When Chrome Ruled: Classic 1950s GM Cars In Vintage Photos

Text by Patrick Bell.

General Motors was at the top of the heap during much of the twentieth century.  Nearly 58 million domestic new cars were sold in the U.S. during the decade of the 1950’s, and GM’s share was 46.5% (all per Wikipedia).  Let’s take a look at some of what they had to offer during that decade.

Our lead image was a 1951 Pontiac Chieftain De Luxe 4 door sedan from Louisiana.  It looked in new condition and was equipped with a spotlight/mirror combination, radio, illuminated hood ornament, and fender skirts.  The most common power plant was a 268 cubic inch Silver Streak Straight Eight, and Hydra-Matic Drive was optional.

And another close to new car, this one a 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline De Luxe 2 door sedan from California.  It was nicely equipped with an accessory grille guard and full wheel covers.  The power came from the well proven 216 ci 6 cylinder that had been around for many years.  This style ran through 1952 with minor annual changes.

This 1950 Buick convertible looks like it has three Venti-Ports, which would make it a Super series since the Special did not offer a convertible that year.  It was wearing a 1953 South Carolina license plate, and a 263 ci Fireball Straight Eight provided the power, along with Dynaflow Drive if so desired.  Be careful, it might bite.

Here was a 1952 Buick Super Riviera Sedan with possibly a New York license plate of the same vintage.  It was equipped with a grille guard and curb feelers, and was the most popular Buick of the year.

On the left edge was an unmistakable “Bullet Nose” 1950 or 1951 Studebaker.  On the right from the right was a 1946-1948 Plymouth, 1946-1948 Lincoln Sedan, 1950 or 1951 Dodge Wayfarer Sedan, and I’m not sure about the black one on the left end.

Question of the day: Was the man in the image missing part of his right arm? Or was it behind his back?

And here was the most popular Oldsmobile for 1952, a Super 88 4 door sedan from Ohio.  The 303 ci Rocket V8 from 1949 received a 25 horsepower boost this year, up to 160 in the Super 88 and Ninety-Eight series.  And power steering was a new option for the year.

A barefooted gentleman was standing by a 1953 Chevrolet Two-Ten convertible, a one year only model.  5617 of these were produced, compared to 24,047 Bel Air convertibles, which were $82 more expensive.  Rounding the corner above it was a blue 1951 Chevrolet Styleline De Luxe 4 door sedan.

Front and center in this image was an Ohio based 1951 Cadillac Series 62 Sedan, the perennial favorite Cadillac of the era.  About the same number of these were made as all the other models combined.  Beyond it were two Buicks; a gray 1950 Super or Roadmaster Riviera Sedan, and further back a white over blue 1954 2 door Riviera hardtop that could have been any of the four series.  Others include a 1956 Plymouth on the left edge, and a two tone 1955 or 1956 Dodge pickup directly behind the Cadillac.

This man appeared to be washing the tires of a 1954 Pontiac Star Chief Custom Catalina, the top of the line Pontiac for the year.  The fender skirt was removed for access.  This was the last year for the L-head Straight Eight and Six engines that had been in use for about twenty years.  A good view of the optional Illuminated Hood Ornament is seen here, along with the No-Mar Fuel Door Guard and the Bumper Wing Guards.

And a lady with horns, or maybe it was two boys in the street.  She and her companion were standing by a 1955 Buick Century 2 door Riviera, which was the performance Buick.  It had the Special’s shorter wheelbase and lighter body, combined with the senior series larger 322 ci V8.  Parked in the street was a 1953 Oldsmobile Super 88 4 door sedan.

The 1955 Chevrolet was all new in nearly all respects including a new V8 that became legendary.  Shown here was a nicely equipped Bel Air 2 door sedan that had been around the block a few times, but the appeal still showed through.  Over 773,000 Bel Airs found a home that year, and it was not the most popular series.  Add 805,000 Two-Ten’s, and 125,000 of the base One-Fifty’s, and you have over 1.7 million total sales.  That was one for every 100 U.S. residents.

