“Colonnade Coupes, Turning Muscle Intermediate…” 1/43rd 1973 Chevy Chevelle SS by DeAgostini & 1/64th Chevy Chevelle SS/Laguna S3 and Malibu Greenlight Collectibles – by David Houston

Back in the late 1960s until the very early 1970s, outside of Chevrolet’s sporty 2-seater Corvette and Ford Mustang fighting Stylish Camaro “Pony Car”, you could barely find another Chevrolet with a meaner reputation than the Chevelle SS muscle car! Those cars had mean-street looks and the power to back it all the way up from red light to the Christmas tree polls at the local drag strips! Chevrolet had a winner as far as sales went with younger male buyers who was ready to show the car sitting next to them, their taillights through smoky clouds and rubber chunks thrown right back into their faces. With this kind of reputation, most other drivers were aware to not “tangle” with that type of machinery. People took notice, however, some of the people taking notice were the insurance companies and the EPA!

With the oil crisis of the 1970s starting to kick in, “The Big Three” started to come under pressure from the US Government and insurance agencies. Basically, all of that power and speed was under a microscope due to poor fuel economy and far too many deaths related to speed or reckless driving. It didn’t help that Attorney turned activist Ralph Nader wrote a book called “Unsafe At Any Speed” which seemed to target unsafe American made automobiles. One standout in that book happened to be GM’s mid-60s Chevy Corvair family. GM was really keen to not ruffle anymore feathers with bad press, so they started paying attention to making safer more fuel-efficient passenger cars.

However, from 1973 to 1977, GM introduced and built their “Colonnades” Coupes and Sedans in an effort to aid buyers with stylish intermediate sized vehicles during the fuel crisis years. They were called “Colonnades” due to B-Pillar structures versus the usually “Hardtops” of the 1960s and early 70s era. These cars were very popular and everywhere. If you drove down any residential street or parking lot/garage in the mid-1970s, you could be sure to find a Colonnade car parked nearby or on the move.

Chevrolet sold four of the nine corporate platforms themselves. Chevy’s Colonnade lines were the Chevelle, (Malibu & Laguna were Chevelle variations) and the Monte Carlo (which my very own mother owned).

Fuel crisis and safety both front & center, the automotive tone of the “Big Three” shifted from “Muscle Cars” towards a more personal luxury style theme (while keeping the same familiar names that buyers were used to). As a sign of the times in the avant-garde looks of GM didn’t go via the kitschy or excessively styled add-ons that some other intermediates used to “gussy up” models. GM’s designs were clean, and very distinctive in a “spot-on” kind of way. As a result, one begins to notice a turn from brutal muscle cars to a more downsized “luxury speedboat” compared to the much larger and far more expensive “Land Yachts” sold by the Big Three’s Cadillac/Lincoln/Imperial lines. Even Dodge’s Charger and Ford’s Gran Torino got the “personal luxury coupe/sedan intermediate make overs”, nobody escaped this era without some “bling” and a floaty ride.

To expand sales, Chevelle was joined by the Laguna & SS trim packages to retain sales from past and newer buyers while maintaining a pseudo muscle car performance car image. GM really took “Badge Engineering” to another level and most of the styling during this era was different enough to work between the Colonnade brands as well as within Chevrolet themselves.

With really great enthusiasm, I was so excited when Greenlight Collectibles started releasing their 1/64th Chevy Chevelle and it’s Laguna and Malibu variations last year! The nerdier side of me gets giddy when I see “Everyday Cars”! It was refreshing to see that some overlooked cars from the 70s and 80s were finally getting their time in the spotlight as well. Greenlight was very wise in how they produced their castings with these Colonnades. They have designed or rather engineered that their front clips can be changed out to replicate the different models/trims and years (In addition to a plethora of wheels). Greenlight Collectibles also has made it easy to re-cast variations of the rear end and even the side window quarters. These are very addicting as well. Like a candy bowl of “Skittles” I want to grab the rainbow of each variation released. Bravo to Greenlight Collectibles for making something other than the same old castings that some other brands have been releasing for 40 to 50 years now.

Moving up to 1/43rd, recently, or rather a couple of weeks ago, I was caught off-guard and pleasantly surprised by some newly released DeAgostini miniatures (Magazine Models)! WOW! Their budget friendly 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle SS is truly stunning! Color combo, wheels, spec , everything! As I had mentioned in another article, I had stopped with 1/43rd scale, but the fact that DeAgostini has replicated the 1973 Chevelle SS Intermediate Colonnade, I was and am still very thrilled when I look at this piece. There is just something special about the shapes of these cars that I as an American could imagine people like my Grand Parents, Parents and their friends probably driving and these types of cars every day due to their overwhelming success via popularity as a sign of those times.

If you could find a dealer that is stocking these 1/43rd scaled Chevelles, grab one or a few. This model really was a very pleasant out of the blue casting! I absolutely am loving mine.

Side note, I did add white wall decals (to play up the mid 70s intermediate factor), but even without, it’s still a stunner! You won’t be disappointed, especially for their price to detail ratio.