Video: A ’57 Chevy That Never Was

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If you’re a fan of the ’57 Chevy (and really, who isn’t?) you probably noticed something strange about the photo above. Here’s the curious tale of a phantom Chevrolet model,  including a video. 

 

 

There’s an old saying around the Motor City: Stuff happens. (We cleaned that up a little.) Every season when the new models are rolled out, the various product, marketing, and messaging people all put their heads together to make sure the vehicles and their  promotional materials are in perfect alignment. But despite their best efforts, sometimes the cars and their supporting literature don’t agree. Hence the familiar fine-print disclaimer: “Features, colors, and specifications subject to change without notice.”

These little product deviations probably happen more often than anyone knows. But here’s one case that’s impossible to miss, since it happened to one of the most familiar cars in the enthusiast world, the beloved ’57 Chevy, and the discrepancy is blatantly obvious. Somehow, the early advertising materials show a version that, as far as we know, was killed before it went into volume production.

 

This correct factory PR photo above shows the standard ’57 Two-Ten Sport Sedan as it was produced. (Sport Sedan was the GM term for a four-door pillarless hardtop.) As the mid-range model in the Chevy line, slotted in between the base One-Fifty and the deluxe Bel Air, the Two-Ten wore side trim similar to the Bel Air, but without the Bel Air’s familiar anodized aluminum insert in the rear quarter panel, only paint. The phantom, never-produced Two-Ten in the top photo on this page uses only the lower portion of the trim.

 

Above is another example of the phantom Two-Ten from an early sales brochure, this time showing the oddball trim applied to the six and nine-passenger station wagons. Both single-color and two-tone paint schemes are illustrated, with the trim serving as the color separator.

Finally, below we have a ’57 Chevy promotional clip that shows the discarded side trim. While the clip is is filled mainly with Bel Air models, a Two-Ten Sport Sedan with two-tone paint makes an appearance in the first few seconds. Did any Two-Ten models with the oddball trim make it into the hands of car buyers? We don’t know, but it doesn’t appear so. For the Chevy enthusiast who wants to be different, the look wouldn’t be difficult to duplicate.

 

7 thoughts on “Video: A ’57 Chevy That Never Was”

  1. Thanks for this reminder. Similarly, the front wheel drive ’46 Kaiser brochure, the “original” ’49 Ford Fordor with never produced suicide doors, the ’49 Buick Roadmaster side trim which went from a single horizontal strip, to the dipped trim we came to recognize on Buicks in ’49 and immediate subsequent years,
    the early Corvette photos and prototypes with a short dash of a chrome spear on the front fenders, rather than the full length strip the production cars ultimately wore, and the
    “pre production” ’55 Thunderbirds which appeared in print ads with ’55 Fairlane side trim,
    all proved to be “fake news”. Yet they unintentionally have given us car nuts “what ifs” – and points of argument – for decades beyond their initial appearance. How many “I can
    prove it! It’s right here in the brochure!” moments may have occurred between kids back in the day?

  2. Jim A. , you point out some interesting variants in your Reply above. On the Buick side trim issue , on the 1950 Buick Roadmaster Model 72 ( or 74 maybe ) Riviera 4 door sedan an early production featured a straight horizontal side trim on front fender , both doors and on rear quarter panel. Later models featured the beautiful drop spear side trim motif in stainless steel. My grandfather bought one of the first variant in black with Dynaflow , to replace his aging 1932 Auburn Model 12-160A three-tone brown Brougham. I learned to drive in the Auburn and it is still running, largely original , to this day. The Buick has long been the breakfast for a crusher. Car history is fascinating. Thanks to Mac’s Motor City Garage for all their wonderful posts. See you on the road, Jack Richards in Missouri.

  3. We also have the 1933 Willys 99 — the brochure was produced but the car never made it. We have the feature here.

  4. As the former owner of a 57 210 sedan I did my best to get as much factory sales literature. My piece doesn’t even show a 210 only a Delray, a model that wasn’t even produced for years!

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