1957 Chevy Vs The Plymouth... Dealer Film, GM fights back?

No one will use paper air filters! :) Those are outdated technology!
GM puts out their rebuttal video to the Plymouth.
Like those refrigerator door handles? Leave a comment! :)

[@kbcarroll]

Translation = oh my god, we could never have predicted how beautiful the Plymouth would suddenly become in 1957

[@autochronicles8667]

the 57 Plymouth won everything that year... I was surprised the Chevy actually came in 3rd place, the magazines considered it the boring car of the year... Those 57 Ford bug eyes were iffy...

[@5610winston]

The story has been told and retold about junior designer Chuck Jordan from Harley Earl's GM design studio, who decided to cruise past the Plymouth storage paddock for an advance look at the '57 models. He was so stunned that he rushed back to the studio and picked up as many designers as could fit in his car and returned to the storage lot with cameras. Earl was out of the country and returned to "his" studio to find a full-fledged mutiny in progress, his designers working on completely new design themes instead of slathering more chrome and still higher fins on the ungainly '58s. The resulting '59 models from GM were certainly better than they would have been as second-year facelifts of the A-bodies or third-year versions of the B-C bodies, but they still lacked the purity of line you see in the third-year facelifts of the ''57 Chrysler product bodies.

[@autochronicles8667]

@@5610winston I highly doubt he "looked over a fence"... GM and Ford ALL had private spy armies... Ford was notoriously bad and would even hire on staff... I did see an article about industry spies back from a 57 edition... You don't want to admit you had "spies" doing dirty work so I guess you lie and say "i saw it over the fence" :) lol

[@timx-wj3kq]

I saw an interview featuring noted GM Stylist Chuck Jordan who claimed he was the guy who both noticed those stunning new Plymouths sitting in the Mopar holding yard,, and dragged his fellow GM Designers over there to view these sensational new Forward Look Chryco’s.

[@kingrex1931]

The 1957 Chevy is hands down a better looking car than the 1957 Plymouth.

[@bigheadfred]

3:10 A few years later, General Motors adopted a two-key system too, one for the ignition and the other for the doors, trunk, and glovebox.

[@autochronicles8667]

shhh, single key was the best until it wasnt :) like the oil bath air cleaner

[@20thCenturyMan]

Plymouth uses a paper air filter element while Chevrolet uses a modern oil bath air filter. 😂😂😂

[@kipbrown1549]

What a joke //////////////////////

[@scrambler69-xk3kv]

Chevrolet fails to mention that the turboglide failed to live up to their bosting and they did not mention that the slip and slide Powerglide was a two speed while the Torqueflite was a three speed. And I loved their advanced oil bath air cleaner. We all know how that worked out.

[@KDoyle4]

I've seen quite a few of these filmstips aimed at new car salesmen, but this one might take the cake. The amount of hyperbole used here is nothing short of outrageous. It is true that the 1957 Plymouth's quality suffered from being rushed to market a year early, but none of it's actual faults are adressed here.

[@bobpierce115]

I would have to agree with you. GM/Chevy is REALLY pissed off with Plymouth, and from what I've read forced Plymouth (either with threatened, or actual legal action) to stop the slogan 'Suddenly, it's 1960!' ad slogan a few months in to the model year. A LOT of drama was going on at this time. I was born in May '57, when the crash course re-do of GM's entire 1959 line-up (Chevy-Cadillac) was nearly complete after the original designs had to be scrapped because of Chrysler's all-new '57 designs.

[@thomashawkinson7017]

Both were great cars. Note that most of the Chevy 'advantages' are only matters of taste and do NOT represent superior engineering. The Plymouth truck key system was to prevent locking the truck key in the truck. Yet Chevy sells that as a disadvantage. Also, rocking the Chevy from D to R to drive out of snow will destroy your transmission. The Plymouth push buttons prevent you from destroying your transmission. The Plymouth redesigned the frame so the car would sit low and handle better. Yet Chevy tells us the shorter Plymouth frame is a bad thing because Plymouth beefs up the frame horizontally. Really? Tom H.

