history of the chevrolet nova
The History of the Chevrolet Nova and Chevy II Every successful automobile is a reflection of its time, but very few cars are as representative of their era in automotive history as Chevrolet's Chevy II and Nova. That may seem like a pretty grand statement to put on the shoulders of such a simple economy car, but after all the Chevy II changed many times over during it's 17 year run. The 1960's and 1970's were a time when automotive categories and markets were in a constant state of change, thanks to new assumptions about the automobile brought about by social changes, revitalized foreign competition, international oil policies, and new more powerful environmental standards and safety lobbies. Like few other cars of its era, the Chevy II was transformed to meet the requirements of all those constantly changing market conditions. The Chevy II was a perfect reflection of the attempts by General Motors (GM) to meet the rapidly changing demands of consumers during those two constantly changing turbulent decades. Introduced in the early 1960's as a frugal economy car, at a time when economical foreign competition and a domestic recession had made economy cars the new darlings of the auto industry, the Chevy I
I was transformed into a muscle car in the mid-1960's when all the country was overwhelmed by horsepower. This was no ordinary car, it was a car built from dreams, to fulfill the American dream. It was more or a drag-strip bully, ready to convert the helpless tires to smoke at the nudge of the throttle, ready to smash drivers against the seatback as only a car with a big-block can. With the L-79 engine under the Nova's hood, the Chevy II was basically the Corvette of domestic compacts. This shift in the market, obviously, also forced General Motors domestic competition into action, which made Chevrolets success in the economy car field all the more imperative. Both factors conspired to make economy cars more Bartal, FourAttractive to the car buying public. The Chevy II was Chevrolet's entry-level, do-everything family sedan for a lot of people, and if those people wanted economy, practicality, and healthy does of horsepower, torque and style, well Chevrolet wasn't going to send them searching for those things from another manufacturer. In the 1960's the Chevrolet Nova succeeded in outselling economy car rivals such as Ford's Falcon and Plymouth's Valiant. Being introduced as a mainstream alternative to the unique Corvair, the Chevy II became perhaps the ultimate utility player for Chevrolet. Once injected with Chevrolet Muscle and Super Sport heritage, it became one of the most beloved and respected of muscle cars of its era. Novas of the mid-1970's even sprouted pretensions of luxury, with features such as Cabriolet roofs and stand up hood ornaments, when the market shifted in that direction. But with the introduction of the 1968 Chevy II the top performance versions of the car proudly joined the ranks of the socially irresponsible. Chevy did away with big-blocks to meet government standards in 1971 and installed a smog pump which lowered emissions. What market conditions brought the Chevy II about? There were two major contributors: the first real wave of economical foreign cars in the 1950's and an economic recession in the United States. Stuffing a 396 big-block in a Nova was all out of proportion to the car's actual motive needs, but that wasn't about to stop Chevrolet.
Common topics in this essay:
Chevy II,
Super Sport,
Chevrolet Nova,
Motors GM,
Bartal Attractive,
II Chevrolet's,
Bartal Six,
chevy ii,
Valiant Motors,
II Nova,
Bartal Five,
economy car,
super sport,
economy cars,
chevrolet nova,
muscle car,
car chevy ii,
car car,
car chevy,
nova super,
foreign competition,
nova super sport,
chevy ii transformed,
|