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About This Quiz
The picture wasn't always the best, humid summer nights could be uncomfortable and the sound didn't come from a Dolby surround system, but from a small speaker attached to your car's window. Still, many people recall the drive-in movie experience as a fondly remembered treat. While there are still some sprinkled around the country, drive-ins have largely been left behind for the air-conditioned comfort of the multiplex or the projector in the home's rec room. They may have fallen out of favor with today's audiences, but for movie-goers of the 1950s, drive-ins were the place to see movies — and be seen by your friends — on Friday and Saturday nights.
Drive-ins also worked the magic of transforming your car from a simple vehicle into a theater with comfortable seats and a clear view of the screen (assuming your windshield was clean and in good condition). If you were lucky enough to drive a convertible, the sky was the ceiling of your own personal cinema. From couples wanting a night away from the kids to family trips where the kids came along to teens on a date where the movie wasn't always the main attraction, drive-ins were a part of the American experience, and cars were integral to that experience.
Are you ready for a quiz to see how much you remember (or were told) when it comes to cars parked in rows during the weekend facing a giant screen showing "Attack of the 50 Woman," "Daddy-O" or "Thunder Road"? Grab your popcorn, your jujubes and a soda, put your arm around your best guy or gal, and see how much you remember about these cars of the '50s!
1953 Nash-Healey
1952 Crosley Hotshot
1958 Chevrolet Brookwood
The Brookwood was a full-size station wagon that would seat ... many people. The vehicle had a large engine — a 5.7-liter V8 was an option — but it needed that kind of power because it weighed in at nearly 4,000 pounds (not counting the weight of the family and whatever else you decided to bring for the night out).
1954 Kaiser Darrin 435
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1955 Citroen DS
Smaller and more streamlined than most of the competition, the 1955 Citroen DS would turn heads at the drive-in (also, it's French, and wouldn't be a common site outside of Europe). The aerodynamic car also had futuristic touches that wouldn't be apparent at the drive-in; it was, for example, the first mass-produced car with disc brakes.
1959 Ford Galaxie
1954 Pontiac Star Chief
1953 DeSoto FireDome
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A-10
Polara
Five Hundred
Ninety-eight
The Ninety-Eight line went into production in 1941 and for the first three generations didn't change much in appearance. The fourth generation, which launched in 1954, was redesigned to breathe new life into the model. A larger 5.3-liter (up from 5.0) Rocket V8 was also introduced.
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1959 Chrysler Valiant
1951 Studebaker Champion
1954 Cadillac Eldorado
The top-of-the-line Cadillac during this period, the Eldorado was long (just over 18 feet long, in fact), streamlined and a thing of beauty. It also had a 6.0-liter V8 engine, so it could handle itself on the road just fine. This car was also one of Elvis' favorite vehicles, so catching one of his flicks at the drive-in with this car is both poetic and perfect.
1953 Chevy 150
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A 1950 Nash Rambler
1950 Lincoln Capri
A 1959 Chevy Impala
A 1958 Edsel Pacer
The poor Edsel line from Ford couldn't catch a break. The line, which ran from 1956 through 1959, was named in honor of Henry Ford's son and Ford President Edsel Ford. Because of an economic recession in 1957, disastrously bad market research and other reasons, the Edsel lost its parent company an estimated $250 million.
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1950 Ford B-Max
1950 Lincoln Cosmopolitan
1950 Oldsmobile 76
1951 Nash-Healey
The 1951 Nash-Healey was a product of post World War II cooperation that would have been unthinkable just a few years earlier. The sports car had an American engine and an Italian body on a British chassis. Only 506 units of this model were ever made, not counting prototypes and race vehicles.
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1952 Woodill Wildfire
1958 Ford RS200
1956 Chevrolet Series 490
Oldsmobile 98
The Oldsmobile 98 was the company's top-of-the-line offering for the 1951 model year, offering three body styles (coupe, sedan and convertible), a 5.0-liter Rocket V8 and standard features including a leather interior, a deluxe steering wheel, dual horns and a lot of chrome.
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The bright dome light would disturb them.
Its gullwing doors will block their view.
