Confessions of a Drugstore Car Guy

My neighbor shares community car magazines with me, specifically Automobile and Motor Trend. I appreciate this arrangement because it allows me to keep up on the latest car stuff without having to spend whatever car mag money I might in find the couch. I can save that for Street Rodder, Rod & Custom or other titles that I find both more interesting and more useful.

The November 2011 edition of Automobile features an article about Chevrolet’s 100th anniversary. As an owner of a “classic Chevy” and member of a Classic Chevy Club this probably should be of interest to me. As a matter of fact there were some bits of trivia that did tickle my fancy. One of the most interesting bits was the fact that Louis Chevrolet, the guy who gave his name to the marque (that’s pretentious car guy speak for brand name), quit his job rather than giving up cigarettes!

I was fascinated by the nearly century-long rivalry between Chevrolet and Ford, an epic struggle for market domination that, in recent years, has been overlooked because of a similar fight between Toyota and Honda. Chevy v. Ford began in earnest in 1915 when Chevrolet introduced a model that directly challenged the Model T by selling for the same $490. Chevrolet took the lead for the first time in 1927 (because Ford shut down for seven months to re-tool for the Model A) and again in 1928.

Chevy guys are justifiably proud of their small-block V8 which has pretty much owned it’s market (and engineering) niche for over sixty years. Not surprising considering its older brother, the “Stovebolt” Six, was the class of its class from 1929 until it was finally phased out in 1990. That makes it a little easier to swallow some of Chevrolet’s spectacular failures like the air-cooled engine installed in 1923 cars or the aluminum four-banger they put in Vegas.

Although the Vega will never be considered one of Chevrolet’s success stories, drag racer Bill “Grumpy” Jenkin’s Vega-based Pro-Stock Toy XI is considered a pioneer in its class due to innovations like a tube frame and MacPherson strut suspension. About the same time Grumpy was campaigning his Toys Chevrolet had its best sales year ever. In 1978 sales peaked at over 4.55 million. Funniest thing, is there a 1978 Chevrolet anyone today would walk across the street to look at, let alone buy?

By mid-century Chevrolet was in the driver’s seat sales-wise although Ford was riding shotgun. One market segment Chevy did not own, however, was the Hot Rod demographic. Ford’s dominated the pages of emerging car magazines like Hot Rod and Chevies were few and far between. That all changed with the introduction of the ’55 Chevy and it’s small block V8. Although Fords continued to supply the cars that became Hot Rods, the engines quickly became Chevy V8s.

During the car war years of the Sixties, Chevy and Ford battled toe-to-toe in the muscle car arena; Camaro v. Mustang pretty much defined that battle ground. It’s interesting that today, 50 years down the road, the skirmishing continues. In the first quarter of 2011 Camaro outsold Mustang for the first time in years. While Camaro spent a number of years in automotive limbo following its demise in 2002, Mustang soldiered on and even enjoyed a renaissance with a retro-redesign for the 2005 model-year. While Camaro fans cried in their beer Mustangs enjoyed record sales. Now, it seems, the tables have turned; according to USAToday,

“ . . . Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang, it's no contest. Camaro is the winner. It's just one of the more interesting rivalries that are showing up in the sales numbers with the first quarter having just finished. Chevrolet sold 8,964 Camaros in March compared with Ford moving 8,557 Mustangs. For the first three months of the year, the score is 19,972 Camaros to 15,419 Mustangs. Last year, the two were neck-and-neck some months and Ford is justifiably proud of Mustang, so it's interesting that Camaro is pulling so far ahead.”

Most car folks agree the 1955 Chevrolet was the most important car of its generation. They say it dragged Chevrolet kicking and screaming into lead among American cars. Prior to the ‘55 Chevys were good, dependable family cars; kinda the Toyota Camry of their day. With the small block V8 and cutting-edge styling the ‘55 was apparently exactly what the mid-century American car buyer was looking for.

According to Robert Cumberford in the November, 2011 Automobile, the ‘55 grille was “ . . . the best grille in the entire history of Chevrolet,” even if they did steal it from Ferrari and only used it one year. It really is iconic; there’s no mistaking it for anything other than what it is.

One particular fun fact that grabbed my attention relates to the engine Chevy put in the 1990 Corvette ZR-1. Designated the LT5, it was a 5.7 liter all aluminum DOHC V8 built by Mercury Marine. I think the early versions were built to hang off the back of the car!

I’m glad Chevrolet has been rolling along for 100 years and now looks like it may make it for 100 more. Of course, now they have to find a reliable source for batteries or resist the urge to lower the price by selling them “batteries not included!”