[@kipbrown1549]

What about there 2 speed trans being better than the Plymouth 3 speed because someone had a 3 speed before ???? and there oil filter being better ?????? And they left out the Fury 350 motor //////////

[@Sebastian_Dinwiddie]

All true but the reason for separate keys was to allow you to keep valuables locked in the glovebox or trunk when handing the keys to a valet or a mechanic

[@devonmask5192]

The catch with the push buttons, as experienced in my mother's nuclear catfish '61 Fury ragtop, was that if you parked facing uphill, didn't use the emergency brake or if it was slightly worn, the servo's for the pushbuttons didn't have the power to get the transmission out of park. You then had to get out the trusty (if terrifying) bumper jack to lift the rear end, then someone had to push the car slightly forward while someone else pops the button to get out of park, then holds the brake pedal while the jack is put back in the trunk. I got pushbutton/brake duty at 7 years old, until mom ditched the catfish for a '65 Catalina. That said, in regards to the video, the Plymouth was much more modern and new. The Chevy looked like a '55 or '56 was attacked by a J.C. Whitney catalog.

[@kingelvis7035]

rocking does not destroy an automatic trans

[@melodigrand]

In 57 Ford and Plymouth got new longer chassis and longer, lower, wider bodies with completely new styling. The 57 Chevy was a lightly re-worked 56. Chevy had to advertise heavily to sell basically last year's model when Ford and Plymouth were all new.

[@autochronicles8667]

GM wouldnt get crazy until 58 :)

[@matrox]

Yet 55-57 are all classics. I was a little kid when all these cars were still on the road and I predicted the 57' Chevy would be a classic even before it was one.

[@swapmeethunter9586]

They left out the Fury engine... I guess it was super rare... more HP than the Chevy

[@nlpnt]

Maybe wasn't announced until some time into the model year?

[@autochronicles8667]

Yeah i think they didnt have it ready yet

[@ngauruhoezodiac3143]

The hemi engine was available already in 1954.

[@5610winston]

10:10 No mention that Plymouth's showroom-mate DeSoto Adventurer has one horsepower for each of its 345 cubic inches as standard equipment, whereas the 283 horsepower Chevrolet (which relied on a complicated and less reliable fuel injection system instead of the dual-quad system on the DeSoto) was an expensive option. No mention, either, of the bigger displacement of the Plymouth V8s, up to 350 cubic inches in the Fury. The '57 Plymouth was better looking and better riding with an all-new body in comparison to the three-year-old Chevy, certainly better than the "Suddenly it's 1949!" Buick and Olds models.

[@autochronicles8667]

they dont "cross" brand many of these videos typically and they like to compare the most generic sedan models. The Fury was a special edition they probably just went "who what?"... Chrysler was the originator of the special edition pretty much. The D500 was a good example of a car with the most extensive performance package. Ford/GM had them but it was usually just and engine upgrade.

[@kingrex1931]

Chevy competed directly with Plymouth, DeSoto would have gone head to head against Oldsmobile.

[@scrambler69-xk3kv]

Mopars kicked butt at the drag strips in those years.

[@Cemeterygatepro]

Chevy is really reaching here. Fact is, they got flat footed when the 56 plymouths came out, and that only increased in 57 and 58.

[@autochronicles8667]

they got scared in 56... they knew the fins were coming... this whole idea that Chrysler had a bunch of cars sitting in the open was ridiculous... GM had SPIES... they all did... GM slapped big fins on the 57 as fast as they could once,they caught wind of the 57 Mopars...

[@Greatdome99]

Say what you might, but there are a whole lot more '57 Chevys around today than Plymouths.

[@autochronicles8667]

Chevys certainly held their value more and people protected them more that's for sure.... but Chevy outsold Mopar by a large margin and mopar cars got a bad rust rep early on. I think rushing the new design to market and relying on the dealerships to charge extra for rustproofing was a contributing issue. In 1960 they would dip the cars... the steel in the rockers in the 57 cars were bare steel! but the damage was already done...