You might get a few calls of "Down in front!" if you open the 300SL's gullwing doors during the movie — although you'd also probably get a few envious glances as well when you show up in this beauty. It had some engineering beauty under the hood, as well; this car was the first to effectively use direct fuel-injection technology.
The taillights automatically came on.
The horn briefly sounded as a safety feature.
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1957 Ford Fairlane Skyliner
The Ford Fairlane Skyliner offered a feature that other vehicles at the time didn't — a retractable roof apparatus, called the "Hide-Away Hardtop" — that automatically folded the roof into the rear of the vehicle. This was a popular option, as well, because it was the first car with a retractable roof to five-digit production numbers.
1955 Chevy Lakewood
1957 DeSoto Airflow
1952 Plymouth Gran Fury
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1954 Dodge Royal
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air
Now one of the most sought-after vehicles from the 1950s, the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air (the highest trim level of this model — the other levels were called the Two-Ten and the One-Fifty) came in several body styles, including two-door or four-door sedans, convertibles and station wagons. When people think of a car from the '50s, they often think of this model.
1953 DeSoto FireDome
1950 Pontiac Streamliner
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Pontiac Grand Prix
Chevrolet Impala
Released for the 1958 model year, the Chevrolet Impala would go on to be the flagship for the Chevy passenger car fleet for decades. First available in either hardtop or convertible styles, the first year for the Impala was an impressive one; the company sold more than 180,000 units, and Impalas made up about 15% of Chevy's production that year.
Ford Five Hundred
Chevrolet Chevelle
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1952 Oldsmobile F-88
1958 Buick LaSabre
1950 Ford Crestliner
1956 Renault Dauphine
The Renault Dauphine was a hit in Europe. The version that was sold in the U.S.? Not so much. The car was panned by critics and owners alike for its bad performance and rotten reliability. How bad? It went from 0 to 60 mph in 32 seconds. Rust was also a mortal enemy. It's regularly listed on "worst of all time" car lists.
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1955 Chevy Lakewood
1950 Crosley Super Sport
1959 Pontiac Safari
Not only did the 1959 Pontiac Safari have all the room you could ever want for taking your brood out to the drive-in with all the creature comforts, but it also had fins. Lots of fins. The vehicle had fins on both the top and bottom of the rear fenders.
1951 Muntz Jet
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Thunderbird
Galaxie
Imperial
Series 62
The Cadillac Series 62 — of which the Eldorado and the Coupe de Ville were a part — was the most popular model of the luxury brand in 1956. With more than 134,000 vehicles sold, it made up just over 86% of the company's total sales that year. It's also a good thing that gas prices were lower back then; the vehicle got a whopping 8.3 mpg.
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1958 Chevrolet Kingwood
1953 Buick Roadmaster Skylark
The 1953 Skylark was developed to celebrate Buick's 50th anniversary, and the luxury automobile was a showcase for design and feature advancements, including electric window controls. It had a 5.3-liter V8, but most of that power went to moving the car's bulk — it had a curb weight of more than two tons.
1955 DeSoto Airstream
1954 Cadillac Fleetwood
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Chevy Mujeres Primero
Ford Pour Elle
Dodge La Femme
Dodge saw that more women were taking an interest in automobiles and driving after World War II and decided to make a vehicle aimed directly at that market. The La Femme was a full-sized car trim package based on the Dodge Lancer and offered "softer" exterior and interior color options. The line was ultimately not successful.
Lincoln Le Donne
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1950 Studebaker Starlight Coupe
1957 Chrysler 300C
Designed to invoke the image of an airplane (it had what was termed "Forward Look and Flight Sweep" styling), the Chrysler 300C was part of the company's "letter" series. The 300C offered a 6.4-liter V8 Hemi engine, was available as a convertible and, of course, featured those jaw-dropping tailfins.
1956 Mercury Monterey
1955 Ford CX
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1955 Dodge Sierra Wagon
A $250 million loan from Prudential Financial bailed Dodge out of the financial problems that almost sunk it in 1953, so the company launched new models to capture the attention of the drivers of the day with the help of designer Virgil Exner, known for his aerodynamic flair. The Royal, Sierra and Coronet were the first vehicles from this "new" Dodge.