Another top of the line Pontiac, this one a 1956 Star Chief 2 door Catalina from Minnesota.  Pontiac’s new 287 ci Strato-Streak V8 was in its second year and already received a boost to 316 ci with several versions available.  Other news for 1956 was the 4 door Catalina hardtop that was available in all three series.  The one above looked good for an eight year old car with perhaps a rusty spot below the headlight.

A gentleman who looked like he was in the middle of a conversation was standing with a 1956 Buick Super 2 door Riviera with some road dirt.  This was the second year of this restyle and received some minor updates.  All series now used the 322 ci V8, and horsepower ratings were slightly increased.  It looks like a restaurant was next door, with quarters for the owner/manager upstairs.

Now we have a lady leaning on a close to new V8 powered 1957 Chevrolet 2 door sedan.  The image quality makes it a little tough to ID the series.  It was either a Two-Ten or a Bel Air.  I am going with the Bel Air because of the appearance of chrome moldings on the upper door and quarter window edge, and the long molding on the quarter top edge.  The fender gill inserts and quarter ribbed insert are hard to discern, and the sill molding was standard on the Bel Air and optional on others.  Either way ,it was nicely optioned with rubber bumper cushions, full wheel covers and whitewalls, and had a same year New York license plate.

A 1957 Chevrolet Corvette was taking a break in the shade.  It was in its second year of a restyle with some very minor appearance updates.  The big news for all 1957 Chevrolets was the 283 Turbo-Fire V8, and it was standard in the Corvette with four other outputs available, including the Fuel Injection version.  In the background was an early Willys Jeep Station Wagon with a roof rack.

Here was a sharp 1957 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket 88 convertible with a 1958 Illinois license plate.  This was the entry level series, and the convertible model was the least popular of the three available.  The Rocket V8 was boosted to 371 ci and available in two outputs; a 277 hp version was standard on all series, while the new J-2 Rocket with three dual barrel carburetors was optional.

1958 was General Motors’ Golden Anniversary, so they introduced all new styling that leaned heavily towards the “longer, lower and wider” look.  It showed well on the 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air Impala Sport Coupe above, Impala’s first year, and available only as a coupe or convertible.  Also new for the year was the 348 Turbo-Thrust V8 that came in your choice of two flavors.

The entry level Oldsmobile had a new name to go with its new style for 1958.  Shown above was a 1958 Dynamic 88 Holiday Sedan.  Dynamic was one way you could describe the new style…  They also had their own slightly lower output version of the 371 Rocket V8, and this one had a 1958 Maryland license plate, so it was fairly new in this image.

1959 was the apex of General Motors jet age styling, and perhaps was best represented by the 1959 Cadillac as shown above.  The styling trends settled down with the new decade and soon began a new cycle.  To stay current in the horsepower race the engine received an upgrade to 390 ci with 325 hp. This one was a Coupe de Ville that had a few passengers and what appeared to be a 1962 issue Illinois license plate.

A lady was relaxing against the fender of a 1959 Pontiac Bonneville Sports Coupe while another one was drying her face behind the wheel.  Pontiac’s well known split grille began with the newly restyled 1959 model, as well as the “Wide-Track Wheels”.  To the left was a 1953 or 1954 Hudson Jet, and in the background a 1955-1959 Chevrolet “Task-Force” stepside pickup.  And to the right looks like a Ford Model A Touring car.

And we close with a cowgirl and a 1959 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe out in the desert amongst the Joshua trees.  It was equipped with one of the 283 Turbo-Fire V8’s, front bumper guard and cushions, tinted glass, rear mounted antenna, and a California license plate.  This was the first year of the Impala series, and overall sales improved by more than 35% over the recession-marked 1958 year.

Thanks for joining us and have a great day!

 

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