The
Great Depression from 1929 to 1938 dampened automobile sales and all auto
manufacturers were busy building military equipment until 1945. But US
automobile manufacturing soared in 1946.
Post-war era
1946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda one of the first
mass-produced cars with pontoon design
1953 Morris Minor Series II
1947 Standard Vanguard pontoon styled
car in 1954 version as station wagon (break)
1954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon,
one of the first U.S. all-metal station wagons
1974 Citroën DS
A major change in automobile design since World War II was the
popularity of pontoon style, in which running boards
were eliminated and fenders were incorporated into the body. Among the first
representatives of the style were the Soviet
GAZ-M20 Pobeda (1946), British Standard Vanguard (1947), United States Studebaker
Champion and Kaiser (1946), as well as the
low-production Czech luxury Tatra
T600 Tatraplan (1946) and the Italian Cisitalia
220 sports car (1947).
Automobile design and production finally
emerged from the military orientation and other shadow of war in 1949, the year
that in the United States saw the introduction of high-compression V8 engines and modern bodies from General Motors' Oldsmobile and Cadillac brands. Hudson introduced the
"step-down" design with the 1948 Commodore, which placed the passenger compartment
down inside the perimeter of the frame, that was one of the first new-design
postwar cars made and featured trend-setting slab-side styling. The uni-body/strut-suspended 1951 Ford Consul joined the 1948 Morris Minor and 1949 Rover P4 in the automobile market in the
United Kingdom. In Italy, Enzo Ferrari was beginning his 250 series, just as Lancia
Throughout the 1950s, engine power and vehicle speeds rose, designs became more
integrated and artful, and automobiles were marketed internationally. Alec Issigonis'
Mini and Fiat's 500 diminutive cars were introduced in Europe, while the
similar kei
car class became popular in Japan. The Volkswagen Beetle continued production after Hitler and began exports to other nations, including the
United States. At the same time, Nash introduced the Nash Rambler, the first successful modern compact
car made in the United States, while the standard models produced by the
"Big Three" domestic automakers grew ever larger in size, featuring
increasing amounts of chrome trim, and luxury was exemplified by the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham. The markets in Europe expanded with
new small-sized automobiles, as well as expensive grand tourers (GT), like the Ferrari America.
The market changed in the 1960s, as the
United States "Big Three" automakers began facing competition from
imported cars, the European makers adopted advanced technologies and Japan
emerged as a car-producing nation.
Japanese companies began to export some
of their more popular selling cars in Japan internationally, such as the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Corona, Nissan Sunny, and Nissan Bluebird in the mid-1960s.
The success of American Motors' compact-sized
Rambler models spurred GM and Ford to
introduce their own downsized cars in 1960.
Performance engines became a focus of
marketing by United States automakers, exemplified by the era's muscle cars. In 1964, the Ford Mustang developed a new market segment,
the pony car. New models to compete with the Mustang
included the Chevrolet Camaro, AMC Javelin, and Plymouth
Barracuda.
Captive imports and badge engineering increased in the United States and
the UK as amalgamated groups such as the British
Motor Corporation consolidated
the market. BMC's space-saving Mini, which first appeared in 1959, was marketed
under the Austin and Morris names, until Mini became a marque in its own right in 1969.
Competition increased, with Studebaker, a pioneering automaker, shutting down,
and the trend for consolidation reached Italy where niche makers like Maserati, Ferrari, and Lancia were acquired by larger companies. By the end of the
decade, the number of automobile marques had been greatly reduced.
Technology developments included the
widespread use of independent
suspensions, wider
application of fuel injection, and an increasing focus on safety in automotive design innovations during the 1960s included NSU's Wankel
engine, the gas turbine, and the turbocharger. Of these, only the last endured,
pioneered by General
Motors, and adopted
by BMW and Saab, later seeing mass-market use during the 1980s by Chrysler. Mazda continued
developing its Wankel
engine, in spite of problems in
longevity, emissions, and fuel economy. Other Wankel licensees, including Mercedes-Benz and GM, never put their designs
into production because of engineering and manufacturing problems, as well as
the lessons from the 1973 oil crisis.
The 1970s were turbulent years for
automakers and buyers with major events reshaping the industry such as
the 1973 oil crisis, stricter automobile
emissions control and
safety requirements, increasing exports by the Japanese and European
automakers, as well as growth in inflation and the stagnant economic conditions
in many nations. Smaller-sized grew in popularity.
The United States saw the establishment
of the subcompact segment with the introduction of
the AMC Gremlin, followed by the Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto. The station wagons (estate, break, kombi,
universal) body
design was popular, as well as increasing sales of non-commercial all-wheel drive off-road vehicles.
To the end of the 20th century, the
United States Big
Three (GM, Ford, and
Chrysler) partially lost their leading position, Japan became for a while the
world's leader of car production and cars began to be mass manufactured in new
Asian, East European, and other countries.
Notable exemplary post-war cars:
1946–1958 GAZ-M20 Pobeda — Soviet car with
full pontoon design
1947–1958 Standard Vanguard — British mass-market
car with full ponton design
1948–1971 Morris Minor – an early
post-war car exported around the world
1953–1971 Chevrolet Bel Air and
1953–2002 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham – first
generations were representative of tailfin design
1955–1976 Citroën DS — aerodynamic
design and innovative technology, awarded third place as Car
of the 20th Century
1959–2000 Mini — a radical and innovative small
car that was manufactured for four decades; awarded second place as Car
of the 20th Century
1960-1990 Volkswagen
Brasília
1961–1975 Jaguar E-type — a classic
sports car design
1963–1989 Porsche 911 – a sports car
was awarded fifth place as Car
of the 20th Century
1964–present Ford Mustang — the pony car that became one
of the best-selling cars of the era
1966–end
of the 20th century Fiat
124 —
an Italian car that was produced under license in many other counties including
the Soviet
Union
1966–1971 Subaru 1000 – one of the
first Japanese built sedans using a boxer engine, front wheel drive and introducing
the "double
offset joint"
drive shaft to the front wheels
1967 NSU Ro 80 — the basic wedge
profile of this design was emulated in subsequent decades,[48] unlike its Wankel
engine
late
1960s-early 1980s Gurgel BR-800
late
1960s-early 1980s Gurgel Supermini
1969 Datsun 240Z — Japanese sports
car
1980–1988 AMC Eagle — the first
mass-produced full-time all-wheel drive car
Comments
In
1978 the sticker price of automobiles and boats doubled from $4000 to $8000.
The quality of American made cars was poor.
Foreign cars got better mileage and were smaller and lighter and they
were taking over the US market.
I
bought a Spitfire 4, 2 seater convertible sports car from British Leyland
(Jaguar) in 1974 to get 30 miles per gallon.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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