CLASSIC AMERICAN SEDANS OF THE 1950s : THE FOUR-DOORS

For the most part, the automobile corporate showrooms of the 1950s were far less elegant and stylish than those that exist today. To attract buyers, brightly coloured, high styled convertibles or two-door hardtops were displayed. It was a common ploy, and many a young family flocked to the showroom to buy the flashy convertible only to succumb to the practicality and economic reality of the family four-door sedan. Yet, these sedans still came with all the colour, chrome, power, comfort and the latest options and standard features.

For car makers, this was also an era of marketing experimentation, and while some of the novel ideas and models became mainstays, others fell by the wayside, but today are admired for their uniqueness, although some were just plain laughable. It was also a decade of automotive take-overs and mergers worldwide. Along with the traditional American “Big Three” (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler), there were other smaller, but major manufacturers including Kaiser-Frazer, Studebaker, Packard, Nash, and Hudson.

This book provides an in-depth year by year examination of the multitude of post-war manufacturers, revealing an era that began with great conservatism and evolved into some of the most stylistically flamboyant and uniquely equipped sedans in automotive history. Built in a decade of immense change in engineering, design, safety and styling, this lavishly illustrated volume features America’s most popular family, four-door sedans.