The 1956 U.S. automobiles arrived in a continuing see-saw market, with sales marginally down from ’55. Given the new introductions last year, this was probably predictable. All in all, it was a solid year for everyone but the independents. The sales declines at Studebaker, Hudson and Packard led the rest of the automakers. This year saw the change to 12V electrical systems and a handful of automakers reaching the 200-horsepower level.
Total sales: 6,207,000; change: -12.5%.
1956 Noteworthy Events
- Buick Reaches 200hp.
- Chevrolet First 200hp, 1hp/in3, air conditioning, multi-carburetion.
- Chrysler 1hp/in3, 12V electrics.
- Dodge All OHV, 200hp, 12V electrics, multi-carburetion.
- Plymouth First 200hp, 12V electrics.
- Ford First 200hp, 12V electrics.
- Mercury First Multi-carb, 200hp, 12V electrics.
The two market heavy-weights, Chevy and Ford, were only down 8% and 3%, respectively. That’s why the overall numbers were only down 12.5%, despite the ugliness shown here.
Chevrolet
Chevrolet had an even hotter year than ’55, with the introduction of two 4-door hardtops and a 2-door hardtop for the intermediate 210 line. No longer did a buyer have to pony up with the bucks for a Bel Air if they wanted a 2-door hardtop. The 150, 210 and Bel Air each got a new grille that spanned the width of the front. Front and rear bumpers were new, too. The side trim varied by series, but even the base 150’s look was outstanding when enhanced with a two-tone paint scheme. The 210 was the sales leader, vastly outselling the 150 and marginally outpacing the Bel Air.
The entry-level 150 featured rubber floor mats (no carpet) and a sun visor on the driver’s side only! I guess enough people found this austerity unattractive, that most found the extra 10% to move up to the 210.
The 235cid six was still around and the base 265 remained unchanged. However, two optional 265cid V8s were offered, a 9.25:1 C/R 4bbl with 205hp and a 225hp with dual 4bbl carbs.
Approximate Sales: 1,570,000; change: -8.0%; industry rank: 1st.
The new look of the front was fantastic! The new grille and the flatter hood really imparted a modern look. And look at the two-tone color scheme! I love the way the side sweep spear has the accent color in it. Incredible!
The rear of Bel Air didn’t receive the updating the front did, but it remained clean and elegant.
‘The Hot One’
Interesting advertisement for the Chevy 210. I believe the slogan ‘The Hot One’ started the previous year, with the advent of the OHV V8 engine. It couldn’t possibly have been before that!
‘Safety’ and ‘value’ seem to be the themes here, with a brief mention of performance.
I guess perhaps they’re inferring that it’s like a police escort; I dunno. The ’56 had some nice lines. I’d have gotten rid of the doofy motorcycle and focused more on the 210.
Yeah, this is a GM ad, but it’s a Chevy that’s featured!
This ad is cool not because it shows the Chevy models, but because it shows so many of the cool color combinations!
Busy Advertising
Man, there’s a crap-load of stuff going on here! I have no idea why most of these people are pictured. Looks like we have a still camera and a movie camera, and the guy in the middle is putting the moves on the short-haired cutie? Looks like the J. Biden arm reach-around is going on there! Wait… did I say that out loud?
As for the singing cowboy and the guy with too much paper to handle, I dunno. The sailor is clearly in the wrong place. Shouldn’t he be on a ship somewhere?
So, the ‘Little Lady’ thinks she wants a new Chevy four-door, does she? That’s fair. But why the hell does she have to fetch his pipe and slippers first? I’d never, ever ask my wife this. First, I don’t smoke a pipe, and B, she’d probably smack me a good one. Yeah, marry a younger woman, they said. She can take care of you in your old age. And kick your butt when she wants to! No, they didn’t mention that!
The mid-tier 210 accounted for over half of Chevy’s sales! If you’re trying to refuel your new ’56 Chevy and can’t seem to locate the fuel filler door, try pulling down the driver side tail light assembly.
