The Clean Power Plan merely makes positive that fossil fuel-fired power plants will operate extra cleanly and effectively, while increasing the capacity for zero- and low-emitting power sources. Ford continued to stress safety for just a few more years, however put more emphasis on performance. The Custom wagon now bore Country Squire script, but could be the last true Ford woody. Only detail changes would happen to this basic design by 1954. Wheelbase crept as much as a hundred and fifteen inches for a revised mannequin slate that began with an affordable Mainline Tudor/Fordor, business coupe, and two-door Ranch Wagon, followed by Customline sedans, club coupe, and four-door Country Sedan wagon. Topping the vary was the V-8 Crestline group of Victoria hardtop, newly named Sunliner convertible, and posh Country Squire four-door wagon. That and a value similar with the Sunliner convertible’s — $2164 — held ’54 Skyliner sales to 13,344. Only the Country Squire and Mainline business coupe fared worse. The “tiara” looked like a roll bar, but added no structural strength; a Plexiglas insert rode forward of it, as on Skyliner. Skyliner was also ousted for ’55, but Ford had one other thought.

Ford also began promoting “Lifeguard Design” security features, equipping all fashions with dished steering wheel, breakaway rearview mirror, and crashproof door locks; padded sprint and sunvisors cost $16 further, manufacturing unit-put in seatbelts $9. After discovering a bone on the ground and begging some hog’s bristles from a jailer, Addis long-established a modern “toothbrush” and started mass-producing them in England. With the Korean conflict ended, Ford Division constructed 1.2 million automobiles to edge Chevrolet for the mannequin yr (Chevy consoled itself with calendar-12 months supremacy), but solely by dumping vehicles on dealers in a production “blitz” so they may sell for “less than value.” Ironically, Chevrolet wasn’t much affected by this onslaught, however Studebaker, American Motors, and Kaiser-Willys were, because they could not afford to discount as much. Ford finally supplied a self-shift transmission in Ford-O-Matic Drive — a 3-velocity automated to outdo Chevy’s two-pace Powerglide. A full steel-roof mannequin was additionally provided for $70 less than the “bubble-topper”; predictably, it bought a lot better: 33,000-plus to just 1999. The totals had been 9209 and simply 603 for ’56, after which the Crown Vic was dumped. A new 312-cid “Thunderbird” unit with 215/225 horsepower was ­optional throughout the board, and a midrange 292-cid V-eight supplied 200 horsepower.

Styling was handled by Franklin Q. Hershey, who also will get credit score for that 12 months’s new two-seat Thunderbird (see separate entry). Club coupes have been abandoned, wagons grouped in a separate sequence, and Crestline was renamed Fairlane (after the Ford family estate in Dearborn). New models have been supposed to assist, particularly new automobiles, which Ford heralded by proclaiming 2004 as “The Year of the Car.” But recovery proved stubbornly elusive. These wagons, by the best way, had been Ford’s first all-steel models (the Squire switching from real wood to wooden-look decals). Also new for ’51 was Ford’s first hardtop coupe, the Custom V-eight Victoria. Ford’s mannequin-12 months quantity declined by about 200,000 automobiles, but Chevy’s fell the same quantity, reflecting new government-ordered restrictions on civilian manufacturing prompted by the Korean War. And indeed, by 1952, Ford Motor Company had handed a faltering Chrysler Corporation to regain the number-two spot in producer volume. Seeking better competitiveness, Ford slightly downpriced its ’51 fashions and utilized a lovely facelift that includes a brand new grille with small twin bullets on a thick horizontal bar.

With the “horsepower race” at full gallop, the 239-cid V-8 was ousted for a 272 enlargement, packing 162/182 horsepower as an option for all models. The 1957 Fords had been all-new, providing an unlimited array of V-8s from a 190-bhp 272 as much as a 245-bhp 312. The 223-cid six was standard for all however one model. Speaking of which, the 272 V-8 delivered 173 horsepower as a ‘fifty six Mainline/Customline option. Doing more with less, Ford introduced a new 215.3-cid overhead-valve six with one hundred and one horsepower as normal for Mainline/Customline. Though still and not using a hardtop and a totally automatic transmission like Chevrolet, Ford bested 1930’s imposing model-year output, making greater than 1.2 million vehicles. But Ford as an entire did splendidly in banner 1955, shattering its postwar record of 1953 by building practically 1.5 million automobiles. Along with ball-joint entrance suspension, additionally new, the Y-block enormously narrowed the engineering gap between costly and inexpensive automobiles. The venerable flathead V-8 was honorably retired for 1954 in favor of a new overhead-valve “Y-block” V-8 (so-known as due to its frontal look in cross-part). The flathead V-8 was tweaked to 110 horsepower. Its initial 239 cid was the identical as flathead displacement, however the ohv had completely different “oversquare” cylinder dimensions.