The post-World War II era brought a wide range of new technologies to the automobile consumer, and a host of problems for the independent automobile manufacturers.
The industry was maturing in an era of rapid technological change; mass production and the benefits from economies of scale led to innovative designs and greater profits, but stiff competition between the automakers.
By the end of the decade, the industry had reshaped itself into the Big Three, Studebaker, and AMC. The age of small independent automakers was nearly over, as most of them either consolidated or went out of business.
A number of innovations were either invented or improved sufficiently to allow for mass production during the decade: air conditioning, automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, seat belts and arguably the most influential change in automotive history, the overhead-valve V8 engine. The horsepower race had begun, laying the foundation for the muscle car era.
Here below is a set of color photos from Steve Given that shows people posing with their cars in the 1950s.
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| A family pose with a 1946 Pontiac Streamliner, circa early 1950s |
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| A de-badged Oldsmobile Rocket 88 during the 1950s |
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| A family and their Wartburg in Veszprém, Hungary during the 1950s |
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| Buick, registered to California during the early 1950s |
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| Ford, somewhere in Virginia during 1950 |
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