The Chevrolet Corvette’s appearance at the GM Motorama show became a big hit and the public loved it. According to Earl, the company named it “Corvette” after the “trim, fleet naval vessel that performed heroic escort and patrol duties during World War II.” He felt that a name like “Corvette” would surely appeal to the former troops who had returned from the war. In January 1953, Harley Earl’s vision came true when GM introduced the new Chevrolet Corvette concept car at New York’s Motorama auto show. He convinced the company to allow him to develop plans to produce “a low-cost American sports car” to compete with the wildly popular European cars. He knew the former soldiers were an important segment of the auto buying public and he was envious of how popular the cars were with the former troops. Earl, the head designer at General Motors, recognized the company was losing business to the enormous popularity of the European sports cars. General Motors First to Launch a Counterattack Germany also produced an excellent sports car in the Porsche 356. Other European cars came from Italy, like the Alfa Romeo 6C 2500, the Fiat 1100 S, and the Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta. Cars like the British-made MG TC Midget, the Triumph 1800, and the more expensive Jaguar XK120 were quite popular. Others began to search for the cars in the states or order them from Europe. Some of the troops were able to bring back with them late-model European cars. All they could find, unfortunately, were bigger and heavier American cars.Ĭlark Gable with his 1949 Jaguar XK120 Roadster, the first left-hand drive XK120 built by Jaguar. When they arrived back in the states, they were eager to experience the same driving experience. Many of the American soldiers who served in Europe had been exposed to smaller and more nimble, sports-type cars that had been popular in many European countries. United States Sports Car Manufacturing Begins Compared to European cars, American cars had become too big and heavy, and they were getting bigger and heavier each year. Each manufacturer tried to outdo the other with bigger, heavier, and fancier cars and extensive and more extravagant use of chrome. Larger, heavier cars with tail fins gave a “Space Age” look to American cars. Meanwhile, the country was in a “Space Race” with the U.S.S.R and Communism. With wider, multi-lane highways being built across many sections of the country, traffic could move faster and smoother across vast distances without stoplights or any other obstructions. Gas prices were low and the nation’s highway system was being expanded, beginning with Interstate Highway System. had become the world’s largest automobile manufacturer.Īfter the drought of zero car production during the war, new cars were selling like hotcakes in the United States. One out of every six working Americans were either employed by or had jobs related to the automotive industry. Army TARDEC photo.Īutomobile manufacturing became the biggest industry in the country. This plant became known as the Arsenal of Democracy. 15, 1940, the Army contracted with Chrysler to produce the Nation’s first government-owned, contractor-operated facility at the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant in Warren, MI. When the automobile factories retooled after the war, they had more capacity than they knew what to do with, and began to produce cars in earnest. Meanwhile, the post-war era had become pivotal for America’s car industry.Īmerican factories had undergone rapid technological change with major increases in mass production to sustain the war effort. The American war veterans needed their own cars to move around in the vast and widely expanding America of the 1950s. And, all had returned to meld back into society and become a vibrant and integral part of America’s post-war culture. Some had become married, some purchased homes. They either returned to their former jobs or found new ones. Post-WWII Car Productionĭuring the decade following World War II, American servicemen who had fought in Europe had arrived back home to settle back and enjoy their normal lives once again. The vehicle hit the market toward the end of 1954 as a 1955 model with success beyond Ford’s wildest expectations. In 1953, with Ford trying to respond swiftly to the Corvette’s release, the Thunderbird underwent rapid development, going from an initial concept to a first prototype within the space of a year. market in 1955 as a response by Ford to the Chevy Corvette, which had come out two years prior to capture the Sports car market. The Ford Thunderbird was introduced to the U.S.
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