[@scrambler69-xk3kv]

Yes but when I go to a car show I go to something different. I have seen tons of Chevrolets and I know what the dash looks like and I know what the engine looks like. I want to see something different, and I will tell you that is how most people feel.

[@impsrule60]

@@scrambler69-xk3kv AND... one could debate "chicken vs egg", but another reason one sees so many '57 Chevy's is the ease of restoration & repair. Every part one can imagine has remained available (facilitated first by the vast resources of GM, then the aftermarket). One could almost build a 'replica' 57 Chevy from a catalog: interiors; fenders; rocker panels; emblems... Conversely, despite an ardent fan base - there's nowhere near the level of parts availability for 'Forward Look' era Mopars (57-62). Does demand drive the parts availability, or - over decades - has parts availability fostered a continued and strong collector base? I would LOVE to see more 'Forward Look' era parts support so we'd see more on the collectors circuit.

[@russelljohnson1303]

​@@impsrule60you can actually build a complete replica of a 57 Chevy from the ground-up replacement parts there companies that make entire bodies and frames.

[@impsrule60]

@@russelljohnson1303 Yup, exactly the point.

[@Wiencourager]

Plymouth had better engine, better transmission,better power steering. , and better brakes, but they did rust; they were rushed to market.

[@autochronicles8667]

yeah Chrysler pushed the rust proofing on the dealers but they didnt inside the rockers... Just sprayed rubberized underneath which cause it to rot out faster... bad tech back in 57

[@StephenViola-ib8dq]

That's why they are all gone!@@autochronicles8667

[@mediamain6]

LOL this is the epitome of corporate panic when a corporation has an inferior product and they know it.. this occurs when an underdog brand of say brand "P" jumps in sales from number 6 to number 3.

[@autochronicles8667]

They did steal a lot of market share... Certainly did scare them.

[@kennethanway7979]

The 58 had a meaner looking grill! I would love one!

[@VladimirPutin-cz5zy]

I like the 57 grill a bit better.

[@herman452]

The video compares apples to oranges in its description of Chevy vs. Plymouth engines. Comparing power pack engines (four-barrel carb and dual exhaust), 283 Chevy had 220 horsepower, while 301 Plymouth had 235. Chevy's more powerful motors (fine motors all) were either dual four barrel or fuel injection. As someone else noted, the video leaves out the dual quad Plymouth Fury motor which made 290 horsepower vs. Chevy's 283 max hp. (One could debate the accuracy of the factory ratings, but that's not the point here.) Having said that, it's well known that Chrysler Corp quality control slipped badly trying to keep up with the high demand for its all-new 57 models. Further, because of its Corvette, Chevy kept on developing its small block V8 long after 57, while Plymouth's new poly motor got no performance development beyond the 57 Fury's motor, which was dropped after the 58 model year. Chrysler's performance focus for years after that was its new for 58 big block motors and then its 64-71 426 Hemi. Plymouth fans had to wait until the 68 model year to get its own really fine small block 340 V8.

[@tomservo56954]

They don't mention that Ford nipped Chevrolet in 1957 sales...

[@autochronicles8667]

Chevy tried to adjust their numbers with "fleet" sales and still claimed the sales total crown I remember

[@dallasmars2]

Did Plymouth have the same quality problems that other Chrysler products had

[@nlpnt]

This was made at the very beginning of the model year, as soon as Chevrolet Division corporate was able to confirm competitors' specs.

[@nlpnt]

@@dallasmars2 Yes. FWIU they turned up almost immediately, while the '57 Ford's rustbuckety ways didn't show up until a couple years in. The '57 Chevy's legend was built on being a "Good Used Car" by the early '60s when all the '57s looked dated.

[@autochronicles8667]

@@dallasmars2 All cars had issues, although the 57's did have leaking and rust issues due to the rush to get them to market... They shut down the factory line for a MONTH to get things fixed... but they were selling them fast... They would send crews out to dealers to help fix issues after they shipped....

