Note: The story you are about to read is true. The names have NOT been changed to protect the innocent (or the guilty!) So there!
One of the great mysteries of life is . . . Why are people motivated to do what they do? What is this irresistible urge to . . . do whatever it is that turns us on? And enthusiasm for that thing (or things) is not something we can control–it’s just there. Passions vary greatly from person to person, which makes us all individuals. The early signs of this phenomenon go back very far, like when you were 2 or 3. You can see it young children; you can see it in yourself. If the desire is encouraged, it will grow and flourish. If it is discouraged by others, it will flourish anyway despite opposition. “You will be who you will be.”
Identical car–except for the knock-off wheelcovers.
I bring all of this up because the other day I happened to stumble across this mint condition 1959 Chevrolet Impala sedan on the VanDerBrink Auctions website, and I said, “Wow–there it is! Just like I remember it!” And all these memories came flooding back.
But first a little backstory:
That’s me, circa 1970 with a toy garage.
Somehow, I’ve always been interested in cars. Particularly old ones. Originally I was very into the real antiques–cars from the ‘teens to early ’30s. I would see them in Charlie Chaplin movies, Laurel & Hardy, The Little Rascals, etc. One of my favorite bits from Sesame Street was this little montage (particularly the second half). Once Dad brought home W. C. Fields’ Hurry Hurry to show on our home projector–I found it so hilarious that I insisted he rewind the film and show it again!
Internet photo–not the actual show I went to.
I got to go to an antique car show. At that time, almost all the cars would have been pre-war. They were lined up on the grass, and I marveled at the wooden spoke wheels, running boards, sweeping fenders, polished upright radiators, tufted seats, hand cranks, and Steampunk (we didn’t have that word then) gauges. The cars seemed so beautiful, strangely familiar, and SO BIG!
Queens, New York, 1970.
However, I still lived in the “modern world” of the early 1970s. The cars I saw on a daily basis were interesting too. There was one particular car that stood out which I instantly recognized and found endlessly intriguing. You guessed it . . .
It was sleek and beautiful, but a little frightening with those oddly sinister rear lights tucked under the V-shaped wings. The front had “eyebrows” over the headlights which were the same shape as the taillights but stretched-out and reversed. Made perfect sense! Then there was the gracefully curved roof line and the unique vent window shape with a windshield that wrapped all the way around!
At the time, I didn’t know what kind of car this was. It was just “That Car”. Sightings were not that common and all too brief. It wasn’t until I got a copy of Tad Burness’ American Car Spotter’s Guide that I found out it was a ’59 Chevrolet. I also learned the true identity of “familiar faces” (and rear ends) of other older cars I recognized. I determined that I liked cars from 1955-61 the best, and they became the new focus of my enthusiasm.
Around 1977 I became a big fan of the TV show In Search Of . . . Every week I was regaled with stories of UFOs, ghosts, the Bermuda Triangle, the Nazca Lines in Peru, Pyramid Power, the legend of the Mary Celeste, and on and on, as told by Mr. Spock himself! One of the most intriguing stories was the case of Betty & Barney Hill, who were allegedly abducted by aliens while driving through New Hampshire in 1961.
Highway marker in New Hampshire.
Actress playing Betty Hill leans on the fender of her 1959 Chevy as a flying saucer approaches!
Then I found out that there was going to be a movie on TV about the Betty & Barney Hill abduction. It was on past my bedtime, but after everyone else went to sleep, I snuck downstairs and started watching The UFO Incident.
Notice how the alien’s eyes have the same shape as the ’59 Chevy taillights?
Opening scene of the movie shows the Hills driving their ’59 Chevy.
Oh, boy–is this creepy. They’re driving That Car and they’re going to get abducted by aliens!
The aliens are scary as hell. The Hills are taken aboard the craft and are strapped to operating tables. Then they show the surgical instruments the aliens are going to use on the Hills.
I freaked out. That’s it–I can’t take it anymore! I shut the TV off and went to bed, hoping the aliens weren’t going to come after me next! After all, this wasn’t just another scary fictional horror movie. This was presented as real!
I recently re-watched The UFO Incident on YouTube and came to the following conclusions:
- This is a really bad movie.
- It didn’t seem nearly as scary now as I remembered it being. Also it turns out that in real life the Hills actually owned a ’57 Chevy, not a ’59.
Fast forward a few years . . .
