The '57's True Testimonial Over Time
The 1957 Chevrolet is forever etched in the minds of many as the model which first really blasted to the performance forefront. It buried everything in its various classes at Daytona Speed Weeks. In one class, Chevys filled the first 33 out of the 37 positions. For decades, enthusiasts have openly asked Chevrolet to reproduce the 1957 sport coupe with a contemporary chassis and drivetrain. This is one huge popularity testimonial for the 1957 Chevy.
We tend to take for granted one performance year and model after another but if it was not for the accomplishments, offerings and race wins in 1957, we doubt if future Chevrolet, offerings, wins and laurels would have been as great as they were. It all started big-time in 1957.
Don't Forget The 1953 "Duntov Memo"
When Zora Arkus-Duntov was hired by Chevrolet's Resesarch & Development Department in the early 1950s, he ended up being a key player in upping Chevrolet and Corvette performance, handling and braking. He went on to become Corvette's first Chief Engineer. Prior to his tenure at Chevrolet, Duntov created hemispherical heads for the Ford flathead engine. They were called "Ardun" heads and are prized possessions today.
Luckily for Chevy lovers, he also was a consumate "car-guy" and had paid close attention to the youth marketplace. While Chevrolet was out-selling Ford in car sales every year, Ford had a big edge in hot rodding popularity due to its flathead V-8 that was introduced way back in 1932. When the "small-block" V-8 was in its initial design and planning stages, Duntov wrote a memo to his boss, Maurice Olley, head of Research & Development, dated December 17, 1953. He explained that young buyers were hungry for performance and if Chevrolet served them by offering performance parts over-the-counter, Chevrolet would have a never-ending marketplace in used car sales, new parts sales then new car sales when young enthusiasts get older. To the best of our knowledge, this memo was never made public. Vince Piggins gave us a copy - direct from his Product Promotion files in the early 1980s. In 1982, Vince Piggins was inducted into Super Chevy Magazine's Hall of Fame. Duntov came soon thereafter.
Well, Mr. Duntov proved to be a true visionary. From 1955-1985, enthusiasts flocked to Chevrolet dealership parts departments buying high performance and restoration replacement parts. General Motors then had a policy of keeping parts available for at least 10 years after model production. Some parts with few sales were pulled at year eight while parts that repeatedly sold were on board for 15-20 years.
Prior to 1955-1957, Chevrolet's car sales never topped 1.5 million except in 1927 and 1950. It's 1955 - 1956 - 1957 model year sales totaled a record 1,830,029, 1,621,005 and 1,522,536, respectively. A recession set in at the end of 1957 and total industry car sales dropped 30-percent in 1958. Chevrolet would not hit 1.5 million in car sales again until 1960 and 1961.
Drop That Checkered Flag-Permanently?
Want to know something else about Detroit thinking in 1957? Sounds like it was a wild time, right? Well, just the opposite was true by mid-year. Right after Daytona Speed Week, the American Manufacturers Association (members were made up of car, tractor, truck, bus and other manufacturers of most anything on wheels) voted to "recommend" the banning of AMA member manufacturers involvement in any form of racing. Writers then said it was even taboo to mention racing or performance in vehicle advertising. But many others felt that if the manufacturers were not involved in racing that vehicle chassis, braking and engine development would suffer. They were partially correct.