Automobiles of the 50s
The purpose of this paper is to provide a clear picture of automobiles in the 1950's and the impact the automobile had on American society. The 1950's were a time of economic growth for America, where income exceeded car prices and vision was limited only by one's imagination. This was a time when 'you are what you drive.' President Eisenhower and his administration were friendly to big business for the first time since Herbert Hoover. For example, new highways were built by Eisenhower administration in 1956. The automotive industry in general was determined to make up for lost time. Immediately after the war, America began switching from coal to oil in a big way. In 1949 consumption was 5.8 million a year and went up to 16.4 million just before the oil crisis of 1973. These gas-guzzling giants had incredible horsepower. Cars, already too big for basic space needs and ease of parking, became bigger and lower slung so that the slightest bump could smash the oil pan, muffler, or gas tank. Gasoline was cheap and plentiful in the 1950's, even if you were going across the country. The National Defense Highway Act of 1956
In 1914, Ford announced his plan to share the Ford Motor Company's profits with workers, paying them five dollars for an eight-hour workday. The first production car with front-wheel disc brakes and self-leveling suspension was the Citoen DS of France in 1955. The size of car number plates in the USA, Canada, and Mexico was standardized at 12 inches by 6 inches in 1957. In 1956, Triumph sports cars had front discs, and the Jensen 541 got 4-wheel disc brakes that autumn. There is probably no better example of an automaker's rise in fortunes in the 1950s than Chrysler. 1999 Rob Leicester Wagner, Fabulous Fins of the Fifties, 1997. This Triumph TR2 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. The assembly line was used for the Model T. Harris, Henry Ford, 1984 The Twentieth Eventful Century, The Way We Lived, The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. He was The Autocar's continental correspondent, and had been with them since 1919. It was used on nearly every Ford Europe car thereafter. "As automobiles became larger, fancier, and more expensive, commercials for them became louder, livelier, and employed more visual tricks. "It's a new economic era," said one newspaper.
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