The Car was not invented in the USA but no other country has taken it to heart like America. Post-war America was largely shaped by the automobile and the mobility it offered. Improving living standards and increasingly affordable cars meant most people could still work in the cities but live in the leafy suburbs. Communities grew and grew, connected by main roads or freeways, running like arteries to and from the city centres to the suburbs. Detroit, Michigan was ground zero for car manufacture, and was known as the "Motor City" or "Motown".
The 1950's and 1960's were golden years for the American motor industry. The rest of the world watched what Detroit was doing and followed. In the 50's, bigger was better. The more chrome a car had determined it's status. Tail fins were the in thing. Their height grew and grew throughout the decade, perhaps reaching their zenith on the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado. (Fins however, were the motoring equivalent of flared trousers. Once they went out of style, auto designers made few attempts to bring them back).
While the 1950's were prosperous, the 60's began with a depression. Big, excessive cars were out and smaller, more efficient automobiles were in. Ford found this out to their cost when their new Edsel range bombed. It was a case of the wrong car at the wrong time. However, the economy soon bounced back and with it did the car makers. Performance was paramount, and to cater to the demand for more powerful, sporty machines, the automakers invented the "Musclecar".
John Zachary DeLorean, head of Pontiac for General Motors, decided the slow selling Tempest LeMans range needed an image boost. The package he came up with was the GTO. This was a Tempest LeMans with a huge engine (relative to the cars weight) as well as sports suspension, wheels and interior. It was a huge success and overnight, the other car makers were introducing their own Musclecars. Cars such as the Oldsmobile 4-4-2, Dodge Charger and the Boss Mustangs all added to the Musclecar legend.
It was too good to last. As the 1970's dawned, concerns about safety, new emission controls for engines (which strangled the power output) and after the first fuel crisis in 1973, economy, killed the high performance craze. Unfortunately, not only had the cars made in the 1970's become boring to drive, the stylists had also lost their way. Cars such as the Mustang II and the AMC Pacer gave meaning to the expression of the 1970's as "the decade that style forgot".
Since then, in the 80's and 90's, American cars have improved immensely in terms of quality and style. However, faced with stiff competition from European and Japanese manufacturers, American cars have become more like the imports they have to compete with for sales. Sadly, the world is unlikely to see an era of car manufacture like the 1950's and 60's in Detroit again.
The following are those models in my collection which I feel can be considered true American cars. Please click on a name to find out more about the car.
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