12 Volt Electrical Systems
Cars had long used a 6V (DC) system. With each cell of a lead acid battery producing about 1.5V, this required four cells. Doubling this number gave you a 12V battery. The reason this was significant was due to two factors: larger engines and more electrical accessories.
The starter for an engine requires a certain amount of power, which is the factor of voltage times Current, or V x I. (capital ‘i’ stands for current) The starter for a large V8 might consume 3,000 watts of energy. With a 6V system, this is 3,000/6 = 500 Amps of current. With a 12V system, this same 3,000W is 3,000/12 = 250A. This 50% lower current value requires substantially smaller wire gauge, or diameter.
So, how do you follow the 1953 Firebird I concept car? Well, with Firebird II, of course. We’ll go with a ‘two jet engine’ look and lose the wings. The plastic canopy has to be bigger, too. And there you have it! The 1959 Firebird III is in the background.
1956 Chevrolet Police Cars
The box at lower right refers to Chevy as “Laurel Winning Leader of Them All!”. I didn’t realize that laurels were still given out at this time. Trophies, maybe, but laurels? But what the hell do I know?
What do you notice about the three engine details? No displacements are given!
Note the mention (far right) of right-hand sun visor and “alternator type generator”. Text mentions alternator’s 55 amp rating and that it’s for the extra power required by (vacuum tube) two-way radios.
When was the last time you saw generator output curves? Hey, this is important stuff!
The right-hand box refers to “Unisteel Body By Fisher”. Might they have been promoting confusion with ‘unibody’?
Corvette
The Corvette dropped the six and the base 265cid V8 was now 210hp. 225hp (2x4V) and 240hp (2x4V) options were available. This was the start of the success Corvette would experience for years to come. Sales were still under 4,000 and money wasn’t being made on the model yet, but sales numbers were more than four times those of ’55, and they were finally headed in the right direction. In a couple of short years, the memories of possible model termination would be just that—memories.
New Tops!
A power top and detachable hardtop were made available this year (Thanks, Thunderbird!). Windows! Corvette now had real, roll-up, roll-down side windows! (Even power assisted, if you wanted) Let’s not forget the side coves, either. They are one of the all-time coolest auto design features ever. Finally, you could open your new Corvette without having to reach inside–it had exterior door handles!
Approximate Sales: 3,465; change: +395%. Holy freakin crap!
Ooh – aah! This is one stunning car! Can you imagine, back in the day, walking out to your garage and seeing this thing parked there? Oh, my! Headlights were no longer tipped back, as in ’53 – ’55, and the headlight bezels were also new.
The rear of Corvette remained unique, with the extended rear fenders, multi-section bumper and exhausts that extended through the bodywork. For ’56 the bumper became a four-piece unit with the license plate having been moved down from the trunk lid. The exhausts were moved outward to the rear bumpers. Also, the tail-lights, while in the same locations in the rear fenders were now inset rather than protruding. Front, back, or sides, you couldn’t miss the fact that Corvette was new for ’56.
I like this advertisement; I can really identify with it! The guy has just finished a long day at ‘the plant’, slaving under the micro-management of a pointy-haired boss who doesn’t appreciate him and couldn’t begin to do the job he does. At least he gets to drive home in this sweet, good-looking car.
I really like the way the Corvette is portrayed in the picture, head-on with the white side-cove showing.
‘Quick change artist’. Yup. Sure was. The removable hardtop was a super-cool option and indeed was easy and quick to put on or take off.
For a black-and-white advertisement, this one was pretty cool. I like that it shows a gal, not a guy. This was all too rare, for a long, long time.
Buick
This year all of the Buick models received the attractive grille that was exclusive to the Roadmaster last year. The rear wheel openings were all now round, as well.
The 322cid V8 made 220hp with an 8.9:1 C/R and was used in the Special. Century, Super and Roadmaster got the 255hp version with a 9.5:1 C/R.
