-
Henry Ford resigns
1945) Henry Ford resigns his presidency of the Ford Motor Company. He hands to position over to his grandson, Henry Ford II. -
WWII ends
May 7th, 1945) World War II ends in Europe with Germany's surrender to the allies. -
Michelin patents new tire
1946) Michelin patents the Radial-ply tyre. -
Power seats and windows
1947) Packard offers power seats and windows in all their cars.
<1947 Packard Super Deluxe Clipper> -
RIP Henry Ford
1947) Henry Ford dies at the age of 84. -
100,000,000th car
1948) The American motor industry builds its 100,000,000th car
<1948 Chevy Pickup> -
Dynaflow fully automatic gearbox
1948) Buick offers the Dynaflow fully automatic gearbox. This is essentially the automatic gearbox as we know it today -
Radial ply tyres go on sale
1949) Michelin 'X' radial ply tyres go on sale for the first time -
Auto transmission in Chevys
1950) Automatic transmission becomes available on lower priced Chevrolet models -
Car ownership up to 60%
1950) By 1950, 60% of American families own a car -
Powerglide, Fordomatic and Mer-O-Matic transmissions
1950) In the USA, automatic gearboxes become more readily available. Chevrolet offers the Powerglide, Ford the Fordomatic and Merc-O-Matic. -
Cruise control developed
1950) Cruise control is developed by a blind man to keep vehicles at a steady speed in hopes of reducing crash rates. It was unpopular at first but is now on almost all cars. -
100 mph now attainable
1951) 100mph performance becomes available at realistic prices as Triumph announces the TR and the Healey introduces their 100/4 sports cars
<1953 Healey 100/4> -
Power steering and torque converter automatic
1951) Chrysler offer power steering and the M-6 Torque-Converter Automatic. They also spark a horsepower race with the 180 horsepower, 331 cubic-inch Firepower Hemi V-8 engine -
Automatic car sales soar in the US
1952) In the USA, sales of cars with automatic transmissions exceed 2 million
<1952 Dodge Coronet Lancer> -
"gull wing" sports coupe
1952) Mercedes shows the spectacular 300SL 'gull wing' sports coupe -
Power brakes
1952) Packard offers power brakes -
Launch of the Corvette
1953) General Motors launches the Corvette, a radical glass-fiber-bodied roadster concept car featuring a wrap-around windshield and powered by a venerable straight six engine. Production is limited -
Overhead Valves
1954) Ford introduces overhead valves on its V8 engines in Ford and Mercury models -
Firebird concept
1954) GM reveals the 370 horsepower turbine-powered Firebird I concept car -
Ford Thunderbird
1954) The two seat Ford Thunderbird roadster is announced -
McDonald's first drive thru
1955) McDonald’s opens its first drive-thru hamburger bar -
Futuristic designs
1956) U.S. car stylists begin to adopt tail fins and rocket-shaped tail lamps as science fiction and space rockets enter the American consciousness
<1956 Ford Fairlane Sunliner> -
Safety first?
1956) Ford of America offers seat belts to a disinterested public -
Continental Mark II
1957) Ford Motor Company introduces the Continental Mark II, priced at almost $10,000 -
Interstate highway system construction approved by Congress
1957) The American Congress approves construction of the 41,000 mile Interstate highway system -
Retractable hardtops
1957) The new Ford Skyliner features a retractable hardtop, a ‘first’ for a production car -
Fuel injection adopted by certain companies
1957) Chevrolet, Pontiac and Rambler adopt fuel injection -
50th Birthday and 50 millionth car
1958) To celebrate the fiftieth birthday of the Model T, Ford re-assembles a 1909 example.
This same year, Ford produces their fifty millionth car
<1909 Model T> -
Packard ends production
1958) Packard production comes to an end
<Detroit Packard plant that closed in 1958> -
Thunderbird becomes a more family friendly car
1958) The Ford Thunderbird becomes a four-seater 'personal luxury’ car -
Recession = drop in car sales
1958) American car sales drop by 31% due to an economic recession -
Car ownership grows to 80%
1960) Eighty percent of United States families own at least one car
