Beschreibung:

1928 was a particularly important year for Chevrolet for what it did not introduce: the Cast Iron Wonder overhead valve inline six cylinder engine. 1928 accomplished some substantial changes in the Chevrolet line, established the basic vehicle in which Chevrolet would introduce the Stovebolt Six in 1929, but without wasting effort in a futile attempt to counteract the furor over the 1927 introduction of the 1928 Model A Ford. The changes in the 1928 Chevrolet Model AB National were substantial, including four wheel brakes, an increase in the power of Chevy’s established and reliable overhead valve inline four from 26hp to 35hp and more modern styling. Largely invisible was a four inch increase in wheelbase, from 103 to 107 inches, and unremarked by any industry analysts was the fact that it was all added between the firewall and the front axle. What Chevrolet had done was to spread its tooling costs over two years and get a year’s experience building the longer chassis with 4-wheel brakes before trumping Ford’s flathead four-cylinder Model A in 1929 with the advanced, powerful, smooth and quiet Chevy overhead valve six. The top of the line Chevrolet in 1929, a car the marketers at Chevy had earlier described as “the most pretentious offering yet mounted on the present style chassis,” was the two door Imperial Landau Sedan. Its blind quarter coach style body with non-functional landau bars is one of the more ostentatious designs of the period, and is exceptionally unusual on a low priced automobile like the Chevrolet. Yet they sold well. Even at $715, the most expensive Chevrolet offered, 54,998 were built in 1928, a year when Chevrolet vastly outsold its rivals at Ford who were struggling with the changeover to the Model A, turning out 1,193,212 Chevrolets to 633,594 Fords. The oral history behind this 1928 Chevrolet National Imperial Landau Sedan suggests that it was restored years ago for a Jerry Lewis movie, then museum stored in a climate controlled environment for most of its subsequent life. Chevrolet had only recently gone to Dupont Duco fast-drying lacquer finishes, a revolutionary development which quickly rendered Ford’s “Any color as long as it’s Black” obsolete, and finished this luxurious Landau Sedan in what Chevrolet called “Dundee Gray”, a conservative Olive tint that harmonizes well with the Black fenders and padded roof. The interior is upholstered in complementary Taupe cloth, with elaborately woodgrain finishes on the dashboard and interior window frames. Wood spoke wheels complete the Landau Sedan’s elegant look and the care and continuing maintenance which it has received is reflected in its condition, which looks like a restoration that is only a few years old. Some attention to buffing the paint will be rewarded with an immediate elevation of this Chevrolet to condition that its new owner will be proud to display at the end of a day’s tour or event. Despite their substantial production numbers, few of these elaborate Chevrolet Landau Sedans survive and they are an important aspect of the efforts of General Motors under Alfred P. Sloan’s leadership to respond to the aspirations of its customers and give people trading in Model Ts a way to upgrade in performance, equipment, comfort and style. Without reserve