In 1955, Ed Cole unleashed the Small Block V8 on the world and instantly turned General Motors’ ho-hum entry-level brand into a performance powerhouse. Throughout the following decades, his compact, 4.4-inch on-center bore spaced 90-degree pushrod V8 transformed badges like Bel Air, Camaro, Chevelle, and Corvette into some of the world’s fastest and most desirable cars. But no matter how lust-worthy these burbling, swaggering slices of American shock-and-awe became, Cole and his successors were sure to keep the company’s core mission of mass affordability front and center. As recently as 2017, one could walk into the local Chevrolet showroom and come face to face with six different cars powered by the decedents of Cole’s game-changing bent-eight. Most importantly, even after 62 years of progress, safety mandates, and inflation, all six eight-cylinder sleds still landed between “instant approval with proof of some regular income” and “something just about anyone could realistically aspire to own.”