Chronicles: 1957 Year In Review

It was in early 1957 that Holden would release the first Station Wagon. Then referred to as a 'Station Sedan', like its sedan cousin the Station Sedan was available in two variants - "Standard" and "Special".

These two new models would take the number of distinct models in the Holden range to seven. There was little doubting the new model would be a success, in less than 10 years of operation Holden had manufactured their one millionth car body at their Woodville plant, while 4500+ cars had been exported during the year.

While Australia lays claim to being the birthplace of the Ute, 1957 would see American's develop their own version, the new Ford Ranchero. The ute was to soon prove to be an ever popular model in the Ford line-up - its popularity ensuring it would enjoy a longevity spanning 23 years, from 1957 through 1979.

Naturally during this time the vehicle underwent several significant revisions, with the last model bearing no resemblance to the first - however in all versions the car remained exceedingly popular, with some 508,000 vehicles manufactured.

Of course stateside the wonderful Ford Skyliner was enjoying immense popularity, this no doubt helped along by the keen interest taken in the new hard-top convertible by then celebrity couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.

We very much doubt either seriously considered the idea of owning or driving a Ford, but when it came to making some money for a 1 minute "infomercial" these two were right at home. And after all, the Skyliner really was an engineering masterpiece, and they have become very collectable and highly prized. Click here to watch Lucy and Desi learn how the folding hard top system worked.

In Europe, 1957 would see the end to the prestigous Italian rally the Mille Miglia, after Alfonso de Portago, his co-driver and eleven spectators were killed in the village of Guidizzolo. Speculation as to the cause of the crash abounded for many years, the most common theory being that one of the tyres on de Portago's car blew out.

While on the subject of road safety, in Australia 1957 heralded a new era of road safety consciousness, with both governments, motoring authorities and the automotive industry in general trying to raise public awareness of the abysmal toll in loss of life occurring on the Australian roads. The road toll in Victoria alone was upwards of 650 people, with over 13,000 sustaining injuries from the result of a motoring accident.

A special committee of the British Medical Associations Victorian branch stated “the predominant causes of death in Australia are cardio-vascular-renal diseases, cancer and road accidents”. But unlike heart disease and cancer, the road toll nearly always selected the young, and with road accident victims using up more than 100,000 beds in Victorian hospitals each year, there was undoubtedly cause for concern.

But from our research (and admittedly this is not as intensive as that by the British Medical Association), it seems women’s legs were a major factor in automobile accidents in 1957. How so you ask? Well the 1957 NRMA publication "Driving is an Art" so wonderfully illustrated how men were prone to distraction at the sight of a good pair of legs.

By contrast - women were more concerned with which hat they should next purchase. The NRMA released the publication “Driving is an Art”, an informative booklet designed to help make drivers of the era more informed, and safer. And, in case you wondered just what the consequences were of being distracted by a good set of “pins”, check out this 1957 Road Safety Commercial – proof that stockings and driving would not mix for at least another 20 years, when Holden would release the wonderful Sandman – and distraction would be encountered inside the car – not out.