If you are new to the old car scene, here's a brief history to get you up to speed:
After World War Two ended, factories quickly converted from producing war supplies to filling the huge demand for automobiles. As the returning military forces settled back into a routine and the Baby Boom generation began to emerge, automakers quickly designed new and more exciting cars capable of transporting these primarily suburban families. Car and later minivan and SUV design has adapted to meet not only changing lifestyles of consumers, but also fuel concerns and government regulations.
Returning GI’s had cash to spend, and as soon as was possible, many factories began churning out new cars; however during the war, no work had been done in anticipation of the end, and so almost all cars were warmed-up versions of the pre-war models. It was 1947 before genuinely new designs were brought to market.
In the 1950s, suburban America took off into the space age, and cars matched. Station wagons were the car of choice for families. By the 1960’s the Baby Boom generation was beginning to drive, and a huge range of personal-size cars filled this new demand, while big sedans took over for their parents.
The government regulations came in 1965 with the requirement of seat belts, and again throughout the late 60s and early 70’s with safety and emissions rules that strangled the horsepower race and led the influx of small imported cars, initially from Europe, but then primarily from Japan. All cars lost weight. In ten years from 1967 to 1977, the top of the line Cadillac went from 20 feet to 17, and lost half a ton. The Chrysler Corporation was hit hardest by the gas crisis in the late 70s, as it was still producing larger models after Ford and GM had downsized. The early 1980s recession almost killed it completely, but the introduction of the minivan saved Chrysler from extinction and began a new era in family transport. At the same time, four wheel drive trucks were highly fashionable with youth. The minivan continued as the family vehicle of choice well into the 1990s, when Ford’s Explorer model combined the comfort and carrying abilities of the minivan with the off road capability that grandchildren of the baby boom wanted. The SUV has continued until today; however, the trend is being phased out, but into what form of more environmentally-friendly vehicle is not yet clear.
During World War Two, all domestic automakers changed to manufacture parts and machines for the war effort; Buick built bombers and Cadillac tanks. As soon as the war ended though, thousands of GI’s returned from the war looking for a way to spend their paychecks, and a car was the most obvious choice. For many single men wishing to get behind the wheel, older pre-war cars made hot rod projects, but for the more family minded, the only choices were rehashed versions of 1941 model year vehicles due to the factory changeovers. The rebirth of the station wagon, which suffered due to pricing issues before the war, provided an alternative to most sedans, but the costs associated with the woody wagons drove the prices over and above the price for a top of the line convertible. This, combined with the lack of glamor that is inherent in most wagons made them less popular than normal family cars.
For most of the late 1940s and early 50s, most families made do with one car; the norm was that the man worked and the wife took care of the house and children. A national trend toward the suburbs though, made two cars more practical for common family life. The birth of the ‘soccer mom’ ideal and the treks to the out-of-town malls made it almost a necessity to get a car for the lady of the house. Having two cars, one for the daily commute and one for the wife and children led to an uprising in both smaller faster cars for the husband and larger more stylish cars for the wife. The Corvette, introduced in 1953 and the Thunderbird in 1955 paved the way for more personal cars. At the same time, Dodge introduced its “La Femme” model, squarely and sexistly aimed at women only. In another direction, both Ford and Chevrolet updated their ‘upturned bathtub’ styling from the early 1950s and raced the space age with massive fins, hydramatic powerglide super-turbine dynaflow drivetrains and enough chrome to sink a ship. Thankfully, these land yachts were buoyed by 25 cent gas and cheap labor without legacy costs.
The 1960s brought not only an influx of European styling as fins became outdated, but also as the baby boomers grew up, the personal car idea, started with the Thunderbird and Corvette, grew up and turned into the muscle car, a consumer hit still trying to be redone by manufacturers. The muscle car was pioneered by Ford with the 1964 Mustang, which, while stagnant in performance, was cheap, cheerful and everything that teens could want in a car. As the decade wore on, the war in Vietnam caused rebellion in the homes, and the car industry was happy to provide some rebellion for the streets. Gas was cheap, the economy strong, and change was in the air. Young warm-blooded males were turned on by the fast, good-looking Pontiac GTO; competitors took note, and muscle cars soon rumbled out of most every showroom. The muscle car was a mass-market child of 1960s America, when youth was king and Detroit ruled the automotive world.
The same world was changing radically by 1970, and muscle cars nearly vanished. But they came back in the early '00s to begin an exciting new high-performance era that's still going strong, thanks to huge technical progress since the 1964-70 ‘golden age.’
Woody wagons, unseen since the early 50s, came back briefly in the mid 60s and then again in the mid 70s, but managed to hit a high point in the 1980s when the woody wagon became the suburban transport. Meanwhile, Chrysler was being swept under by poor quality and bad decisions. The minivan, started by the Dodge Caravan and the Plymouth Voyager, turned the company around in 1982, and the wagon never really recovered from the boxy, more economical and practical vehicle.