I am a 1957 Chevy

Let me count the ways a classic Chevy is superior

I bought a 2022 Honda recently because of all the safety features: backup camera, lane drift warning, blue-tooth enabled radio/sound system/map finding. It gets good mileage and should last a long time. But we remember the classic cars for good reason.

1. The 1957 Chevrolet looks like it has its own personality. It has great tail fins, not too big and not too little. It also has that cute curve that starts by the passenger rear window — a little cheeky, a little hippy.

2. The color options are vibrant: turquoise with that white fin detailing, or red and white, my favorite and the color of our family car. There were other assorted color choices.

3. The ignition on a 1957 Chevy didn’t require a key. The ignition pooched out, so one could turn it without a key, and that’s how I learned to drive. We never locked a car or the house then, so why carry a key?

4. The bench seats in the front or the back, with no seat belts, allowed a big family to squeeze in or seated an unbelievable number of teenagers. The big bench seats in the back might also be marginally comfortable for other learning activities.

5. When I visited Cuba, 1957 Chevies were among the most popular cars on the road. They lasted a long time, and of course, their engines have been rebuilt multiple times. They are great tourist rides around Havana. The shock absorbers needed some work.

6. The 1957 Chevy went from a cool family sedan to a cool teenager ride, souped-up in various ways: fuzzy dice hanging from the rear-view mirror, jacked-up rear, loud, reinstalled radio. The 1957 Chevy brings back instant memories of drive-ins and cruising Main Street, how many green lights the adolescent driver could hit in succession.

7. The 1950s cars were built more like tanks than tin cans.

8. The 1950s cars pulled into a Texaco station, the friendly man with a star wearing his uniform, to fill ‘er up. Mom chose from the bright carnival glass to bring home one selection to fill in her place setting of six.

9. The 1957 glove compartment was roomy and held an assortment of state paper maps, an ice scraper, and miscellaneous forgotten items.

10. The 1957 Chevrolet looks like it’s smiling. It has big round headlights–eyes–that could wink with a flash of the lights.

She maybe looks a little matronly now. And this car must be a she. She needs more tender loving care to get on the roads and just drive as Dinah Shore sang — “See the USA in your Chevrolet.”

The 1957 Chevy is a Chevy and makes me remember why my Dad loved Chevies. I love Chevies — from the 1950s.