The Dynaflow two-speed automatic was the standard transmission on the Super and Roadmaster, with a three-speed manual for the Special and Century. To illustrate the appeal of Dynaflow, consider that 96.7% of Buicks this year were equipped with it.
Approximate sales: 572,000; change: -22.5%; industry rank: 3rd.
It’s interesting to compare the styling of Buick with that of Chevy. The front design of the Special is so much more ornate than that of Bel Air. Both are attractive, but in different ways. I guess it’s worth remembering that Buick cost model-for-model roughly 40% more than Chevrolet.
The same could be said for the rear view of Special, compared to Bel Air.
Man of Success . . . ?
“For the man of Success- and with a mind of his own”. Hey! That’s me!
And I believe in “…worth over cost – value over ostentation”!
The text compares the vanes of the Dynaflow transmission to the propellers of ‘a modern airliner’. Man, the ad guys really outdid themselves with this! Great car, though.
I think I should ask my wife if I have a mind of my own.
This Roadmaster is absolutely stunning! The two-tone treatment is interesting in that the base color is smaller in area than the accent color (white). I suspect that if the car went by and you asked someone what color it was, they’d say ‘orange’.
The color theme here is flipped from the previous ad, but the top is white, not blue like it would be if the pattern were truly inverted. Hey, this was the ‘Best Buick yet’! (Wouldn’t each and every new model-year Buick be the ‘best yet’?)
“And so might is the power that flows from this great engine — so full-force and instant is it sent to the driving wheels — we built a wholly new chassis of extra brawn and heft and solidity to handle it.” Wow! I wonder what they’re going to do when the big Buick engines come along in several years. That’s going to be one helluva chassis!
Buick 1956 Models Brochure
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile didn’t make a lot of changes this year. The series names remained the same. There was a new front bumper/grille that featured a large oval opening with a vertical separator in the center. The Eighty-Eight series handily outsold the Super Eighty-Eight and the Ninety-Eight. The body side treatment was changed, with the Ninety-Eight having a different treatment than the Eighty-Eight. All three series now featured two and four door Holiday hardtops.
More HP!
The 324cid V8 picked up a bunch of horsepower over the ‘55 versions. The 3-speed manual remained the base transmission, with a Super Hydra-Matic optional and the Jetaway Hydra-Matic optional on the 98s.
Approximate sales: 485,000; change: -16.8%; industry rank: 5th.
I sure like this front-end look. I’d be hard pressed to decide between the ’56, here, and the ’55, which I found really attractive. If interested in making a comparison, Olds and Buick should be the two competitors. They were close in cost and positioning of their target markets.
Like Buick, the rear treatment of Olds models was more ‘stylish’ than that of Chevrolet. While not unattractive, I think I much prefer the taillight treatment of Buick. Come to think of it, they kind of remind me of 1950’s/60’s pointed brassieres.
Jetaway Hydra-Matic
I know you’re thinking “Hydra-Matic I know, but ‘Jetaway’?”
This was the Olds name for the GM Controlled Coupling Hydra-Matic. It has a second fluid coupler to help minimize jerking between shifts. Remember, this family had no torque converter, so all torque multiplication was done by gears. There was an Olds booklet at the time that explained all things Jetaway. One of the ‘benefits’ of the design was that gears provided all of the torque multiplication! Of course, the PowerFlite and Turbo-Hydramatic would change all that!
Lest you ever doubt about the influence of jet aircraft on automobile design, look at this Olds concept car.
‘Your investment holds…’! Basically selling styling and value here, but not to the working-class guy.
I do like what they did with the bumper and grill this year. Great overall styling.
Oh—the title line is great! ‘Numbers’, like ‘88’ and ‘98’. To go ‘buy’. Get it? Dig the cool country club on stilts.
Olds ‘Rocket T-350’ Engine
I thought that labeling an engine after its peak torque was the domain of Buick, but a vintage 1956 Olds commercial I saw on the Internet showed me otherwise. It proudly proclaimed the exhilarating experience of driving a new ’56 Olds with the ‘Rocket T-350’ engine, never mentioning the horsepower of the engine, nor the relevance of the ‘350’ in the name.
