1950s FordIn the 1950s Ford launched a number of classic 1950s automobiles including the Mercury and Lincoln models. The Ford Motor Company, first launched in 1903, battled through the Great Depression and was one of the world's motor car producers during the 1950s. The 1950s were a decade of innovation for car design and technology and Ford were to the forefront of this. The company revamped their designs and entered the 1950s with a new look. The beginning of the decade saw Ford launch the Crestliner, a two door sedan aimed at challenging Chevolret's domination of the sedan market . At the start of the 1950s Ford introduced a wood-sided station wagon, the Country Squire. With their middle seats able to be folded flat, the Ford Country Squire was an early version of the mini vans which were to become popular decades later. In 1951 Ford introduced technical innovations with its “Ford-O-Matic,” automatic transmission. Ford also continued their sales war with Chevrolet as they launched the Victoria to challenge the Bel Air hard top sedan. It proved to be a wise move as the Victoria outsold its Chevy rival. By 1953 Ford extended its range of technological improvements as power assisted steering and break systems were introduced beyond the company's Mercury and Lincoln range.
photo by Stephen Foskett used under GNU Free Documentation License Ford also commemorated the 50th anniversary of its birth by featuring a special commemorative steering wheel in cars produced during that year. The following year saw Ford add the Victoria Skyliner to its range. The Skyliner had an acrylic glass panel over
the front of the roof. And an added option to this range was a sunshade which could be snapped into place. During the 1950s the Fairline range were full sized vehicles, but a decade later had become a smaller more economic range. The mid 1950s also saw production of the Ford Crown Victoria, a name which was to be resurrected 40 years later. The latter part of the 1950s saw Ford extend its station wagon range with production of the Ford Del Rio – also known as the Del Rio Ranch Wagon. Related Articles |
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