It was the 1960s, gas was cheap, 37 cents a gallon on average, and people were finding their way back to normal life after World War 2. Racial tensions and tension with the USSR were coming to turning points, art and music were growing as an outlet for personal expression. The economy was circulating as the decade was run by democratic presidents between 1961 and 1969.The 1960s were a decade of change, and the auto industry was no exception. In the 1960s the automobile industry was shaped by a new generation of baby boomers, the emerging counter culture, the cold war which evoked americans to experiment with new technology, a market aimed towards the people,and the public's growing unrest about safety.
The post World War 2 era gave birth to a new generation of baby boomers, who were car obsessed teenagers in the 1960s. First, during the 1960s, companies started making smaller, cheaper cars that were more practical for the younger demographic of the market to buy. General Motors released the Chevrolet Corvair, Chrysler released the Plymouth Valiant and Ford released the Falcon, which dominated sales over the former two. Second, teenagers love the adrenaline that they can get from driving fast. In 1955, there was an accident that killed 82 people at the 24 hour race of Le Mans which scared American authority into placing a ban on auto racing. However, after the ban was lifted in 1963, There was a large resurgence in auto racing which inspired a new kind of car, the muscle car. People wanted fast cars with minimal drag and the muscle car could do just that. Muscle cars were cars with a light body and a strong engine footnote. Most commonly they would have a six cylinder or eight cylinder engine and a body made out of aluminum instead of iron or steel. Most iconic in this category would be the Plymouth Dodge Charger, Plymouth Road Runner, or the Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt. These light, fast cars were popular with the baby boomers because it let them speed around the roadways. Finally, cars were used in pop culture. Most iconically would be the Alfa Romeo Spider, in the 1967 movie, The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman. A note by Alfa Romeo and Fiat of Kirkland states; “This two seat convertible roadster became a pop culture icon once the movie hit theaters.” footnote. Seeing the cars in filmd aimed twords the teenage demographic made cars more popular. Smaller cheaper cars, muscle cars and auto racing and pop culture fueled 1960s cars provided an outlet for counter culture to flourish. Undeniably, the Volkswagen dominated the counterculture automobile market with the Beetle and the Microbus. The beetle was the most common. First, it was small and practical but also the engine was easy to fix. Second, it was cheap “The price was groovy—$1,639 new in 1967. And by then some 10 million Beetles had been built, mostly with interchangeable parts. In theory, I could get a Volkswagen for free by putting together things that had fallen off other Volkswagens.” ootnote. The VW microbus is to this day the most iconic car of the 1960s …show more content…
In 1966, there were 1000 highway deaths per week and two years later the numbers were more that 50,000 a year. At the beginning of the decade, cars did not have seat belts, head rests, padded dashboards or backup lights. In 1963 thousands died from carbon Monoxide poisoning. Ralph Nader published Unsafe At Any Speed in 1965, a book about the dangers of cars. The book became the #1 nonfiction best selller the next year. Nader resented large businesses for letting millions of drivers drive around in risky cars. As one ”automakers feared that drawing public attention to the need for safety improvements like collapsible steering columns (which prevent the driver from being impaled on the driveshaft during an accident) would cause people to view cars as unsafe and therefore drive down profits.” The Big Three went under public fire and dropped in sales because of public outrage. This cought the attention of the government and new safety standards were enforced. Better breaks were developed letting cars stop faster and with less
The post World War 2 era gave birth to a new generation of baby boomers, who were car obsessed teenagers in the 1960s. First, during the 1960s, companies started making smaller, cheaper cars that were more practical for the younger demographic of the market to buy. General Motors released the Chevrolet Corvair, Chrysler released the Plymouth Valiant and Ford released the Falcon, which dominated sales over the former two. Second, teenagers love the adrenaline that they can get from driving fast. In 1955, there was an accident that killed 82 people at the 24 hour race of Le Mans which scared American authority into placing a ban on auto racing. However, after the ban was lifted in 1963, There was a large resurgence in auto racing which inspired a new kind of car, the muscle car. People wanted fast cars with minimal drag and the muscle car could do just that. Muscle cars were cars with a light body and a strong engine footnote. Most commonly they would have a six cylinder or eight cylinder engine and a body made out of aluminum instead of iron or steel. Most iconic in this category would be the Plymouth Dodge Charger, Plymouth Road Runner, or the Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt. These light, fast cars were popular with the baby boomers because it let them speed around the roadways. Finally, cars were used in pop culture. Most iconically would be the Alfa Romeo Spider, in the 1967 movie, The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman. A note by Alfa Romeo and Fiat of Kirkland states; “This two seat convertible roadster became a pop culture icon once the movie hit theaters.” footnote. Seeing the cars in filmd aimed twords the teenage demographic made cars more popular. Smaller cheaper cars, muscle cars and auto racing and pop culture fueled 1960s cars provided an outlet for counter culture to flourish. Undeniably, the Volkswagen dominated the counterculture automobile market with the Beetle and the Microbus. The beetle was the most common. First, it was small and practical but also the engine was easy to fix. Second, it was cheap “The price was groovy—$1,639 new in 1967. And by then some 10 million Beetles had been built, mostly with interchangeable parts. In theory, I could get a Volkswagen for free by putting together things that had fallen off other Volkswagens.” ootnote. The VW microbus is to this day the most iconic car of the 1960s …show more content…
In 1966, there were 1000 highway deaths per week and two years later the numbers were more that 50,000 a year. At the beginning of the decade, cars did not have seat belts, head rests, padded dashboards or backup lights. In 1963 thousands died from carbon Monoxide poisoning. Ralph Nader published Unsafe At Any Speed in 1965, a book about the dangers of cars. The book became the #1 nonfiction best selller the next year. Nader resented large businesses for letting millions of drivers drive around in risky cars. As one ”automakers feared that drawing public attention to the need for safety improvements like collapsible steering columns (which prevent the driver from being impaled on the driveshaft during an accident) would cause people to view cars as unsafe and therefore drive down profits.” The Big Three went under public fire and dropped in sales because of public outrage. This cought the attention of the government and new safety standards were enforced. Better breaks were developed letting cars stop faster and with less