See the 1961 Chevrolets tested to their limits and beyond in this entertaining General Motors film.

The focus of this great old 1961 Chevrolet film is product engineering—with some show-biz shenanigans thrown in for cinematic effect. Cold-room testing is a fairly standard procedure at General Motors, but we’re pretty sure they never employed swimsuit models there. We could be wrong. Also, Joie Chitwood-style ramp jumps are not a regular part of the vehicle course at the Milford Proving Ground (darn it). The film department was simply trying to add some razzle-dazzle to an otherwise ho-hum task: reliability testing.

The catchphrase here is “Chevrolet cars and trucks can stand the gaff!”  And note that once again, the Corvair comes in for an extra dose of abuse and punishment. In those days,  Chevrolet constantly went out of its way to demonstrate that, contrary to the corner-garage assumptions,  the air-cooled compact’s aluminum engine and all-independent suspension were not fragile or fussy. (Another example is The Corvair In Action, 1960, one of our favorite Chevy films.) Also included here is footage of Chevrolet’s performance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1960, where a Briggs Cunningham Corvette finished first in class and eighth overall. We’re sold. Video below.

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