Fabulous Fifties Automobiles

Did you know that Buick actually started General Motors? The Buick Motor Company was created by David Dunbar Buick of Detroit, Michigan in 1903. The fledgling car company was sold that same year to James Whiting who moved it to Flint, Michigan and hired William Durant to manage the company for him. Durant was a genius in marketing and soon had the company performing as the largest auto manufacturing company in the United States. Durant began to acquire other car companies and named his corporation General Motors.

The image on the right is a 1951 magazine advertisement promoting a yellow Buick convertible. Fireball power and Dynaflow Drive were features touted in the ad. A classic car design of the Fabulous Fifties Automobiles.

Image Credit: A scan of a vintage magazine ad in my personal collection.

Chevrolet was started by William Durant and race car driver Louis Chevrolet.

During the decade of the 1950s they brought us classic styling and models we still drool over.

You see 1950 two door hardtop on the right in yellow with a black top. Now that's style folks!

The Bel-Air is still one of my favorites and we all can recognize the 1957 model.

I'm kind of partial to the old Nomads, myself. And I learned to drive a stick shift in a 1955 Bel-Air. It was awesome in copper and beige.

Image Credit: From a vintage magazine ad in my collection

Ahh, the '50s Merc was a stylin' car in it's heyday and still is for many a classic car enthusiast. They are always represented in a Classic Car show. Many have been customized and given incredible paint jobs.

Edsel Ford founded the Mercury division of Ford in 1939. He wanted to market an entry level luxury car much like General Motors had done with the Buick. In 1949 Mercury introduced a style change and in 1950 the style looked like the one in the ad to the right.

James Dean drove a 1949 Merc in the 1955 movie Rebel Without A Cause. Personally I don't see much difference in the 1950's style.

With a 255 V8 engine those puppies could really haul it down the road and were so much fun to ride in.

Image Credit: private collection image from author

The Studebaker family was a well known maker of wagons and carriages before they started to develop a car as early as 1897. Their first attempt was an electric car in 1902, yep I said electric as in battery operated! By 1904 they were making gasoline-engined cars.

The picture at the right is a two tone green 1955 Studebaker President Speedster. Pretty futuristic looking for the time.

Image Credit: How Stuff Works

The Fab Fifties brought us interesting new car designs. As television sets began to be in more American homes, the automobile manufacturers used commercials to introduce the latest model and its features to the American public. Instead of people having to wait until they saw one driving down the road, they could now talk about it from the commercial they saw.

There are many books and prints featuring the fabulous Fifties automobiles that we all consider classic cars today. Books that tell the history of American cars of that decade, feature the designs, and highlight advertising campaigns.

Photographic prints are available from many places that show the cars of the 1950s that usually have been restored and are proudly owned by someone today.

Below you will find some of my recommendations on these products about Cars of the Fantastic 50s that you might consider wanting to own.

1956 Ford Thunderbird Convertible Framed Art Print
21.6875 in. x 17.6875 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com

Not exactly a hot-rod coupe but I just love the old trucks! Studebaker made some really cool looking ones. Here is a sweet little 1951 Studebaker in red.

1951 Studebaker 2R5 Pickup Truck Framed Photographic Print
20.9375 in. x 16.9375 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com