The legend starts here. See the ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air in all its tail-finned glory in this original two-minute color commercial.
When this promotional spot was originally produced for the 1957 model year, the marketing people at General Motors had no way to know that the ’57 Chevy would become an American classic. Still, perhaps you can detect a special whiff of confidence here, a sense that this year, they could be onto something special. The clip is dedicated to the top-of-the-line Bel Air, which launched in 1950 as the name for the division’s pillarless hardtop body style, but eventually became a complete product line that included hardtops, sedans, convertibles, and wagons. This would be the last year of the Bel Air as Chevy’s flagship model, as the Bel Air Impala was introduced in 1958 and the Bel Air was demoted to mid-line status.
One new feature for ’57 showcased in this spot is the Turboglide automatic transmission, considerably more sophisticated than the Powerglide with a five-element torque converter versus the Powerglide’s conventional three-element unit. A cousin to the Buick Dynaflow but with an advanced diecast aluminum case, the three-turbine Turboglide traded the familiar “PRNDL” gear selector for “PRND-HR” with the HR indicating “Hill Retarder,” soon changed to GR or “Grade Retarder”. Smoother than the Powerglide but with a bumpy production history, the Turboglide underwent several revisions before it was discontinued in 1961.
Despite the Turboglide hiccups, ’57 was a blue-ribbon year for Chevrolet with more than 1.5 million vehicles produced, tail fins and all. (Ford won a small edge in volume by some measures that year, but that’s another story.) Video below.
Lots of memories with these 57’s.They were what we had in the 553rd.MP Company at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky for doing highway, town, and post patrol.Out of the fleet of six of these four door sedans was one designated for the post commander General William Westmoreland who later became the Supreme Commander in Vietnam,he was the youngest four star general in the armed forces at that time. His sedan was always sitting ready bright and shiny in the motor pool building with its special plate displaying the Generals stars.Along with these patrol vehicles were also six brand new then Harley Davidson Sportsters that were mainly used for escorting the 101st Airborne units to the airport when put on alerts and used to set up TCP’s (traffic control points) leapfrogging across the base from one intersection to the next until reaching the airport.I bought a Belair convertible after returning to civilian life which was a fun automobile.
Background info is always interesting; Thank You.
We finally got to see Mr. Chevrolet, Joel Aldred!
This is how car commercials should be !!