I will never forget the new car smell in my parents' brand new 1972 Mercury Montego MX. As a 10 year old, this was the first new car I could remember being in. The smell of the interior was glorious. The day my dad drove it home, we went to see family 130 miles from our house. Got out of the car, and the smell of the newness coming from the grill is like nothing I ever smelled. The smell of new rubber, engine paint, etc. was mesmerizing.
This brings back some great memories. I had a '72 Malibu coupe in the mid '70s while in college, medium blue with a black vinyl top and a bench seat but it was a real "sleeper" since it was also a 4-speed. It caught a lot of people by surprise, not that I ever street raced with it or anything. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
36 years ago I owned a 1972 Chevelle "Heavy Chevy" I still regret selling it. It was really just a basic Malibu with a graphics package and rally wheels (with no trim rings) for young people who wanted a muscle car, but couldn't afford the insurance premium gouging of the Chevelle SS396.
The Heavy Chevy option with the 454 was so cool. I loved the graphics. I wanted one so bad but the insurance payment would of taken most of my paycheck.
@@coreyjones1518 Mine had the 350 four barrel with the TH350 automatic. I don't remember the insurance being crazy high. It was for the most part a base model Malibu with a graphics package.
I cringed when that 2 door Chevelle got its door caved in. The '72 Chevelle was such a good looking car. I had a '70 Impala coupe when I was in college, another nice looking ride. Love the late 60's and early '70's Chevys. After '72 things went down the toilet.
I spent the summer in the UK a couple years ago. I didn't see a single old American car. here in California classic cars are everywhere including my garage. I own a 1956 dodge Sierra wagon and a 1976 Mg Midget.
Back then hardly anyone wore seat belts, especially in the back seat. In the front seat it was usually just the lap belt if anyone even bothered to wear a belt. As a teenager In the mid 70s I had my grandfather's 1970 Buick Electra and was that rare teenager that buckled up both the lap and separate shoulder belts when I drove and was usually the only one in the car with the belts buckled. Fast forward to 1981 and a drunk driver in a Chevrolet suburban that crossed the center line and hit me head on. Because of the size of the Electra along with the fact that I was wearing both the lap and shoulder belts in the collision I walked away with only minor cuts, scratches and bruises from the belts..
I had a 1971 Chevelle, 2 door hardtop, originally classic copper metallic with 350 2bbl with factory bucket seats. By the time I had it, it was repainted cranberry red, I swapped the 350 for a built 408 cubic inch big block.
1968-72 GM intermediates are smaller and lighter than the 1973-1978 GM intermediates. For example a 1968 Olds Cutlass Supreme with 350 V8 models weight about 3500 lbs and the 455 models such as 442 weights about 3800 lbs. the 1973-1977 gained about 400 lbs to the curb weight. 1972 Chevelle is a good size, more spacious and better appointed than pony cars and less bulky than the Impala.
General Motors had an awful UAW strike in 1970. As a result their redesigned 1973 midsize cars were delayed from their planned Fall 1971 introduction. So these 1972 Chevelles were minimally changed.
My uncle was a GM worker and he was involved in the nasty strike that year, but that was not the main or sole reason for the delay -- changes in regulations (emissions & safety) were the other reason. Design and pre-production overruns were another issue. In 1968, GM made a decision to reorganize its assembly plants/fisher body into GMAD (my uncle told me it took years to absorb the changes - was one reason for the nasty strike). GM nearly killed off the Camaro and Firebird after that year. My uncle said this was the "cut" that led to GM's long and sad decline that continues to this day.
@@markjohnston3502 The only automotive factory that I have been to is the former Fremont Assembly (now Tesla factory). One of my father's cousins either worked in administration or was an engineer. He took us on a night tour in late 1978. I remember the 1979 Buick Regals and Monte Carlos on the assembly line. Fremont Assembly was one of GM's BOP plants that opened in the early 1960s to build various GM midsize cars for the West Coast. After GM lost significant market share in the early 1980s, that factory was idled for two years before GM went into partnership with Toyota. UAW relations at Fremont Assembly were considered the worst in the industry... absenteeism was high, intoxication on the job, sabotage, and sexual assault. Sales of pony cars were weak by 1972. Insurance rates for muscle cars driven by younger drivers increased. The Smokey and the Bandit movie in 1977 stimulated sales.