1955 Dodge Cavalier
1955 Dodge Freestyle
1955 Dodge Raider
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1957 Chevy Nomad
The Chevrolet Nomad — and specifically the Nomad with its Tri-Five design from 1955 through 57 — not only managed to look cool, but it gave the driver some power under the hood with the first version of the famous Chevy Small-Block V8.
1954 Dodge 400
1958 Ford Del Rio
1953 Hudson Jet
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The Fantasticar
The Batmobile (1989)
The Brady Bunch station wagon
Ghostbuster's Ecto-1
There weren't many 1959 Miller Meteors — only 400 were estimated to have been made. The car was known as a "combination" car, which could be used as either an ambulance or a hearse. This particular model went on to see fame as Ecto-1, the vehicle used by the Ghostbuster in the 1984 film (after a little work).
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1959 Nash Statesman
1959 Pontiac GTO
1959 Ford Galaxie
The Ford Galaxie, introduced in 1959, was a car marketed around the burgeoning space race the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were starting to run. The Galaxie was a full-sized vehicle meant to take on the Chevrolet Impala and was offered in many trim levels, body styles and engine packages.
1959 Chevrolet Series F
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No way - only room for two here!
If you want to double date and you're driving a first-generation T-bird, the other couple is going to have to find their own ride. The Thunderbird was strictly a two-seater from its introduction in 1955 through 1957. The car was redesigned to seat four after that in efforts to increase sales.
Heck! Find a third couple! We'll all fit!
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Champion
First introduced in 1939, the Studebaker Champion was a full-size car for its first three generations, and then a mid-size car beginning in 1953. Available as a sedan, coupe, station wagon or convertible, the Champion was designed to be affordable and was also made to be light ("weight is the enemy" was the mantra of its designers).
Capri
Corvair
Crossfire
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1950 Pontiac Chieftain Catalina Coupe
The Catalina Coupe had features that no other vehicle had at the time — or, for that matter, any car has today. Some of these include tissue dispensers, a seven-tube radio and a Remington Auto-Home shaver. The Catalina Coupe's V8 engine could produce 116 horsepower.
1952 Woodill Wildfire
1950 Plymouth DeLuxe
1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham
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1953 Chrysler Imperial
1957 Ford Thunderbird
1948 Ford De Luxe
"Greased Lightning," a 1948 Ford De Luxe convertible, needed a lot of love to become the machine the T-Birds needed for the big race, but thanks to their shop class training and a well-timed musical number, Kenickie's ride became a force to be reckoned with — and one anyone would be proud to take to the drive-in when the race is over.
1955 Chevrolet Bel Air
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1955 Ford Falcon
1953 Chevrolet 2500
1952 Nash Ambassador
1951 Chrysler New Yorker
The New Yorker might not have appeared to be a fast car from the looks of it (it was not lightweight, weighing in at about 4,400 pounds), but it had a surprise under the hood: a 5.4-liter FirePower Hemi V8, which could go from 0 to 60 mph in about 10 seconds. That was faster than the Oldsmobile Rocket V8 of the day.
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1954 Cadillac Fleetwood
1955 Plymouth Belvedere
Available in two-tone paint finishes, the Plymouth Belvedere came in a number of styles — including sedan, hardtops, convertibles and station wagons — and offered multiple powertrain options, ranging from a 5.6 inline-six to a massive 7.6-liter "Golden Commando" V8.
1952 Ford Consul
1959 Chevrolet Vectra
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1954 Ford Transit Courier
1958 Pontiac Grand Safari
1956 Chevrolet Task Force
The Chevrolet Task Force was the step between the Chevy Advance Design and the C/K Series of pickups. Released in late 1955 and running through 1959, the Task Force trucks offered three engine options — a 3.9-liter inline-six and a 4.3-liter and 4.6-liter V8. With their streamlined good looks, this truck became popular with generations of hot-rodders.
1957 Mercury Monterey
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1951 Plymouth Cranbrook
1957 Ford Pilot
1957 Lincoln Premiere
The 1957 Lincoln Premiere could take you and five of your friends to the drive-in with style. An upscale version of the Lincoln Capri, the car weighed in at a massive 4,300 pounds and offered a 6.0-liter V8. The Premiere wasn't cheap, either; in today's dollars, it would have run about $42,000.
