Years ago, The Big Three had a curious habit of introducing a new model to great fanfare and then within a decade, sometimes less, push it down market or introduce something "on top" of it. Some refer to that practice as "debasement". The Chevrolet Bel Air and Impala, Ford Fairlane, Thunderbird and Galaxie, Plymouth Belvedere and Pontiac Bonneville (technically), are examples of once top-of-the-line models that were either pushed down or passed over. Another is the Chevrolet Nomad. Our well-worn subject here is a 1968.
Introduced to said great fanfare as part of General Motors Motorama in 1954, the first Chevrolet Nomad was a wagon variant of, if you can believe it after seeing our green monster, the Corvette. If you love what they refer to as "shooting brakes" like I do, no doubt you're ass over teapot over these luscious beauties. Talk about the personification of 1950's, "James Dean Cool". The original show cars were destroyed, anything around today like the one above are replicas.
Shooting brakes, incidentally, are station wagons with the sporting elan of sports cars. The term stems from the 1890's when "shooting parties" would use horse drawn, open wagons to carry themselves, their guns, ammunition and, presumably, have enough room to carry home the, umm, stuff they shot. The "brake" or "break" part stems, supposedly, from carriages meant to "break" in horses. How and why the two terms got stuck together is anyone's guess.
Problem was, being Corvette based, they would have been prohibitively expensive to build. Therefore, the first production Nomad's were built on GM's new-for-1955 A-body chassis and as such, enabled Pontiac to build one as well. For more on the Pontiac, please google, "Pontiac Bonneville Sport". Although prosaic in comparison to the Motorama car, they were still two-door "sport wagons" and, objectively, handsome as hell although not quite as much as the Corvette based ones. Chevrolet also offered 210 and 150 based two-door "Handyman" wagons.
It was, save for the Corvette, Chevrolet's most expensive model. Find one of these today, even basket cases, and you're going to pay through the grill for it. Above is a 1957 complete with a "fuelie" 283-cubic inch V-8.
When Chevrolet upsized to GM's B-body for 1958, the Nomad remained as a wagon and although it was no longer a "shooting brake", it was Chevrolet's top-of-the-line wagon lineup that included four other models (more like trim levels). Much like experiencing the chill of ageism for the first time, the debasement of the Nomad began in 1959 when it became the step-down model to the new "Kingswood". It remained as such for 1961 before the nameplate was sunset. Above is a 1958 Nomad with 1971-1972 Chevrolet Impala wheel covers and period incorrect wheels and tires.
Chevrolet resurrected the Nomad moniker for 1968 affixing it to their new-for-'68, entry-level, "A-body" intermediate station wagon. So, in just fourteen-years, the Chevrolet Nomad went from glamorous, Motorama Queen to a bottom feeding, bone-stripped rental car. Don't let the door hit you on your way out, old man.
A five-door only, Nomad's like our subject here came standard with Chevrolet's dutiful although pokey, 230-cubic inch, inline six and three-on-the-tree. Chevrolet produced these disposable, mid-sized Nomad appliances through 1972.
Chevrolet marketed a Vega Nomad in 1976 that was an appearance package for their Vega "Kammback" wagon. From 1977 through 1981, "Nomad" denoted a trim level of Chevrolet's full-size van.
Fun Nomad facts, when Chevrolet was working on their X-body Citation, they whipped up a handsome mini-van version they dubbed, "Nomad". Chevrolet suits thought it would impact station wagon sales and scuttled it. How right they were.
This '68 popped up on Marketplace recently with a $6,000 asking price. Seems like a lot of money for something that's needs so much, including an exterminator and delousing. I guess $5,000-$6,000 is the new $1,000-$2,000 I'd think this would be worth. The heck do I know? Seriously, this could need ten grand in just body work before you get to the fun stuff like the steering suspension and power train.
Frankly, given Chevrolet's reuse of their hallowed "Blazer" and "Trailblazer" monikers lately, that they haven't repurposed "Nomad" is a bit of head scratcher. To me at least. Maybe they're working on a Corvette based "shooting brake" although, given that the Corvette is now mid-engined, that seems highly unlikely. We can dream, though.
No comments:
Post a Comment