1952 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe Sport Coupe

1952 was the last year for Chevrolet's 1949 redesign, which had seen only minor changes after 1950. As in the previous two years, 1953 Chevrolets were powered by a standard 92-horsepower 216-cubic-inch in-line six-cylinder engine with a 3-speed Synchro-Mesh manual transmission, or an optional 105-horsepower 235-cubic-inch in-line six-cylinder engine with the two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. The Styleline Deluxe Sport Coupe, as shown here at the 1999 Eagles Car Show in Rainier, Oregon, has always been outshined by the more exciting, but also more expensive, Styleline Deluxe Bel Air hardtop coupe. The Sport Coupe, however, was over 100 pounds lighter than the Bel Air, and looked almost identical below the bottom of the windows. Style was king in the 1950s, though, and the stylish Bel Air outsold the more conservative Deluxe Sport Coupe more than two to one in 1952. Even today, it seems one is far more likely to see a Bel Air than a Sport Coupe at a car show, which makes this Sport Coupe that much more special.

1940 Ford Deluxe Convertible

Photo by Cliff West

1940 was Ford's last year for the design it introduced in 1937, and the last year for the 136 cubic-inch V8 as the base engine. Better remembered was the 221 cubic-inch flathead V8 of the Deluxe, which produced 85 horsepower and would continue to be offered. 1940 Fords, like this 1940 Ford Deluxe Convertible pictured at the Towe Ford Museum (now the California Automobile Museum) in Sacramento, California, in March 1992, seem to be the favorites among collectors out of the 1937-1940 model years, with a high, flat-topped hood and wide-set sealed-beam headlights.