Chevy Taps Into Nostalgia To Usher In New Cars

Sometimes you gotta wonder what exactly Chevrolet is thinking. Spotted at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, Chevrolet carted out a couple of prime examples of vintage Bow Tie iron (and, well, fiberglass) to lure in spectators and auto enthusiasts. What exactly these old school machines had in common with a couple of re-named Aveos and a Volt or two. I mean really, does parking a ’55 Bel Air next to an electric minivan shout, “See the family resemblance?” Yeah, we don’t think so.

This isn’t the first time Chevrolet has dusted off a bunch of classics to try to drum up some deep-rooted enthusiasm for its current products. We seem to remember a sequence of banner advertisements where GM featured winged Impalas and ’70 Super Sport Chevelles in an obviously ploy to tug on loyal Chevy lovers’ heartstrings. While this kind of rekindled nostalgia = new car sales methodology isn’t anything new, or specific to GM (we’re talking to you, Dodge), it does feel a little forced.

If say, the C7 ‘Vette specifically designed to draw inspiration from say, a ’63 split-window or a ’69 L88 Stingray, we could totally agree with parking the two alongside each other, the same way the ’69 SS Camaro was carted around with a new SS. But, pushing these cars out on on the carpet with little reason more than reminding visitors that Chevrolet once made these machines is pretty weak.