The 1950's were by far the best decade that our country has experienced. Unemployment was at an all time low, production was up, and America wanted for nothing. The envy of the rest of the world, our nation had it all. Sharp minds were in full overdrive in this decade, and some really stunning cars were produced. One that stands above the crowd is the Ford Crestliner. Could this car have been ahead of it's time?
In 1950, the Blue Oval saw it's sales drop behind the Bow-Tie company and decided to start from scratch on a whole new model. The Crestliner was thus born, but with some never before seen features. More on those later. The power plants available for the Crestliner were the overhead valve 226 cubic inch L-head straight six or the 239 cubic inch flat head V-8. Bothe were mated to the industry standard column shift 3-speed transmission. The "three on the tree" was a reliable piece, but nothing to brag about. The six cylinder version was touted as a "Mileage Maker", but with gasoline at all time lows, no one really cared.
The unique features on the car are what really set it apart from the crowd. Two and three tone paint schemes, hard top, and even an industry first vinyl top. Couple this with aircraft styling and body lines, the car was an instant hit. Two tone dash boards matched and complimented the exterior, and was again the first of it's kind.
The Crestliner only lived a short few years, but is still one of the most sought after car for collectors. The original base price in 1950 was 1,711.00, and finding one for that same amount will not ever happen again. If lucky enough to own one, share your automotive history with the rest of the world!!
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