1956 Buick Special Wagon, Classic Ads From 1956
1956 Buick Special Wagon

The emergence of automotive tail fins can be attributed in a large part to America’s fascination with air and space travel. At the dawn of the jet age, it was common for manufacturers to hawk their wares–automotive and otherwise–with references to fighter planes and rockets.

Today, the automotive industry is hurriedly preparing for the reality of autonomous personal transportation in the not-too-distant future, but General Motors was hyping the potential of self-driving vehicles way back in 1956. Check out this video for a fabulous—and not entirely far fetched—mid-Fifties look at the future of hands-free driving.

In honor of that seemingly innocent and optimistic look forward, we have amassed ten ads from that same year. Note the subtle nods to air and space travel, as well as the proliferation of tail fins.

If you have a favorite among the vehicles seen here, tell us which it is. The comments section follows the last ad.

More classic car ads

 

Buick

1956 Buick Ad
1956 Buick Ad

 

Chevrolet

1956 Chevrolet Ad
1956 Chevrolet Ad

 

DeSoto

DeSoto Ad
1956 DeSoto Ad

 

Ford

1956 Ford Ad
1956 Ford Ad

 

Imperial

1956 Imperial Ad
1956 Imperial Ad

Kenosha Madness! 10 Classic AMC Ads

 

Nash

1956 Nash Ad
1956 Nash Ad

 

Packard

1956 Packard Ad
1956 Packard Ad

 

Plymouth

1956 Plymouth Ad
1956 Plymouth Ad

 

Pontiac

1956 Pontiac Ad
1956 Pontiac Ad

 

Studebaker

1956 Studebaker Ad
1956 Studebaker Ad

Bikini Madness! Five Great Car Ads Set at the Beach

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