Filed under: Aftermarket, Time Warp, Convertibles, Chevrolet
'57 Chevy for sale again 50 years later
CARS Inc. announced this past weekend at the 2006 Woodward Dream Cruise that the 1957 Chevy Convertible will be making a comeback. The Detroit-based company will be producing '57 Chevy steel bodies in three variations: body only, body on chassis and complete turn-key cars. The first two examples were on hand at the Dream Cruise to immediately transport revelers back to a time when gas was $.28/gallon. One was a silver turnkey car with a 2006 Corvette engine and modern underpinnings (wow) and the other a "body in white" unfinished version placed atop an Art Morrisson performance chassis.
All of the '57 Chevy Convertible bodies built by CARS Inc. start with an original '57 Chevy Cowl (dash, A-pillar and firewall) around which fresh sheetmetal is added. This allows each car to be considered as officially "restored", complete with a VIN number from the car that donated the cowl. I-go-cars.com reports that pricing has yet to be determined, but CARS Inc. plans to keep the price of a turn-key car at or below what restored '57 Chevy Convertibles are going for at auction, which is around $70,000 to $100,000. A body alone will likely start in the $30k range.
[Source: i-go-cars.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Corey W. 8:23AM (8/22/2006)
It'll be interesting to see how many they sell. I wouldn't buy it, but that's just me.
Reply
rwdmtparkingonly 9:14AM (8/22/2006)
It looks like this is completely made in the US, I think the Camaro that another company makes is stamped in china then assembled here. GM seems on course if it can get it's rwd cars out, hopefully then some people will want the new Chevys also.
Reply
Tri-Bob 9:35AM (8/22/2006)
Sorry, but my nostalgia (for days I wasn't even alive) only goes so far. At that price, I'll take a brand new Corvette, Mustang Cobra, or one of the retro Camaro or Challengers on the way plus a trip to Hawaii for the wife and I.
Reply
Bill 9:40AM (8/22/2006)
Another way for baby boomers to blow their dough before they kick off.
Reply
bernie 9:51AM (8/22/2006)
The total absence of original ideas in the state of Michigan astounds me. Let's bring back every hulking 50s and 60s dream car because we don't have any new ideas to offer. WOW
Reply
lwcarson 9:56AM (8/22/2006)
Number 4
F.Y.!
Reply
CJ 10:34AM (8/22/2006)
I would never be able to afford it, but I always thought somebody should do this. I love the styling of these old cars but am not really interested in owning something with no air conditioning, ABS or other modern conviences. I always thought it would be cool to own a car with the old styling (love the 57!) with modern equipment hiding underneath. If I had money flowing out my ears, this wuld be a blast to own.
Reply
jamie 10:38AM (8/22/2006)
WOW!
With cars like this they could run GM out of business.
LOL
However, the price level could use some adjusting.
Maybe it would be cheaper to import them from Cuba?
Reply
dejal 10:47AM (8/22/2006)
#6.
Thanks. You beat me to it.
As long someone earned their money honestly, who cares how it's spent?
Reply
rwdmtparkingonly 10:57AM (8/22/2006)
bernie, look how original the Japanese ideas are:
1898
The German Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, at age 23, built his first car, the Lohner Electric Chaise. It was the world's first front-wheel-drive. Porsche's second car was a HYBRID, using an internal combustion engine to spin a generator that provided power to electric motors located in the wheel hubs. On battery alone, the car could travel nearly forty miles.
GM has been an incredibly innovative company, air bags, the catalytic converter, the EV1, anti lock brake and stability control development - the problem is that people don't want innovation. BMW became a hugely sucessful company not by innovating, but by refining rear wheel drive, manual transmission, inline six cars, some of the most archaic technology around.
If anything American car companies have been too innovative, it's a sales/marketing/product refinement game, and that's where the big three screwed up.
Reply
Al Eisensteinium 11:05AM (8/22/2006)
When one purchases such a car, what does one really have? A brand new '57 Chevy, or in the case of Brookville, a brand new '32 Ford Coupe? Since neither was made by their respective manufacturer, they are faux cars. Ersatz-mobiles. Sure they look like the originals, but so do fiberglass reproductions. So they are made out of steel - with regards to rust, that's not necessarily an improvement. Far be it from me to suggest where one should spend one's money, but these repros seem a bit odd. They have no history (other than the firewall of the '57), no cachet of being part of a larger group of cars, but exist only for nostalgia's sake. As the great American philospher said "Nostalgia ain't what it used to be."
