Chevrolet defined American driving culture during the golden age of
muscle. See it all here, in The Complete Book of Classic Chevrolet
Muscle Cars: 1955-1974.
Chevrolet didn't invent the overhead-valve pushrod V-8 engine, but
without question Ed Cole and Chevy perfected it. And General Motors'
Bowtie division wasn't the first to put the engine design in a
production car, but it was the first to put the engine design in an
affordable production car and make it available to the average driver.
No other automobile in history so clearly demarcates a
before-and-after line in the sand like the 1955 Chevrolet. This was
the birth of the affordable performance car, and from the moment the car
hit the streets, the experience of driving would never be the same.
The impact that an affordable American sedan with a powerful
performance engine had on American society was so great that it not
only changed the experience of driving; it changed the psychology of
a generation. Prior to the introduction of the 1955 Chevrolet with its
V-8 engine, cars had been considered necessary appliances, like
refrigerators or vacuum cleaners. With a single stroke, Chevrolet
turned American culture into a car culture.
Chevrolet dominated the muscle-car scene throughout the classic era. The
Impala SS, with its 409 engine popularized by the Beach Boys,
ruled America's drag strips. The Z16 Chevelle Malibu SS396 became
the every man's muscle car. The Camaro turned the pony car genre
into genuine muscle cars. The LS6 engine was the most powerful of
the classic era.
The Complete Book of Classic Chevrolet Muscle Cars: 1955-1974
chronicles the all-conquering cars of this incredible 20-year
period.
