1950s Automobiles

Is there anything more iconic than 1950s automobiles? 

The motoring craze which exploded in America, and in the UK and Europe saw designers like Virgil Exner and Harley Earl create classic cars with Pontiacs, Lincolns and Cadillacs becoming undeniable status symbols.

But it wasn’t just the top end of the motor car market that exploded. 

What greater symbol of 1950s America is there than the Studebaker or Oldsmobile?

Of course, the 1950s automobiles were characterised by chrome, fins, huge gas guzzling engines and white wall types.  In America at least the doldrums of the 1940s were well and truly banished by the big brash motors that symbolised a new prosperity and the birth of the concept car. 

Powerful, stylish and packed with features the classic cars of the 1950s were a product of the quickly evolving motor industry.

An industry that saw innovations such as the 300 horsepower V8 engine in the 1955 Lincoln Futura, the all fibreglass body of the 1953 Corvette and the unbelievably beautiful Starliner Coupe.

1950s automobiles were the embodiment of the American dream with the design and specifications of the cars building on, refining and improving on those that preceded them.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that the emergence of motoring as a leisure pursuit in the 1950s led to many innovations that we take for granted today.  With the birth of the ‘road trip’ gas stations sprung up all along the highways leading to the birth of the roadside diner and fast food joints.

Huge chains of franchised motels such as Holiday Inn began springing up  all over the country as motorists took road trips to far flung destinations such as national parks and resorts like Las Vegas.  The new powerful and luxurious cars allowing their owners to escape city life and take to the road.

A significant event occurred in 1953 when General Motors began the Motorama roadshow.  With the public interest in 1950s automobiles already aroused by movies like ‘Rebel Without A Cause’ the travelling car shows that showcased new and future models were a massive success. 

Literally millions of people attended the events and with cars such as the Pontiac Bonneville Special and the Cadillac Le Mans on show it isn’t surprising that most were bitten by the motoring bug and became part of the 1950s motoring revolution.