[@colewebb5569]

hi Auto Chronicles and good morning I love these old car films and old car advertisements the 57 Chevrolet is one my all time favorites but do love all our American car's when question could it be possible to get caption as i lost my hearing from job I use to have yes I already checked for caption on my phone it said caption wasn't available do you have the caption working on you're system if you could what you can do I would appreciate it and let me know when you have caption working and I will come back to thank you and you at Auto Chronicles have great Sunday and a great coming week :-)

[@autochronicles8667]

Definitely let me check, i think it's doing CC now. It will auto translate here in a while!

[@colewebb5569]

@@autochronicles8667 hi Auto Chronicles and thank you for you're text reply and kind words and thank you about letting me know about the caption some the car's we're a little before my time born in 1958 but I remember a lot of the 30's car's on up from early 60's up being on the road I was born and grew up in southern California close to the beach I remember the surf's with 30's Ford woody wagons or Chevrolet nomads the Hotroders with there Hot Rods my Dad had 32 Duces coup Hot rod a 30's Vicky a woody wagon 56 Ford short bed big window pickup and other Hot Rods this was in the early 60's and other cool car's early 60's on up I do know my Dad raced in the s.c.t.a. in the 1950's and he drag raced at the first professional drag strip back in the 1950's back when they had flag man before drag strip had tree's I heared stories from my Dad and his friends and seen pictures from early 50's to the early 60's and yes I was blessed and lucky as can be growing up in southern California close to the beach the late 50's early 60's threw 70's well thank you Auto Chronicles and i will watch now and you have great Sunday and a exlent coming week :-)

[@autochronicles8667]

@@colewebb5569 CA is great for no rust cars :) they last so much longer.. Drag racing is hard to do these days... Can't just take a junk card out and run it nowdays... passing inspection is required :)

[@colewebb5569]

@@autochronicles8667 hi Auto Chronicles and thank you for you're text reply yes it was so different back then when it was run what you brung racing started to change to turn more in to a more professional built car's in the 70's but the early inspection and rules weren't the worst when flat out some people brought dangerous shit to the race track and I seen them street racing some same shit that we're death traps I don't mean looks machanicly there we're dangerous car's and yes southern California is a good place to get rust free car's the Desert is another good place for rust free car's had more car's and truck's than a lot people a lot older than I am well I going to watch you're video now and thank you again most exlent day and week for you will look forward to what other video's you have up you're sleeve :-D

[@JohnReitz-ps2ct]

The 1957 Plymouth was an elegant, remarkable design. The 1957 Chevy looked like a dump truck by comparison.

[@errorsofmodernism7331]

The Chevy looks so outdated when they are seen side by side.

[@autochronicles8667]

yeah 57 the magazines all gave it to the Mopars

[@The1cdccop]

Virgil Exner knocked one out of the park with the new 1957-59 Chrysler lineup. The only major issue with all Mopar's these years was they would rust out the minute you drove off the dealership. Also, Chryslers fit and finish quality was subpar to GM in the late 1950's: razor sharp edges on interior trim and overall poor-quality control because they rushed these beauties to market. My grandparents purchased a new two door Belvedere in 1958 because his brother-in-law worked as a salesman at the local Plymouth dealership. It was the last Chrysler product my grandpa would ever buy. Although he loved the looks and power of his Plymouth, he complained about the interior quality; "transmission selector buttons would pop out of the housing on to your lap" and he cut his finger on the chrome horn ring because of a sharp edge on the back side of it. While he was mowing the back yard one day, he heard a loud screeching and a Boom! My grandma was coming home from the grocery store and while pulling into the driveway, the front tire hit the curb and when she goosed the throttle to get over it, it went clean to the floor, sending her full speed into the garage and she got knocked unconcise by hitting her head on the steering wheel. When my grandpa made it to the garage, the wheels were still squealing, and he had to reach inside and turn the key off. Both the Plymouth and his garage were totaled but fortunately my grandma was still alive but with a broken nose and two black eyes. Somehow, when she stabbed the gas pedal, the throttle linkage jammed causing the engine to go full throttle. Anyway, his next vehicle was a 1959 Chevy Bel Air.

