1972 Chevy Monte Carlo

The 1960-66 Chevrolet C10 is the truck that made pickups cool. Before this generation, trucks were strictly utilitarian. GM's designers gave this truck car-like styling — the wraparound windshield, sweeping fender lines, and available Custom Cab interior made it something you'd want to drive, not just need to drive. The drop-center frame lowered the floor height for easier entry. The optional V8 engines made them quick. These trucks launched the custom truck scene that continues today. A well-built 1966 C10 was the truck every high schooler in America wanted.

The C2 Corvette is America's sports car at its most beautiful. The 1963-67 'mid-year' generation introduced the Stingray name, the split rear window (1963 only), and some of the most stunning automotive styling ever committed to fiberglass. By 1967, the final year, Chevrolet had refined the car's quirks while adding the monstrous 427 big-block option. The result was a sports car that could humiliate European exotics on both the track and the street. The L88 racing engine option — aluminum heads, 12.5:1 compression, and a factory-rated 430 hp that was actually closer to 560 — is one of the most valuable engines ever installed in a production car.

The '67-72 C10 is the canonical classic truck. The Action Line redesign cleaned up the bulbous '60-66 look into something timeless. It's the truck in every truck commercial when they want to evoke authenticity. The square body that followed ('73-87) is also cool, but these are the ones that launched the restomod movement. LS swaps, air ride, patina paint — the C10 is to trucks what the '32 Ford is to hot rods: the canvas everyone starts with.

The '69 Camaro is GM's answer to the Mustang, perfected. The 1967-68 cars were good; the '69 is great. The redesigned body added aggression without losing elegance. The Z28 became a legitimate race car for the street — the 302 V8 was designed specifically to dominate Trans-Am racing. The SS 396 put big-block power in a car that could actually handle it. And the COPO 427 cars, ordered through dealer back channels to bypass GM's ban on engines over 400 cubic inches in intermediate cars, are now worth six figures. This is the Camaro that defined what a Camaro should be.

The 1970 Chevelle SS 454 is the apex predator of the muscle car era. When GM lifted its 400 cubic inch displacement limit, Chevrolet responded with the LS6 454 — 450 horsepower, 500 lb-ft of torque, and a factory 0-60 time under six seconds. The redesigned body was aggressive and purposeful. The hood scoop actually worked. For one glorious year before insurance rates and emissions killed muscle cars, the LS6 Chevelle was the most powerful production car you could buy. The LS5 (360 hp) was the 'mild' option. Nothing about this car is mild.

The El Camino SS is the ultimate 'have your cake and eat it too' muscle car. It's a Chevelle SS in the front, pickup truck in the back. The same engines that made the Chevelle SS legendary — including the 450-hp LS6 454 — were available in a vehicle that could haul a refrigerator. GM built the perfect vehicle for someone who needed to move furniture on Saturday and drag race on Sunday.

The second-generation Camaro is what happens when GM's designers got ambitious. Where the first-gen Camaro was a Mustang fighter, the second-gen aimed higher — European GT car proportions wrapped around American V8 muscle. The 1970-73 'split bumper' cars are the most desirable, with that aggressive face GM would never build today. The Z28 badge meant business: the LT-1 was a legitimate performance engine, even as emissions regulations started strangling horsepower. By 1973, the muscle car era was dying, but the Camaro's styling made it look fast even when it wasn't.

The Chevrolet Square Body is the last old-school American truck — simple, solid, and infinitely fixable. The design ran for 14 years with only incremental changes, which means parts interchange across the entire run. The square styling that gives these trucks their nickname was revolutionary in 1973 and still looks purposeful today. They were workhorses when new, and the survivors are either beat to hell or lovingly maintained. The K-series 4x4 trucks, especially short-bed models, have become the hottest segment in the collector truck market. A clean 1987 K10 Silverado can sell for more than it cost new, adjusted for inflation.

The G-Series van defined what a full-size American van should be for 25 years. The second-generation design ran from 1971 to 1995 with minimal changes, proving that sometimes you get it right the first time. The G20 became the platform for the entire custom van industry — shag carpet, bubble windows, and murals of wizards on the sides. But underneath the conversions was a solid, reliable truck that could haul, tow, and work. The G-Series was America's utility vehicle.

The Chevette was GM's white flag to the imports. After watching Japanese cars steal market share, GM finally built a proper subcompact — by copying what worked. The Chevette was adequate. That's it. Not good, not terrible, just adequate. It did what millions of Americans needed: basic transportation. The RWD layout was archaic even then, but it made the car simple and somewhat fun in snow. The Chevette is the car nobody loved but everybody accepted.