limited in 1957 because by then the inner-German border was already relatively well secured, and if I had been able to escape I wouldn’t have had the money for a brand new West German car.
Realistically I would’ve probably gone for a Wartburg 311, ideally a coupe. Another favorite would’ve been the spunky little Skoda 450 convertible roadster with all of 50 horsepower, which really wasn’t that bad for the ’50s and an empty weight of 1980 pounds.
Here’s the Wartburg in coupe form. Also neat, however a little heavier and a little weaker and not all that sporty.
Skoda sold a few cars in the USA in the 60s. I’ve got a 64 with 130k.
BMW Isetta 600
I’m gonna assume a ’67,’77,’87…. version of this will be asked? Since for some reason, I no longer get updates from this site, I have to check manually. I’m looking forward to the next batch of MT reviews and question along these lines. thanks
’57 VW Beetle
In the words of Bert Cooper (Mad Men character) “Beware of the non conformist!!”
Desoto wagon. Karmann Ghia. Chevy pickup.