This year Oldsmobile offered 26 two-tone color combinations!
Auto Trans Offerings
Most Olds models had the Super Hydra-Matic as an option, for $175 ($2,180 2026$). For the top-shelf 98, the Jetaway hydra-Matic was available. The cost was $190 ($2,367 2026$). The Jetaway was Olssmobile’s version of GM’s Controlled-Coupling Hydramatic.
This transmission incorporated a second fluid coupling and sprag clutches in lieu of the previous brake bands fand friction clutches. It was a later version of the GM dual-range Hydra-Matic, which allowed the driver to hold the car in third gear until the maximum upshift point, which was useful for hill climbing or passing. It also included a proper Park position. Remember that many early automatics did not have a park position to lock the transmission, relying totally on the parking brake to keep the car in place, even when parking on hills. Yikes!
So, you step up to the 4bbl engine and are rewarded with a measly 10hp more?
Looks like the wifey is picking up the hubby at the airport, huh? I wonder if she gets to drive this sweet four-door otherwise?
Pontiac
The Pontiac models received new bumpers and grilles this year, as well as new side molding. Last year saw a total redesign, so it was not unexpected that the sheet metal would be mostly unchanged this year. The new front bumper treatment featured round parking lights and was quite striking. There were now six Catalina hardtops, with a 2-door and a 4-door in each of the Chieftain Special and Deluxe, and the Star Chief Custom.
The 288 got a bigger bore by 0.19”, to make the new 317cid V8. Horsepower climbed from ’55’s 180hp, up to 192hp, 202hp and 216hp, the last two engines having Rochester 4bbl carbs. The top dog 317 made 285hp, with its 2 x 4bbl carburetion. This would end up as a 1956-only engine, but its lineage would eventually lead to the famous 389, 400 and 455 engines. Strange things were afoot at the Circle K!
There were two different Hydra-Matic units. The D-56 was used in Chieftains, and the Strato-Flight was used in the Star Chiefs. The Strato-Flight was the same transmission as the Olds Jetaway. In an odd sort of way, the automatic transmissions were considered ‘standard’, but there was an additional charge for them! Was this to allow Pontiac to advertise ‘standard automatic transmissions’?
Approximate sales: 405,000; change: – 30.6%; industry rank: 6th.
I love Pontiacs, but the front of the ’56 (and ’55) looks kind of ponderous compared to models from the other GM brands. The accent thing above the headlights is kinda strange. Look how far the headlights protrude! I think the Olds look is way nicer in this regard, don’t you?
Silver Streak No More!
This would be the final year for the ‘silver streak’ styling theme. Frankly, I think it had run its course and I can’t say that this chrome added anything to the vehicle here. Am I wrong?
Well… not sure what to say about this one. I’m thinking ‘Jetsons’.
Pathfinder? Laurentian? Me thinks these are from north of the border!
Pathfinder I get, but what the heck is a Laurentian? Those darn Canadians; always have to be different!
Pontiac’s 1956 Electric Car?
Yes indeedy! These were roughly ¼ scale cars with steel chassis and fiberglass bodies, powered by a car battery and a Pontiac starter motor! They were promotional items and were given as prizes, usually via free raffle. The only one I’ve seen available recently sold for some $15k.
The building here is really quite futuristic, isn’t it? This seems to have been rather common for car ads of the mid-late ’50’s. I realize the people are behind the car and therefore not as close as the car is, but the car’s dimensions look fudged, especially the length and width.
What better way to show the spaciousness of the four-door than to pose it in a desert, with all of the doors open? Looks like the cowboy is out tending cattle in…the…desert?
That looks like a dirt track with one helluva banking! No safety gear whatsoever, and the guy in the passenger seat is writing something on a clipboard. Yeah, I’m sure it really was like this!