@@markjohnston3502 Other reasons for GM's declining market share: crappy small cars in the 1970s and 1980s that were a gift to the Japanese, wasteful and redundant engineering among GM divisions, excessive overlap of similar models from Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, and Buick, diesel conversion of gasoline engines, an indifferent and sometimes hostile UAW, downsized full-size and midsize cars in the mid-1980s that looked like they shrunk in the clothes dryer, paint that either oxidized or shredded, and excessive layers of GM management.
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 Did some research and it was def the Van Nuys plant as it was the only plant that was assembling Nova's, Venturas, Omegas with a handful of Montes and Chevelles. They did build full-size Chevrolets and F-body Camaros and Firebirds in between. I did look into 1972 Chevelle production numbers - a whopping 631k were made that year. the current mailbu does not come close.
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 You’ll have to settle for a new Malibu. sorry. Actually you will be better off to buy a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. Anything you now get from Chevrolet will be junk.
Those cars were so much more interesting and better looking than todays cars. Yes, they may have all the technology now but it has taken all the excitement and fun out of driving. I drive a 2019 Chevy Malibu because I've always been a chevelle fan. It's a premeir model with all the extras. But most of all, it's just a good looking car that's fun to drive. Buying a new car back then was an exciting experience and people were happier and more relaxed back then, not as many racial tensions as the are today. Dont you guys just love a really good looking car?? 1972 chevelle was the way to go!!
…GM was renowned for some boneheaded management decisions, and failure to properly “de-bug” new models (let the customer take care of that”…doh…).. … the one phase where they clearly excelled was in recognizing the needs/wants/safety of their intermediate buyers (who, later on would become full-sized and luxury/performance customers)… …the Chevelles were promoted just as much as the Impalas and Caprices…and, as a result, they constituted a much higher percentage of sales than mid-sized Fords and Chryslers which got rather lost between the compact/economy and the full-sized/luxury/performance cars… …plus, the attention paid to the durability and safety features showed that GM was thinking about their long-term “bread & butter”… happy,loyal,repeat buyers…and , it never hurt that they were good looking cars, as well, available in a wide variety of trim and body styles…very smart GM…
Just look up the price of any decent condition 2 door Chevelle today. The SS396 can go for over $200K. And they are still appreciating. Just about any 1970s car is worth several times what they originally cost today. Cars didn't start depreciating over the long term until they put computers and EFI on them. Those will never be worth anything.
Always wanted to go back in time and smell the brand new car scent from back than and compared to the new Car scent of today's brand new cars.
I will never forget the new car smell in my parents' brand new 1972 Mercury Montego MX. As a 10 year old, this was the first new car I could remember being in. The smell of the interior was glorious. The day my dad drove it home, we went to see family 130 miles from our house. Got out of the car, and the smell of the newness coming from the grill is like nothing I ever smelled. The smell of new rubber, engine paint, etc. was mesmerizing.
I love the unbridled optimism and zest for life inherent in these videos. Right down to the happy, upbeat music.
Sure buddy, OPEC Oil Crisis, Munich Massacre, Soaring Inflation, and Watergate. Such happy times, GMAFB!!!!
My first car was a Malibu 4 door hardtop. I bought it in 1988 for $800. I remember wishing it was a 2 door, but I loved it any way. It was a good car.
This brings back some great memories. I had a '72 Malibu coupe in the mid '70s while in college, medium blue with a black vinyl top and a bench seat but it was a real "sleeper" since it was also a 4-speed. It caught a lot of people by surprise, not that I ever street raced with it or anything. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
these films bring back memories for me too
36 years ago I owned a 1972 Chevelle "Heavy Chevy" I still regret selling it. It was really just a basic Malibu with a graphics package and rally wheels (with no trim rings) for young people who wanted a muscle car, but couldn't afford the insurance premium gouging of the Chevelle SS396.
The Heavy Chevy option with the 454 was so cool. I loved the graphics. I wanted one so bad but the insurance payment would of taken most of my paycheck.
@@coreyjones1518 Mine had the 350 four barrel with the TH350 automatic. I don't remember the insurance being crazy high. It was for the most part a base model Malibu with a graphics package.
Look at the sideburns! Like all my high school teachers (Guys) that 71-72 school year!
isn't nothing like a hound dog, as Elvis would say
Nice cars I had one it's a shame we have all this junk today can't touch older Chevy for less than 10k
Got a 71 Malibu sitting in the driveway being restored. Swapped 10 bolt for 12 bolt 3.55 posi. Swapped 307 for 383 stroker and HP th350.
nice, you should post a video when it's done
I cringed when that 2 door Chevelle got its door caved in. The '72 Chevelle was such a good looking car. I had a '70 Impala coupe when I was in college, another nice looking ride. Love the late 60's and early '70's Chevys. After '72 things went down the toilet.
you are not the only one who thinks so
it has rear seat lap belts we had to wait years before we got them in the rear by then three-point belt in the UK!
