The Chevrolet Cameo and GMC Suburban Carrier came with rubber floor mats like the other GM trucks (no carpet) except for one exception. This is the story!

The exterior of all 1955 Cameos were painted only one way! It was Bombay Ivory with Cardinal Red on the vertical post behind the door, the lower inside panels of the bed, and the five wheels.

The painted part of the interior was the same two colors in a very attractive combination together. To add one extra touch the Cameo designers added a red rubber floor mat with only these two colors. This total appearance package gave it just the right impression on the dealer showroom when the customer opened the door. The words “Oh my, How Nice.” That positive impression is just what the Cameo was created to do.

No pickup had ever been offered with such attractive appearance features. It is suspected this was done by the same Chevrolet Interior Automotive Designers that had created the first Corvette two years earlier.  Only white in 1953 with a combination red and white interior.

With over 5,200 Cameos sold in 1955, the red floor mats probably added very little more over black to production costs. The molds for the more traditional black mat could be used for either color with no changes.

Just like the second year Corvette, different exterior colors would now be available in 1956. There was a gradual phasing out of the red mats. The Chevrolet Master Parts Catalog (sent to the dealers about twice a year to show new prices and what parts were still available) came printed March 1957, shows both red and black mats as replacements for 1956 and only black for 1957.

Thus, from these assumptions it is as follows:

  • Red Mats continued in 1956 but again in only Bombay Ivory and Cardinal Red Cameos
  • With many colors now available in 1956, a red floor mat would not blend with blue, green, etc. Therefore, these other colors received black mats.
  • General Motors did not offer other floor mat colors.
  • They did not make another large run of red mats just to be a replacement in Cameos with a Bombay Ivory and Cardinal Red exterior.
  • The run of red mats had come to an end, however they would be used in 1956 Bombay Ivory Cameos until supplies were exhausted.
  • A red floor mat used in the first year Cameo was a Chevrolet marketing idea. When they made over 5,200 in the first year it probably was no extra cost to make red due to high volume.
  • The GMC Suburban Carrier always used a black mat. Red in a truck was a surprise when a customer first opened the door on the dealers’ showroom on what was already a “stand alone” truck.
  • Carpeting was never available.

Strange but True:

The lowest mileage Cameo in existence is a 1958 with 1.4 miles on the odometer. It was locked with many new Chevrolet cars, in an out of business dealership in Nebraska for over 50 years! It is currently in a private collection in New Hampshire.  On this Cameo, it left the assembly line with its black floor mat still rolled behind the seat.  Why?  We assumed to keep the Cameo from arriving at the dealership with evidence from muddy feet of delivery people.

NEWS FLASH: An exact copy of the 1955 Red floor mat became available in mid-year 2022! It is available from Jim Carter Truck Parts after over a year of creating 3 different tooling’s to make it the way it was first seen in the 1955 Cameo.