Word: detroits
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...nation's 77.9 million drivers, it was the week to do their Christmas window-shopping early. Detroit rolled its 1958 models and began to croon its annual siren sales song to the U.S. public. Out came a whole fleet of new cars in a blizzard of announcements promising "jet intakes," "bubble windshields," "flight-pitch transmissions," "Marauder engines"-even an ICBM look. There were downswept snouts, upswept fins and outswept taillights ; all were ablaze with dazzling colors and gleaming chrome brighter than any Christmas tree. Sighed a Detroit secretary, rapturously examining a trailerload of new 1958s; "Chrome is my favorite...
...Detroit's new .cars were not only big news to the industry and its faithful public; they were even bigger news to the U.S. economy. From Wall Street to Main Street, the hopes and fears of those fretting about a business slowdown (see Wall Street) focused around the new models and gave renewed emphasis to the old saying: "As the new cars go, so goes the new year." Exaggerated as that might be, the eagerness with which the public buys the new cars may well mean the difference between a good or a great year for U.S. business...
What Is Style? As always, there would be complaints that Detroit's new chromium chariots are too long, too heavy, too bold, too brassy. Yet the inescapable fact, as every automan knows, is that flash, dash and dazzle-what automen call style-are the attractions that sell new cars. Those brave enough, and successful enough, to produce startling new styles that catch the public fancy, as Chrysler discovered in 1957, can suddenly boost profits from $6,000,000 to $103 million (and rise from 15.9% to 19.5% of the market) in a single year. Conservatives who fall behind...
...from an oil filter), the big sales features were dependability and technical improvements-plus the giddy growth of the U.S. itself. Every new road opened up a new market; every new mechanical advance-hydraulic brakes, balloon tires, steel to replace wood and leather-brought the new buyers flocking to Detroit's door. The famed Ford model T went 19 years without a basic body change. For the Hollywood movie star or Wall Street tycoon who wanted something special, there was the custom-body shop. But even Designer Gordon Buehrig, who styled three classic U.S. cars-the Duesenberg...
...until the early '30s did Detroit's automakers realize the potential of launching new-looking models (but not too new) every year to lure more customers. Under G.M. President Alfred P. Sloan, Harley Earl set up the first full-fledged styling section, and in the process gave G.M. the style lead for more than 20 years. Earl pioneered the rounded body for mass-production cars, slanted windshields, fenders that projected over the doors, the hardtop convertible. Despite G.M.'s success others were slow to follow. Even as late as 1948, Chrysler President K. T. Keller hotly defended...