Chevrolet Chevelle Generation 1 SS396 396/375 L78 Hardtop 1967
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Car producer : |
Chevrolet |
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Model: |
Chevelle Generation 1 SS396 396/375 L78 Hardtop 1967 |
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Year: |
1964-1967 |
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Type: |
Coupe |
The automobile marketplace was changing significantly during the early 1960s and became highly competitive in the smaller-sized car segments. The domestic Big Three automakers (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) were responding to the success of American Motors' compact Rambler American and Classic models that made AMC the leading maker of small cars for several years and increasing Rambler on the 1961 domestic sales charts to third-place behind Chevrolet and Ford. The innovative Chevrolet Corvair and the Chevy II, which was designed to compete with Ford's Falcon, were losing ground. Ford released the mid-sized Fairlane in 1963, to which Chevrolet responded with the 1964 Chevelle based on a new A platform design. Riding on a 115-inch (2,900 mm) wheelbase, the new Chevelle was similar in size, simplicity, and concept to the standard-sized 1955-1957 Chevrolet models. The Chevelle was the U.S. auto industry's only all-new car for 1964 and was positioned to fill the gap between the small Chevy II and the full-sized Chevrolet models. Introduced in August 1963 by "Bunkie" Knudsen, the Chevelle filled the gap for Chevrolet with sales of 338,286 for the year.
Two-door hardtop coupes, and convertibles, four-door sedans, and four-door station wagons were offered throughout the entire run. This also included a coupe utility (El Camino) which was a derivative of the 2 door wagon. In line with other Chevrolet series, the two-door hardtops were called Sport coupes. Four-door hardtops, dubbed Sport Sedans, were available (1966 through 1972). A two-door station wagon was available in 1964 and 1965 in the base 300 series. Station wagons were marketed with exclusive nameplates: Greenbrier (previously used with the Corvair based vans), Concours, and Concours Estate. Six-cylinder and V8 power was offered across the board. Chevelles were also assembled and sold in Canada. While similar to their Stateside counterparts, the convertible was available in the base Chevelle series, a model never offered in the United States. The Chevelle was the basis for the Beaumont, a retrimmed model sold only in Canada by Pontiac dealers through 1969. Originally conceived as an upsizing of the Chevy II with a unibody platform (similar to the Fairlane and the full-size Chrysler B-platform of the same era) which originated with the XP-726 program, GM's "senior compact" A-platform used a body-on-frame construction using a suspension setup similar to its full sized automobiles with a 4 link rear suspension (the differential has 4 control arms which are attached to the frame with rear coil springs sandwiched between the differential and spring pocket - this design was used with the B platform vehicles and later used by Ford Motor Company with its FOX platform