My grandparents: Pietro (Pete) and Agnes Pellegrino, solid citizens of Millburn NJ. Grandpa “The Boss” built several of the commercial buildings in town. That’s me at lower right.
One day I’m visiting my grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa are nice, but sometimes it gets a little boring just hanging around the house . . .
I still have this bike. It’s in my parents’ attic.
Luckily, I kept my “old” 20 inch bike in my grandparents’ garage so I could get out of the house from time to time and explore the neighborhood.
Millburn ShopRite. At one time those cemented-over areas were glass windows.
One day Grandma asked me to go get something from the local ShopRite supermarket. Since Grandma never learned to drive, normally Grandpa would drop her off at ShopRite (in his green ’71 AMC Matador wagon) while he stopped in at the Casa Columbo Italian social club across the street. But this time Grandma asked me to run the errand, so I got on my bike and pedaled over there.
1959 Chevrolet images from VanDerBrink.
I came out of the supermarket with whatever it was I was supposed to get, I look out into the parking lot and–“Oh my God . . . look at that! I can’t believe it!”
There it was, looking like a landed alien spacecraft–a genuine 1959 Chevrolet Impala 4-door sedan, resplendent in glistening Crown Sapphire and Snowcrest White. It completely stood out from the sea of boxy, broughamy, compact, and sporty cars of the ’70s surrounding it.
I walked slowly around the whole car, taking it all in. It was the first time I got to see a ’59 Chevy close-up like this. The car is much more dramatic in person than it is in photos.
Who would own such a thing? Just then a little old lady approached. A conversation ensued:
Me: “I really like your car . . . heh, heh. Is this yours?”
Lady: “Yes, it’s my car. I’ve had it for __ years.” (I forgot how many.)
Me: “Um, would you ever want to sell it?”
Lady: “What could you possibly pay me for it? Fifteen dollars?!”
That kind of hurt.
I don’t know what was said after that, but the lady drove off and I went back to Grandma and told her about my conversation.
Grandma posing in front of an unusual AMC model owned by a visitor.
I described to Grandma the lady I met and her car. Grandma says, “I know her. That’s Mrs.______.” Really? Grandma knows the identity of every older Italian lady in the neighborhood? Apparently so.
This struck me as odd because for one thing Grandma has never owned or driven a car, and rarely talked about cars at all. Her one automotive comment I remember was her statement that “Fords are good cars.” This was apparently based on the fact Grandpa had a mid-30s Ford woody station wagon up until 1957. The idea that a Ford from the ’30s had virtually nothing in common with a Ford of the ’70s would not have occurred to Grandma.
The house in question. It looks a little different now, but I definitely remember that downsloping driveway.
A few weeks or months later, I’m riding my bike exploring Grandma’s neighborhood and out of the corner of my eye–“Whoa! What’s that?” I can see the turquoise ’59 Impala in an open garage. Now, I don’t want to get into trouble, but sometimes things come together in a certain way and you just get sucked in.
It looks like no one’s around, so I walk down the driveway and peek in the garage. Then (I know this is awful) I go inside the garage, open the driver’s door and check out the interior and dashboard, which looks a lot like TV’s Batmobile. Cool! But I now realize that I have to close the car door, which will make a loud slam. Someone will hear me and then I’m in deep doo-doo. I have no choice–I slammed the door, ran like hell, got on my bike and pedaled as fast as I could. No one came after me.
I never saw the car again. I’d like to think that since it survived as long as it did that it would have been preserved, but I’ve seen too many cases where that doesn’t happen. I wanted to save it; but I had no money, no license, and worst of all, no parental permission. My father (a foreign car guy) thought that the ’59 Chevy design was ugly and ridiculous. So I was all alone and nobody understood.
Finally, in 2018, I got a ’59 Chevy of my own. “A dream come true.” I was happy to discover that it’s not just a good-looking car, but a good-driving car too. As a commenter on another website said about his own ’59, “It rode like a cloud!” And it handles decently too, now that new radial tires and KYB gas shocks have been installed. The 6 cylinder engine with Powerglide is super-smooth and quiet, and the car has been very reliable.
A monster lives in the garage . . .
So that’s my ’59 Chevy story. Strange that a car that I only saw a few times briefly has had such an effect on my life. And if I did get abducted by aliens, I’m sure they wiped the experience out of my memory banks. Because there are certain mysteries that we are better off not knowing the answers to.
