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.
 |
| A family pose with a 1946 Pontiac Streamliner, circa early 1950s |
 |
| A de-badged Oldsmobile Rocket 88 during the 1950s |
 |
| A family and their Wartburg in Veszprém, Hungary during the 1950s |
 |
| Buick, registered to California during the early 1950s |
 |
| Ford, somewhere in Virginia during 1950 |
 |
| Two young ladies pose with a pair of 1950 Chrysler Windsor, circa early 1950s |
 |
| 1950 Oldsmobile 76, registered to Ohio for 1951 |
 |
| California registered Packard touring some snowfields in 1951 |
 |
| Chevrolet, registered to California for 1951 |
 |
| Ford Tudor, registered to Oregon for 1951 |
 |
| A 1950 Pontiac Chieftain Business Coupe, registered to Nebraska for 1952, near Salt Lake City, Utah |
 |
| A 1950 Pontiac Chieftain, registered to Nebraska, at Lake Tahoe during 1952 |
 |
| A 1951 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe, registered in Manila, Philippines, during November 1952 |
 |
| Road trip in a 1952 Mercury Custom 2dr sedan, registered to Pennsylvania for 1952 |
 |
| Traveling in a Plymouth Savoy during 1952 |
 |
| Down on the farm with a Ford pick-up, registered to North Dakota for 1953 |
 |
| The 1953 Studebaker registered to Texas for 1953 |
 |
| A Ford in need of some love, somewhere in Alaska during April 1954 |
 |
| A roadside picnic with a Chevrolet during June 1954 |
 |
| Ford Zephyr Six, somewhere in Saudi Arabia during March 1954 |
 |
| The family Packard at Wheaton, Illinois, during 1954 |
 |
| 1953 Ford Customline Fordor Sedan, registered to Missouri for 1955 |
 |
| 1953 Oldsmobile 98, registered to South Carolina for 1955 |
 |
| Plymouth, registered to Alaska for 1955 |
 |
| Young lady and a 1955 Buick Century 2 Door Hardtop from Los Angeles, California during 1955 |
 |
| 1952 Chevrolet Styleline Special at the US Naval Hospital at Mare Island, California in 1956 |
 |
| A 1956 Oldsmobile 88 Holiday Coupe as a graduation gift for Bonnie in June 1956 |
 |
| A couple of proud lads and their Chevrolets, registered to California for 1956 |
 |
| Ford Fairlane Sunliner during 1956 |
 |
| Mary and her 1955 Oldsmobile Super 88, registered to Ohio, during autumn 1956 |
 |
| Plymouth, registered to Oregon for 1956 |
 |
| Dodge Coronet during August 1957 |
 |
| Touring Germany with an Opel Kapitan, during June 1957 |
 |
| 1950 Ford Crestliner somewhere in France during 1958 |
 |
| 1955 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan has plates for Nebraska in 1958 |
 |
| 1957 Chevrolet BelAir, registered to Oregon for 1958 |
 |
| A 1956 Chevrolet gets a little love during April 1958 |
 |
| A 1957 Chevrolet at Cedar Pass, South Dakota, during August 1958 |
 |
| At the lakeside in a Monarch, also known as a Canadian Mercury, near Rawdon, Canada, during July 1958 |
 |
| Chevrolet truck, doing a bit of 'bush bashing' during June 1958 |
 |
| Family with their Chevrolet BelAir, registered to Michigan, tour Big Thompson Canyon, California, 1958 |
 |
| Ford Customline taking a cruise up Daytona Beach during October 1958 |
 |
| Ready for a roadtrip in the family Ford during August 1958 |
 |
| 1953 Ford Customline 2 door hardtop during August 1959 |
 |
| 1959 Dodge Coronet Lancer, circa 1959 |
 |
| A 1956 Plymouth Plaza, registered to Michigan for 1959 |
 |
| Ford Galaxie, somewhere in the USA during November 1959 |
 |
| Lady poses with her 1956 Ford Fairlane Victoria, circa late 1950s |
 |
| Picnic in Lucerne Valley, Mojave Desert, California, with a Hillman Husky, March 1959 |
 |
| At Lincoln Caverns with 1950 Buick, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania |
 |
| Buick Dynaflow during the 1950s |
 |
| Chrysler Imperial, during the 1950s |
 |
| Fashionable lady poses with her 1950 Buick Super Tourback Sedan (Model 52) and a 1954 Buick convertible in the background |
 |
| Ford Mercury Monterey during the 1950s |
 |
| Keeping the Moskvich 407 dust free in Hungary, circa 1950s |
 |
| Old man holding a dog posing by his 1956 Nash Rambler Cross Country Station Wagon |
 |
| The family with 1956 Plymouth station wagon |
 |
| Touring in an Opel Rekord, somewhere in Germany during the 1950s |