Bel Air

The 1957 Bel Air arrived in showrooms after the Tri-Five Chevy had already done the hard work of two model years. Stylists led by Clare MacKichan kept the wheelbase the same and earned every extra inch out of trim, tailfins, and a wider grille that looked, in the words of one ad writer, like a chromed smile.

The optional 283-cubic-inch V8 with mechanical fuel injection made one horsepower per cubic inch. A factory-rated 283 hp from an affordable family sedan was a number the industry had been chasing for a decade and Chevrolet got there first. Most buyers ticked the four-barrel Power Pak instead, but the Fuelie cars are the ones that own the books today.

The Bel Air convertible in two-tone India Ivory over Sierra Gold remains the shorthand for late-1950s American optimism. Drive-ins, malt shops, jukeboxes, and a country that believed Saturday night was a permanent address.