Hot Rods Years ago a person could buy a new a ( Fleet Vehicle) ?

Not sure many of you know this. My Dad in the 50,s never would buy a vehicle with what he called gadgets that could break so he ordered cars that were completely bare. I remembered he ordered a 57 Chev. 3 spd on the column,2 dr post, rubber floormats, no trim,black wall tires with just center caps & ,in -line 6 cyl.manuel steering. This was not intended to be a business vehicle but could be ordered from as Family car I remember he said that it was a Fleet Vehicle.Any of you have a recollection of these ? gene in Mn

 

Base vehicle, no options. Link - https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/low-to-no-optioned-cars.1127825/
from 34 GAZ, Low to No Optioned Cars.

 

Ford made them too. Mainline series in '55 and '56. Even a back seat was optional. 223 six and 3 on the tree, radio and heater optional.

 

My mother has a '56 Ford Mainliner that doesn't even have a sun visor on the passenger side.

 

Yep, in the 50's and 60's you always ordered your own car. The dealer always started it with the stripped down,
economy version, and they super-sized you into a V8, 4 barrel, automatic, full hubcaps, etc. But the cool thing
about that was that you had to wait for your car to come in, usually in about 6 weeks. Just like when you were a
kid and waiting for Christmas Eve, it was awesome. Nowadays, we've been trained to expect delivery in 2hrs or
no later than tomorrow...wouldn't hurt to go back and learn how to wait.

 

Back then, only the high end cars came with power windows. Now the stripped down cars have them.

 

Our Ranch Wagon was a low option car purchased off the show room floor here in town at Blue Ridge Motors in 1954 by Brenda's grandmother. the car had rubber floor mats, no heater, no radio, no clock, dog dish hubcaps, it did however have the Customline trim. HRP

 

A lot of dealers offered them in order to advertise a super cheap price. Got people into the showroom (usually for an upsale)

 

My '62 Galaxie was this way. Hand-me-down from Pops. Didn't even have a heater off the lot. It did have an AM radio. First truck I had was totally stripped.

Some of the Uncle Sam vehicles I drove in late '70s were stripped. Did have a sticker on the dash- Do Not Exceed 55 MPH.

Joe

 

Your referring to the 150 model in your opening post. "Basically" they came two way's, Business Coupe- no back seat and no rear 1/4 glass that rolled down or the Sedan version that had a back seat and roll down 1/4 glass.

 

And if you were a good enough Drag Racer in your division and were fortunate enough to get a Factory ride like my Dad did from Dr. Olds you got to order yours with all the DELETES and upgrades you desired!

 

Reminds me of something from when I was a kid. The car is OT (70’s) but the concept is the same.

Growing up the pastor from a local church lived down the block. Drove a church car. The local Chevy dealer also lived in the neighborhood, and as a courtesy he used to sell the cars to the church for cost.

Where it got sideways is the Pastor always ordered a white commercial version of a Malibu with zero options. Essentially, a taxi. But when it was traded in the dealer had to auction it at a loss, because no one wanted a six/stick/rubber floor/flat upholstery/ manual everything Malibu.

He finally told the pastor he’d sell him a nicely equipped mid-level Malibu off the lot for the taxi car price, just to have a sale-able car when it came back in trade.

He refused. “Hard working families put money in the collection plate to support the church, including the car. I don’t want the parishioners to see that car and think I was spending their money on luxuries for myself.”

To this kid it set an example that sticks with me fifty years later.

 

For a very short time I worked for a Chevy dealer in 'late 60 selling 61 models. We had a bunch of stripped short, narrow bed, six, three on the tree pickups. The only option was a heater. Selling price was $1968 if I recall correctly. Gave up selling in a month and moved into the shop and parts counter. Those loss leaders sure did sell a lot of other vehicles after the came in to look, compared them to what else was available and purchased up.

Only good memory of selling is the demos we has to use. Used car was a 56 Crown Vicky, new one was a 61 Impala hardtop, 283/230hp powerglide. Red w/white top.