[@autochronicles8667]

yeah thats dangerous of course... they rushed the 57s but ultimately it hurt them in the end... GM and Ford had gotten a hold of their designs, but the Chevy was more stable... GM spent tons on the 58-59... The forward look stuff had issues and they tried to get them refined but they were still around in 58... I think the worst was the leaking that still persisted in the 58s. Never heard about any throttle linkage sticking though. Sounds kind of rare but still very bad.

[@davejensen8882]

What is the reason they rusted so fast? I have heard this from many sources but never had an explanation.

[@The1cdccop]

From what I've been told , CRYCO was rushing the Foward Look models down the assembly line as fast as they could to meet demand which resulted in poor build quality.@@davejensen8882

[@friendofdorothy9376]

@@davejensen8882there were no splash guards inside the wheel wells and so dirt and water sprayed everywhere and collected in places like the headlight area. Just one example. Rust proofing was also spotty or not done well.

[@agostinodibella9939]

It makes you laugh that Chevy/GM eventually used the same methods with glove boxes, dome lights, fuel doors, separate keys etc.

[@autochronicles8667]

and the oil bath air filter and knee knocker front window reverse angle(like ford also)... but Chrysler was wrong with those dash mounted rear view mirror!

[@oscarwalton1188]

The designer's at general motors where terrified when the 57 plymouth landed the Belair was a 3yr old design at that point and the gm automatic trans was a problem child at the time it caused gm to go on a massive redesign with questionable results its the main reason the Belair became a land barge in 58 and the cast iron 727 torkflites were nuclear bunkers

[@StephenViola-ib8dq]

Where are all the 57 Plymouths?

[@oscarwalton1188]

@StephenViola-ib8dq no one saved them the tri five Chevy were the darling of the hot rodding movement so everyone held on to them ask were are all the 57 Fords or Studebaker not that many were saved by the early 60s they were all just used cars

[@StephenViola-ib8dq]

Where are all the 57 Plymouths?? Never at the shows! 57 Chevys are wall to wall!!

[@autochronicles8667]

they smashed em all up for the Christine movie.... They are a super rare sight to see... They are going way up in price also.

[@fubarmodelyard1392]

That's what makes car shows kinda boring.

[@matrox]

Ooooooooo...Oh no they did int!!!!🤪😁☝😝

[@autochronicles8667]

hah yeah they did :)

[@aca2983]

I am a fan of Virgil Exner designed late 50's Mopars. Didn't live during the era, and I am not attracted to "Tri-5" Chevy's at all- I think they're quite boring. People forget that while the 57 Chevy dominates pop culture and is synonymous with "the 50's", Ford actually outsold Chevy that year. While the '57 Chevy is dull and dated, there is no denying that the quality was better. So I guess it was kind of like a Camry.

[@gcfifthgear]

How ironic that the 1957 Plymouth (and for that matter, all Chrysler cars) gave GM more than a little shock that resulted in all-new cars two years in a row (1958, 1959)

[@autochronicles8667]

they gave them a big shock... they scrapped the 58 and 59 designs and quickly revamped for 58-59. It cost GM millions to do that.

[@VladimirPutin-cz5zy]

Christine wouldn't like this

[@showride1652]

Good stuff

[@autochronicles8667]

Appreciate it

[@charlesb7019]

So Chevy is talking about how good looking their 57 is….while it looks very much like the 56 Plymouth…..

[@autochronicles8667]

Oh them's fighting words :)

[@ctg6734]

Interesting that they totally ignore the Fury's 318 dual quad engine that was rated at 290hp.

[@autochronicles8667]

yeah i don't know if they didnt know about the top engine coming out.. or it was just better to ignore the high end editions. Chevy 283 FI engine supposedly put out 283 hp... but that sounds sus... and their FI system was buggy... if you flooded it you had to wait for an hour.

