Classic 1950s Cars

Classic 1950s cars include the Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, Corvette,  Dodge B500 Hardtop , the Studebaker Cadillac Convertible and Seville.

The 1950s is renowned as the decade of classic cars.

Freed from the restraints of the war production and shortages of the 1940s, the motor car manufacturers produced some marvellous cars during the 1950s.

Enthusiasts are prepared to pay vast sums to secure a motor car from that era.

So what does make a car a classic?

Age is the main criteria and just how old a car has to be to be labelled “classic” depends very much where you are on the planet.

In the United Kingdom the tax authorities class a motor car as a classic if it is more than 15 years old and carries a value of £15,000. But, arguably, the best definition of what makes a car a classic comes from the home of the 1950s automobile, the United States.

There the aptly named Classic Car Club of America rates a car as a classic if it was manufactured before 1959, surely an apt appreciation of the vehicle from that era.

What catches the eye of enthusiasts is the majestic design of the classic 1950s cars, especially those produced in the United States and nowadays many of these vehicles are available from a classic cars auction.

Production of most American cars stopped in 1941 as the nation geared up for war. But once peace was declared they resumed production with startling energy.

During the 1950s the Americans produced beautiful vehicles such as the Oldsmobile Rocket 88 Convertible, the Chevrolet Corvette  and Bel Air Convertibles,  the Dodge B500 Hardtop , the Studebaker  Golden Hawk as well as the luxurious Cadillac Convertible and Seville.

And that list is certainly not exclusive of the classic 1950s car built in the United States.

Enthusiasts are not solely interested in 1950s classic cars manufactured in the United States. Other countries produced some classics of that period as well.

Great Britain demonstrated its intention to re-establish its name in the world of motor manufacturing as early as 1948 at the Earls Court exhibition. The next decade saw the launch of such classics as the Sunbeam Alpine in 1953.  

Triumph had launched its TR2 sports car a year earlier. At the luxury end of the market Jaguar introduced the XK 140 in 1954 and by the end of the decade had put the famous MkII in the showrooms.

In Europe the Italians developed the Lancia Aurelia Coupe and Spyder at the beginning of 1954 and  the Alfa Romeo  also remains a classic of the 1950s.

The French, who had a superb reputation as car manufacturers prior to the Second World War, went into the 1950's with the Citroen Traction 15.6, which can command a price of 35,000 Euros nowadays, demonstrating the value of the classic 1950s cars.

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