Bargain Muscle Cars – The evolution of affordable performance

Throughout most of the 1950s, as America’s economy boomed, the auto industry’s fortunes soared right along with it. Record-setting sales numbers were accompanied by a growing consumer appetite for larger, more stylish, more feature-laden cars that projected prosperity. Domestic manufacturers were happy to ride that wave of success; advances in engine technology and the proliferation of large, powerful V8s meant that performance became a luxury commodity—available to customers who could afford the premium it commanded....