Chrysler
Chrysler entered 1956 with strong momentum from the previous year. Grilles got stronger horizontal lines. The base Windsor line also received a 4-door hardtop. This was the last year for front coil and rear leaf springs. Also, the two-speed PowerFlite gave way to the TorqueFlite during the year. This transmission would go down in history as one of the all-time best automatic transmissions.
Innovation was known to be a Chrysler haulmark, and there were some noteworthy options this year. Tired of waiting for your car heater to provide warm air in the winter? No worries. We’ll just burn gasoline! That’s exactly what the Condition-Aire instant heater did. Obviously, the industry didn’t embrace this new heating method, but it certainly was out-of-the-box thinking. Another option was Highway Hi-Fi record player.
1Hp/in2
The 331cid engine still made up to 250hp (base of 225hp), and the New Yorker 354cid V8 climbed 30hp, to 280hp, with its 9.0:1 C/R and 4bbl carburetor. The top-of-the-line 300B saw its 354cid V8 make 340hp, with an optional 10.0:1 C/R engine making 355hp at 5200 rpm. Finally, ’56 also saw the introduction of the oh-so-cool push-button automatic transmission selector. Vehicle electrical systems changed from six volt to twelve volt this year.
Approximate sales: 128,000; change: -22.4%; industry rank: 10th.
Highway Hi-Fi
The Highway Hi-Fi was a product of CBS Electronics. The players used special discs manufactured by CBS and were made of particularly thick vinyl. The rotation speed was one half of the standard LP 33 1/3 rpm and the groove density was much higher than that of an LP. This provided roughly 45 minutes of music per side.
It might not surprise you that the tone arm force was quite high, which, along with the special mounting, was intended to prevent record skipping. The inherent problem of trying to play a record in a moving vehicle and the limited number of special records available made this device short lived. Player reliability was poor, too. Auto sound reproduction would only enter the mainstream with the advent of the 8-track cartridge tape system.
Wikipedia.org
This is a pretty stylish looking car, no? And this was the entry-level Chrysler! It cost some 25% more than the highest priced Chevy.
The grille styling reflected the look of the FliteSweep I show car.
The rear end treatment was great looking. The 100 Million Dollar Look included fins, which would only grow in the coming years.
Wow! A whole year ahead of other cars!
It even has ‘…an airplane type V-8 engine…’! I don’t think the V8 was ever a favored aircraft engine configuration, though I doubt the fifties buying public knew or cared about that.
As recently as the 1990’s I had someone tell me their car had ‘an airplane engine’. It was a Subaru!
Looks like an older engineer inspecting some plans, right? Nope! It’s Uncle Lou wondering if this indeed is Sarasota, and if he should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque! Note the simple nature of the Imperial’s color scheme, with just the top being white.
Another ‘Year-Ahead’ advert, with some examples of solid, color-on-white, and white-on-color styles. With all of the cool two-tone color styles to pick from, it’s hard to believe that someone might choose a solid color like white, isn’t it?
Dodge
Dodge wisely didn’t change much from ’55. The Lancer name applied solely to the two-door and four-door hardtops this year.
The base Coronet series still offered a 230cid inline 6, in addition to the 270cid polyspherical head engine, which made 189hp from its 2bbl carb. There was a wealth of V8 engines available this year. The Red Ram 270 (poly) made 189hp at 4400rpm, the Super Red Ram had 218hp at 4400rpm, the 4bbl version of the Super Red Ram made 230hp, the D-500 hemispherical head V8 was good for 260hp, with its 9.25:1 C/R, and the top-of-the-line D-500-1 made 295hp with dual Carter 4bbl carbs. Rear fenders were changed to fin type. This year also saw the introduction of the uber-cool push-button transmission selector. Dodge went to 12V electrics this year.
Approximate sales: 240,000; change: -13%; industry rank: 8th.
This year the Lancer name was reserved for the 2dr and 4dr hardtops. The convertible at the bottom points out that it’s a ‘companion to the Lancer’. I love the two-tone paint schemes.