I really like the 1959 Impala and to me it’s the most comely of the 1959 GM rush jobs. I think the 1960 is a “plucked chicken” before Chrysler ever did it.
What a good piece! I relate a lot to it, being interested in old cars since childhood myself.
Great back story to your own ’59! I was born in 1970, and from the neighborhood where we lived when I was 4 or 5, I remember a couple of these. The older couple next to us had a 1960 white Valiant, with the “toilet seat” on the trunk lid.
Great story, I grew up in the country in upstate ny. Dad was from mass and had relatives in new england… His brother in law, my uncle teddy, lived in r.i. had a brand new white with red interior four door hardtop 59 impala… What a sweeping beauty that was.. I was 8 and loving cars also… Glad you were able to get yours and “live the dream”. I’ve written previously about my 63 Comet purchased 14 months ago that is exactly like my first car at 17 … I too was able to go back to a simpler time.. Love the oldies
Stephen – I didn’t have to go far to find one; our next door neighbor had a ’59 Chevy four door sedan. It was silver monotone and not an Impala. Probably a Biscayne.
I am curious about your bike. Do you remember the brand? It looks as if it uses a girls frame and the missing top bar is substituted for by a horn tank in the proper place. That was not uncommon for smaller, kids bikes. I refurbished a Schwinn Convertible that did have a top bar but it was removable to make it a girls version, if wanted.
Your bike shows evidence of at last one bad crash; the fork is so bent that yours is now a short wheelbase version. Glad you survived.
Two doors down from me was a 1959 Pontiac Catalina sedan in green–another stunner!
The bike is a Ross. It probably looked like this when new (but with painted, not chromed fenders). My dad got it used when I was 5. The paint was scratched and chipped, so Dad disassembled the whole bike and re-sprayed it. I wanted the white trim restored, but Dad misunderstood my instructions and painted the oval and stars on the chain guard, and the “Deluxe” script on the tank–opposite of where they should be! Oh, well.
The fork is bent because my brother hit the back of a parked car. Luckily, he wasn’t seriously hurt. The bent fork didn’t affect the functionality of the bike, and we kept on ridin’ it!
How many people ever successfully get their own “A dream come true” car? Especially when it runs and drives as well as yours does.
As a car lover some years older than you, my dream cars ranged (no – present tense RANGE) from 1949’ers to about the mid 1960s. The mid-60s was when I started my post college career and society required that I become more invested in marriage and fatherhood than cars.
But secretly, I have always lusted after a 1950 Buick, preferably the Riviera hardtop but any ’50 will do, but it must have Dynaflow. Some say it’s the ugliest and slowest car ever made. I know, I know. But the heart …
When my father was working in sales he came home in a company ’59 2 door low end Chevrolet (maybe Biscayne). I was 16 at the time and thought “OK, now they (Chevrolet) have gone too far; how are they going to top this next year?
A year later my newly married sister showed up in a ’60 White Impala convertible with red checkered interior. My thoughts… “I get it now, when the design gets too crazy, back off a bit, then go crazy again later…”.
I was wrong, Chevrolet never went as lovingly crazy as the 1959 again.
Nor did Buick after the 1950.
In reply to your question – I did!
I fell in love with the C2 Corvette in adolescence (a relatively rare and unknown vehicle in the UK) and dreamed of having one. I have since ended up owning two of them – a Nassau blue ’66 427/425 roadster and a ’63 Tuxedo black fuellie coupe, the latter of which I still have. And like Mr. Pellegrino says about his ’59, the driving experience of both has been astonishingly good.
A book on Corvettes showed me what car design (styling) was and gave me another dream to follow and fulfill. I remember being inside the GM Tech Center in the Corvette studio led by Tom Peters as a junior designer working on the C5 and looking out the window to see my freshly acquired ’66 with the famous water tower in the background. I must have looked a bit strange, as Tom came and asked me if I was okay and I explained that this was the culmination of two of my dreams coming true!
Here is me behind my Dad’s ’59, with my Mom’s ’61 in the background (circa 1963) in Streamwood, Illinois
Great photo!
Great story – and it’s amusing to look back onto childhood and see how many of our early fascinations are still with us in some form or another.
There’s several aspects of your story here that resonate with me. My father also was a foreign car guy, so even though we were both car enthusiasts, he thought my admiration for big American cars was completely cringeworthy. We didn’t have much in overlapping interests there.