I spent the summer in the UK a couple years ago. I didn't see a single old American car. here in California classic cars are everywhere including my garage. I own a 1956 dodge Sierra wagon and a 1976 Mg Midget.
Back then hardly anyone wore seat belts, especially in the back seat. In the front seat it was usually just the lap belt if anyone even bothered to wear a belt. As a teenager In the mid 70s I had my grandfather's 1970 Buick Electra and was that rare teenager that buckled up both the lap and separate shoulder belts when I drove and was usually the only one in the car with the belts buckled. Fast forward to 1981 and a drunk driver in a Chevrolet suburban that crossed the center line and hit me head on. Because of the size of the Electra along with the fact that I was wearing both the lap and shoulder belts in the collision I walked away with only minor cuts, scratches and bruises from the belts..
I had a 1971 Chevelle, 2 door hardtop, originally classic copper metallic with 350 2bbl with factory bucket seats. By the time I had it, it was repainted cranberry red, I swapped the 350 for a built 408 cubic inch big block.
the copper was way to cool to paint red, the big block was a must
Thank you for all these wonderful clips.
Thanks, I have plenty more. It’s takes time to restore these films . More to come
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 Too bad you can’t restore GM to the quality that it was famous for back in the day.
I owned a 72 Chevelle convertible. Great looking car, but was constantly having problems with it.
should have kept it
I always thought this body style was the best Chevelle.
It is a looker. I thought the Collanade Chevelles and their other GM cousins looked good too.
beautiful cars, GM design was king at the time
those prospects at the beginning have a rocky marriage i feel bad for her, stuck at the chevy dealership when she wanted the oldsmobile
LOL
My first car was a 71 Chevelle Malibu. Wish I still had it but who knew...
unfortunately, it probably long gone, but you never know
I didn’t realize how much bigger these cars were compared to the downsized 1978 intermediates with a 108” wheelbase.
you can thank the oil crisis for that. if it didn't happen just think of how big America would have been building cars by then.
1968-72 GM intermediates are smaller and lighter than the 1973-1978 GM intermediates. For example a 1968 Olds Cutlass Supreme with 350 V8 models weight about 3500 lbs and the 455 models such as 442 weights about 3800 lbs. the 1973-1977 gained about 400 lbs to the curb weight. 1972 Chevelle is a good size, more spacious and better appointed than pony cars and less bulky than the Impala.
A '72 Chevelle would've served the family seen at 0:38 well but it was probably time for them to go four-door. Those kids aren't getting any smaller.
72 was supposed to be the 73 body style, but due to strike at GM they continued the 71 body style.
I like the 72 better myself. I do have the 73 films coming soon. thanks for watching
Why didn’t they mention the station wagon in the model lineup? Kind of a glaring omission!
The wagons had their own promo film
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 The El Camino probably had it's own film too.
General Motors had an awful UAW strike in 1970. As a result their redesigned 1973 midsize cars were delayed from their planned Fall 1971 introduction. So these 1972 Chevelles were minimally changed.
Interesting fact to know
I wish they never changed them, the 73 and later models were hideous
My uncle was a GM worker and he was involved in the nasty strike that year, but that was not the main or sole reason for the delay -- changes in regulations (emissions & safety) were the other reason. Design and pre-production overruns were another issue. In 1968, GM made a decision to reorganize its assembly plants/fisher body into GMAD (my uncle told me it took years to absorb the changes - was one reason for the nasty strike). GM nearly killed off the Camaro and Firebird after that year. My uncle said this was the "cut" that led to GM's long and sad decline that continues to this day.
@@markjohnston3502 The only automotive factory that I have been to is the former Fremont Assembly (now Tesla factory). One of my father's cousins either worked in administration or was an engineer. He took us on a night tour in late 1978. I remember the 1979 Buick Regals and Monte Carlos on the assembly line. Fremont Assembly was one of GM's BOP plants that opened in the early 1960s to build various GM midsize cars for the West Coast. After GM lost significant market share in the early 1980s, that factory was idled for two years before GM went into partnership with Toyota. UAW relations at Fremont Assembly were considered the worst in the industry... absenteeism was high, intoxication on the job, sabotage, and sexual assault. Sales of pony cars were weak by 1972. Insurance rates for muscle cars driven by younger drivers increased. The Smokey and the Bandit movie in 1977 stimulated sales.
