1950s Car Culture - a short history with clips

clip of Groucho Marx Plymouth Desoto commercial...info on sales, interstates, styles---clip of Richfield Boron gas station.

Eisenhower and cold war influence on highway construction. Nice color clips of visitors driving to National Parks--and the service stations, hotels and fast foods places that popped up.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• 1950s
• automobile
• CarCulture

[hep2jive]

in 1955 when gas was 25 cents, that was equal to about 5.89 per gallon in modern times. this video bugs me in how they wrongly show the 1950s. yes cars were 800-2,000 bucks, but you were not making 15 bucks an hour. try $3.75 a week. all of a sudden, 800 bucks for a new car doesnt seem so cheap. people in the early 1950s where very poor and it was hard to find a job right after the war... this video seems to just talk about how everyone had money and everyone was happy... yea right.

[vikrace]

The first car is a 1948 Buick. The second car is a 1949 Chevrolet. Hope this helps!!!!

[XXXoebe]

LOL'd at the guy who think s he is going to make a left turn at 2:58!

[hep2jive]

@50zcarsman Oh thanks for sharing! yeah I was born nin 1989 and even I know that this video isnt right. thought im not like most. check out my vids, you might like my car I drive!!

[50zcarsman]

@hep2jive Correct. I am stunned by how much certain things cost back then, when one takes into account average wages. My dad, an RCA electrical engineer with a bachelor's degree, a security clearance, 17 years' experience, a stay-at-home spouse, and three kids to feed made only about $38K per year as late as 1970, and we never felt financially stressed. But my 'rents were prudent -- some stuff was just out of sight so they never considered it. Only the age of mass imports changed that.

[hep2jive]

@hep2jive Oh yeah, plus we all were freaked out and scared we were going to get blown up any second by the russians.

[shadowfrost91]

Gas was $0.25 a gallon?! I have to build a time machine when ever I need gas =)

[kronitz52]

to hep2jicw, how true, but it is the perception that everything was swell!

[tomwendel1957]

@DamnStraightM35A2 I remember in 1960 my Dad made $69.00 a week in the family business,house payment was$59.00 a month.

[CycolacFan]

there was also a recession in 1958 as well.

[DamnStraightM35A2]

more like $50 a week not $3.75 a week $3.75 a week would be 9 cents an hour

[quirpco]

Easy credit...now THERE'S a thing of the past!