Showing posts with label Chevrolet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chevrolet. Show all posts
You may have never heard of a Chevrolet Parkwood and Brookwood... that is because no one seems to have a thing for station wagons, I was surprised to see them at Goodguys!
Great advertising theme... from father to son, Chevy runs deep (son searches for 5 years to find his dad's Impala SS, and gives it to his dad)
Short tv commercial above, full length story below of finding the car after looking across 6 states and Canada below... worth watching the full thing!
I didn't know it, but about a week ago Dan at Hemmings posted all about this http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2011/11/09/chevrolet-at-100-pulling-on-your-heartstrings/
I just watched the commercial on tv and had to add this to my blog... great bloggers think alike
The first commercial reminded me of the video I posted years ago about a son who delivers a car to his dad at work
Chevy info / trivia / interesting stuff found in Automobile Magazines 100 years of Chevrolet
Founded by Billy Durant, it was one of three car companies he founded that year (he had founded GM years before, but got fired) He founded 2 more companies the next year
Durant did so well with Chevy, that by 1915, he took over control of GM... yeah, Chevy bought out GM.
The depression in 1920 jsut decimated his businesses., and he left in Dec, 1920
When Chevrolet started in business, there were 270 car companies in America
How American is Chevrolet? Well, Louis Chevrolet was Swiss, Zora Arkus Duntov was Belgian... you get the point right? Immigrants are Americas greatest asset, and they made Chevy and GM one of the few comapnies to survive 100 years, and one of only a handful of car manufacturers to stay in the car making business for 100 years or more.
Durant wanted to capitalize on Louis Chevrolet's racing notoriety, and had Lou design a car. It was completed in 1912. Lou quit because Durant nagged about his smoking, and went on to design Indy winning race cars, and found the Frontenac car company
1915 was the year Chevy tried to compete with the less expensive Ford, and made the 490 which was the same price as the Ford (Fiat 500 was the cost in thousands of Lira for a cinquecento) Ford retaliated by dropping his price by 50 bucks. Lots of money in 1915
1923 Chevy had 500 copper air fin equipped cars available, as this early in the car making development process, getting water cooling to work wasn't perfected for another 30 years, and the Franklin was successful as an aircooled engine... they work fine in hot climates, like the American mid and southwest.
The Copper Cooled Chevys were a flop, they detonated terrribly, and of the 100 bought by customers, all but 2 were reaquired by Chevy, AND DUMPED THEM IN LAKE EIRE!
Fangio's first big victory was in a Chevy Master 85. It was an endurance race round trip Buenos Aires to Lima and back
The longest running nameplate in auto history is the Chevy Suburban, launched in 1935
The 55 Chevy Bel Air grill design was ripped off from Ferrari. It only was used in 55.
Chevy's first international competition win was a 1953 210 sedan in the La Carrera Panamericana
1960 Daytona 500, the Junior Johnson Chevy was 20 mph slower than the leading Pontiacs,... and Junior discovered drafting, and won the race. He'd been in prison for running moonshine in 57 and couldn't race in first NASCAR Grand National Championship
Jim Halls Chaparral 2J "sucker car" used a 2 stroke snowmobile engine to produce suction in the ground effects race car to capitalize on the design
The Nassau Speed Week of Dec 1963 proved that the Corvette Grand Sport could beat the Shelby Cobras and Ferrari 250 GTOs ... but that was the last call for Chevy in racing before the AMA ban. Zora was about to take them to Sebring and LeMans
The Chevy LUV (light utility vehicle) was the first Chevy sold in the US built by a foreign manufacturer. Isuzu
The Vega had 2 notorious recalls, the rear tires falling off, and the carb filling with gas til it spilled out onto the engine onto overheating aluminum engines
GM went into partnership with Toyota to get better manufacturing processes and production systems, and reopened a GM facility in Fremont Ca, and Toyota would gain experience in building cars in the US. UAW workers were flown to Japan, learned the Toyota way, production began in 1984, was an immediate success, and they built 8 million cars before shutting down in 2009. The things learned from Toyota were implemented in GM in 1992
Dick Guldstrand was commisioned to make a high speed Corvette to test Bridgestones, he hit 176 at Talledega . It's in the auction cycle right now, and it didn't sell at 40 thou.
Durant did so well with Chevy, that by 1915, he took over control of GM... yeah, Chevy bought out GM.
The depression in 1920 jsut decimated his businesses., and he left in Dec, 1920
When Chevrolet started in business, there were 270 car companies in America
How American is Chevrolet? Well, Louis Chevrolet was Swiss, Zora Arkus Duntov was Belgian... you get the point right? Immigrants are Americas greatest asset, and they made Chevy and GM one of the few comapnies to survive 100 years, and one of only a handful of car manufacturers to stay in the car making business for 100 years or more.