It was fairly common for car ads from this era to have some tie-in with the small screen or the big screen. Here, it’s the use of the Dodge station wagon in the movie. Check out the box for some interesting tidbits about the movie.
It was a little surprising to me that this movie was filmed in color. By 1956 between 50% and 60% of movies were filmed in color, which reflects a 400%+ increase over 1947. Using color film was expensive, with many lower budget films staying with black and white. Advances in technology reduced the cost of color film, cameras and developing, and the introduction of color televisions contributed to the popularity of color movies skyrocketing.
Forever Darling
I’m sure many of you grew up watching Lucy, or Lucy and Desi. This movie starred them ad James Mason, who most people my age remember as Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which was released in 1954.
Also appearing in Forever Darling were Nancy Kulp (Miss Jane Hathaway – Beverly Hillbillies) and Natalie Schafer (Lovie Howell – Gilligan’s Island).
Plymouth
Plymouth also made minimal changes, which included fin type rear fenders. The Fury was added as a subseries of the Belvedere, available only in a two-door sport coupe. Each of the three series had substantially different side trim treatments. Pushbutton controls for the PowerFlite were introduced.
Engine offerings were the 230cid straight six, a new 270cid poly V8 making 180hp, a new 277cid poly with 187hp and the new top-dog 303cid poly making 240hp at 4800rpm, with Carter 4bbl.
Approximate sales: 571,000; change: -19%; industry rank: 4th.
The Belvedere two-tone treatment was certainly different, wasn’t it? Why, I think I like it!
This particular color scheme is terribly attractive. I’ve never been crazy about fender skirts, but this car is just stunning! The rear-end styling was killer, too.
“When you drive a Plymouth, suddenly it’s 1960!”
Plymouth is appealing to the every-day guy, offering contemporary styling, ride quality and”…235 galloping horses.” More power under the hood than he’ll ever want to call on.
It won’t be long at all before 235hp is viewed as barely adequate!
Ray Anthony
The red dashed box highlights the mention of the Ray Anthony show. Born Raymond Antonini in 1922, Anthony was a bandleader who played with Glenn Miller’s band. He had a short-lived ’56 – ’57 television variety show, which this advert references. As of Aug. 2020, Anthony is the last surviving member of Glenn Miller’s band (98!).
This is a pretty cool ad. I like the similar angles of the car and the F-86 Sabre jet.
North American F-86 Sabre
The F-86 ‘Sabre’ was nicknamed ‘The MiG Killer’ for its success in the Korean War. It was introduced in 1947 and served with the USAF until 1965. Almost 10,000 of these 600+ mph jet fighters were built, in a number of variants.
Sabre was the first U.S. swept wing jet fighter. Gorgeous plane.
PowerFlite now had push-button controls. These, in my opinion, did little to enhance driver convenience, but were undeniably cool. The Chrysler companies promoted this feature fairly effectively, which was terrific marketing.
I guess the definition of ‘aerodynamic’ is relative. I’d never use that term for this car, would you? I do like the perspective they used in this ad, though. The view of the blue car shows the fins well. Interesting that they are more prominent than on Chrysler or Dodge!
Ford
Ford models had minimal exterior changes, but interiors were totally redesigned, with “safety” as the company’s theme. As part of this, seatbelts were available for the first time. The focus on safety was a misstep, as this is not what the market wanted at all. The series, starting at the bottom, were Mainline, Customline and Fairlane. The Thunderbird got a mild redesign that featured the porthole windows that would become legendary. The Fairlane series saw sales of almost 700,000 vehicles, which was about twice that of the Customline, which was about twice that of the Mainline.
Engines started with the 223cid straight six, and included the mildly tweaked 292cid V8, making 202hp, and the Thunderbird Special V8, which made up to 225hp at 4600 rpm; this was up 27hp and 200 rpm from ’55. Transmission offerings were the same as for ‘55.
Approximate sales: 1,408,000; change: -2.9%; industry rank: 2nd.
