55-59 Development/Concept Photos

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A few more tidbits. GMC trucks with deluxe cabs all appear to have chrome outer ring on the taillights while Chevrolet opted for completely painted tails. Oh, and the "no bumper bolts" truck has tailgate chains and tail light housings painted body color.

For reasons I can only speculate, there is almost a complete lack of proposed alternate designs.

I have thought about this for many years. The 55-57 was a three year design and the 58-59 was a two year design. That's a lot of work to put into building a vehicle and little time to get the investment back. And it's not typical of GM. They usually run a truck line for many years. After WWII I'm sure GM was excited to get something new on the road but the truck divisions really seemed to be sticking with a reliable, dependable vehicle. Left over thinking from war production? Smart marketing, proving the new trucks could be counted on for dependability and consistency? Dodge and Ford trucks weren't all that exciting during this time, either. The Cameo was a huge experiment in itself being a truck designed to look good first and do work second. And although it didn't fail, it wasn't a huge success. But I wonder if it allowed GM to see they could sell trucks that were more than just pack mules. 60-61 was the beginning of a really adventurous time for GM and as you say, by the late '50s there was plenty of time and $$ being directed at the new vhicles. It seems as though the 55-59 trucks were simply built to carry GM into the future.