Durant wanted to capitalize on Louis Chevrolet's racing notoriety, and had Lou design a car. It was completed in 1912. Lou quit because Durant nagged about his smoking, and went on to design Indy winning race cars, and found the Frontenac car company
1915 was the year Chevy tried to compete with the less expensive Ford, and made the 490 which was the same price as the Ford (Fiat 500 was the cost in thousands of Lira for a cinquecento) Ford retaliated by dropping his price by 50 bucks. Lots of money in 1915
1923 Chevy had 500 copper air fin equipped cars available, as this early in the car making development process, getting water cooling to work wasn't perfected for another 30 years, and the Franklin was successful as an aircooled engine... they work fine in hot climates, like the American mid and southwest.
The Copper Cooled Chevys were a flop, they detonated terrribly, and of the 100 bought by customers, all but 2 were reaquired by Chevy, AND DUMPED THEM IN LAKE EIRE!
Fangio's first big victory was in a Chevy Master 85. It was an endurance race round trip Buenos Aires to Lima and back
The longest running nameplate in auto history is the Chevy Suburban, launched in 1935
The 55 Chevy Bel Air grill design was ripped off from Ferrari. It only was used in 55.
Chevy's first international competition win was a 1953 210 sedan in the La Carrera Panamericana
1960 Daytona 500, the Junior Johnson Chevy was 20 mph slower than the leading Pontiacs,... and Junior discovered drafting, and won the race. He'd been in prison for running moonshine in 57 and couldn't race in first NASCAR Grand National Championship
Jim Halls Chaparral 2J "sucker car" used a 2 stroke snowmobile engine to produce suction in the ground effects race car to capitalize on the design
The Nassau Speed Week of Dec 1963 proved that the Corvette Grand Sport could beat the Shelby Cobras and Ferrari 250 GTOs ... but that was the last call for Chevy in racing before the AMA ban. Zora was about to take them to Sebring and LeMans
The Chevy LUV (light utility vehicle) was the first Chevy sold in the US built by a foreign manufacturer. Isuzu
The Vega had 2 notorious recalls, the rear tires falling off, and the carb filling with gas til it spilled out onto the engine onto overheating aluminum engines
GM went into partnership with Toyota to get better manufacturing processes and production systems, and reopened a GM facility in Fremont Ca, and Toyota would gain experience in building cars in the US. UAW workers were flown to Japan, learned the Toyota way, production began in 1984, was an immediate success, and they built 8 million cars before shutting down in 2009. The things learned from Toyota were implemented in GM in 1992
Dick Guldstrand was commisioned to make a high speed Corvette to test Bridgestones, he hit 176 at Talledega . It's in the auction cycle right now, and it didn't sell at 40 thou.
53 Bel Air in the late afternoon sun... looking great in that light
Harry Bradley's 1951 Custom Chevy, the LaJolla
This is a famous car I was reading about a short time ago, the well crafted custom was Harry's first car, and he'd made a deal with his parents not to customize it. Ha!As Harry put it in a 1985 article in Super Rod & Custom magazine, "They had gotten to me -- 'they' being Pinin Farina, Harley Earl, Joe Bailon, the Barris brothers. My parents didn't have a chance against the likes of them." Harry immediately began an extensive customizing process.
Harry Bradley, was one of the most respected custom car stylists in history. A well-known designer for General Motors and Mattel's Hot Wheels brand, Harry kept his hand in the custom car arena throughout his career. The La Jolla was acquired in 1954 when he was still in high school in La Jolla, California. 
Stricken with polio at a young age, Harry couldn't drive a conventional car, so he had friend Floyd Martin make hand controls for the throttle and brakes. Under the hood, Harry installed a new 283-cid Chevy V-8 engine. For paint, he chose a deep chocolate-ebony candy pearl color. The La Jolla is unique among custom cars in that Harry owned it for more than 45 years, driving it much of the time. It followed him through college, family, and his automotive design career. Harry eventually sold the car in 1999 to noted custom collector Jack Walker. Jack worked with Harry to restore the car, adding two Bradley-approved changes.
Jack has an extensive collection of customs and even replicated the Hirohata Merc, except for Von Dutch's pinstriping on the dash and bumper guards
images from http://onlycarsandcars.blogspot.com and http://designyoutrust.com/2009/07/20/icons-of-speed-and-style-auction/
info from http://auto.howstuffworks.com/la-jolla-custom-car.htm
Coincidental parking of 3 1966 Chevy trucks let me compare short bed, long bed, and Custom editions
the reddish truck is owned by a guy with time and appreciation for woodwork, it's the custom, and has the crhrome work around the rear of the cab, and the big back window 
Nice cars that need a new home were scarce at the Big 3 this year
The 69 Camaro was up for grabs for 7500, tubbed, maybe back halved
Hudson
Never seen this semaph0re turnsignal before
Captain America rides a Custom Special Harley, drives a Chevy Van
Just thought you might find this interesting tooordinary Chevy trucks looking great due to a restoration and perfect paint.
Pretty good for plain old Chevy trucks huh?!
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