[@paulsheehan5010]

Plymouth calls there cars a 1960, years ahead of its time, they claim the Chevy hasn't changed since 1955.

[@paulsheehan5010]

Chevy and Pontiac, (Canada), should have always had a three speed automatic.

[@matrox]

And today just as I predicted the 57 Chevy commands 5xs the amount of a 57 Ply.

[@autochronicles8667]

Eh thats way too high :)

[@ctg6734]

It's laughable how one manufacturer makes fun of another's features, only to adopt them a few years later.

[@autochronicles8667]

Yeah its funny to see which technology make the cut... I mean Chrysler push button transmission is taking over even more... Their dash mounted rear view mirror is never coming back?

[@ctg6734]

Heh, I can definitely see the folly of the dash mounted mirror, as the one on my '57 Plymouth is pretty useless, but from an aesthetics point I do like the placement. @@autochronicles8667

[@gene978]

And FORD for 1957 would out sell them ALL!

[@autochronicles8667]

Barely and Plymouth helped take the GM marketshare :)

[@davidcampbell1899]

I would have still bought a FORD! First On Race Day! FORD

[@autochronicles8667]

Would have liked to see a real true 57 Ford E Code vs a Dodge D-501... Chevy with their FI(if they can get it to work) race... back in the day...

[@paulsheehan5010]

At least you can get manual transmission, on all Plymouths. only on a 6 cyl. on a Chevy.

[@richsarchet9762]

Damn, I never knew my 3 on the tree + overdrive 57 Chevy had a 6, could have sworn it had 283 4-barrel V-8.

[@Paramount531]

Torqueflite for the WIN! Turboglide was garbage!!

[@paulsheehan5010]

The Dodge (Canada), was a rebadge Plymouth.

[@autochronicles8667]

yeah some weird mixes... And they made special emblems that were Canada only also.

[@paulsheehan5010]

The 318 c.i.d, puts out 290 h.p.

[@autochronicles8667]

they didnt go into the high hp special builds

[@area51isreal71]

Sounds and looks like Chevrolet were trying to convince themselves. The Plymouth looks light years ahead.

[@autochronicles8667]

yeah grasping in 57 :)

[@cuda426hemi]

Now visit the Plymouth v Chevy for '57 site and hear about how '57 Chevy is the same car for third year in a row and Plymouth is all new. Torsion bar suspension much better handling, push button Torque Flite - no 2 speed GM baloney, longer, lower quicker and could brake shorter. Advertising after all is the art of lying. When competing with the gorgeous '57s but you are talking about the keys, you done lost the war. 👀

[@autochronicles8667]

yeah I think even GM knew when they called them "grumbles" :) I am going to do some magazine review videos so people can get an idea of what the reviewers thought back in the day.

[@paulsheehan5010]

Chevys with power glide weren't good passers.

[@autochronicles8667]

mushy transmissions...

[@saxongreen78]

They sledge the 1955 Mopar's styling...when it was possibly the cleanest and most timeless of the decade! (The Chrysler 300 is an icon to this day.) I don't dislike 'em, but I say Tri-Fives are way overrated.

[@fubarmodelyard1392]

This narration smacks of desperation

[@autochronicles8667]

All the car magazines picked Plymouth as the winner... Obviously from the looks, and they called the handling revolutionary. The "reader" picks were all Chrysler also... Alas though, fins would die a quick death...

[@pjposton5001]

Since the 57 Chevy stole so heavily from the 56 Plymouth, I'm surprised they could make this sales film with a straight face. Check it out if you doubt it. Put photos of 56 Plymouth beside 57 Chevy and see for yourself. Grill, hood, fins..... everything.

[@autochronicles8667]

The 57 Chevy was not getting any super praise back then... so they were grasping that's for sure saying the Chevy was somehow much better than the Plymouth. All of the magazines chose the Plymouth. The ride and handling really put it over the top.

[@Bossrich6287]

Ford outsold Chevy and Plymouth that year,

[@autochronicles8667]

that is up for argument... i think GM "adjusted" their numbers after the fact...