Wednesday, January 27, 2021
The real business coupe
Speaking of Opera Coupes..
The latest Collectible Auto mag has some Chevy prototypes that I hadn't seen before. Around '53 all of the Big Three abandoned the distinction between business coupes, club coupes, and two-door sedans. Ford and Chevy gave all two-doors the longer sedan roof, and Plymouth gave all two-doors the mid-length club coupe roof.
To satisfy corporate customers, a new 'utility sedan' was created, simply a two-door without a back seat. These 'utility sedans' sold at the same rate as the previous business coupes, which proved that big trunk space WASN'T the important quality of a business coupe. Corporations weren't buying these cars so their salesmen could carry lots of samples. Corporations wanted a car without a back seat.
Most business coupes were driven by executives, not salesmen. Real salesmen wanted a big sedan with lots of passenger room so they could take clients (plus wives or mistresses) out for dinner and drinks.
The coupe was an executive perk, not a sample hauler. The missing back seat guaranteed that the exec wouldn't use the car for family groceries or vacations; he had to drive it from the mansion in Connecticut to the commuter rail station and back. Nothing more.
Just one year after eliminating the real business coupe, Chevy was considering a car that would truly satisfy those corporations.
They were calling it an Executive Coupe. Note that it was a hardtop, fashionable at the time. (Looks like the wheel arches were in a state of flux; fortunately they kept the more trapezoidal form.)
¶ 11:46 AM 
They were calling it an Executive Coupe. Note that it was a hardtop, fashionable at the time. (Looks like the wheel arches were in a state of flux; fortunately they kept the more trapezoidal form.)
¶ 11:46 AM
