I have always know that in '57 the Ford out sold the Chevy, and a buddy I trust and believe said that in '40, the Chevy out sold the Ford. Then why is it, at all shows, for every '57 Ford you see, there are 25 of the '57 Chevy, and for every '40 Chevy there, it will be 25 of the '40 Ford. Seems strange ? Jackie
That's called the belly button mentality. Everyone else has one, so I have to have one. (some might add any year Camaro and the 32 Ford to the list.)
maybe it's that the family cars sold a lot, but the coupes and two doors are what the majority of the car junkies want.
the survival rate of 50 - 60 year old cars has more to do with popularity through the years than production numbers. tri 5 chevys have had a dedicated following since new. Fords of that era not so much inspite of thier cool styling
After 57 Chevys did get popular every one that there was a piece left of got pulled out and fixed,a lot of the Fords that weren't as in demand rusted away or were scraped.Old 30's Chevys that had a lot of wood in the bodys rotted out and fell apart if they were outside or not in a dry climate.
I think that young guys bought Chevies because they would outrun just about anything and looked good also. Fords were more family cars and the young guys didn't buy them because they knew they couldn't keep up with a Chevy. As we get older, we buy the cars that were part of our youth. I had a new 1956 Chevy, 210 hardtop with a powerpac 265 and I never had a Ford beat me at the light. As for my hobby, I never owned anything but a Ford, except for a period where I was dealing in Corvettes. One man's opinion.
And as a bit of trivia I seem to remember that,,, 1932 was a short production year for Ford... they were running behind with the V-8 introduction, I have heard mainly due to block casting issues compounding the ordinary "first year bugs" of the V-8... Tough times at Ford, and very hard to maintain high enough production to beat Chevrolet even if they could sell every car built.
`57 chevys were always more popular than `57 fords , so more of them got saved. but if i had my pick between a `57 ford and chevy...i'd pick the ford
57 chevies were faster than 57 Fords, that made them cool to young guys, who are an essential link in the survival of an old car. Once it gets about 10 years old if it ain't cool to a young guy, it gets scrapped. Add the fact that around here at least, in ten years those 57 Fords were nothing but a pile of rust. I really like their styling, but to this day when I see one, all I can think of is rust.
It's because the Chevys are more popular. Therefore, more peolpe fix them up rather than other makes.
Number three seller in '57 was Plymouth. I'd say there are about 25 '57 Fords for every '57 Plymouth I've seen, so using your numbers puts the Chevys at 625:1 against the Plymouths, and yes that sounds about right. As for styling, I'd say the little Mopar steals the show. The optional V-800 dual-quad 318 was a real runner.
A lot had to do with performance. The Chevys out performed the Ford's and people took better care of them because there was a stronger used car market for them.
Another reason is aftermarket support, they make all the parts to rebuild your chevy, not so much for a 57 ford.
With the 57 models I think it was all about how they were built.I have had 57 Fords and 57 Chevys.The way the Fords were built made them prone to rust.They were actually built better by having inner rear fender wells welded to the quarter panel but that made them trap dirt and moisture.The way the trunk was designed also led to trapping moisture.Also the hot rod thing,just more people hot rodded Chevys than they did Fords so more of them survived.Fords probably sold more 4 door sedans than 2 doors and nobody kept them.Thats my 2 cents.
Took a lot more work to make a Ford go faster than for the 2nd or 3rd or 4th or 5th or 6th or 7th or 8th (get it?) owner of the Chevy. Easily upgradeable and up-gunnable. They were lighter than the Buicks and Oldsmobiles, and styling that is (if current popularity is any indication), pretty much perfect. That "belly-button" crap is just sour grapes. They will always be great, desirable cars. Same goes for those magnificent 40 Fords. The Chevys just didn't (don't) have chance in styling (even tho they are attractive in their own right), and were not as easily or cheaply hot rodded. You don't have to like them better, but you do have to admit there are some very good reasons those two cars are icons of almost ANY automotive genre.
Listen to the number of people saying "Basically?" Mebbe they're "sheeple" and follow along or it's a trend? Or desire?
Survivability of cars has less to do with quality construction or performance than simply popularity. A car that has a popular audience when new and keeps that audience year in and year out will always survive in bigger numbers, numerically or percentage of production wise. There are more 32 Fords than Chevies because the Chevies were wood-structured and though a very classy vehicle just didn't have the audience the Ford had and continues to have. There are more 40 Fords than 40 Chevies becuase the Ford got the audience and kept it. There are more 55, 56, and 57 Chevies because they got and kept their audience from day 1. Odd that the 32 Ford, first with a V8, creams the 32 Chevy and the 55-57 Chevies, first with modern V8s, cream their Ford rivals as well. The popular cars also stay in the junkyards and backyards and fields until they are saved or parted out down to the lug nuts. The others become Hyundais and Yugos and Fiats and Nissans etc.
Hot rodders really do have a lot to do with survival...if hotrodders like a car model, it gets preserved. Ford once owned that market, then after a few fuzzy years in the early fifties Chevy almost completely took the hotrodder market away from Ford and kept it. Same reasons...easy to make fast, long term interchange, concepts that Ford forgot. Who's got that market now??? Honda?? I believe Ford outsold Chevy in '32 during the time that Ford was actually in production... The changeover at Ford was so radical and troublesome there were several months of no production...and Ford refused to sell B's til the V8 was ready. Hotrodders also contribute the $$ value that keeps old cars from getting scrapped...a '32 roadster in 1949 was worth some money, while a '32 anything else was pretty much scrap iron. Same thing for '55-7 Chevies...a two door model with V8 and stick was worth more than book value pretty much always, while the fourdoors declined in value as expected and eventually became parts cars for the twos.
chevy makes cars that last because everyone knows SBC dont break... and ford just got lucky a couple years
I'm sure tan 4 doors outsold red convertibles every year in every model, but the tan 4 doors aren't the kind of car you keep around or fix up after it gets worn out over 10 years. When Grandma's '65 Tempest sedan crapped it's tranny out, it got squashed, when her grandson's '65 GTO blew out it's clutch, it got shoved in the barn. The aftermarket support helps too. A very rough '57 Chevy can still be saved, where as a very rough '57 Ford would be a tough build. Ford built more 2 door Ranch wagons in 1959 than all '59 Edsels combined. I see '59 Edsels pop up occasionally, but I virtually never see any '59 Ford 2 door Ranch Wagons. And Edsels were not popular at all. Explain that one to me.
It will be hard for anyone to top the simple truth presented in the below comments... Pretty much nailed it... Short, sweet, and right to the point.
I'll have to agree. It doesn't matter how many were sold. It's how many were saved from being crushed. So popularity in the second hand market is the key.
10 years ago, every car on the road was a Ford Tarus 15 years ago, every car on the road was a Chrysler LeBaron Convertible 20 years ago, every car on the road was a Renault Alliance 25 years ago, it was the Chevette 30 years ago, mustang II / Pinto ..........................Where are they now? They were sooooo popular back then.
All great points, and makes a lot of sense, and I reckon I understand. Personally, just as a side note, I think a 57 Ford 2 door post, is a beautiful car and a platform for a good looking hot rod. Also, I like to see those "different" cars at a show. Jackie
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