I guess the retro design movement will continue unabated until we all own 1886 Benz tricycles, with A/C and hybrid drive. But I could be wrong about that.
Reply
Dan from Delaware 11:20AM (8/22/2006)
If I were going to build a Street Rod based on a '57 Chevy, then I'd feel better about doing it on one of these new body/chassis combinations rather than hacking up an original car. On the other hand, if I wanted a restored cruiser or show car, I'd prefer to start with an original '57. The same goes for the '32 Ford.
Reply
Richard Warren 11:25AM (8/22/2006)
And---It still looks good.
Reply
Corey W. 11:38AM (8/22/2006)
"The total absence of original ideas in the state of Michigan astounds me. Let's bring back every hulking 50s and 60s dream car because we don't have any new ideas to offer. WOW"
What does this have to do with Michigan? You don't think there are other companies across the nation that do the same thing. Or are you trying to make some weak connection to Detroit or domestics.
Any car enthusiast would understand why someone would want to purchase a new/restored vehicle of a certain era. Just because I think the price is ridiculous doesn't mean isn't not a beautiful car.
Reply
Scott 11:44AM (8/22/2006)
Like most people here I'm pretty tired of the whole retro craze. The continuation of nameplates is great, but rehashing an old design, not so much. However the '57 is as about as iconic as a car gets, and the idea of rolling in one with modern underpinnings sure sounds like a lot of fun. Too bad about the pricing though.
Reply
Richard Warren 12:10PM (8/22/2006)
#4 Jealous? There was a time when you didn't even discuss what an other person spent their money on, simply because it was none of your business.
As to the whole "retro" thing style comes and goes in cycles, look at the colors returning, the more modern mid century look in home furnishings or just ask a women, rising hemlime, lowering hemlines, return of old styles now new again, like 70's styles now the rage again in womens clothes.
Or-- For us guys tie width, label size, colors and fabric, yes Polyester is back. Get over it, don't like it, don't buy it.
Reply
Chris 3:03PM (8/22/2006)
You knew it would come to this. '57 Chevy's are already the easiest car in the universe to restore. I call them "1-800" restorations because every conceivable thing you need is a phone call away to one of the 1000's of vendors. I've gotten so I walk by every shiny 50's Chevy I see. Aside from the fact they are common as dirt, and thus no longer interesting, they are never an achievement in the fine art of auto restoration. There was zero challenge to the owner in the restoration process. All he had to do was have a phone and fork over the cash for every brand new part he might need. Big deal.
Now when I see a beautifully redone '50's Chrysler or Packard product, early Riviera or Toronado, an Eldorado Brougham, or some other car difficult to restore properly, I am truly impressed by all the time effort and dedication it took to restore a car for which there is a dearth of new aftermarket parts. A mint '57 Chevy? Yawn. The K-Mart of collectibles.
Reply
dan 5:39PM (5/12/2009)
Chris How many old cars did your restore? It is not very easy. I just finished one of there 57 chevy convertible kits they sell in march of 2009 It took me 6 years to finish and about 3000 hours.I spend about $30,000 to buy all the parts. If you take $40 X 3000 hours = 120,000 dollars I saved doing it my self. I had my car at 2 cruises and 2 car shows so far. I have all good comments about my car. So all you guys out there built that car you want. It is not easy. but very rewarding.
cheezedog420 5:07PM (8/22/2006)
Don't be silly, they won't Run GM out of buisness since they have to pay for licening to make GM product, and use GM parts for there newly manufactured cars.
If anything, they may show GM a new and improved way of making cars. Small runs of cars that they know people will want. Of course, that does mean the price will be astronomical. But atleast they will be making cars that customers will be happy with, and more likly hold onto instead doing the 3 year lease and swap.
Finaly, the 57 is a great car. Its not the car I want to pay $100000 for, but it is still great none the less. If anything I want 69 Camaro with modern underpinnings, carbon fiber front section, and a turbo flat 6 motor, connected to 6 speed transmission for all out handling, and performance reasons... But Im strange like that, so don't mind my idea's of cool.
Reply
Daniel 5:15PM (8/22/2006)
Finally, some competition for Harley Davidson. They've been selling boomers 50s-era technology since their comeback. Who knows? Maybe they were onto something bigger than they realized. "New" Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers and so forth. Maybe Americans would rather have their streets look like some kind of neo-Havana Disneyland of quasi-mid-century guzzlers.
Reply