It’s bow tie time again today; thanks to these shots showcasing Chevrolet products and Chevy people in the ’60s and ’70s. The models and people featured here vary widely but are quite representative nonetheless. From the sporty offerings to the full-sizers; with many views of daily life of the time.
Great photos! Wow, a lot of iconic cars in this post. My fave was the lavender Bel Air? wagon in the background. Oh, I’ll take the truck of PBR, too. Great post!
The beige Chevelle highlights the “wide body-narrow track” real world iteration of various older swoopy car designs. These days, cars, wheels, and tires are carefully matched to look good and fill up the wheel wells and follow the fender edge.
And here I thought all Chevelles were SS454s and all Camaros were Z/28s.
Mine had a 307 and a Powerglide. 🙂
My first brand-new car was a 1970 Chevelle Malibu convertible, Fathom Blue over black vinyl interior and black top (tried to include a photo)…with the 6 cylinder, as my Dad would not co-sign the loan for the car otherwise! The car remained in my family until 1984 when it finally just rusted away beyond help.
I’ll take the Austin Marina parked down the street in the ninth picture.
Just kidding! Interesting to see one in that color, though. Most of the ones I remember were a kind of harvest gold, like a contemporary fridge.
I’m digging the Malibu in the first picture! Was going to make a silly comment on the stereotype “Chevy Rally Wheels” but then realized they looked a little different. Are those wheels actually aftermarket ones? Either way, they look good to me.
The picture with the gold-colored Caprice and the Austin Marina in the background was most likely taken in Pennsylvania. The Caprice’s front license plate is the Pennsylvania State Seal – I remember these being popular in the 1970s.
Oh, and the woman in the last picture looks exactly like my grandmother – her appearance, posture, clothes… everything.
Good catch! Thought it was a “VW 411” or “Dasher” @ first glance.
Not everything ugly was done by VW.
Yes! The quintessential grandma or great aunt pic with her car. Not sure if in front of a motel or apartment.
I see snow tires on the Camaro in the b&w picture.
Does anyone notice that back then, cars were big but people weren’t. No one even remotely obese.
They’re all smokers–even the little kid in the first pic.
1960 to 1963 Impala was such a huge change in style. It would be nice to know more about how it happened (besides Bill Mitchell and the ’61 Continental) and people’s reactions at the time. Were they tired of late 50s excess, or did they finally notice the contrast with mid-century modern? How much was cost saving?
Bad food! Modern food supply is full of awful things compared to back then. I noticed this disparity in the pictures when this series first began. You don’t see the level of obesity in Europe that you see here either. Same reason
Where I live in Vancouver, diving is awful, so we tend to walk a lot. I even walk to the supermarket for most of my grocery needs. Driving the car there is harder than taking the stuff home.
Much of Europe is much the same,
Welcome to obesity where portions are 4 times bigger. It’s in style to be fat and all the degenerate diseases w it. 50 yrs ago very few fat ppl. Now the opposite.
Back in the day when someone took pride in owning a Chevrolet. My Dad was soooo proud of his ’64 Chevy Impala wagon in a metallic blue. Drove the thing till the rear end gave way.
In 1972, he came within an inch of buying a two door ’72 Chevrolet Caprice. Silver with a black top. Blacked out at the last second.
Today, just a commodity. So sad!!
Who can get the “b/w” pic big enough to see the name of the , restaurant?, in the background?
Maybe we could figure out the “locale”.
The green “60”, parked in front of the “blue gray”, house says “home to me.
I’m a “60”, model too..lol
Likely not. But, the 4th picture says “South St. Louis”. The south side of the city, not the county. the architecture, the Pabst truck parked at the corner, the architecture of the homes. and that Lavender 57 Chevy Wagon is exactly like one my Aunt and Uncle owned. They had traded it off in C:1960, maybe it was the 2nd owner.
It does look like South St. Louis, though the car has a Michigan license plate.
Without question my all time favourite car in this group, is the stunning single tone metallic tan / bronze 1963 Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan (4 door pillarless hardtop).
Displayed with its small ‘dog dish’ hub caps rather than the more usual full wheel covers shows exactly how most of these cars arrived at their individual GM-Chevrolet dealerships.
The seriously rare, estimated at fewer than 300 examples that were exported to Australia in export right hand drive form and sold as high end luxury cars. Interestingly single tone cars arrived in Australia with black wall tires while two tone cars had white wall tires.
Nevertheless, these early 1960s Impala Sport Sedans are certainly stunning and much more attractive than the more common garden variety Sport Coupes (2 door hardtops).
The coupes had the simulated convertible bow in the roofline that made them look dated and didn’t jibe with the crisp bodylines. I’ll bet a lot more survived, however.
Our ’63 Impala wagon had stylized wire wheel covers that were a bother to clean. I’ve never seen any like them again, so they might have been dealer-installed, like the A/C.
The span between the two 1960 Chevy’s and the 1963 is only three years but the difference in the white wall tires jumped right out at me.
The yellow ’69 Chevelle, now that, was a fine looking car, then and now. This is how I remember them!
Pic. #5 is a dead ringer for my beloved Chevelle, it had the 1250CID 6 banger and power glide, I fell asleep a few blocks from home and hit a lamp post, what a wonderful car that was and only $250 ! .
Most of these pix make me kinda homesick .
-Nate
Which is more common on old Chevys today – the rally wheels or the “USA-1” front license plate.? I love how the guy in photo #7 was determined to get that USA-1 onto the front in addition to his mandatory front license plate.
Love the pics. Brings back memories of a past era when families were Chev, Chrysler or Ford.
We were a Chevy family and I still have the 1971 Camaro that I ordered in 1970.
From. Joe. Elmira. . New. York.
Have. A. Picture. Of. Me. Standing. By. My. New. 1965.
Chevy. Corvair. Coupe. Artesian. Green.
Base. Price was. 1899. Dollars.
110. Engine. Four. Speed. Manual
Great photos! This collection depicts America beautifully. I love the young couple with their baby girl, grandma outside the motel and the lady in the ’60 Chevy who is wearing Harlequin framed eyeglasses. WOO-HOO for those frames! I do not miss them. All opf these people are living within their time and achieving some comfort.
Picture #6 ’68 Camaro. He doesn’t look like a Camaro guy, more like a full-size Chevy guy.
“Chevy pickup”, or “El Camino”.
A working man’s neighborhood: Chevy and Pabst Blue Ribbon.
As much as I like the pictured Chevys, I’m amazed that one photo includes an Austin Marina. They seemed to be as rare as hens teeth even then, and I think about the only time I saw one was in the showroom of the dealer in my hometown.
8 Chevy novas in my family. 69 to 77 . Really good safe cars. Also a 1964 and a 57. Bodies by fisher. So cool, I miss them. Would be worth a lot now restored.