I really like how the two-tone theme was executed here.
This is a fantastic looking car!
This year Thunderbird had two new things, one conventional and the other not so much. First, it now had sun visors! In the not-so-conventional category, it also had wind wings. These were shaped like sun visors and made of glass with a metal edge. They were located on the vertical ends of the windshield supports, and they allowed the driver and passenger to deflect air to reduce buffeting. Lest you wonder, this was for when the top was down or removed!
Thunderbird Changes
There were two very obvious changes to the ’56 Thunderbird. The first was the relocation of the spare tire to the rear bumper. The second was the iconic porthole windows for the removable hardtop.
The relocated spare look was subject to personal taste, while the portholes were just plain cool. Unfortunately for the new tire location, this amount of weight hanging way out on the rear bumper had a significant adverse effect on handling. The spare was relocated back to the trunk the following year.
Some present-day sources state just the opposite regarding the effect on handling the trunk mounted spare had. I have to think that they are mistaken and that it did in fact adversely affect handling.
1956 Thunderbird Brochure
I don’t know about the ‘…at half the fine car price’ thing. It’s simplistic and nobody would believe in the accuracy of the statement.
It might be unfortunate that their ‘Lifeguard’ design and marketing didn’t work well.
I remember my parents purchasing and adding seatbelts to our ’66 Chevy station wagon. How many lives might have been saved if they were standard equipment well before the feds mandated their presence?
Ford made good use of the Thunderbird in their advertising for other models.
‘Y-8, not V8’
One thing that I find very interesting is the reference to the engine as “…Thunderbird’s famous Y-8 engine…”. Keep in mind that V8 engines were still very new to many buyers. Rather than referring to it as a V8, they chose Y-8. What’s the implication? That it’s better than a V8? This indeed was a Y-block engine, having very long block skirts, but it was first and foremost a V8.
I know that Ford made some efforts to portray the Y-block V8 as stronger than those of the competition, but I don’t know if that ever got any traction.
Of course, this design has been relegated to the scrap heap of history, given its waste of material and increased weight.
Here’s Ford again getting some mileage from their Thunderbird. That was smart of them. What wasn’t quite so smart was their ‘Lifeguard’ theme, that went nowhere. In a way that’s too bad, cars could have been safer had the buying public placed more value in things like seat belts.
Mercury
Mercury dropped the Custom name this year, replacing it with Medalist. Monterey and Montclair remained the middle and upper series, respectively. As with Ford, there was little change in styling this year, after the restyling of last year. Even the bumper/grilles were almost identical to ‘55.
Monterey was the sales leader, at just over 100,000 units, followed by Montclair and Medalist.
The new corporate 312cid V8 replaced the previous 292 unit.
The 3-speed manual was again the standard transmission, with Touch-O-Matic overdrive optional. The Merc-O-Matic two-speed automatic was available optionally.
Approximate sales: 327,000; change: -0.6%; industry rank: 7th.
Not many changes from ’55 but that’s okay. Still a gorgeous car!
I think the ‘The Big M’ thing started this year since I found no reference to it in ’55.
Mercury (the god)
Over the top of the ‘M’ you can see the head of Mercury, the ‘god’. Mercury was the Roman god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence, messages, communication (including divination), travelers, boundaries, luck, trickery and thieves; he also serves as the guide of souls to the underworld. (wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(mythology))
Mercury was also known for speed; he had wings on his feet for crying out loud.
The Mercury brand was born in 1939, just before WWII. The name was picked by Henry Ford’s son, Edsel, and was actually a pretty good name for a car brand (very, very unlike ‘Edsel’…).
Note the emphasis on ‘usable’. Like not all horsepower is usable? I dunno. Marketing guys on their game, for sure!
Shown are several of the color and style combinations for Mercury this year. The top one under Montclair might get my vote for the most attractive.
1956 V8 Engine Specs
1956 Newspaper Ads
They were fortunate to have made a ‘special purchase’! Yeah…
