Cars In The 1950's

Automobiles are very important for the survival of the human race. Cars have always been viewed as a silhouette of someone’s personality or simple modes of transportation. However, the automobile has lead to groundbreaking technology to simplify transportation of goods and services. In the 1950s, the Interstate Highway System lead to the development of tractor trailers and transporting large masses of goods and also lead to car cruises across the country. The 1960s paved the way for the birth of the muscle car which began the wars between car makers for the most powerful cars in the world and lead to hundreds of millions of people being able to have an extremely large variety in which car they spent their hard earned cash. The 1970s was a

People began developing new everyday items to make life easier. Cars also began to have curves and sharp lines, diverting from the boxy 1940s era automobiles designed to cut costs and maximize efficiency. One example of this was the Chevrolet Bel Air and its’ 1950 debut. It shook the world with its’ aggressive styling, large V8 engine, and low price (about $1,700). During this time, many teens gained independence by acquiring a job and saving up to buy their own car to go on dates and street race. The low costs of cars allowed them to get most vehicles they desired and they were also able to get powerful engines to win street races. Once the U.S. government realized how greatly automobiles impacted the industry and economy, they approved the Interstate Highway System of 1956. This allowed more drivers to cruise the open road to travel to landmarks across the open and vast country. Automakers realized how more and more teens were buying their cars so they decided to target them with fancy styling, varieties of paint colors, and large displacement horsepower-rich V8 engines. They also made them simple to work on, thus allowing teens to pay more money on parts to upgrade their cars to fit their personality and make them

Cars began to have sharper lines and were more aerodynamic than cars of late. Three-point seat belts were introduced and with TV shows such as The A-Team, Magnum P.I., and Miami Vice, cars became symbols for characters in those popular shows. The A-Team featured a 1983 GMC Vandura, Magnum P.I. featured a Ferrari 308 GTS, and Miami Vice featured both the Ferrari Daytona and Ferrari Testarossa as the star of the show. Arguably one of the largest technological automotive advancements in history is the introduction of the All Wheel Drive system in production cars. During Group B off-road rallies, Audi introduced a revolutionary system in which the vehicle’s differential split 100% of the car’s power and torque to all four wheels equally or as needed. This was groundbreaking for rallying and lead to over 20 victories for the Audi