The American automobile frenzy of the 1950s

Working paper

A pronounced cycle of car sales in the 1950s is explained in terms of styling competition and consumer preferences. An oligopolistic industry concentrated on non-price competition, and responded to perceived consumer demand for styling and status, with an accelerated product cycle. Demand was shifting from higher price-and-status models, to the feature-loaded high end of 'low-price' models. This suggests a consumer preference for sensual gratification rather than status. But feature competiti...

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Authors: Offer, A

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: University of Oxford Publisher's website
• Series: Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers
• Publication date: 1996-12-01
• Paper number: 11
• Language: English