There was a time at which much of the common man’s life, aspirations, and disposition could be determined simply on the basis of which Chevrolet he owned. Before the days of meaningless trim levels like ST and GLX (grand luxury excitement?), a car’s equipment level and often its bodystyle were directly affected by the name carried on its flank.
I’d venture to say that everyone’s pretty familiar with the sedans by now. The Bel Air had been the name of GM’s full-size car since 1950; in ’58, the lesser Biscayne was first offered for the budget-conscious, and in that same year the Impala name came to represent their halo model, complete with the six-taillight design that would come to represent the Impala for years. 1965 brought the Caprice, an even more high-zoot model than the Impala, and a nameplate that would stick around, for better or much worse, until 1996.
The Impala was the best-selling of all the models, still cheaper than the equivalent Olds, Pontiac, Buick, or Caddy, but well-equipped. Think of it this way: most of the Camrys you see clogging up our roads are LE models, which falls nicely between the DX/CE and the XLE as the mid-range, reasonably well equipped trim; this is exactly the role the Impala filled four decades ago. A man who drove a Bel Air just wanted a standard family sedan on his modest means; a Biscayne owner was a no-frills kind of dude who didn’t need eight cylinders or power brakes; a Caprice man was either aspirational or a Chevrolet executive that couldn’t be caught driving anything else. Got a family? Get a wagon. Simple.
Well, that changed in 1969.
You see, in that year, Chevrolet thought it prudent to give entirely new names to the full-size wagons. The spartan Brookwood complemented the Biscayne, the Townsman was counterpart to the Bel Air, the Kingswood was a wagon-shaped Impala, and the big-money Kingswood Estate, replete with wood paneling paneling wood paneling and a slightly upgraded interior. Everything but the Brookwood was V8-only, as is appropriate. This one looks like it could use a 427.
Power rear windows, three-row seating… it’s a shame more Average Americans don’t see these old wagons, shift their desires, and lobby and focus-group Detroit into giving us proper family cars again. It’s about time.
I have a sudden, completely rational urge to own one of these now. It’s about in the same place on the meanness scale as the ’68 Biscayne/Bel Air two-door I’m stalking (but can’t find street-parked).
Many, many extra points for The Left Rights.
This was a one-day fleeting special; I’ve only seen it once and it parked one block from my apartment. Almost too good to be true.
Dear lord that is one slick looking wagon. It looks like every piece of chrome is in good condition.
If I didn’t already have two old cars…
Please don’t post any AMC wagons with for sale signs. I would probably find myself unable to resist.
I cannot find a single thing wrong with this automobile. Seriously.
Hey, how was Bonnaroo? Did you see The Mars Volta? I wanted so much to see them. They’ve been here in 2004 but the show was short because that crappy Libertines took some of their time.
Holy crap that’s lovely. I love the three row wagons, they have so much style.
im looking for a 69 kingswood ill take it if the right $
We had a 1970 Townsman. (Or maybe 71, don’t recall). I learned to drive on it. It was like piloting a ferry boat. Thing was huge, with everything power so you could steer with one finger and brake with one toe. Sigh.
Used to be all cars where that huge, I guess. Now people would stare. It had a 350 under the hood that really jumped when you floored it: kick down into that passing gear and scream like a Stuka, with the G pressing you back into the dimpled vinyl seat.
Sure, it was a piece of crap. Broke down driving it off the lot. Left us on the side of the road more times than I can recall. Paint fell off the tailgate months after we bought it. (All of the paint. Whole back end was bare metal.) But I’d give a lot to drive it again.
My experience with GM has consistently been, great design, crappy construction. That giant, thirsty old last-gasp Cold War Townsman was my first experience of cars in general and GM in specific. It was also the last American car anybody in my family owned, until I bought a 1997 Pontiac Sunbird.
Great design. Crappy construction. Townsman all over again.
Thanks for the blast from the past!
Robin
Rusty Ring: Reflections of an Old-Timey Hermit
(Link above.)
My dad had the 69 Kingswood. Jet Black like the one in the picture, third row seating and custom front seats which I recall him saying they were captain seats. You could see your reflection in it. My mom bought a luggage rack for the roof as a birthday gift. He hung it in the garage. I asked him one day why he never put it on the car. He looked at me and said that cars too sharp for a luggage rack.
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