The muscle-car era sputtered to end in 1972. Blame low-quality, low-lead gasoline, increasingly stringent emissions regulations, and rising insurance costs for the for the sudden wrap-up of the horsepower party. The demise of the muscle car left a vacuum of sorts in the lineups of American carmakers, all of which did some serious business peddling big engines to crazy people hellbent on tearing up the streets every time a traffic light turned green.
1975 Chevrolet Nova LN
As for that vacuum, it would soon be filled—not exactly, and not entirely neatly—with luxury cars. Sort of. I’m not saying that folks suddenly traded in their Hemi ‘Cudas and Skylark GSs for Cadillac Sevilles and Lincoln Continentals, but that makers started building premium trim-level variants of cars that had once been part of the muscle-car scene.
Luxury Trim Levels
The luxury trim-level movement, which spread to vehicles not directly associated with muscle cars, was especially popular with entry-level brands (Chevrolet, Ford, and Plymouth, as well as AMC) and some midline marques, including Dodge. How many of these 1975 models do you remember?
- AMC Matador Oleg Cassini
- Dodge Coronet Brougham
- Ford Gran Torino Brougham
- Plymouth Grand Fury Brougham
- Chevrolet Nova LN
Seems crazy, looking back, that no one tried to nail down the trademark on Brougham. For the record, a brougham, historically, was an enclosed-body vehicle with an open-air forward section for the drive. This allowed the occupants of the car to travel in comfort and privacy. As for the driver, not so much.
Nova LN Ad
Chevy Nova
Now, if you know anything about the Chevrolet Nova, there’s a solid chance you’ve heard good things. New for 1969, and redesigned for 1975, the Nova served Chevy well as the brand’s modest, affordable, arguably attractive, and ultimately very-popular compact car. Over the years, the Nova was offered as a coupe and sedan, as well as a wildly underappreciated hatchback. The Nova was also present for the muscle-car fun, offered in SS trim and packing a thumping 396-cubic-inch V8.
Nova LN
But in 1975, with its muscle-car days long behind it, the Nova was treated to a new trim level: LN. The Luxury Nova (LN, if you hadn’t guessed), likely struck folks as a little odd, but given that country was still shell shocked by the gas shortages that came as a result of the 1973 OPEC Oil Embargo, a small luxury car made some sense.
Luxury Equipment
The better-trimmed little Chevy included such niceties as “wide-back” reclining front seats, a specially tuned suspension, and upgraded cabin materials. The exterior was spruced up, too. You’d think that maybe an FM radio would be part of the deal, but you would be wrong.
Nova LN Prices
In sedan form, extra-spiffy Nova started at $3795 (about $22,000 in 2024 dollars). At the same time, a base sedan started at $3209 ($18,500). And if that base price seems low, keep in mind that it did not include the aforementioned FM radio, nor air conditioning or an automatic transmission.
Despite its Seventies-style good looks, and the promise of bargain-priced high living, the LN was a slow seller. While the base Nova sedan accounted for almost 44,000 sales, the LN sedan racked up just 1300. Coupe and hatchback versions of the LN faired no better.
Nova Concours
For 1976, Chevrolet renamed the LN Concours, but changed little else. The rebranding seemed to do the premium trim level good, as Concours sales were much improved relative to the LN.
As for the ad, we have to push back a little on claims the LN was either beautiful, or European. The Nova’s available vinyl roof and old-school leaf-spring rear suspension both preclude the Euro claims. As for the styling, we’ll accept handsome, but nothing more. Still, the Nova LN/Concours had its charms. The cabin upholstery (seen below) was described as “knit fabric with vinyl,” which to our ears comes dangerously close to sounding sexy.
Nova Variants
Kudo to Chevrolet for finding so many ways to peddle the Nova. The brand’s bread-and-butter compact was retailed as a muscle car, a sporty GT, a budget-friendly family car, an economy car, and as a luxury car. Also, Chevy sold a fair number of Novas into police service, a trade for which the versatile car seemed well suited. Outfitted with Chevy’s 350-cubic-inch V8 and heavy-duty suspension, the Nova probably worked well as a pursuit vehicle.
Dropping the Nova Concours
The Concours returned for 1977, but was dropped from the Nova lineup after that. For 1978 Chevrolet redesigned the brand’s midsize Malibu, and luxury versions of that car would have competed too directly with the premium Nova, so the Concours was discontinued.
There’s nothing really crazy about the Nova LN/Concours, though it was probably a little cynical of the Chevy marketing people to sell the humble Nova as a luxury car. That said, fairly priced as it was, the “luxury” Novas probably didn’t fool anyone. They were just nice cars sold for a reasonable amount of money. Nothing wrong with that.
Listen to the Car Stuff Podcast
Chevrolet Nova Pictures
Click below for enlarged images
