The 1950 - 1952 Chevrolet Bel Air was one of the first affordable hardtopconvertibles , but the hardtop concept was not new . The decade - tenacious progress of that idea – from top - of - the - line innovation to pop lineament – is a fascinating one .
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Business tends to approach new melodic theme with a mixture of hope and skepticism . reckon on public response , an innovative product or feature can signify either high sales , busy factories , and windfall profits – or large personnel casualty , employee cutbacks , and damaged reputation .
cable car companies are no less conservative , but General Motors no doubt mat up quite sanguine about its new " hardtop - convertible security " of 1949 . lenient - top auto had traditionally been a pain in the rain – and wintertime – and the Second Coming of Christ of good roads and higher speeds made opened - aviation push increasingly less pragmatic after World War II . This suggested that the populace might go for a sedan without Bel - posts but with window that still roll down completely – a hybrid style providing transformable delicacy when opened up , unsympathetic - car comfort and weather protection when button up , and the safety of a fixed sword roof all the time .
It seemed like a o.k. idea – so much so that others thought of it besides GM . Most recently , in 1946,Chryslerhad built seven paradigm hardtop by ingraft sword club - coupe roofs onto Town & Country convertible , but decided not to proceed with serial production in good order away .
This left GM to open up the conception in anything draw close meaning volume , though Kaiser spin off an interesting variation the same yr with its Virginian " Hard Top , " basically that firm ’s convertible sedan with its singular small fixed , glass - filled B complex - billet , to which a canvass - covered brand top was welded .
Detroit car manufacturer typically preface unexampled ideas on lower - mass models to minimize the risk of lost innovation , tooling , and marketing investment company should the innovation bomb . Thus , GM tested the hardtop waters with seniorBuick , Cadillac , and Oldsmobile mannequin .
Though mid - class introductions and highish prices kept 1949 sale meek – respectively , 4,343 Roadmaster Rivieras , 2,150 Series Sixty - Two Coupe de Villes , and 3,006 Futuramic 98 Holidays – they were sufficient to encourage the company to proceed with the lower - priced , higher - intensity junior translation project for 1950 .
These duly get as the Chevrolet Styleline DeLuxe Bel Air , Oldsmobile Futuramic 88 DeLuxe Holiday , Buick Super Riviera , and no few than four Pontiac Chieftain Catalinas .
Go to the next varlet to find out how the Bel Air fared in the new hardtop field .
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Continued
From the beginning , the 1950 , 1951 , and 1952 Chevrolet Bel Airs were a succeeder . Of the many modern , low-cost hardtops introduced in 1950 , the Chevrolet Bel Air leaven to be the most democratic by far , score 74,634 sales to help Chevrolet retrieve domination over Ford as " USA-1 . " It in all probability help more than that physique suggests , since many scene undoubtedly come in to see the Bel Air but repel out in other Chevrolets . Rival Ford and Plymouth hardtop were a full year away .
alfresco , the Bel Air take care much like any other 1950 Chevy , which mean the basic new - for-1949 styling with a different winged hood emblem , upright bars below the parking lamps , no " teeth " below the grille ’s mall crossbar , raise taillight lens , and other minor change . Its roofline espouse the Riviera / Holiday / Coupe de Ville fashion in having chrome - framed side windows and a wraparound backlight with a pair or burnished vertical divider near the outboard terminate .
The interior discussion was similar , too , and lusher than on otherChevrolets . Handsome cumulation - cord material surrounded by real leather comprehend the seats , and the star sported chrome crossbars suggesting the top mechanics of a true ragtop . translatable - type frame reinforcements helped make up for the passing in structural rigidity from the escape barn - pillar , but some torso flex remained , a machine characteristic of most every hardtop ever build . Mechanicals were farm animal 1950 Chevrolet , but that year ’s unexampled Powerglide machinelike certainly lifted sales as much as the Bel Air ’s fresh , gaudy looks .
Priced in the $ 1,750-$2,000 range of a function , about midway between itsconvertibleand variation coupe linemates , the Bel Air transfer in parallel of latitude with other Chevrolets while rack up over 103,000 sales agreement for 1951 , and close to 75,000 for 1952 .
This succeeder prompt Chevrolet to use the Bel Air name to its exchangeable and top - assembly line sedan for 1953 , an arrangement that would persist through 1958 . Then came the Impala and , in the mid - Sixties , the even more - gilded Caprice , which pushed Bel Air down the series hierarchy until it disappeared in the early Seventies , by which time it had become but the baseline four - door sedan .
But it ’s the early Bel Airs that Chevy devotee think back most today , particularly the initiate 1950 - 1952 models with their jaunty look and spiffy Interior . And who can fault them ? Few cars , let alone trend - setter , have been more pleasant .
Review the specifications of the 1950 - 1952 Chevrolet Bel Air on the next page .
1950, 1951, 1952 Chevrolet Bel Air Specifications
The 1950 , 1951 , and 1952 Chevrolet Bel Air sport the new Powerglideautomatic transmission– and much more . incur specifications for the 1950 - 1952 Chevrolet Bel Air below :
Specifications
Engines : ohv I-6 , 216.5 - cid ( 3.50 × 3.75 ) , 92 bhp ( manual shift ) ; 235.5 Criminal Investigation Command ( 3.56 × 3.94 ) , 105 bhp ( Powerglide )
Transmission:3 - speed manual ; Deluxe 2 - speed robotic optional
Suspension , front : upper and lower A - branch , spiral leap
intermission , rear : live axle , semi - elliptic folio springs
brake : front / rearward tympan
Wheelbase ( in.):115.0
Weight ( lbs):3,215
Top focal ratio ( mph):85
0 - 60 mph ( sec):16.0
