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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1955)
MZDFORD (OREGON) KAIL TRIBUNE THRU Most Comprehensive Model Change in Company History Shdun in Chevrolet Friday, April 22. 1953 , , . iffte , l l Displaying long, low silhouette, rugged frontal beauty and extraordinary visibility, the four-door 'Two-Ten" w one of 14 models . offered by Chevrolet for 1955. In addition to bumper-to-bamper restyling, the company make available choice of three engines, including a sensational new V8. Note in the above view the lattice-work grille and the smartly styled hooded headlanfp. The sweep-sight windshield gives the driver a wider view of the road ahead. Lower Silhouette Said Outstanding Features of '55 Cars Among The "dream car" styled 1955 ' Chevrolets on display at the Auto Show represent the most comprehensive model change in the company's history. Every major part of the car has been redesigned in a broad research . .and development nroeram which combined a thorough re- : engineering job and tremendous plant exponsions. They are on display at Courtesy Chevrolet, Kinth and Bartlett streets. Outstanding among the new features are the longer and low- t ,er silhouettes; a. 162-horsepower V8 engine, and. more powerful, improved sixes; stronger all-in- one body and frame design; new front and rear suspensions for easier riding and handling; ' greater glass area and tubeless . tires for added safety; more electrical power; cowl -type , dry- air ' ventilation and op tional all-weather air condition ing; easier steering; smoother power application with a Hotch kiss drive; an overdrive option; , and more station wagon choices. All Roofs Lowered Stand-out features of the new Chevrolet bodies are their low silhouette " and vertical wind shield pillars. All roofs have been lowered along with hood and belt line to emphasize the low-slung appearance. Sedans are two and a half inches lower, station wagons as much as six. New for 1955 among the 15 bodies of the One-Fifty, Two Ten and Bel Air series is the Nomad station wagon, patterned after ' an . experimental model shown at the General Motors Motorama only a year ago. The full line includes two and four door sedans in all series, two door station wagons in the One Fifty and ' Two-Ten, four-Door station wagons in Two-Ten and Bel Air, a utility sedan in tha One-Fifty, a club coupe in the Two-Ten, and sport and convert ible coupe and the Nomad in the Bel Air series. A wider variety of colors is available. Of 14 solid color op tions, .10 are new. All but one of the. 21 two-tone combinations are new. A special two-tone op tion on. Bel Air convertible and sport coupe extends the top col or on the rear deck and quarter panels. There are 1940 possible color choices among the 14 mod els.; Years -of Research The new Turbo-Fire V8, first offered by Chevrolet in 35 years, is the product of years of research and hundreds of thou sands of miles of testing. Of valve-in-head design, it is pre cision balanced and has the gas- squeezing compression ratio of 8 to 1 and 265-cubic inch dis placement. Exceedingly com pact, it has a bore of 3.75 inches and : a stroke of ' only three inches. The short stroke reduces friction and increases efficiency, engineers say. A special 180- horsepower V8 is optional, com bining a four-barrel carburetor and dual exhausts. The re-designed six-cylinder engine built exclusively for Powerglide automatic transmis sion generates 136-horsepower. The standard six has a 123-horse-power output. Both sixes are more - efficient and quieter because of changes which in clude new water and fuel pumps and a larger fan. Supporting the fresh styling trend, body and frame are tied together in a construction which gives greater rigidity and resist ance to twisting. Revamped front and rear sus pensions assure added riding comfort, handling and readabil ity. At the " front is the ad vanced version of ball-joint de sign with a control arm geom etry that eliminates virtually half the "dive" that accom panies brake stops. A new, more durable lightweight bearing ma terial reduces lubrication points from 16 to 4.: For stability,' rear springs are mounted outrigger style along the frame after the fashion of the Chevrolet Cor vette sports carl . Leaf - springs are nine inches longer and slightly wider, than before. The rear axle has greater capacity and the clutch is enlarged a fifth for greater durability. Tubeless tires are an import ant safety feature. Safety and greater visibility result from the larger glass area where there is a 19 per cent increase in the "Sweepsight windshield"' alone. Glass area in the four-door se dan totals 24' square feet, an increase of more than 18 per cent over 1954. Every car win: dow is made of safety plate glass. LOST AND FOUND Sacramento, Calif (U.R) Eleven-year-old Marvin Fletcher, Jr., lost his report card on the way home from school. High