Join a typical American family in a classic American pastime: a Sunday drive in their beautiful 1960 Impala Sport Sedan.
“A man, his family, and a new Chevrolet. . . a bright Sunday afternoon. They all seem to go together on a Sunday drive,” croons Joel Aldred, the voice of Chevrolet, to open this 1960 Chevrolet film. We don’t know if the traditional Sunday drive—simply heading out with the family to tour the countryside with no particular destination in mind—is as popular as it was a generation or two ago. Maybe we don’t have the time anymore, or maybe we decided we’ve already seen everything. But there was a time when the Sunday family drive was one of the pleasures of owning a new car—and it was obviously the idea Chevrolet was trying to plant here.
This family’s Chevy was top of the line for 1960: an Impala Sport Sedan. A four-door pillarless hardtop with GM’s distinctive Flying Wing roof design, at $2769 it was, next to the convertible, the most expensive body style in the Impala lineup that year. (See our feature on the GM Flying Wings here.) The Impala featured extra bright metal trim inside and out, premium upholstery, and of course six tail lamps, telling everyone in the neighborhood that here was the deluxe model, not the more proletarian Bel Air or Biscayne with merely four.
We also note from the crossed-flags emblem in the grille that this Impala is equipped with the big 348 cubic-inch V8, rather than the inline six or the more common 283 CID V8. Hmm, we wonder if Dad opted for the Turbo Thrust V8 with a four-barrel carburetor and 250 hp, or if he checked the box for the Super Turbo Thrust with three two-barrel carbs and 280 hp. With either engine, a dual exhaust system with an authoritative rumble was standard. Video follows.
Right. Let’s go for a ride and blast away at minorities.
It might not sell so well today.
The boy in the back seat is Stanley Livingston, who soon after the filming of this commercial went on to play the role of Chip on “My Three Sons” (which, during its first three seasons, was sponsored by Chevrolet).
Funny how Mom and Junior lean their heads out toward the open side windows as the car is moving, yet their hair never moves. Got to love those old process shots!
And Grandma in the back seat would be saying “close the windows, I don’t want my hair to blow’ – as she hangs onto her hat.
It’s funny, I remember all those Sunday drives the same way, but we were doing it in a Plymouth, a DeSoto or a Studebaker. We didn’t even know we needed a Chevrolet. Advertising cracks me up. Did (do) people really fall for that nonsense?
Had ’56, ’60, ’64, ’65, ’68 and ’71 Chevrolet Sport Sedans, all great cars and, yes, loved those summer Sunday drives along the St. Clair River. Too bad that body style was discontinued for the 1977 downsized models.