What rhymes with orange? ...Okay, nothing -but here's a '48 Chevy Aero to look at!

We ended up with a banana instead of a lemon yesterday, so we should probably get some citrus today.  Here’s an orange 1948 Chevy Aero.  This car is the fastback 2 door version of the Fleetline,  What’s odd about these is that the two door was referred to as the “Aerosedan” -and that sedan part would imply a 4 door vehicle, but the 4 door actual sedan was called the “Fleetline Sportmaster“.  You’d think it would be just the opposite.

Something else of note about these cars is that on the first renditions of them, you had to remove a bumper guard before you could get the trunk to open.  By the time 1948 rolled around, Chevy used a bit more sense in their design.

These were rear wheel drive cars with 3 speed transmissions, and it was rare that you’d find one with overdrive, so you know, not a whole lot fun on the interstate.  And that’s fine because back in ‘48, the interstate system was still in its early years of development.  In fact, it wasn’t until 1992 that the original Interstate Highway system was officially considered complete.  And anyway, even without the lack of gears in the transmission, the ‘48 Chevy didn’t have much power to offer by today’s standards.  It had a 216 cubic inch inline 6 cylinder engine with 90 HP and 174 lb ft of torque for a top speed of 71 MPH.  

The look of the car is probably its best feature if we’re talking about one that’s completely stock.  It’s got that puffed up, slightly hump-backed, chrome-accented appearance that is still just barely wafting on the breeze of an Art Deco influence on automotive design that was more prevalent in vehicles of the mid and late 30’s like the Lancia Astura, the Cord, or the Auburn Boattail speedster.  But in ‘48, there were still some players in the Art Deco car market blinging up the streets with absolutely artful sheet metal work, like the ’48 Talbot-Lago 26 Grand Sport.  This Chevy was built less for looks and more for function, so its style quotient sit’s a bit lower on the scale than something more rare and exotic like a Talbot-Lago.  In that way, it’s kind of like comparing apples to oranges… or an orange to some rather rare and particularly shiny apples.

Today’s citrus-infused oldie probably doesn’t even have its original engine or transmission.  In fact, I’d be willing to bet that most of the functional components of this car have been upgraded over the years.  Unlike with rare and special edition vehicles, where swapping out original parts for better, more modern bits harms the value, in this case, it would enhance the worth of the vehicle.  These old Chevys weren’t all that special, but you can bet that this one is special to the person who owns it.