All the Other Cars of 1957

The 1957 Chevrolet, for good or for bad, has become so ubiquitous with classic cars the 50s, that it seems to be *the only* old car that many common folk seem to know. For years I drove a chopped ’49 Lincoln around and the same question on the street was asked over and over, from hobos to housewives, “Hey, what car is that?” and I would always answer the same, “It’s a ’57 Chevy (bro)…” After which the immediate response back would be a thumbs up as they walked away, no further questions asked- It’s almost as though they just expected to hear that. What other old car could it possibly be, right?

This rant leads me to my point, that Detroit produced more than just the pretty Bel Air or Nomad in 1957. That year also offered a mixed bag of car designs from the other brands, right on the cusp of the chrome-laden, quad headlamp era that followed.  So if you leave the ’57 Chevy off the table, who had the most successful designs that year? Personally I think GM had it more right than most, and I’ve got my top five new cars of ’57 listed below to back that up:

1. 1957 Pontiac: Ok, I’m slightly bias because I’ve got a ’57 Safari wagon, but I think the Poncho is a pretty cool car. Nice proportions, shooting arrow side trim, and sweeping wheelwells all work nicely.

2. 1957 Oldsmobile: My favorite touches are the 3 piece rear window and the tunneled spacecraft taillights. The Olds also features a really nice dip in the beltline that is accentuated with trim.

3. 1957 Buick: Also features the unique rear window and beltline dip, but the side trim is even more dynamic. I tend to like the Olds better, but the Buick has enough nice touches like the fine tooth grille that I’ve kept it on the list.

4. 1957 Ford: They actually outsold Chevy that year, but just barely. It’s a pretty clean design overall, with restrained fins and simple trim (unlike the busy Mercury and weird Lincoln). Which Ford model would I choose? Either the Del Rio wagon or the Ranchero, probably.

5. 1957 Plymouth: Mopar had some really strange design offerings for ’57, but the ‘entry-level’ Plymouth managed to more feel modern and pleasing, with the Belvedere Fury in particular standing out for clean linework.

As a bonus, I discovered that the great Larry Watson painted a custom of each car on my list!

Not technically new: Hold-over designs from ’56 that still worked quite well with subtle changes in 1957 include the Lincoln Mark II, Chevrolet Corvette, and the Ford Thunderbird.