Car: Chevrolet 150 2-door sedan
Year: 1956
What makes it special: Chevrolet’s One-Fifty, or “150″ was the economy/fleet model from 1953 to 1957. It took its name by shortening the production series number of1500 by one digit in order to capitalize on the numerical auto name trend of the 1950’s. The numerical designation “150” was also sporadically used in company literature. It replaced the Styleline Special model available in previous years.
What made it famous: The One-Fifty was mainly conceived as a fleet model and little effort was spent marketing it to the average car buyer of the day, although sales weren’t limited to fleets. It was most popular with police, state governments, small businesses, economy-minded consumers and hot rodders. Chevrolet sold substantially fewer One-Fifties than Two-Tens or the Chevrolet Bel Air in every year of its life. The 150 was no-frills basic transportation. It had limited options, stark trim, solid colors, plain heavy duty upholstery and rubberized flooring. Powertrain choices were limited to manual transmissions and low output engines until 1954, ranging from the 140hp, 235 cu in “Blue-Flame” inline-6 to the 265 cu in V8 that was available in three different versions.
Why I would want one: I’m a huge fan of the “economy versions” of car models. Their sparce appointments and lack of luxury equipment makes them prime choices for Hot Rodding.
Fun fact: The 150 model was dropped following the 1957 model year and replaced by the Delray in 1958.
