The 24 cars and trucks of Christmas is a subjective list-it’s based on past experiences and my impressions of the old iron.
You could argue that including a 57 Chevy is a bit of a cliché because of the immense impact these cars made on popular culture.
‘Quite honestly, when a rock legend like Eric Clapton includes a 57 Chevy in a song-that car has truly arrived-no need to debate that.’
But this is an “all about me” exercise; so vintage cars and trucks make this list because they made an impact at some point in my car geek life.
The ’57 Chevy 2-door hardtop, and its even more desirable convertible cousin, are the icons in the ’57 Chevy world. They’re the Holy Grail of 1950s cars-that’s why every retro look at the 1950s seems to have a ’57 Chevy hardtop in the picture.
I’m a much bigger fan of the 2-door sedan-that was a workingman’s car. The extra B-post not only made the car look tougher-it helped handle the stress that 4 times stock horsepower puts on the body. Add a roll cage and these cars were all business.
This isn’t a recent observation-there were three ’57 Chevys in the parking lot at my high school in the early 70s and they were all 2-door posts. Bear in mind that this was an era when driving a 50s car made you as popular as Osama Bin Laden at a Pentagon Christmas party. Showing up to high school in Grandpa’s ’58 Ford 4-dr. sedan in the early 70s was like wearing a tattoo on your forehead saying “I have contagious leprosy”-the babes didn’t dig the outdated look and guys often used you or your car as a speed bag.
I didn’t make these rules and actually hated them because of my huge fondness for 50s iron, but that was reality in 1972.
Except for the ’57 Chevy 2-door sedan.
The cats who drove ’57 Chevy posts got the babes and the respect of their peers-I believe in part because they had already been established as an iconic car back in the 50s with the hot-rodders. And there was the other intangible that I mentioned earlier-they looked tough. So logically, the guys who drove ’57 Chevy posts could probably kick your ass… or so it seemed.
Regardless, the 57 Chevy post will always be a welcome addition to my Christmas car world.
Jerry Sutherland @mystarcollectorcar.com