I can completely relate to hearing the condescending tone of the older lady with the green Chevy – it seemed that whenever I’d try to make conversations as a kid with older people, the conversation would turn out something like that. And looking back, I wonder just how old these people were? Were they really elderly, or in my mind do I just remember them that way?
I’m amazed that you snuck into the the lady’s garage and opened the door. That’s something I wouldn’t have quite had the nerve to do. I did at one time open the door to a Rambler that was parked on the street – just to look at the inside of an older car more closely.
Also, that house looks like the perfect place for a ’59 Chevy. I’ve always called garages like that (with a downsloping driveway) as being “bat caves.” Perfect for a bat-winged car.
And Dad (and my brother’s Schwinn)
I’m wondering if your dad’s Impala is Roman Red or the relatively rare Cameo Coral color that my ’59 is. The Coral is a kind of orange-y/ pinkish red.
I don’t know for sure, but I always thought it was coral.
Thoroughly enjoy and appreciate your writing Stephen.
Thankfully, I’ve never had an affinity for any particular brand or model.
But I’ve been highly torn on specific cars at purchase time. Last time was a 2006 extended wheelbase Jeep Wrangler, that I decided to pass on.
My favorite episode of In Search Of… was when Leonard Nimoy went looking for his car keys.
I can relate. My neighborhood in Iowa City in the early ’60s was incredibly easy-going; we kids just tromped through other’s yards and driveways as if they were all part of a commons; there were no fences. And I did not hesitate to check out cars parked in driveways and open garages. There was a step-down Hudson that I used to spend quite a bit of time in, although I think it was not in daily use anymore.
I ran across a ’59 Cadillac coupe parked in front of a hotel in Innsbruck in 1959, and it was something of an extraterrestrial experience. I’d seen big American cars, but nothing like this. Mind-blowing. People really drove around in these?
Unlike you, I did not end up with a ’59 Cadillac, but who knows?
I never had a deep obsession with these ‘59’s but as a kid probably 10-15 years older than the author, I certainly remember them everywhere. The fairly horizontal fins really stood out among the big-finned late 50’s cars. Cadillacs and Chryslers had vertical fins, Buick diagonal for a while, Fords mostly had vestigial finlets. The Chevy was just odd, in a wild way. Then 1961 came along, and boom – they were gone. From my perspective today, it’s a very clean design, while the 1960 rear end, which seemed pretty similar to 5 or 6 year old me, is a real mess.
Your dad was right!
I was waiting for someone to say that!
Strange looking tho the ’59 Chevy’s were, they were positively sleek compared to the “restyled” 60s!
My dad had a ’60 Biscayne 4 dr. in this color combo, altho only the top was white. The car was a 6 with a 3 spd. manual, bench seats and dog dish hubcaps. No radio, Power Steering, seat belts or anything remotely looking other than bottom-of-the-line-CHEAP! Handling, brakes, power? NOT AVAILIBLE. The car was a wallowing tank that provided basic automotive transportation. If I was “lucky” I got use of it once a week on Friday or Saturday night for a few hours. Once I had use of the car briefly it was off with friends, or a special friend.
Some cruising was done with it, but given what it was: not a KOOL car to do that in if you were a teen!! When I think back to what a large PO$ that Chevy was, I find it somewhat amazing that people would buy them. Of course, given that essentially all American cars were very similar……. What a difference a few years started to make in the automotive landscape……fortunately! 🙂 The photo from the web is very close to what my father purchased, except: not lowered, no white walls and dog dish hubcaps. The hideous “kinked” fins certainly show well in this view. DFO
In the Venn diagram of “cars that look bizarre” and “cars that sell a jillion copies”, the 1959 Chevrolet is the point of overlap.
When at 18 and recently moved to California (LA) my brother in law had as a company car a burnt sienna color 1959 Impala 4 door, rode in it numerous times. Was not a fan of the styling but didn’t hate it either, of GM’s 59’s thought the Pontiac was the best by far. Was into cars from an early age in grade school elementary, even attached a cardboard ‘instrument panel to my brand new beautiful Monarch Silver King bike (which put any Schwinn to shame). My favorite time of year was the Fall when new car announcements were made, was sorry that faded away gradually. Really enjoyed the article, brought back many memories.