way patrolman finally found Marvin, tired and still fearful, heading south 12 miles from town at 1 a.m. Now- Marvin knows lost boys are more im portant, than lost, report cards.. Commercial airlines in the United States make about 2,155 scheduled flights a day, which is one every 40 seconds. " . . . T. H. Keating, general manager of Chevrolet, (left) presents to Harlow H. Curtice, head of General Motors, keys to the corpora- tinn'x 50 millionth automobile a Chevrolet sport coupe. Bright; 'metal parts of the car were especially gold-plated and the vehicle later became the center of civic celebration in Flint, Mich. Mean time, the production milestone was observed by open houses in moat General Motors plant. A toy i pMf fl fflf the historic car.: PERENNIAL Storrs, Conn 0J.R5 The agri cultural editor for the Universi ty of Connecticut is Hardy Berry. Cars Using 38 Per Cent Of Radio Makers' Output Among radio manufacturers and radio station program direct ors, there's a growing apprecia tion of that old song; Highways Are Happy Ways. More and more cars are roll ing down the road to the strains of the latest , hit- tunes, inter spersed with sports features, news bulletins and an increasing number of programs designed expressly for the motorist. - Two out of three cars on the highway today are equipped with radio, compared with only one out of three in 1941. As late as 1947, sale . of 3.5 million auto radios accounted for just 17.3 per cent of the total set -market. Last year, car-radio sales zoomed to 5-million-plus and ; 38.7 per cent of total radio production. . .Most car radios, of course, are installed in new passenger cars. A few go into trucks and other commercial vehicles and a sub-! stantial number into older ears, many of there as replacements. It is still interesting to note the close connection between last year's sales of 5,182,934 auto radios and domestic registration of 5,738,989 new cars. Radio stations know that, at certain hours of the morning and evening, drivers and passengers represent a large percentage of their listening audiences. A growing number of programs at these times are aimed directly at "all you out there on the high way." Up-to-the-minute weather bul letins, driving tips and soothing music vie for attention with ad vertisements of auto supplies and accessories.. As stations all over the coun try are pointing out: ; , . "Wherever you go, there's radio." Chevrolet's ever-popular - Iijrht nickiiD trucks promise to win even greater favor this year. A long list of improvements that range from added driver convenience to beauty of design has been incorporated in the 1955 line. Two pickups -are offered in the light-doiy series, one featortaff 78-inch length box, the other a 90-ineh length, -Pickups arc among 75 models oa 15 wheelbaaea, BANANA WEIGHT Portland, Me. (U.R Rober R. Collard, 17, of Biddeford. tried for two months to enlist in the U. S. Navy but was always a pound or two ; under , the 105 ounds minimum weight. He ept eating bananas to increase lis weight and finally made the grade. "I figure I ate 31 pounds of bananas," said Collard. "I used to like them." Ireland, Denmark and Canada are the main exporter, of liva cattle, shipping 480,000, 329,000 and 228,000 head,: respectively of world ' exports of 1,900,000 head in 1951. - ( MEDFORB tflfc Show Pear Blossom Festival If THd HOUVfi Sfifttl AUTO If If ' SATURDAY OP O ' ? "TWexc? - ... Introducing the exciting new NOMAD .,. It's the greatest show on wheels and ,'. the center-ring attraction is Chevro . let's exhibit of progress. For the array . of Motoramic Chevrolet passenger cars, the breath-taking new Nomad station wagon and the new Chevrolet Task-Force trucks, is a whole Auto .Show in itself. It's true but youH find it hard to believe that so much progress could . be packed into one year. In Chevrolet - passenger cars, you'll see styling that's ; stealing the thunder from the high- priced cars! Long, luxurious bodies that are new from frame to .Sweep Sight windshield. Glide -Ride front suspension that turns rural roads into ribbons of satin. The 162-horsepower "Turbo-Fire V8" engine . . '. dynamite sheathed in steel. Ball-Race steering, 12-volt electrical system, Anti-Dive braking control, outrigger rear springsj High-Level ventilation, two new "Blue-Flame" 6's that are quieter and smoother than ever and three great drives. In new Task-Force trucks, you'll see fresh, functional styling that goes . to work for you two distinctively dif ferent design treatments plus new high compression valve-in-head 'en gines, new Task-Force features and advances never before available. New from the drawing board, out they're today's modern trucks! , : '. You'll find; Chevrolet, people on hand to explain everything you want to know ... so come on down to see the greatest show" on wheels,' Tha Bel Air Sport Coup Ninth and Bartlett Streets (TdDWHTTTE (E EWIECEDIIffl Phoiic 2-6115 Hcdford
