American Car Spotters Guide - 1956

The Top Cars of 1956

EVERY year Motor Trend, one of the top American motoring magazines, carried out a penetrating survey to find the top cars of the year. After a lot of figuring, Motor Trend's research staff arrived at The Top Cars Of 1956, and from these they selected the car that handled best, the car with the best fuel economy per dollar, and the most beautiful cars on the road.

Here's the honour roll of past winners: In 1951 the Car Of The Year was Chrysler. In 1952 it was Cadillac, and there was no award given in 1953. The 1954 Ford was the best handling, and Cadillac the hottest. The most beautiful cars were the Studebaker Starliner (overall winner) and the smaller Buick (among four-door sedans).

In 1955 the Studebaker Champion and Cadillac held their top spots. Packard's torsion-bar suspension earned it the "Newest Concept In Motorin"g award. Mercury and Chevrolet tied for the best-handling spot; the Chrysler 300 was the best-looking car and Mercury Montclair the handsomest four-door sedan. Here's how the 1956 cars rated: Take the standing-start 0-60 figures, for example. The car that reached 60 quickest was the Studebaker Golden Hawk, giving it 100 points.

Next fastest was the Buick Century, which required 9.6 seconds; this was 97 percent as good as the Golden Hawk, so the Buick was awarded 97 points. All others were dealt with in the same way. In the passing-speed acceleration figures from 30 to 50, the Golden Hawk again took the lead, as it did in every category, earning 400 points. Its 3.3 time from 30 to 50 mph therefore earned it another 100 points, and the other cars a proportion. When the figures in the four columns were totalled (horizontally for each car, points varied from the Golden Hawk's impressive 400 down to about half that.

Each test car's total was then divided by its list price, equipped with automatic transmission or overdrive, but none of the optional extras. The result gave the figures in the last column, establishing Chevrolet as easily the top performer performer per dollar of all the cars tested. To keep the ratings entirely on the basis of fact, no attempt was made to interpret all the figures in terms of, say, middle-line sedans or de luxe hardtops. The test cars were about evenly divided among sedans and two and four-door hardtops. Differerent body styles and models vary in weight, price, and performance per dollar and only an enormous program of testing every car in each line could give all the answers.

The first thing that was evident was that the Chevrolet was a clear-cut winner for 1956, though it tied with Mercury in 1955. This was because of the three distinguishing points that made Chevrolet a trend setter. Weight distribution was something in which the Chevrolet stood alone in the industry. No other V8 was truly light or had a weight advantage over the six that it replaced. The third point was not commonly associated with handling. Styling - whether it meant impressive bulges or modest overhangs, fender upheavals, and the like - could have a definite effect on the pleasure of handling a car. The Chevy's restraint here made it the class leader.

Any car can feel good on a smooth highway, but it's on rough roads, gravel, and sharp turns that the stiffish suspension of the Chevy (and the runner-up Mercury) brought peace of mind to the driver. When the test car was let deliberately loose, its power and steering were right there to help the researchers out of trouble without any loss of dignity. Directional stability was slightly affected by wind. This was the only handling category remaining to the advantage of a heavier car and this only at high speeds.

Styling Changes

Most 1956 American models differed only slightly from those of the 1955 model year but a new fashion began to emerge - tail fins. Still fairly rudimentary, they continued to 'grow' until by the end of the decade on some cars they had become so large as to be undesirably cumbersome, if not dangerous. 1956 Chrysler Corporation cars featured larger engines, push button automatic transmission controls and 12-volt electrics. Ford also introduced 12 volts as well as a bigger engine (Fairlane with Thunderbird V8), optional safety belts and a new high-quality car, the Continental.

General Motors now offered four-door hardtops in all its car division's lines. This body style was becoming increasingly popular and accounted for a large slice of the year's total passenger car sales, which was, nevertheless over a million down on 1955 but still amounted to a staggering 5,816,109. It is interesting to note that in 1956 Ford Motor Company stock became available to the public for the first time when the Ford Foundation offered more than 10 million of its shares at $64.50 each. The first public stockholders' meeting took place in May.

Also see: 1956 Automobile Ads Published in the USA