1953 Chevrolet Opala
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Ford Elite
Dodge Standard
Hudson Commodore
Although it had light design changes and upgrades from its introduction in 1941, the Hudson Commodore was starting to look a little dated toward the end of its run in 1952. The car did have a reputation for luxury and a smooth ride, and it could take a hit; its body chassis was surrounded by steel girders.
Nash-Healey Roadster
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1952 Buick Special Riviera
1950 Cadillac Coupe de Ville
A 1958 Plymouth Fury
"Christine," based on a novel by Stephen King of the same name, tells the story of a boy, his red '58 Plymouth Fury and that car's desire to kill anything that comes between them. There were 14 1957 and '58 Furies destroyed during the making of the 1983 film.
1956 Nash Rambler
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1952 Sears Allstate
1958 Mercury Park Lane
This car, available as either a hardtop or a convertible, offered a monster of an engine — a 7.0-liter Ford MEL V8 — for only one year. It was the first American car to be rated at 400 horsepower. If you didn't get the 1958 Mercury Park Lane, however, you were out of luck; the engine in the '59 was only rated for 345 hp.
1958 Tucker 48
1951 Mercury Sports Sedan
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1958 Pontiac Executive
1955 Ford C-Max
1954 Chevrolet Venture
1950 Chrysler Town & Country Wagon
The 1950 Town & Country Wagon had space to spare once the rear seat was folded down, and it was also the last year of the line's model to offer a style that would find new appreciate a decade later: wood panels. The station wagon had a long life, running from 1945 through 1988.
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Buck Rogers
Batman
The Batmobile from the classic 1966-1968 "Batman" TV show was based on a concept car — the Lincoln Futura — that was built in 1955. The car, which measured almost 19 feet long and seven feet wide, was also in the Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford film "It Started with a Kiss." It was later heavily modified by Dean Jeffries for the Caped Crusader.
Captain America
The Punisher
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1958 DeSoto Adventurer
The DeSoto Adventurer, which was released in 1956 and ended in 1960, was not known for its reliability — especially the 1958 model. Bad power steering units, leaky roofs and an inability to resist rust plagued both the car and its owners. Also, it was BIG, measuring over 18 feet long and weighing in at more than two tons. That's a lot to push.
1955 Chrysler Windsor
1954 Lincoln Capri
1954 Plymouth Plaza
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1952 Studebaker Commander
1952 Kaiser-Frazer Allstate
The Allstate, built by the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation, was only available in 1952 from the Sears & Roebuck department stores (actually, only from Sears in southern states who also carried other auto products). For Kaiser-Frazer dealerships, this was not a good deal; they had to sell a similar model with fewer features for a higher price.
1951 Packard Mayfair
1950 Hudson Commodore
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1951 Packard 250
The 1951 Packard 250 marked a redesign sensibility for the company that had, historically, made "inverted bathtub" shaped vehicles. The 250 was a step up from the 200, offering a bigger engine and more options. The Packard 250 Mayfair was the same vehicle, only with a hardtop.
1953 DeSoto Powermaster
1957 Chevrolet Celta
1957 Ford CX
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Ford
Driving down the backroads of Kentucky and Tennessee running illegal moonshine around both federal roadblocks and gangsters, Mitchum's Lucas Doolin relied on his 1950 customized Ford kept one step ahead of his enemies for most of the film. It also was some of the inspiration for Bruce Springsteen's song of the same name.
Chevrolet
DeSoto
Dodge
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1957 DeSoto Airflow
1953 Hudson Jet
1953 Dodge Coronet
The 1953 Dodge Coronet not only had a redesigned streamlined style but also had an option for something that many other car owners envied: a 3.9-liter V8 Hemi "Red Ram" engine. That engine was responsible for more than 100 land speed records for the time. It could take to the streets!
1950 Crosley Super Sport
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"Great! We'll make everyone else jealous!"
"What's a Corvette?"
Your buddy either has a time machine, gets visions of cars to come or he's making up stories to look good because the Chevrolet Corvette didn't hit the streets until late in the 1953 model year. Also, even if he had one, a double date isn't in the cards; the Corvette is a two-seater.
"It only seats two, dummy!"
"That piece of junk? Forget it!"
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