Chevrolet adopted more conservative styling for 1961, but with a dramatic new hardtop body style that became known as the Bubble Top.
In both the product and the messaging at Chevrolet in 1961, there was a tacit admission that maybe the 1959 and 1960 cars had gone too far. Under the direction of GM styling boss Bill Mitchell and studio chief Clare MacKichan, in ’59 the stylists had created the wildest Chevy in history. (See our feature here.) Now the designers were pulling back to a cleaner, more traditional look—a trend that developed across the General Motors car brands in 1961.
In Chevrolet’s ’61 television campaign, spokesman Joel Aldred reported that this new, “sensible” Chevy was “made the way you want a car made—with classic simplicity,” Over on the print side the copywriters proclaimed, “Trim new size, clean new style.” In truth, at 209.3 inches the ’61 Chevy was only 1.6 inches shorter than the ’59-’60 version, but it was 2.4 inches narrower and 100 lbs lighter. Here, at least, was the reversal of a years-long Motor CIty trend in which cars always grew bigger and more bloated with each new selling season.
Under the new sheet metal the ’61 Chevy was much the same car as before, retaining the controversial X-frame chassis with 119-in wheelbase. The six-cylinder and V8 powertrain choices continued as well, but with the addition of the 409 cubic-inch V8 at mid-year.
The familiar Biscayne, Bel Air, and Impala trim levels were offered in the usual body styles, with a restyled two-door Sport Coupe available in the Bel Air and Impala. With its long, sweeping rear glass, in a few years the distinctive ’61-’62 hardtop would become known to Chevy enthusiasts as the Bubble Top. The Super Sport also made its debut in ’61, originally as a dealer package for the Impala.
In a down season for the industry, the Chevrolet division enjoyed a solid year in ’61 with around 1.3 million cars sold. However, Ford had also adopted more formal and conservative styling that year and managed to edge out Chevy by around 20,000 units. Chevrolet came roaring back in ’62, delivering more than two million cars, and with annual styling updates the basic ’61 package would remain in production through 1964.
the ’61 is by far and away the best looking of this generation of Chevy
Agree completely. I think the Impala hit another peak in ’65 with the fastback, and then… that’s it. Chevelle certainly had some good years in parallel.
I vaguely remember when people starting calling them “bubble tops.” It was some years later and I didn’t know what cars they were talking about.
The 61 is my favorite Chevy of the era. They lost the ridiculous tail fins in 61 and it looked sleek and clean, but then the next year the cars started to look heavy and boxy. GM can never leave something alone when they have a good thing. Just my opinion, of course, because I know that many people love ridiculous tail fins.
The 1962-1963 Chevrolets were competent but uninspired in styling. The 1964 was an improvement and although, as an eager 13-year-old I was thrilled with the 1965s, they have not really aged well in my mind’s eye. My parents purchased a 1965 Chevelle Malibu sport coupe that summer, and the 195 horsepower 293 inch V-8 made it quite a performer. That car was passed down to me while in law school and during those next couple of years, the rust began to really take a toll on the rear quarter panels, but the vehicle was very reliable and got me where I needed to go. In 1976, the Caprice 4-door sport sedan was handed down to me and eventually sold for just $400.00 in 1978, I recall, with rust already rearing its ugly head. It is impressive that the auto companies have done such a great job in recent years of conquering the scourge of rust! Today, a 10 year old GM car still has a lot of years left. In contrast to that, in the summer of 1957, my parents borrowed my grandmothers 1956 Chevy 150 2-door sedan because their 1950 Chevrolet was considered too old to be reliable enough to make a roughly 550 mile trip.
I always thought the ’62-3 were okay, not great but nothing special apart from being old cars (I was born in ’74 so don’t remember them in their time). The ’64 on the other hand looks like the box a ’61 came in.