 

That's exactly what my Rambler Classic 550 was in the beginning. Basic fleet car. No radio or clock, just delete plates, no trim, just Classic and 550.

I've since put in a radio and clock for looks and went from column to floor. And ambassador taillights and a sbc350.
Even after all of that, its still a pretty basic car for sure

 

In the '50s and early '60s it was fairly common for a guy to buy a stripper for a work car so the good car would available for the wife and family during the week, and the "Sunday-go-to-meetin" use on the weekend. A lot of low priced pickups got sold that way.

 

My 50 Chevy 3/4 ton had a heater. There was no radio, it had the 15 inch tires, and the standard green paint.
No visor on the passenger side, 3 speed on column. Guess that in CT even a stripped truck needed a heater.

 

I’ve owned several base model trucks that I bought new. In the late nineties, I bought a new half ton Chevy that only had one option, automatic transmission. The funny thing is, the factories keep adding more equipment to “strippers”, and I really don’t need anything else. Nowadays, most base model vehicles have so much equipment, they would be comparable to a loaded vehicle 40 years ago.

 

Fleet vehicle
AKA - drag car

 

You can still order a new truck with few options, but hard to find that exact same vehicle on any lot. No Money in it, so that has not changed.

 

Our local Ford dealer still sells trucks with no beds on them. Also a lot of vans that are no-frills. Some dealers do a good amount of fleet vehicle sales.

 

aka a Cheapskate

 

Yep, when I was a little kid we always had a stripped down wagon from Amc. besides being a plain jane he worked there 3rd shift so he got the employee discount on top of that. then the year he knew he was leaving because his business was taking off during the day, he got the last wagon with an upgrade, wood grain. at least I think that was an upgrade thinking back not sure now.

Reminds me of my brother in law thought he was going to save money one time when he ordered his new off topic chevy/gmc truck(80's). He thought it was outragious what they charged for a radio, even a stock one so he ordered it without thinking he can put his own in seeing after markets were a lot cheaper than even the base radio that was also an option back then. when he got the truck he discovered the dash didn't just have a radio delete plate like other years but it was a solid dash. also the front fender didn't have the spot for the antenae either, it was a different fender that was curved all the way. Apparently they caught on what the public was doing and made it a little harder for them. he also ordered it without the back bumper because that was an additional option too.

 

it is hard to find a stripped down model now on a lot or even order one. Well maybe I shouldn't say order one because it was years ago since I tried. Anyways I tried to do that many years ago(94) already and thought I was going to buy a new s10 stripped down and save money but it actually cost more to order one than to buy one with power windows, locks etc. right off the lot. Stripped down models were considered special order by then.

now the new technology and way things are made supposedly in the near future everything will be put on the vehicle to make it streamline on the assembly line but then you will pay a monthly fee to have access to certain options turned on like seat warmers, cruise control, ac, etc. everything being computerized now, I can see it happening.

 

Hahahaha

 

I’ll take one!

 

Didn't the Chevette Scooter come with no rear seat? That's real basic.

 

I can so see the monthly fee-like Sirius XM radio, but who pays when the car is 8 years old and the feature breaks?

 

I had a 1941 Plymouth business coupe, no back seat, spare tire behind driver's seat,
no passenger side wiper just a wiper delete plate, no bright trim or radio.

 

Yep! With them Central Office Production Orders... COPO 427 Camaros, Novas and Chevelles....

 

Saint Nazaire WWII German U-boat base. My Mom was a school bus driver for a local district for many years. The "Bus barn" was where the busses and other district vehicles were parked and maintained. At that barn there was a small fleet of black plain jane 57 4 doors for district staff cars, also on site were several dark green, nice shape 55-57 short box Chevy trucks for district maintenance folks. I turned 16 in the mid 70's right at the time those trucks came up for "auction". Good old Mom was thinking one of those trucks would make a great first car for me, "Sorry Vi those trucks are all spoken for". Shop mechanics had already made arrangements to purchase those trucks and bypass the auction.