@@markjohnston3502 Other reasons for GM's declining market share: crappy small cars in the 1970s and 1980s that were a gift to the Japanese, wasteful and redundant engineering among GM divisions, excessive overlap of similar models from Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, and Buick, diesel conversion of gasoline engines, an indifferent and sometimes hostile UAW, downsized full-size and midsize cars in the mid-1980s that looked like they shrunk in the clothes dryer, paint that either oxidized or shredded, and excessive layers of GM management.
Kinda did my own narration after watching Independence Chevelle revival on VGG
I could be wrong, but the voice over sounds like Sam Groom.
could be, there are no credits
I spot a Pontiac Ventura @ 0:29. I wonder which assembly plant? Van Nuys plant? R
no idea, this film looks like possibly Monterey, and the bay area to me
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 Did some research and it was def the Van Nuys plant as it was the only plant that was assembling Nova's, Venturas, Omegas with a handful of Montes and Chevelles. They did build full-size Chevrolets and F-body Camaros and Firebirds in between. I did look into 1972 Chevelle production numbers - a whopping 631k were made that year. the current mailbu does not come close.
@@markjohnston3502 Chevrolet produced about 1 million full-size cars for model year 1972 (and about 1.65 million full-size cars for model year 1965).
I think of the malibu they jumped in Convoy
I had the '72 Buick Gran Sport convertible on the same body. They ruined the intermediates in '73: too fat, too heavy, too wasteful of space.
I always thought that too, the '73-'77's while they sold well and many liked them I felt they were too large and bulky.
the Buick Grand Sport Convertible was beautiful. a timeless classic. 73 Buick films coming soon
Is that a Pontiac Venturi behind the Chevelle @ 0.29? I didn’t know the X-Bodies were produced with the A-Bodies.
Yes!
6:07 Damn!!
my wife can't do that with a car half its size
I want to buy a new Chevelle.
i will take one too
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 You’ll have to settle for a new Malibu. sorry. Actually you will be better off to buy a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. Anything you now get from Chevrolet will be junk.
Those cars were so much more interesting and better looking than todays cars. Yes, they may have all the technology now but it has taken all the excitement and fun out of driving. I drive a 2019 Chevy Malibu because I've always been a chevelle fan. It's a premeir model with all the extras. But most of all, it's just a good looking car that's fun to drive. Buying a new car back then was an exciting experience and people were happier and more relaxed back then, not as many racial tensions as the are today. Dont you guys just love a really good looking car?? 1972 chevelle was the way to go!!
@@wiiambarnarx8485 Yep I miss that styling of the cars back then, was really cool.
@@Progrocker70 The music and the cars were better looking and sounded better.
Ah! The good ol’ days when there were only American built cars on the highway.
lots of metal
…GM was renowned for some boneheaded management decisions, and failure to properly “de-bug” new models (let the customer take care of that”…doh…)..
… the one phase where they clearly excelled was in recognizing the needs/wants/safety of their intermediate buyers (who, later on would become full-sized and luxury/performance customers)…
…the Chevelles were promoted just as much as the Impalas and Caprices…and, as a result, they constituted a much higher percentage of sales than mid-sized Fords and Chryslers which got rather lost between the compact/economy and the full-sized/luxury/performance cars…
…plus, the attention paid to the durability and safety features showed that GM was thinking about their long-term “bread & butter”… happy,loyal,repeat buyers…and , it never hurt that they were good looking cars, as well, available in a wide variety of trim and body styles…very smart GM…
I worked for chevy and they used their customers as guineapigs
😍!
اللهم صل وسلم وبارك على عبدك ورسولك محمدﷺ
The First year of trash. Just think of this baby a year earlier with the LS6 454, 4 Speed 12 bolt Posi....
the awesome muscle cars of the 1960's were coming to an end
Cute, automobiles are never an investment they are a depreciating liability generally speaking brah
Just look up the price of any decent condition 2 door Chevelle today. The SS396 can go for over $200K. And they are still appreciating. Just about any 1970s car is worth several times what they originally cost today. Cars didn't start depreciating over the long term until they put computers and EFI on them. Those will never be worth anything.
73 ruined it
25 cents agal
Door beams
My friends had a 72 in 76! Like new
Omg rags
Heck yea