The Chevrolet Bel-Air was born in 1950, despite the fifty models looking very similar to the forty-nine output of Chevy.
I have owned an abundance of automobiles in my life, and the vast majority of them have been adorned with the bowtie logo.
My first car was a 1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Coupe.. I bought it while I was in the tenth grade and was lucky enough to have an older brother with a full service garage. Shortly thereafter I bought a 1950 Chevrolet Business Coupe.
My nifty-fifty was originally pea green with a dark green top, but I quickly changed that to three coats of Omaha Orange. Chevrolet must have liked the colors as they produced their own orange cars in the late 1960's..
Shortly after the paint job the entire interior was redone in black Naugahyde. The original 216 cubic inch six-cylinder engine gave way to a 283 V8. It was really a nice car to drive on the streets.... and the girls loved it..
The above '50 was a Deluxe and not a Bel-Air.. This is a Bel-Air in the original colors that my fifty came from the factory in.
This particular '50 marked the first ever hardtop convertible from Chevrolet.. Roll down the windows and presto, no post separating the front window from the rear. A couple things jump out at me from the above photo.. It did not come from the factory with dual exhaust, and I love that three piece rear window. I am not a fan of fender skirts, but they look good on this car.
Here is another hardtop convertible, but as you can see by the fender badge, it is a Deluxe and not a Bel-Air. Chevrolet hit on a good body design in 1949 and they rode it until 1952 with very little changes to the overall look.
Another hardtop convertible and this 1951 is a Bel-Air. Extremely clean lines and Chevy was hesitant to make a change until 1953, but the Bel-Air label continued to be their top of the line offering.
The Bel-Air would be top dog until 1958 when Chevrolet introduced the Impala line of cars. The Bel-Air would still be in the line-up but not as glitzy as the Impala. The 1962 model Bel-Air above came into being from pressure by NASCAR racers. The Impala model had too much wind drag behind the rear window, so Chevy took the top from the 1961 Impala and put it on the 1962 model of Bel-Airs... Bingo! A bubble top Bel-Air gave the racing crowd about a 3-4 jump in average speed on the tracks..
