At Chevrolet in 1960, the styling mission was to bring class to the low-price class. The slogan was “Everybody’s kind of elegance.”
Impala Sport Sedan
It’s fair to say the 1959 Chevrolet featured the most flamboyant styling the General Motors brand had ever produced (see our feature here). But automotive fashion was changing, and for 1960 the look was toned down—less ostentatious, a bit more refined. Clare Mackichan, head of the Chevrolet studio from 1953 to 1962, recalled years later, “We didn’t want to let the fins go completely, so we made that revision in the back for a flatter, more angular wing.” Up front, the ’59’s eyebrowed motif was discarded in favor of a simple oval grille with four headlamps.
The ’59 X-frame chassis carried forward with the same 119-in wheelbase for ’60, while the overall length and width dimensions are within a fraction of an inch. However, except for the greenhouse, the exterior panels were all new. In these years, all five GM divisions shared the same inner body structure as the stylists worked out clever ways to give each brand a distinct identity.
Powertrain choices for ’60 also continued much as before, with a few changes as the two 283 CID fuel-injected engines were dropped from the passenger car line and now reserved for Corvette. The most powerful V8 available was the Super Torque Thrust Special, a 348 CID W-series engine with three two-barrel carburetors, an 11.25:1 compression ratio, and 335 hp. Five different transmissions were offered: Powerglide, Turboglide, a Borg-Warner 4-speed. 3-speed manual, and 3-speed manual with overdrive.
Bel Air Four-Door Sedan
The familiar Chevy trim levels—Biscayne at the bottom, Bel Air in the middle, and Impala on top—were now in place, where they would remain for years to come. The Biscayne was offered only in two-door and four-door post sedans, while hardtops were offered in both the Bel Air and Impala lines. Chevy’s four-door hardtops in ’60 were flat-tops, a design GM branded the Flying Wing. This would be their final year at Chevrolet, where they were called Sport Sedans. (See our feature on the Flying Wing hardtops here.)
Biscyane Two-Door Sedan
Chevrolet produced more than 1.65 million cars in the 1960 model year, far more than the other four GM car divisions combined. At better than 440,000 units, the Impala was the biggest seller, followed by the Bel Air and Biscayne. Corvette and Corvair were now in the lineup, and while the Corvette’s contribution was hardly significant, the Corvair added 250,000 cars to the total in its first year. In 1962 the Chevy II arrived, the Chevelle in 1964, the Camaro in 1967, and soon the full-sized passenger cars were a shrinking part of the carmaker’s business.
One of the more memorable Chevrolets in my life. That was the year my father (the Chevrolet dealer in Johnstown, PA) allowed his nine year old car crazy kid to order his company car. Which of course meant that it had to be an Impala convertible. Black with a red interior, 283 with a 2bbl and Powerglide, dad’s standard powertrain for those years. He may have let his kid design the car, but the drivetrain was specifically set to make it as easily salable as possible the following November.
My mother hated that car. I think dad put the top down three times over the coming year for the weekly Sunday ride, with mom bitching every mile about how the wind was ruining her hair. Definitely a one-off (the next convertible in my life was a Pontiac Solstice bought in 2014) it was the last time I had any say on dad’s daily driver until his 1970 Camaro RS.