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!
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.