Cruisin'.

If any invention typified the wildly optimistic mood of America in the 1950s, it was the decade's large, long, sleek automobiles. Unlike architects, furniture designers, and fashion designers of the era, who produced simple, unornamented products in subdued colors, designers of the fabulous 1950s cars produced gleaming, exuberant creations of chrome and power—and in delicious ice cream colors, too.

Impractical but Stylish.

By 1954 there were forty-seven million passenger cars in the United States, and by 1960, 80 percent of American families owned cars. The cars were totally impractical. Their gas mileage was abysmal. They were designed for style, not safety. They were so long that they were hard to park, especially in cities. Their fancy grilles and acres of chrome were difficult to keep clean. But their shiny exteriors and spacious interior design screamed power and status. Moreover, they had those...