Classic Ads: 1962 Chevrolet Genuine Parts

Isn't it annoying sometimes when something breaks on your car and you have to make a decision? Do you go to the nearest auto parts store and pick up whatever part is cheapest or make the drive to the dealership for a 'genuine' part? Obviously the manufacturer would prefer that you get their part, and in late 1961 General Motors made that fact known to the general public. Mind you, dealership technicians are not gifted with some magic talent. Most everyone has some kind of horror story about cheating dealerships and defective parts. My mom's Saturn Vue has a 3.5 liter Honda engine and we found that it's cheaper to buy Honda fluids because our local GM dealer buys the same things from the Honda dealer and marks up the price. It's also true that the auto parts store sometimes stocks inferior garbage made in third world countries. You have to be careful when you're shopping for parts. Cutting corners on steering or brake parts, not a good idea. Sometimes visiting the dealer's a necessity, especially if your car is only a year old when you crash into something and you can't get junkyard parts yet.
Keep your Chevy the Chevy-est, kids!

This ad appeared in the October 27, 1961 issue of Life magazine.

Parking Lot Photo Shoot: 1968 Chevrolet Bel Air Wagon

Parking Lot Sighting: 1976 Chevrolet Nova Concours Cabriolet

Note the stock wheels in this first picture, later replaced with Chevy Rallies.

Dealership Photo Shoot: 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Replica

Pictures taken at the former Kassabian Motors in Dublin, CA. Now known as MyHotCars, Inc. and located in Livermore, CA.

Classic Ads: 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa

Sex sells. Sexism? Not so much. But in the 1960s world of advertising as depicted in "Mad Men", sexism was the norm. Here we see "Trudy", an attractive young lady who the ad wants you to believe is a Corvair Corsa owner. She didn't like driving because driving was boring. But then along came the Corvair Corsa and now driving is just swell. Because it's a car marketed toward young people, the ad uses key terms like "became hip to", "she dug its tenacious rear-engine traction", and "she was a real swinger at the wheel". It gives me a mental picture of a middle-aged man in an ad agency, with a comb-over, thick rimmed glasses and a starched white shirt with a skinny black necktie reading the ad copy aloud in a dull voice. What exactly does it mean to be a swinger at the wheel? Does Trudy mess around in the front seat? At least it doesn't play the "So easy to drive, even your wife can do it" card.

This ad appeared in the March 4, 1966 issue of Life Magazine.

Parking Lot Photo Shoot: 1950 Chevrolet Fleetline DeLuxe Fastback

Classic Ads: 1973 Chevrolet Camaro Type LT

The seventies were not kind to the muscle car. Emissions laws and the fuel crisis led to a focus more on personal luxury than outright performance. Reflecting the changing times and taste of customers, Chevy introduced the Type LT (Luxury & Touring) trim level on the Camaro. If that trim name sounds familiar, it's still used on Chevys from the Cruze to the Suburban. And it pretty much means nothing now except "mid-level".

This ad ran in the December 8, 1972 issue of Life magazine.

Northern Neon: The Lost Facade of Don Wheaton Chevrolet

In early 2010 I was in Alberta, Canada visiting a friend. While we were in the capital city of Edmonton he showed me Don Wheaton Chevrolet-Buick-Cadillac-GMC Ltd., a dealership which has been in business in the same location on Whyte Ave since 1963. The building had undergone few changes in its 40-plus years and had been considered a fixture of the neighborhood. Even in 2010 it had retained its Oldsmobile and Camaro signage. Despite the vintage exterior, Wheaton's dealership was the largest GM distributor in Western Canada and one of the biggest sellers of Corvettes in Canada.

Photos by Jay Wollenweber

In 2011, though, progress came calling. General Motors in their infinite wisdom demanded that Wheaton modernize to the bland new corporate dealership look or risk losing the new car franchise. People complained, but GM prevailed. Wheaton renovated, removing all of the old neon signage and refacing the building. They included some neon on the corner of 82 Ave and Whyte, comprising the corporate logo, and the old signs on the roof remain because the building is a city landmark. It's not all bad - the service department is finally modernized and enlarged, the rooftop inventory lot is improved and the showroom is all new inside. Allegedly the corner sign is a replica of the original 1963 dealer sign (albeit a rather ugly one in my opinion), and plans included restoring the rotating "CHEV" sign on the roof which had been stationary for years. Renovations were completed in September 2012. But otherwise the dealership has lost much of the retro flavor made it unique among GM dealers. It's just as well. Don Wheaton passed away shortly after Christmas in 2011.


Photo courtesy Don Wheaton Chevrolet