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1962 Chevrolet Nova
Detroit, 7:23 PM
Wed Dec 2
29 posts in the last 24 hours
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1962 Chevrolet Nova |
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I was reminded of my parents' '73 220D (W115, I believe). Really timeless proportions.
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Thus, what makes the Chevy II so interesting to me is that it is an admission by GM that it made a mistake -- perhaps its biggest one of the post-war period. GM thought that the way to dominate the fledgling compact car market was to flood it with lots of interesting technology: rear engines, transaxles with curved drive shafts and aluminum V8s. Gearheads might have been pleased, but Ford did better with same old, same old Falcons and Comets. Heck, for a time Rambler outsold Plymouth with a dowdy line of compacts whose platforms were positively ancient.
The Chevy II was a cross between a Falcon and a Rambler Classic. The car's utilitarian design was strikingly out of character for GM, which in those days was usually Detroit's leading disciple of glitzy styling. So whereas the Tempest/Special/F85/Corvair had sleek, low profiles and fancy compound-curve windshields, the Chevy II was tall, boxy and plain in the extreme.
GM owned the upper reaches of the market, so it really didn't want to sell too many entry-level compacts. Not surprisingly, the Chevy II was a much cruder design than the Falcon, Valiant and Ramblers -- and sales were commensurate with GM's half-hearted effort. The Chevy II soldiered on quietly for years with relatively few updates. It was a thoroughly uninspired, mediocre car that GM never wanted to build in the first place.
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Nicely stated.
Two things that tend to get overlooked when talking about cars from this era:
1. The "foreign invasion" was in full swing by the early 60's. The most visible was the VW Beetle but all sorts of cars from Europe were on sale in the US, most of them smaller, more fuel efficient and less expensive than a comparable domestic. Since the end of WWII, European automakers had flooded the US with exported cars in order to rebuild their economies, and they sold to American consumers wanting something different.
This is the nucleus of why domestic automakers cannot seem to design and build a good, small car; they never wanted to be in this end of the market but felt they had to have product available to maintain their market share. There has always been a sizable portion of the US population who prefer a level of sensible austerity and would not be caught dead in a chromed out, fin-laded V8 powered land barge.
2. By 1962 the world economy had been suffering in a recession since 1958. Auto sales were down 30%+ from 1957 (sound familiar?), unemployment was up, and inflation was on the rise. This would continue to 1961. By that time the era of ostentatious consuming had been tempered as consumers wanted to save money and be a little more discreet in their spending. This played right into the hands of Volkswagen and the Nova, Falcon, Valiant, etc were all reactions to the times.
04/18/09
It has the 6 cylinder and two-speed slusher, plus a cow horn. All in all a marvelous car.
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More to the point, nice legs...! Oh, to be young, tanned and get lei'd...
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Entry level Chevy II's were 100-series and 300-series. Only the 400-series had the Nova nameplate.
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Not only no 200, but the Corvair came in 500-series and 700-series models. Seems GM had an aversion to even numbered car models. Actually, I'd love to know why the II came in a 400-series and not a 500 or something with odd numerals.
04/18/09
Long, arrow-straight Chevrolet badges fore and aft, succinct cursive on the rear quarters, letterhead chrome-surround taillamps, simple hubcaps adorned with perfectly rectangular holes in a proper radial pattern. A colour suited better to this Nova than to yesterday's Roller. Some trim and some paint and this car would be a tuxedo.
04/18/09
1962's had white front turn signal lenses. Amber turn signal lenses were the big design update for 1963.
My best friend in high school had a '62 Nova coupe and I rode in it almost every day for a couple of years. I learned all about Chevy II's and Novas hanging with him.
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