Great Cars: American Classics

The 1964 Mustang created a stampede in American showrooms similar to the frenzy created by the Beatles. Ford had a series of polls to see what baby boomers wanted in a car. The Mustang was it. Just a short three years after the Mustang's unveiling at the NY World's Fair, the one millionth Mustang trotted off the assembly line. The Mustang was the inexpensive sporty car the world was waiting for.

The 1953 Corvette was the American car designed to fulfill the yearnings of soldiers returning from war. Chevrolet's fiberglass two seater was the first mass- produced, American sports car. Over the years, the Corvette has evolved from a cute looking roadster to the menacing Sting Ray and now to one of the world's sleekest, sexiest and fastest high-tech sports cars.

A willy salesman and carriage builder, Billy Durant, was asked to help David Buick's struggling company. He stepped in, saw the potential and leveraged its assets to create the world's largest corporation, GM. Ever since, Buick has been an icon in American automobiles. Once legendary designer Harley Earl took charge of its lineup cars like Century, Roadmaster and Riviera began to turn heads.

One of Henry Ford's early suppliers, Henry Leland, took over from Ford and turned his first company into one that would symbolize the best of America. Many people were building their own unreliable cars. Leland was convinced there was a better way. He borrowed and applied manufacturing techniques from Colt Firearms to his cars. His cars then earned the title of the "Standard of the World."

The Pontiac GTO was created by John Delorean alongside a group of young engineers. They raced against kids at night and took what they learned back to their offices the next day. The result , the GTO - it gave America's young people a car that really looked good and went fast. "You can sell an old man a young man's car but you can't sell a young man an old man's car."

The 1955 Ford Thunderbird was meant to fulfill the desire for a sporty American car. In just two years, about 40-thousand T-Birds were sold. Shortly after, Ford took the Thunderbird in another direction. It became bigger and gained a backseat. It eventually was killed by Ford and then resurrected as one reminiscent of the original. it is one of the most durable names in US automotive history.

Like a coiled snake, this car scared the world's racing elite and made its creator, Carroll Shelby, a household name. In 1959, Shelby was America's best competition driver but a heart condition forced him to give up racing. He decided to jump back in with his own cars and within four years his dream car was born, the Cobra. It's a story about daring to be great and somehow pulling it off.

In the 1960's a young Ford Motor Company executive, Lee Iacocca decided that Ford needed to compete with the world's best companies like Ferrari, Aston Martin, Maserati, Porsche, Mercedes and Jaguar in high performance motor racing. The task seemed impossible. Ford had more than money on its side - they had a secret weapon, Carroll Shelby who would take Ford's GT-40 to fame.

The Jeep was drafted in World War II and soon became the American soldier's best friend. The jeep was used as a combat car, postal carrier, snowplow and ambulance. It could forge a stream, dig trenches, churn the water in a washtub and serve as a wedding altar. After the war, nobody thought it would have a purpose, But today Jeep-like SUV's are among the world's top sellers.

Starting in the 1990's Sport Utility Vehicles took over the streets of America. Woman didn't want to be "soccer moms" and abandoned their minivans in droves. Men wanted a car that could go anywhere even if they only drove it to the office. Some people accused their owners of harming the planet but no car company could survive without an SUV in its lineup.