If blizzards are a harsh reality in your neck of the woods, then you’d be forgiven for thinking Chevrolet no longer manufactures two-wheel drive trucks. But they do, including Suburbans — the division’s longest running light-truck model. In the snow belt and northern regions, demand for two-wheel drives has declined for decades, as automakers have made four-wheel drive increasingly more affordable and attainable.
The light-truck market was a different place more than 60 years ago when our feature ’58 Suburban rolled off the assembly line. Fourwheel drive was a relatively new factory offering and the vast majority of General Motors’ truck buyers didn’t spring for it. Why? It was expensive: adding the Northwestern Auto Parts Company or NAPCO Powr-Pak option to an $1,800-$2,500 Chevrolet light truck would’ve nearly doubled its price. Plus, fourwheel drive was viewed as something only necessary for severe duty.
“It’d be like buying a $50,000 truck today and being told it’ll