Seeing another story on the improbable 1959 Chevy reminds me that we had one in our garage for a short time. I’ve mentioned this before, but I grew up with my two aunts before they got married along with my mother, brother and grandparents. The older of the two aunts traded in her very problematic 1957 Plymouth Savoy for a new 1959 Chevy Bel Air sedan. Therefore I got to contemplate the rear end of that car as I rode my bike in the driveway when the garage door was open. Stared at long enough, those cat’s eye taillights could look down right menacing.
In hindsight, it’s hard to believe that the Chevy changed so dramatically in looks between 1954 and 1959, just five short model years.
I love all the old pics on here lately. I see myself and my family in nearly every one.
Let’s say you backed into something with this and dented up one of the rear corners. I imagine the body work would be a nightmare!
Just realized I goofed referring my brotherinlaw’s ’59 Chevy was an Impala, of course it was a Bel Air.
Two 1959 cars were quite distinctive, and sold in great enough numbers to still be around, usually sporting serious signs of entropy, in the early 1970s.
The 1959 Chevrolet and 1959 Ford were those cars. Two of the first older cars I could reliably identify.
In my early ’60s built neighborhood, we had a small supermarket – too big to call it a corner grocery, but on a corner it was. To be specific, it was a Sensible Size store. My youth included multiple bike trips to that store to pick up a dinner ingredient for my mom. Somehow, that ingredient always seemed to be accompanied by a candy bar, and the receipt was never in the bag. In fact, some other worldly force always ended up putting it in the storm drain at the end of the parking lot!
On that trip, on the north side of Templeton Avenue, was a tidy brick home where the garage doors were sometimes open. Inside were a 1955 Chevy and a 1959 Chevy. Presumably, in 1974, this was a sign of elderly ownership. And, wow! Did the back of a Chevy change in four years, or what?
Cosmic forces indeed, those old Chevys persisted for another decade, through my high school years. It was sad when I realized they were gone, because the owners and the cars had likely slipped the surly bonds of earth.
As they say, Is this a coincidence, or what?
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/d632ee67-dbaf-48d6-90f5-90d80361aab5
I did love In Search Of.
And if I had a nickel for everyone in NH who’s been abducted by aliens….
Excellent story Stephen. Love the fins on those cars.
Great piece Stephen.
Some random Car and Close Encounters thoughts:
While the ’59 Chevys were never my favorite, I always liked them. For me, when the wings went vestigial in ’61, that was the one from that era I preferred.
Your ’60 Dodge is the one I really like from your fleet, but I’m a little biased as my parents got one right after I was born. I came home from the hospital in a ’56 Chevy 210, but this car was purchased shortly thereafter. While conceived in 1959, just about when the ’60 Chevys were entering the showrooms, I am a 1960 model. 😉
By the time i was starting to become car aware, the ’60 Dodge went away for a ’66 Impala fastback coupe. Sadly, I don’t recall the Dodge, or the Tri-Five.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind was a huge hit when I was 17 in 1977. The scene seared into my memory banks is the one with Richard Dreyfus at the railroad crossing in his ’74 Ford Pickup. When the UFO pulls up behind him, the spacing of the headlights reminded me of the ’77 Grand Prix, which would’ve been a new car then.
But upon further review, I’m now thinking ’68 Olds Cutlass (or 442). The Grand Prix had the rectangular sealed beam headlights that were becoming all the rage back then.
If you look at the picture below, and compare it to the car in the center lane two cars back from the ’70 Chevy in your “Queens, NY” shot, you’ll see what I mean….
Of course, a second or so later, we realize the parking lights are all wrong for an Olds, as is the “car’s” propulsion system…
This is definitely not your father’s Oldsmobile….
The whole scene if anyone is curious…
I remember going to see that movie and being pissed off that it was so hokey ~ the advertisements all said it was a real occurrence, as if .
My boss insisted it was in fact a documentary…..
-Nate
A great heartfelt story Stephen. I like hearing stories from people that love a specific car. My Dad bought a new ’59 Impala two door hardtop, black with red interior. I was five years old at the time. However, the car that really imprinted on me was the ’56 Cadillac. I was so fascinated by that car! It took me forty years to get one of my own. Sometimes I wish that I hadn’t sold it. I wouldn’t mind having another, but now they go for real money. It barely fit in my current garage so I don’t know where I could put it.
The scary for kids aspect of the 59 Chevy was recognized at the time!
Although the cartoon exaggerates them, the fins of the ’59 did extend outward from the body sides, more so as they got to the rear corners of the car. The ’60 fins did not have this feature — they were parallel to the body sides.
