The year ASA was founded, 1951, was a big year for automobiles both on-screen and in real life. “Strangers on a Train” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” were both movies released that year. In addition, the automotive industry was busy at work during the '50s, developing automobiles - some that would last, and some that wouldn't.

Daimler Chrysler, as it is known today, presented two Mercedes-Benz 6-cylinder models (220 and 300) at the International Automobile Show in April, 1951. Later in the year it released the 300S, a two-door version of the 300, at the Paris Motor Show. The Chrysler company released a “Hemi” V-8 engine with hemispherical combustion chambers that was six years in the making. The “Hemi” helped establish performance standards in the classic '50s and '60s American automobiles.

In a less successful venture, in 1952 the Ford Motor Co. began to design the Edsel, a full-size car with a “daring design.” The Edsel was released to the public in 1957, but because of a recession and other factors, the Edsel flopped in sales. Sales of the Edsel were discontinued by Henry Ford II after just 25 months on the market.

Not everything Ford designed failed, though. The Lincoln Continental was an immediate success, and according to the Ford Motor Co. Web site, the story is told that when Edsel Ford drove the first Lincoln Continental around town during his vacation in 1939, the car caused such a sensation that 200 friends handed him blank checks for their own luxurious facsimiles. During 1951, the Continental was chosen by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City as one of eight automobiles for an exhibit on “excellence as works of art.” The Web site also reports that Time Magazine, in 1959, ranked the Lincoln Continental Mark I as No. 6 on a list of “100 best-designed commercial products of modern times.”

In the coming months we'll reflect more on the automotive industry, automobiles that were introduced and the changes that were brought in the 1950s. After all, the Edsel might not have survived, but ASA has remained strong throughout the decades!

History Quiz:

Besides George Herbert Walker Bush and George W. Bush, who is the only other father-son duo to serve as U.S. president?

See the March issue of AutoInc. for the answer.

History Quiz answer for January:

What U.S. General retired in 1951 after 52 years of service? (Hint: He is famous for the quote, “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.”)

Answer: Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

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