Nova

This nameplate began life in 1962 as the Chevy II, Chevrolet’s answer to the compact-car market of the early 1960s. The Nova designation first appeared as the upscale member of that new line, and by 1963 the Nova 400 trim had become the basis for the well-known Super Sport package. Over the next several years the car evolved from a tidy, conventional compact into one of Chevrolet’s most familiar small-car nameplates, with the Nova badge eventually standing on its own across the late 1960s and 1970s. The 1968 redesign marked a major turning point, giving the car a longer-lived body and a more modern stance that helped define the model through the end of the first production run. That era made the car especially significant with enthusiasts because it combined lightweight construction, a straightforward rear-wheel-drive layout, and a surprising range of performance-oriented V-8 and SS variants in later years. After the 1979 model year, the nameplate disappeared as Chevrolet shifted its compact-car focus elsewhere. It then returned for 1985 as a very different vehicle: a front-wheel-drive, NUMMI-built subcompact developed through the Toyota partnership and sold through 1988. That revival reused the familiar name on a much smaller, more fuel-conscious car, creating one of the more unusual chapters in Chevrolet history. Because the nameplate was discontinued and later revived, the Nova history spans two separate production periods rather than one continuous run.