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... that publication, which is the longest any motoring journalist has worked for the same paper. The 1000 cc Toyota Corona was launched in May of 1957. The year of 1958 was the year of the Ford Edsel, a V 8 engine of 5. 9 or 6. 7 liters.
The Lincoln-Mercury Division of Ford in Detroit launched it. Their appearance was quite strange with a wrap around windshield, prolific fins, lots of flashy chromium plating and a radiator reminiscent of a horses neckwear. Only 35, 000 were sold in the first six months, and the Edsel was out of production by 1960. The car was named after Henry Fords son, Edsel, who had died in 1943. By the time it was officially launched, the U.
S. auto industry was in a slump, with sales particularly affected in the Edsel's market segment. It was also a victim of its own hype, with their predicted 200, 000 sales in the first year. It fell so short of the claim that it was almost instantly dubbed a failure.
Today the Edsel is an emblem, a comforting reassurance for the little man that mighty corporations can get it wrong. And, of course, its comparative failure marks it as a prized collectors piece. The worlds first production car with all fiberglass construction, chassis as well as body, was Colin Chapman's Lotus Elite from Great Britain. The Elite was the first Lotus designed for road use rather than out and out racing. The first British saloon car with disc brakes all-round was the Daimler Majestic. Automatic transmission was the standard.
Automobiles changed Americans entire way of life. People no longer had to stay in the same town they grew up in. They could see different cities and towns with ease. Now people didnt have to live in the city to work in the city. The new ease of travel gave rise to the development of suburbs.
Teenagers found new freedom with automobiles. They were no longer forced to steal kisses on the front porch swing. They could get out of the house in dads Rebel or Dragon. A new youth culture was created around the car. Drive-in movies and diners became popular. At some drive-in diners orders were sent from the kitchen directly to the customers in their cars by a track the trays would move along.
During the fifties, kids started spending less time with family and more time with friends. For housewives, they were no longer tied to the house. In one short decade, her headquarters moved from the kitchen to the car. Those were the days in the fifties (and sixties), when sports cars radiate nostalgic messages. This Triumph TR 2 sales brochure evokes laurel wreaths, checkered flags, and bravado-a glamorous, innocent world when men were men, cars were cars, and the girl in the passenger seat always wore a headscarf and pearls. It is a true British car, born in the golden age of the British sports cars.
But, it was aimed at the American market on the inexpensive sports car arena. Suburban families began purchasing their second or third car throughout the 1950 s. In 1950 the United States produced two-thirds of the worlds cars, and by 1955 it was producing three-quarters. The U.
S. auto industry was on top of the world. Most of Americas cars came from Detroit's Big Three, which were General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. General Motors was the largest, richest corporation in the world and would, in the coming decade, become the first corporation in the history of mankind to gross a billion dollars. Each year the profit expectations went higher and higher for sales. There was in all of this success for General Motors a certain arrogance of power.
Cadillac secured the top position as Americas luxury car by 1949 with the introduction of the overhead valve 331 -cubic inch V 8 engine. The 331 would remain until 1956, although it would gain significantly more horsepower over the years. General Motors had a limited edition car to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. Only 532 were produced of the Eldorado, at the hefty $ 7, 750 price tag. This was the cream of the crop. By the following year the price was dropped to $ 5, 738 and sales shot up.
GM made many more cars during the 1950 s. It was once said to Henry Ford, It will take a hundred years to tell whether you have helped us or hurt us, but you certainly didnt leave us like you found us, by a popular comedian, Will Rogers. Henry Ford made a difference in the world with his Model T, taking people places they could have never seen, and providing new opportunities. The assembly line was used for the Model T. In 1912 the assembly line revolutionized the manufacturing process. As the assembly line was perfected, the time required to assemble a car was reduced from 12 hours to 5 hours, then to 2 hours and 38 minutes.
By January 1914, Highland Park was making a Model T every 93 minutes. As the output of cars went up, the company had to hire more and more workers. In 1914, Ford announced his plan to share the Ford Motor Companys profits with workers, paying them five dollars for an eight-hour workday. It used to be a nine-hour workday.
Its a new economic era, said one newspaper. Another called the revolutionary five dollars a day the most generous stroke of policy between a captain of industry and worker that the country has ever seen. As the excitement of the five-hour workday died down, the Ford Motor Company started to take an interest in the home life of its workers. Ford set up a Sociological Department that set up English classes at the Ford factory. Department members visited homes giving advice about health, money management, homemaking, shopping for food and clothes.
They discouraged smoking, drinking and gambling, which Henry Ford disapproved of. In 1933, Ford successfully resisted efforts to unionize workers at Ford plants. Ford did the most for the American worker. He also did much more, like supporting the U.
S. war effort by converting his plants to manufacture ambulances, helmets, airplane motors and other war materials. In 1951, the Chrysler Crown Imperial was the first car with power steering, along with the Mercedes 300 SL. The Imperial was marketed as a separate line of cars by Chrysler. Chrysler was in the number two spot in automotive sales, behind GM for almost seven years, but in 1952 Ford became second in total sales.
There is probably no better example of an automakers rise in fortunes in the 1950 s than Chrysler. From plain to dramatic, Chrysler turned from the unremarkable years of 1949 to 1954 to produce the 100 Million Dollar Look. The Chrysler C- 300, 1955, had some detail work, like the two-piece grill, chrome fins and full interior leather. The Volkswagen Beetle set new standards of cheap reliability, overtaking the Model T as the most popular car ever produced -- more than 20 million were sold by the early 1980 s. It was small, round, and oddly reminiscent of the prewar cars, with its bulbous fenders and fastback-style rear end. It was powered by a puny 36 - horsepower rear-mounted engine.
Imported from Germany, they began to become more and more popular by the late 1950 s. Below is a picture of Stirling Moss in a Jaguar XK 120 C at Le Mans in 1951. This was the first time for the Jaguar to win this 24 hour race. The Grand Prix was another race. Rallies were also going on in the 1950 s. There was the Swedish Rally, 1000 Lakes Rally, RAC Rally, Safari Rally, Acropolis Rally and many more.
The 1950 s was a remarkable decade. The outrageousness of these finned behemoths is an expression of everything that was best about the 1950 s: the enthusiasm and optimism, the belief that anything was possible, even the awareness that an escape was needed from the dull conformity that was overtaking many other aspects of middle-class life. Peoples automobiles in the 50 s said something about who they were. Throughout this paper many different automobiles have been mentioned, yet there are some left out, like the Crosley, and the Chevy.
Hopefully this paper provided a better understanding of the automobiles of the 1950 s. Bibliography: Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster, The Century, 1998, page 335 Douglas T. Miller and Marion Nowak, The Fifties: The Way We Really Were, 1977 Quentin Willson, David Selby, The Ultimate Classic Car Book, 1995 David Halberstam, The Fifties, Villard Books New York 1993 Rob Leicester Wagner, Fabulous Fins of the Fifties, 1997 Jacqueline L. Harris, Henry Ford, 1984 The Twentieth Eventful Century, The Way We Lived, The Readers Digest Association, Inc. 1999 The Twentieth Eventful Century, The Way We Lived, The Readers Digest Association, Inc. 1999 Rob Leicester Wagner, Fabulous Fins of the Fifties, 1997
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