by Charlie H.

Created on: July 01, 2007

I was one of the "lucky owners" of a 1957 Chevy Bel Air.

The year was 1965, I had been driving around in a '52 DeSoto...sort of an "icky" green tank-shaped monster of a car! I was a mere 17; what was I doing driving around in such an "uncool" road hog? Don't get me wrong...that car was solid and very dependable! It just didn't have "cool" written anywhere upon it!

Then one day I saw the '57 Bel Air, 2-door "sedan" (with "post" between front & back windows-the "coupes" had no post) for sale at a local garage/dealer. Somehow, I immediately fell in love. I bought the car, though I can't recall how much I paid, and I guess that doesn't much matter. What matters is what this car was to me. How it immediately upped my "cool" status and boosted my confidence level up a couple notches. Here I was, cruising along in what someday, perhaps 25 or so years later, would become a most sought-after classic Chevrolet! Little did I know how truly beautiful this car was. Oh, I truly appreciated owning it, and I loved it dearly. But, I had no idea it would become such an icon and even a "hero" to so many. Guess that's how it goes, huh? When things are all around us, we don't appreciate them. It's when they disappear that we want them back again.

The world was somehow "simpler" then...at least I think it was. The '57 Chevy was quite 'simple', too, as I recall. Not too many "bells & whistles"; no a/c, just am radio, ride was pretty good, though a little stiff, as I recollect. But that stuff wasn't so important then, either.

Yeah...life WAS simpler then! Hmmmmmmmmmm.....anyone know where I can pick up a nice '57 Chevy Bel Air these days?

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