The first fifty years was a great time with an "anything goes" frame of mind by manufacturers and shoppers alike. These were the years from the Great Depression, two world wars, and the birth of work unions.
World War II had an increased effect on the American automobile industry than World War I. Although automobiles continued to be turned out through 1917 and 1918, in February 1942 just about all passenger car production came to a close. In fact, a very limited number associated with cars were delivered afterwards, as statistics show manufacture of 139 passenger cars in 1943 along with 610 in 1944, doubtless all with regard to military or government use.
As America came out of World War II the next ten years of vehicle design and manufacture steered the way with bigger, much better and more powerful cars because factories retooled for new methods for the next generation of automobile manufacturing. During this time survival of the fittest made it easier to decide winners and non-winners as the Big Three surfaced as kings.
The year 1946 had been difficult, with strikes along with shortages of materials keeping results lower than hoped for. There was zero window glass in Jan and again in October, while March saw a lack of door locks. Then inside June hood locks had gone away, and by October there were lots of locks but no entrance doors.
Strikes among component designers were particularly damaging given that they hit production of all makes of automobiles. However, by the end of the year, the guaranteed minimum wage and also a 40-hour work week were decided, and industrial disputes started to be fewer.
Passenger car year-end results in 1946 was 2,148,699, under any year since depression-hit 1938. Inside 1947 and 1948 it was more than the 3 million mark, plus 1949 beat all previous production, with 5,119,466 cars created.
The pent-up demand for new autos was enormous; more than half the actual 26 million cars in America were more than ten years old and outdated and well overdue with regard to replacement. While it would be unfounded to say that any automobile sold, whatever its high quality, the early post-war years were any sellers’ market par excellence, and many types of car makers flourished.
The Traditional Car Era began through post-war 1946 although DMVs define a classic automobile as any vehicle over 15-25 years of age and the Classic Car Club of America says classic vehicles were produced between 1919 through 1948 which has changed depending on just what publishing date you’re looking at. At first an ending date regarding 1945 was extended to 1948 while using acceptance of the Continental. Simply no Chevrolets, Fords, Oldsmobile’s or Pontiacs were admitted : unless with custom coachwork plus a special application had been produced - and among Buicks, merely the 90 or Limited collection from 1931 to 1942. CCCA considers a new “Classic” as ideal touring autos.
We call pre-World War Vehicles “vintage” or “Antique” and also separate “Classic Cars” in the era of Muscle Automobiles which began with more highly effective engines during the 1960s along with early 1970s.
The America automobile industry was being hound upon Ralph Nader and he was held accountable for the death of the Corvair. Like any crusading young lawyer who didn’t keep a driver’s license, Nader published an article in The Nation magazine during November 1965 entitled “The Corvair Story.” This formed the first section of his book Hazardous at any Speed, which in turn came out the same month.
Governmentt influence through regulation diverted the particular American Automobile industry inside the 1970´s with the Clean Air Act associated with 1970 which restricted the usage of high performance engines over the next several years based on conforming to fresh requirements.
The OPEC oil embargo throughout the winter of 1973 prompted consumers to conserve gasoline, which in fact had a direct influence on the type of vehicles eventually manufactured in Detroit and existing automobile sales.
In 1978 Congress had passed the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rules and Detroit ended up moving to comply with the newest regulations. The less affordable cars of the past were replaced by smaller, better vehicles modeled after the imports that had been rapidly becoming more popular.
These adjustments brought an end to what we all call “The Classic Car Era."
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