American 1/2-Ton Pickup Trucks of the 1950s

Examining the evolution of the popular 1/2-ton American pickup truck, from a basic utility vehicle, to stylish icon and North America's best selling vehicle, this volume focuses on specifications, rarer makes and models, industry facts and figures, and optional equipment, through detailed text and previously unpublished images.

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Combining details of truck specifications, previoulsy unpublished images, lists of optional equipment, and industry facts and figures, this book reveals the important role played by the lightweight, high-production, and basic 1/2-ton pickup trick in American post-war society, a role often overshadowed by its innate ruggedness, reliability and utilitarian nature.As the 1950s progressed, so did the evolution of the pickup truck, which added more and more style, greater comfort, and ever increasing equipment options to its burgeoning model range. After the few drab colours first offered at the start of the decade, the pickup would assume similar styling and tri-coloured pastel paint finishes to its flashy sibling car versions.Focussing on truck specifications, optional equipment, and industry facts and figures, this book also highlights some of the rarer makes and models, and includes never before published images, revealing cutaway illustrations, and a dedicated chapter focussing on four very different design approaches form the decade.