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 …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 …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