Christopher’s photo above shows exactly how wild those fins were.
A lot of 59 Chevy cartoons out there:
The 59 always intrigued me because of the back end mainly. When you look at the timeline, from 1955 and up, this stands out as “what were they thinking.” In 58 you had the six or four round tail lights and then this before going back to the six and four.
Ironically, while driving down a side street to avoid freeway traffic, coming in the other direction was a 1958 Chevrolet Biscayne in very nice condition. Clearly in the Danville – Alamo region of Northern California one can find a lot of nice classics out in the open once in awhile.
Not living in the US at the time, my childhood memory of the 59 Chevy was the stream of different model variants produced by Corgi Toys which were available right up to the late 60s. They were always called Chevrolet Impala rather than 59 Chevy. I still have a black Chevrolet State Patrol model No 223 – although that variant wasn’t titled Impala.
Great story! I am a few years older, so these cars struck me a little differently. These were everywhere when I first started becoming conscious of cars. I can remember noticing how different the front ends on Edsels looked (though I did not know they were Edsels at the time). And, of course, nothing looked like a 59 Chevy from the rear. They really didn’t start looking outlandish to me until some years later, when they started to become uncommon.
I do remember spending quite a bit of time sitting in the 60 Bel Air sedan that my grandma’s neighbor “Annie” was still driving in maybe 1974 or 75. Annie had been away visiting family and grandma asked me to go over and put her mail into the house or something. I saw the car in the garage and could not resist. Other than a bit of northern Ohio rust around the edges, the car was pristine, in solid medium green in and out.
Cool cars. I have chronicled on CC before how one in my neighbourhood made a lasting impression on me. I passed by it every day on my way to school in Kindergarten.
Last I saw a ’59 Chev was at a Dad’s day car show in 2022. This chronicle was in one of the windows.
Good thing the aliens did memory wipes ~ who’d want to remember the _probe_ part ?.
I too was infatuated with 1920 & 1930’s vehicles as a child, there were still quite a few doing yeoman duty on the other side of the tracks, plus junkyards crammed full of them, mostly unsellable parts and scrap prices were vey low in the 50’s & 60’s .
Good to hear you like how it drives, I don’t remember liking driving the 235 powered ’59 Chevy I got to try .
The whole car is simply TOO BIG to suit me .
Now as a geezer I think they look just fine .
I like your story, it’s well told and covers a bit of my own years way Down East .
As always the comments are terrific .
-Nate
What is kind of interesting with design, is that the body is highly sculptured, but the bumpers are simple horizontal pieces. Especially compared to the other tortured bumper shapes that GM had used. Maybe that’s where Chevy saved the money to produce the body?
Great story Stephen. It’s funny because it wasn’t until I got a copy of Tad Burness’ American Car Spotter’s Guide (Christmas 1981) that I was able to identify this car as well. As a kid, I had the No. 57 Chevrolet Impala in my Matchbox collection. It didn’t look like a car from the 50’s to me… my guess was that it was from the early 60’s (1961 or 1962).
For Australians, General Motors Holden (GMH) offered through its extensive GMH dealership chain, during the1950s and 1960s as there most expensive ‘top of the passenger car range’ luxury cars, a factory right hand drive version of the 1959 Chevrolet Belair 4 door sedan and 1959 Pontiac Laurentian 4 door sedan.
Both cars were offered with a 6 cylinder engine and 2 speed Power Glide transmission. In the case of the Chevrolet, the 6 cylinder engine was of 235 cub inch size while the Pontiac’s engine was slightly larger at 261 cub inches.
These two vehicles were fitted with genuine leather interiors which was equal to or better quality to the leather used in Rolls Royce interiors of the time.
Australian Heads of State and even our Prime Minister were typically ‘chauffer driven’ in black with red leather interior RHD 1959 Belair 4 door sedans.
Effectively Chevrolet and Pontiac in Australia, in 1959 and until early 1970 sold at Cadillac prices and directly against Jaguar, Mercedes Benz and BMW. I might add, that Chevrolets and Pontiacs from 1949 through to 1970 were considered by Australians to be superior in to every respect to any European car.
So, back in the day. Being seen driving a new RHD 6 cylinder ‘59 Chevrolet Belair meant you had to be a well off Australian. Our Holden on the other hand was the Australian working class car until its demise in 2018.