By Hagerty / Originally Published April 29, 2015 / Hagerty The Chevelle is one of America’s favorite classic muscle cars. If you turn on your favorite televised…{"id":6926,"date":"2015-05-28T11:35:05","date_gmt":"2015-05-28T18:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/?p=6926"},"modified":"2015-05-28T11:35:05","modified_gmt":"2015-05-28T18:35:05","slug":"secrets-of-the-chevelle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/2015\/05\/28\/secrets-of-the-chevelle\/","title":{"rendered":"Secrets of the Chevelle"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Hagerty\u00a0\/ Originally Published April 29, 2015\u00a0\/ Hagerty<\/span><\/p>\n

The Chevelle is one of America\u2019s favorite classic muscle cars<\/a><\/strong>. If you turn on your favorite televised classic car auctions at random, chances are that there will be a Chevelle crossing the block. With so much attention, the Chevelle is pretty much an open book, yet here are some lesser-known facts:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. It was built in 10 different GM plants in two countries<\/strong>: Over the course of its 10-year lifespan, the Chevelle was assembled in a whopping 10 different GM plants. For the record, that was: Arlington, Texas; Atlanta, Ga.; Baltimore, Md.; Flint, Mich.; Framingham, Mass.; Fremont, Calif.; Kansas City, Kan.; Oshawa, On., Canada; and Sainte-Th\u00e9r\u00e8se, PQ, Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. It shared a platform with El Camino and Monte Carlo<\/strong>: In addition to being produced in convertible, two-door, four-door and station wagon body-styles, the Chevelle\u2019s platform underpinned both the\u00a0<\/span>El Camino car\/pickup<\/a><\/strong> and the<\/span> personal luxury Monte Carlo<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. It\u2019s gone but certainly not forgotten<\/strong>: The Chevelle nameplate died after the 1978 model year. And in spite of the fact that it is consistently named by auto journalists and bowtie fans as a name they would like Chevy to revive, it\u2019s never come close to happening.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. There was a Canada-only version<\/strong>: GM and Ford formerly had a practice of creating specific models and nameplates for the Canadian market. There was a Canadian version of the Chevelle built in Quebec and Ontario called the Acadian Beaumont, which had a slightly different grille and trim. They\u2019re rare and a very definite curiosity in the Chevelle world.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Intended to be the successor to the famous Tri-Five 1955-57 Chevies<\/strong>: Designers saw the Chevelle as the spiritual successor to the 1955-<\/span>57 Bel Air<\/a><\/strong>\/<\/span>210<\/a><\/strong>, noting that the 115-inch wheelbase was the same, and like the 55-57 Chevy, the Chevelle was offered in two-door coupe, four-door, convertible, and two- and four-door wagon body styles. It\u2019s proven to be the case in the collector car world, too, as younger baby boomers and Gen-Xers opt for the Chevelle as the collectible Chevy of choice over the 55-57 Bel Air of the immediate post-war boomers.<\/span><\/p>\n