American Muscle 1955 Chevy 3100 Cameo White 1/18 Scale Vehicle ERTL 1994 NRFB

The concept for a stylish pickup had taken root at GM in the early fifties, primarily because of public reaction to the concept vehicles at General Motors Autorama shows. In '52, the styling department at GM began work on a new concept in pickups, one with the bed sides being an extension of the cab surface. The new pickup was planned as a low production vehicle with the freshly styled bed sides made out of fiberglass and actually attached over the existing short-bed box. This saved the cost of expensive dies to make the new box and fender sides, and allowed some shapes to be made and molded in fiberglass that would have been difficult to do in steel. To quote the Chevrolet press release in their Gold Album of Truck Values, "Chevrolet has fashioned a pickup body so practical and yet so dazzling in beauty that it may well set an entirely new style trend in the light duty truck field." Although a rather flowery statement, it proved to be correct. The standard truck today has a smooth sided, flush-with-the-cab bed that owes its origins to the quite dazzling Cameo Carrier. Smooth sides, though, were only the beginning. The Cameo had style, from its chrome taillights to its flashy front bumper guards. The front edges of the fiberglass box had chrome trim as did the cab sides and hood. Even the headlight bezels in the heavily eyebrowed fenders were plated as was the egg crate grille in the very stylish grille opening. New things were also happening under the hood. Instead of the usual six cylinder engine, there now lived the new, lively, overhead valve V-8, introducing real performance to Chevrolet's pickup line. One hundred forty-five horses may not seem like much today, but it was a real jump in performance back in 1955.

Although many options were available, the Cameo Carrier came only in Bombay Ivory and Commercial Red. The red was also used as cab trim and inside the bed color. The red and white color scheme also carried over to the inside of the cab. Another feature of all Chevy pickups in '55 was the wraparound windshield, with windshield pillars slanted forward instead of back. Standard in the Cameo and optional in other '55 Task Force pickups, was a wraparound rear window as well, all the latest style in 1955. Today the Cameo still has style.

1/18 Scale Die Cast Vehicle - Collector's Edition - Contains 1955 White Chevy 3100 Cameo - Ages 8 and up - ERTL 1994

There is some wear on the outside corners and edges of the cardboard box. Additionally, there is some dents, scuffs, and wrinkles in the plastic display window.