The 1950s were pivotal for the American automobile industry. The post-World War II era brought a wide range of new technologies to the automobile consumer, and a host of problems for the independent automobile manufacturers. The industry was maturing in an era of rapid technological change; mass production and the benefits from economies of scale led to innovative designs and greater profits, but stiff competition between the automakers. By the end of the decade, the industry had reshaped itself into the Big Three, Studebaker, and AMC. The age of small independent automakers was nearly over, as most of them either consolidated or went out of business.
A number of innovations were either invented or improved sufficiently to allow for mass production during the decade: air conditioning, automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, seat belts and arguably the most influential change in automotive history, the overhead-valve V8 engine. The horsepower race had begun, laying the foundation for the muscle car era.
Automobile manufacturing became the largest industry segment in the US, and the largest ever created; the US auto industry was many times larger than the automotive industries of the rest of the world combined. By 1960, one-sixth of working Americans were employed directly or indirectly by the industry, but automation and imports eroded the need for such a large workforce within a couple of decades. The 1950s were the pinnacle of American automotive manufacturing and helped shape the United States into an economic superpower.
Here is a set of amazing color photos from Steve Given that shows people with their automobiles from the 1950s.
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| A 1950 Oldsmobile 76, registered to Ohio for 1951 |
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| A 1949 Ford Custom Tudor, somewhere in Virginia in 1950 |
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| A 1950 Chevrolet, registered to California for 1951 |
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| California registered Packard touring some snowfields in 1951 |
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| Ford Tudor, registered to Oregon for 1951 |
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| A 1950 Pontiac Chieftain Business Coupe, registered to Nebraska for 1952, near Salt Lake City, Utah |
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| A 1950 Pontiac Chieftain, registered to Nebraska, at Lake Tahoe during 1952 |
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| A 1951 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe in "Aspen Green", registered in Manila, Philippines, during November 1952 |
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| Road trip in a 1952 Mercury Custom 2 Door Sedan, registered to Pennsylvania for 1952 |
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| Traveling in a Plymouth Savoy during 1952 |
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| Down on the farm with a Ford pick-up, registered to North Dakota for 1953 |
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| The 1953 Studebaker registered to Texas for 1953 |
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| A 1949-1950 Chevrolet during a roadside picnic during June 1954 |
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| The family Packard at Wheaton, Illinois, during 1954 |
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| A 1951 Plymouth, registered to Alaska for 1955 |
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| A 1953 Ford Customline Fordor Sedan, registered to Missouri for 1955 |
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| A 1953 Oldsmobile 98, registered to South Carolina for 1955 |
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| Young lady and a 1955 Buick Century 2 Door Hardtop from Los Angeles, California, during 1955 |
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| A 1956 Oldsmobile 88 Holiday Coupe as a graduation gift for Bonnie in June 1956 |
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| A couple of proud lads and their Chevrolets, registered to California for 1956 |
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| Ford Fairlane Sunliner during 1956 |
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| Plymouth, registered to Oregon for 1956 |
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| Touring with a Rambler station wagon, registered to California for 1956 |
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| Woman her 1955 Oldsmobile Super 88, registered to Ohio, during autumn 1956 |
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| Dodge Coronet during August 1957 |
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| Touring Germany with an Opel Kapitan, during June 1957 |
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| A 1950 Ford Crestliner, somewhere in France during 1958 |
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| A 1955 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan has plates for Nebraska, USA in 1958 |
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| A 1956 Chevrolet gets a little love during April 1958 |
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| A 1958 Ford Custom 300 4-Door Sedan carries Nebraska, USA plates for 1958 |
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| At the lakeside in a Monarch, also known as a Canadian Mercury, near Rawdon, Canada, during July 1958 |
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| Chevrolet BelAir, registered to Oregon for 1958 |
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| Chevrolet truck, doing a bit of 'bush bashing' during June 1958 |
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| Ford Customline taking a cruise up Daytona Beach during October 1958 |
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| Ford Fairlane on Daytona Beach, Florida, during September 1958 |
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| Ready for a roadtrip in the family Ford during August 1958 |
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| A 1953 Ford Customline 2 Door Hardtop during August 1959 |
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| A 1956 Plymouth Plaza, registered to Michigan for 1959 |
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| A cowgirl poses by her 1959 Chevrolet, possibly in the Mojave Desert. The trees in the background are Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia), circa 1959 |
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| A 1949 Cadillac Series 61 Touring Sedan, circa 1950s |
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| A de-badged Oldsmobile Rocket 88, during the 1950s |
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| A family and their Wartburg 311 in Veszprém, Hungary, during the 1950s |
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| Buick Dynaflow during the 1950s |
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| Chrysler Imperial, during the 1950s |
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| Ford Mercury Monterey during the 1950s |
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| Keeping a Moskvich 407 dust free in Hungary, during the 1950s |
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| Touring in an Opel Rekord, somewhere in Germany during the 1950s |