Look beyond the shiny bodies, impressive engines and iconic names of the best-selling American cars over the past 50 years and what you get is a study in world history, economics and social anthropology. Of all those, the latter is most intriguing. Oil crises, stock-market crashes and emissions regulations certainly shaped the domestic auto industry. But it was the generation of Americans who lived through all of those things that had the most profound impact on the cars that domestic automakers produced over the past half-century. The story of the American automobile since the 1960s really is the story of the baby boomer.
Note: All sales numbers come directly from Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. The caveat here is that full-size pickups have been the best-selling American vehicles for decades, and the story behind those numbers has been told before. So we did not include them, in order to get at the trends that lie beneath.
The Best-Selling Cars of the 1960s
No. 1: Chevrolet Impala, 7.3 million sold
The Impala was, and still is, Chevy's best-selling car. No other vehicle has sold more in a single year than it did in 1965, when Americans bought more than 1 million of them. "The Impala was king of the road — big, substantial, glitzy — a car you could be proud to own," says George Peterson, president of AutoPacific Inc., a Tustin, Calif.-based research firm. It was introduced in 1958 and by 1970 had gone through four major overhauls. Six round taillights distinguished it from lesser Chevrolet Bel Airs and Biscaynes, which had only four. Two-door and 4-door variants were available with 6- or 8-cylinder engines.No. 2: Ford Galaxie, 4.6 million sold
The Ford Galaxie competed directly with the Impala. Both were gargantuan, something like the SUVs of yesteryear, with plush, spacious interiors and huge trunks for cruising hundreds of miles in comfort. The Galaxie began production in 1959 and was made through 1974. Its name evoked the space race of the time. There was even a Starliner edition for 1960, which featured no roof pillar between the front and rear side windows. This kind of design was called a "hardtop" and wasn't exclusive to Ford. Like the Impala, the Galaxie offered 6- and 8-cylinder engines. "It was a vehicle that met pretty much everybody's needs in the middle somewhere," says Erich Merkle, industry analyst at Ford Motor Co.The Best-Selling Cars of the 1970s
No. 1: Ford LTD, 4.6 million sold
Analysts can't pinpoint exactly why Chevrolet lost its sales lead in the 1970s. There were so many potential culprits, including a depressed economy, disruptive safety and emissions regulations, and not one but two oil crises, in 1973 and 1979. "The '70s were a time of disarray," Peterson says. Still, the LTD continued the Galaxie's tradition, minus the outdated space-age moniker. The LTD Crown Victoria trim was the full-size flagship variant that replaced the Galaxie 500 LTD of the 1960s, which is where the term "LTD" came from. By the end of the '70s, new emissions standards set by the Clean Air Act of 1970 had sapped the LTD's performance, as they did with most American cars.No. 2: Oldsmobile Cutlass, 3.8 million sold
In the 1970s, Oldsmobile usurped the mantle from Chevrolet as GM's top-selling brand. "Certain cars have a reputation, whether it's deserved or not, as being better vehicles," says Greg Wallace, manager of the GM Heritage Center. The Cutlass was one of those. It looked tough and mean, and being an Olds, it was considered a cut above most Chevys, but still a great value. The Cutlass' popularity can also be seen as a sign of things to come; it was a midsize car, not full-size. By the end of the decade, as the Cutlass was entering its fifth generation, it had shrunk drastically. Still, it remained a perennial favorite.The Best-Selling Cars of the 1980s
No. 1: Ford Escort, 3.4 million sold
If there had been any question what direction cars would take at the end of the 1970s, it was clearly answered by the close of the 1980s. The decade's best-seller — light, economical and efficient — was the antithesis of large, gas-guzzling American cars before it. When the Ford Escort launched in 1981, it had front-wheel drive and a 4-cylinder engine that put out 68 horsepower. "You really started to see the landscape change tremendously in the '80s," Merkle says. Part of that was due to the 1979 oil crisis, a bad economy and the emissions regulations of the '70s. But the sheer numbers and purchasing power of baby boomers, many of whom were looking for an economical first car at the time, also gave rise to the proliferation of smaller vehicles in the '80s.No. 2: Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, 2.6 million sold
The Cutlass, now in its fifth generation, suffered an identity crisis in the 1980s that embodied automakers' growing pains. On one hand, GM kept the Cutlass close to its roots with the Supreme model highlighted here. It was large by '80s standards, and it had a potent V8 engine powering the rear wheels. But GM also started to spin off front-wheel-drive variants, first with the Cutlass Ciera in 1982, followed by the smaller Cutlass Calais in 1985. It wasn't until 1988 that the Cutlass Supreme switched over to a new front-wheel-drive platform. That was the beginning of the end for the brand.The Best-Selling Cars of the 1990s
No. 1: Ford Taurus, 3.6 million sold
The Taurus was another game-changer from Ford. With the Taurus, the Blue Oval hit the do-over button for its midsize sedan, ditching the staid, boxy styling of its smaller LTD variant — not to be confused with the larger Crown Victoria, which stayed in production — and created something totally different. "Ford had taken a huge risk with the first Taurus in 1986," Peterson says. "But it wasn't until the 1992 evolutionary remake that it nailed the concept." The Taurus resonated with baby boomers, many of whom traded up from their little Escorts to accommodate growing families.No. 2: Ford Explorer, 3.3 million sold
As significant as the Taurus was, the most dramatic change to the American auto industry in the 1990s — and one that is still being felt — was born of the Ford Explorer. It almost single-handedly sparked America's SUV craze when it debuted in March 1990. Many baby boomers, with growing kids and bank accounts, wanted more space than a sedan such as the Taurus offered. The Explorer fit the bill. It eventually became a status symbol, too — a signal that life was active and interesting, even if it really wasn't.
The Best-Selling Cars of the 2000s
No. 1: Ford Explorer, 2.76 million sold
Controversy in the late 1990s over fatal rollovers traced to Firestone tires on the Explorer wasn't enough to dampen interest in the vehicle: The SUV was here to stay. During the decade, the Explorer grew more sophisticated, comfortable and accommodating while retaining the rugged capabilities of a truck — something most owners didn't need. It wasn't until the late 2000s that sales dropped off, prompted by high gas prices and exacerbated by widespread economic recession. The fifth and current generation of this American icon has a lighter, carlike unibody structure and is offered in a 4-cylinder version, front-wheel-drive only. Times, they are a-changing.No. 2: Dodge Caravan, 2.73 million sold
Baby boomers and others who didn't want an SUV but needed something similar in size got a minivan. And the Dodge Caravan is the mother of them all. It was the vehicle of choice for millions of soccer moms. In fact, its ubiquitous use by suburban moms makes it partially responsible for the creation of the term. The Caravan launched in 1984, along with its Plymouth Voyager twin. The key to its appeal was that it had seating for seven and drove more like a large station wagon than a traditional van. An extended model debuted in 1987, and a Chrysler variant called the Town & Country came out in 1990.SOURCE: MSN Autos
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