The recovering decade

Renault 4CV - 1956

The   Renault   4CV   (French:   "quatre   chevaux")   is a    rear-engined,    rear    wheel    drive,    four-door economy   car   manufactured   and   marketed   by the   French   manufacturer   Renault   from   August 1947   through   July   1961. As   the   first   French   car to    sell    over    a    million    units,    the    4CV    was superseded by the Dauphine.

Standard 8 - 1955

The   1953   Eight   was   a   completely   new   car   with unit     construction     and     an     overhead-valve engine.   Only   saloon   models   were   made.   The new   engine   of   803   cc   produced   slightly   less power   than   the   outgoing   larger   sidevalve   unit with    26    bhp    at    4500    rpm    but    this    was increased   to   30   bhp   at   5000   rpm   in   1957.   The 4-speed   gearbox,   with   synchromesh   on   the   top three     ratios,     was     available     with     optional overdrive   from   March   1957.   Girling   hydraulic drum brakes were fitted.

Austin A30 - 1954

September    1956.    Introduced    as    the    "New Austin   Seven",   it   was   Austin's   answer   to   the Morris Minor. At   launch   the   car   cost   £507,   undercutting   the Minor by £62.

IFA F8 - 1954

The DKW F8 compact front-wheel drive two- stroke engined saloon was introduced by in 1939. The      F8      was      slightly      shorter      than      its predecessor     despite     having     a     marginally increased   wheelbase.   The   base   model,   known as   the   Reichsklasse,   was   manufactured   only   till 1940   but   the   Meisterklasse   sedan   continued   in production   till   1942.   In   addition   to   the   saloons, cabriolet    (saloon    and    coupé)    versions    were offered.

IFA F9 - 1953

The   IFA   F9   was   a   compact   saloon   manufactured under    the    auspices    of    the    Russian    and    East German    states    between    1949    or    1950    and 1956.   It   was   initially   built   at   Zwickau   at   the plant   previously   owned   by   Auto   Union.   In   1953 production   was   transferred   to   the   former   BMW manufacturing    plant    at    Eisenach    where    its underpinnings    subsequently    found    their    way into the Wartburg 311.

Moskvich 401 - 1955

Between    1940    and    1941,    the    Russians    had independently   made   500   units   of   the   KIM   10- 50,   a   loose   copy   of   the   similarly   sized   four- door    Ford    Prefect,    but    national    priorities changed   with   the   German   invasion   of   Russia   in Summer   1941,   and   the   production   of   the   Ford inspired car was not resumed after the war.  

1950-1959

The   Fifties   was   a   decade   that   began   on   January   1,   1950   and   ended   on   December   31,   1959.   By   its   end,   the   world   had   largely   recovered   from   World   War   II   and the   Cold   War   developed   from   its   modest   beginning   in   the   late   1940s   to   a   hot   competition   between   the   United   States   and   the   Soviet   Union   by   the   beginning   of the 1960s. Clashes   between   communism   and   capitalism   dominated   the   decade,   especially   in   the   Northern   Hemisphere.   The   conflicts   included   the   Korean   War   in   the beginnings   of   the   decade   and   the   beginning   of   the   Space   Race   with   the   launch   of   Sputnik   I. Along   with   increased   testing   of   nuclear   weapons   (such   as   RDS-37 and   Upshot-Knothole),   this   created   a   politically   conservative   climate.   In   the   United   States,   the The   Second   Red   Scare   caused   public   Congressional   hearings   by both   houses   in   Congress   and   anti-communism   was   the   prevailing   sentiment   in   the   United   States   throughout   the   decade.   The   beginning   of   decolonization   in Africa and Asia occurred in this decade and accelerated in the following decade, the 1960s.