We all know that the 57 Chevy was the best car ever made, right? My father used to bristle with anger anytime someone brought up the tri fives. Good cars for sure, but not that good! My dad was a car guy only in limited fashion. He loved a good looking ride, but he was never a hands on hot rodder. He liked them stock and clean. He did have pride in his rides, however. As a young man in his thirties, he really moved uptown when he sold his 53 Pontiac for a white over green 57 Buick Special 2 door. In the fifties world before widespread interstates, he raced his share of other cars. He feared no 57 Chevy. He had easily beaten the one that belonged to his younger brother's friend in high school. He respected the big cars with the big motors like Cadillacs and Lincolns and Chryslers. He admired the Super 88's from Oldsmobile. He laughed at Fords of the era, having beaten a friend's "hot" 58 Tbird easily. He liked the highway roll ons from 25-35 mph on up. The 57 would show its rear to plenty of supposedly faster cars in this type of encounter. My father's absolutely most favorite story involved another forgotten auto--a Desoto! During the slow winter months around his store, he would perform maintenance and repair on his conveyors and machinery. In the days before Fed Ex, delivery time on products was measured in weeks, not days. With a broken conveyor here in Louisiana, the nearest vendor in Miami, Fla, and only a few days to play with, the only choice was clear! Road Trip! Dad and one of his employees decided on a quick New Orleans to Miami and back marathon. Cruising along at 75-85 when possible, they made the panhandle in good time. Around Pensacola, traffic slowed the pace considerably, but not for long. Coming out of city traffic and stop lights, the old man was eager to return to crusing speed. Traffic was snarled, but opening up. Dad was threading his way through the herd at low speeds. The last car up front was a solid white Desoto wearing Georgia plates. Dad checked the mirrors, and lane changed to ease by the Hemi car. When he looked back towards the Desoto, he noticed that he wasn't gaining on him anymore. This guy was waiting on dad, and sped up just enough to pace him. It was on! Dad knew that this was the kind of run the Special was good at, but this was a Hemi Desoto that he had heard so much about. Side by side from 30 mph or so, the pedals hit the floors. Much to everyone's delight, the cars paced each other, side by side. Pop said no one gained or lost more than a foot or so from the jump to top end. Both cars rolled on for about half a mile like this. Finally, everyone burst into laughter at the same time. It was a staring contest a 120 mph, side by side! They let off and came back down to more prudent speeds and went on their seperate ways. Dad always told this story, witnessed by his employee, until he died. I never saw the Special except in an old black and white photo that I still have, but it had a major roll in my love for Buicks to this day. We all have cars that have gotten away, and this was my father's. From the 50's to the present, Buicks have always played second fiddle in the press. In reality, Olds, Pontiac, Buick, and even Desoto, all had strong players in the performance wars. But then, WE already knew that! Thanks, Rudy E
'57 Chevies I was at a Super Chevy show one time with my Dad. We were walking through the show cars and there was row after row of 57 Chevies. He got real quiet and after a little while I asked him "...you OK?". He looked down that row of 57's and said "...MAN, I didn't like those when they first came out!"... It must be true, he bought a '57 Ford instead. K
