Five Chevrolet Nameplates You Probably Never Knew Existed

But like all automotive companies out there, Chevrolet also offered nameplates that were forgotten almost as quickly as they went out of production. Here are five Chevrolets that you probably never knew existed.

Chevrolet Chevair

Yes, I know what you're thinking, but no, this isn't the bastard child of a Chevelle and a Corvair. It was actually a rebadged Opel Ascona with front-end features carried over from the Manta coupe.

Introduced in 1976, the Chevair was sold in South Africa until 1983 with a couple of four-cylinder engines. It was replaced by the Opel Ascona when GM phased out the Chevrolet brand in the country.

And you might not know it, but GM South Africa took the Chevair rallying. The car won two events in 1979, but it wasn't fast or reliable enough to keep up with competition from Ford and Datsun and fight for the championship.

Chevrolet Kommando

Yet another nameplate sold in South Africa, the Kommando was born when Chevy stopped importing the Impala and Chevelle into the country.

And unlike the Chevair, the Kommando wasn't based on an Opel. Instead, it was derived from the Australian-built Holden Kingswood.

Engine options included a couple of inline-six mills and a 5.0-liter V8, with the latter almost putting the Kommando into muscle car territory.

It was sold alongside the Chevrolet Constantia, a more expensive sedan based on the Holden Brougham.

Launched in the late 1960s, the Kommando lived long enough to catch the introduction of the second-generation Kingswood in 1971.

Chevrolet Firenza

Completely unrelated to the Oldsmobile Firenza compact that was sold in the U.S. from 1982 to 1988, the Chevrolet Firenza was based on the Opel Kadett/Vauxhall Viva and was sold in South Africa from 1971 to 1975.

Chevrolet offered both four-door sedan and two-door coupe versions, with the latter a badge-engineered version of the Vauxhall Firenza.

The nameplate also spawned a limited-edition Chevrolet Can Am fitted with the 5.0-liter V8 engine from the Camaro Z/28. It was built in just 100 units as a homologation car for racing.

Chevrolet Townsman

One of the many Chevrolet wagons that people don't remember, the Townsman was first introduced in 1953 as a wagon version of the Chevy 210.

It became part of the Bel Air lineup in 1954. From 1955 to 1957, it was sold as a four-door wagon version of the Chevy Tri-Five (either as a 210 or Bel Air).

Discontinued in 1957, the Townsman made a comeback in 1969, this time around based on the GM B platform, shared with the Impala, Caprice, and Biscayne.

A grocery getter equivalent of the Bel Air, it was sold alongside the Brookwood, Kingswood, and Kingswood Estate, three wagons that most people also don't remember. The Townsman was discontinued at the end of 1972.

Chevrolet Yeoman

Perhaps the most obscure wagon that Chevrolet sold in the U.S., the Yeoman was based on the Delray, a two-door full-size.

Sold as an optional trim of the Chevy 210 from 1954 to 1957, the Delray became a distinct series in 1958, replacing the 150 at the bottom of the company's lineup.

That's when the Yeoman arrived as a replacement for the 150 wagon. It was offered in both two- and four-door layouts and offered with three different engines, including a range-topping 348-cubic-inch (5.7-liter) V8 good for up to 350 horsepower. The Yeoman was dropped after just one year on the market with fewer than 190,000 units built.