David Krumboltz — for Bay Area News Group Castro Valley’s Michael Saunders and his wife, Darlene, appear with their 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle.
Did you ever wonder how car manufacturers pick the names for their car and truck models?
Geographic locations, major cities, numbers, letters and made-up words are all considered. Sometimes manufacturers like to connect the new model with a successful model they’re already producing.
This issue’s featured car is called a Chevrolet Chevelle, and while there’s no obvious proof, it’s believed by some that the Chevy model name came about because managers thought the smaller, graceful gazelle would tie in with the medium-sized impala, the name used for their very successful model. So it’s said that by combining “Chevrolet” with “gazelle” the new model was called the Chevelle, which turned out to be a good choice.
The first generation of Chevelles started in 1964 and ended with the 1967 model year. They were hot from the get-go. Smaller cars were selling well in the early 1960s. The leader in developing the smaller car market was American Motors Corp. (AMC) with the Rambler American and Classic models. Under the leadership of George Romney (Mitt Romney’s father), the AMC Rambler became the third best-selling car behind Chevrolet and Ford in 1961.
Ford brought out the Falcon for the 1960 model year, and it sold well. Chrysler brought out the Dodge Dart and Plymouth Valiant, which also did well. The Chevelle was bigger than their Chevy II and Corvair models but smaller than the Impala models. In fact, it was about the same size as the “full-size” 1955-1957 Chevrolet models.
Chevelles came as two-door hardtops, convertibles, station wagons and four-door sedans. That first year, 338,286 Chevelles were sold. The Super Sport, or “SS,” models were Chevy’s entry into the muscle car field, but not too much muscle was added. The models included additional bright work components, full wheel covers and SS emblems as well as bucket seats and other relative minor features.
The second generation of Chevelles was from 1967 through the 1972 model year. It presented a completely new look with a longer hood and shorter trunk. Quad headlights came and went during this generation and the government regulation requiring side marker lights became effective. By 1969, Chevelles were marketed as “America’s most popular midsize car,” and by 1972 the Chevelle was the second-best selling car in the country.
On June 3, 1972, a 17-year-old kid named Michael Saunders walked into Dailey Chevrolet in San Leandro and bought this issue’s featured car.
“My dad wanted me to buy a Chevy Vega,” he said, “because they were cheap. But I didn’t like it. I wanted a Camaro, but the Camaro factory was on strike. So I opted for the Chevelle with the SS package. No big engine, no power windows, nothing. That was all I could afford.”
Included in the SS package was the still-popular 350-cubic-inch V8 engine with the 350-turbo automatic transmission and mag wheels. It’s also equipped with power steering and brakes but no air conditioning. It has only the left outside door mirror, and there wasn’t even a right-side mirror option from the factory. It was not just Saunders’ first new car but his first car of all. The purchase price was $3,700, or about $26,225 in 2022 dollars, and his monthly payments were $63.
“I went through the car 37 years ago just for cosmetics, and sort of restored it. It has 84,600 original miles, and it’s (the car is) all original,” said Saunders, now of Castro Valley.
As part of his restoration work, Saunders repainted the car himself in the original factory color. He found a body shop he could use, but as it turned out there was a problem with the venting system in the shop.
“When I put the first coat on dust got on the hood and the trunk,” Saunders said. “So I stopped, fixed the venting, and reshot the whole thing. Now with specks of dust on the hood and trunk, I put strips on the hood and trunk to hide it.”
He has put new coverings on the seats, but otherwise the interior is completely original.
“I did put in a more modern AM/FM cassette radio 45 years ago,” he said.
Saunders and his wife, Darlene, met in 1976, and this was their courtship car. Part of the courtship took place at some of the local drive-in theaters that were popular at the time.
Laughing he said, “This car has seen a lot of fun. This was a drive-in movie car. You could probably fit three people comfortably in the trunk. There were five seatbelts in that car, but we could sit seven or eight people in the car.”
The car has been very cost-friendly. Other than the paint job and very minor interior upgrades, he estimates he has about $10,000 invested, including the original purchase price. Now he drives the car about 2,000 miles a year and has no plans to sell it. For Michael and Darlene, it’s a lot memories sitting on four wheels.
Have an interesting vehicle? Contact David Krumboltz at MOBopoly@yahoo.com. To view more photos of this and other issues’ vehicles or to read more of Dave’s columns, visit mercurynews.com/author/david-krumboltz.
Originally published at David Krumboltz