Post World War II Cars

As the world finally recovered from the dust of World War II, the automotive industry experienced a revival which saws the introduction of new high powered V8 engine models as well as a more integrated bodies by maker General Motors' Oldsmobile and Cadillac. Vehicles that make their debut in the UK during this era include the legendary 1948 Morris Minor, the 1949 Rover P4 and the 1951 Ford Consul. Whereas in Italy, this era saws the first 250 series developed by Enzo Ferrari as well as the innovative V6-powered Aurelia by Lancia.

As the years progress towards 1950, the cars became more powerful and capable of higher speeds, the car body becames more integrated as well as having a more flowing design, cars are also making their appearance in more regions internationally. Notably the keicar class car during their era introduce many Japanese household to the convenience of owning a car. In later years, Japan would be the major player in the automotive industry with Toyota being one of the largest global car producer in the world today. There seems to be three major market trend during the 1950s, the mini car market represented by the Alec Issigonis'Mini, the Fiat's 500 mini cars and the German VW Beetle, the GT cars represented by the Ferrari series, and the ultra luxury automobiles exemplified in the US by the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham.

In the United States, powerful big engine muscle cars and pony cars became the trend setter of the 1960's, with the Ford Mustang being the market leader in the earlier part of the decade. The performance of the car was a hot ticket despite muscle car being a petrol guzzler and produce heavy emission. However situation changed towards the end of the decade until 1970s, with the emergence of automobile emission control rules to reduce pollution, the oil crisis of 1973 plus competition from European and Japanese imports. The market is slowly dominated by small imported cars, mostly imported overseas from BMW, Toyota and Nissan.