Chances are, if you’re reading this, then you’re most likely a Chevrolet fan already. Of course for me, when I think “Chevy” or “Chevrolet,” the very first image that pops into my head is a white-over-turquoise ’57 Bel Air convertible. You see, the ’57 Chevy was the very first car that I learned the year, make and model, and I’ve always wanted one since I was a boy.

By the age of three, I was able to name the makes and models of the cars that passed our house. This was even before I learned how to read, so the only way I was able to pull this off was thanks to my dad who taught me by pointing them out on the road or in magazines. He would teach me the Fords, Mopars, and of course, the GMs. He taught me the Euro-boxes as well, but he would often refer to the Japanese cars as, well, I’d rather not say. Korean cars didn’t even exist yet, at least not in America.

My mom was the previous owner of an original ’69 Chevelle SS396 convertible and my dad owned a ’69 Z/28 and a ’70 Chevelle SS 396, which he still has today. Of course, during the mid-eighties, we would use my dad’s ’76 Monte Carlo for the “family truckster.” Even as I grew older and  had siblings, my parents seemed to refuse to buy the kind of cars of what we would now consider “practical” today, and only insisted on buying 2-door sport coupes.

Cars like the ’82 Trans Am that eventually replaced the Monte, the ’88 Cavalier Z24 that my mom drove, and the ’86 Grand National that my dad has hung on to ever since. My family looked like clowns piling in and out of these cars every time we would have to go somewhere, and I, being the older of two kids, always got stuck riding on top of the transmission tunnel in the back, with no seat belt, of course.

My parents were still in their mid-to-late twenties at the time, and grew up during the prog rock (progressive rock, i.e. Yes, Rush, Pink Floyd) era. No way were they going to look un-cool driving around in a boxy family sedan, station wagon, or this new thing called a mini-van. No way. But that was over 20 years ago, and the times have changed.

Though the saying, “The times have changed” may sound a bit of a cliché these days, some things never go out of style. Some people refer to them as “timeless” and a few of those timeless treasures that the world has been blessed with are ’55, ’56, and ’57 Chevrolets. The ’55 turned 55 this year, and to this day it still looks fantastic! There have been other Chevy models that share “timeless styling” as well; the ’69 Camaro, the ’70 Chevelle, and though I may get some strange looks from my friends and colleagues on this one, the ’96 Impala SS. To me, fifteen years later, that car doesn’t look dated and is as sinister-looking as ever. I wanted one then and I still want one today.

It was only recently that Chevy finally realized that their current cars needed the same soul to get people in the showrooms (creating buzz and the increased sales numbers that they desire). Chevrolet’s first production attempt with “retro styling” came in the form of the 2003 SSR, a sort-of pickup truck with a folding metal roof and late ‘40’s styling. Unfortunately, it was not a huge success, and after a few short years it was gone.

A second attempt at retro styling came in the form of the HHR, a compact, front-wheel drive wagon that was built on the Cobalt platform, styled off of the ’48 Suburban, and was a direct competitor for Chrysler’s PT Cruiser. It was only marginally successful, and offered a turbocharged performance SS variant.

They say, “the third time’s the charm,” and Chevrolet hit a grand slam with its 2010 Camaro. Not since the late ‘70s has a GM pony car been such a sales success, and it has been a huge help in GM’s $60 billion sales profit over the last year.

This brings me back to the shoebox Chevy. Hypothetically, if General Motors were to replace the current front-wheel drive Impala with a retro-styled, rear-drive Chevy sedan, which model year of the “tri-fives” should Chevrolet model them after? Or should they base it off a later model year Impala, like a ’64 or ’65 for example?

Personally, as much as I love tri-fives, I think they should base the next Impala off of what used to be a Pontiac G8, but give it a bold, distinctive style. Something very much Chevrolet, with its own identity, but with a style that will never look dated.

I’m thinking a style very unlike a 2000-2005 model Impala, and something a lot more aggressive than the current generation. I think retro-styling should be reserved for pony cars only. But that’s just me.

At this point, I may have offended some of you old-schoolers, but let me tell you this: the shoebox, or more in particular, the ’57 Chevy, is probably my ultimate dream car. As fads come and go over the years, I’m sort of stuck on pro-touring. I would build a ’57 coupe with an LS7, complete Hotchkis suspension, a stock-appearing paint job with a fresh factory interior, and a killer set of 18” billet wheels (anything over 19”-20” is too “DUB” for me). Oh, and I would drive the HELL out of it!

Of course, being a resident of the Midwest, it would never see winter, but if I lived in the south or in Southern California, it would probably be my everyday car. Somebody let me know if Dynacorn ever decides to give away any ’57 Chevy body shells.

-Rick