1950s American automobile culture
During the decade, many smaller manufacturers could not compete with the Big Three and either went out of business or merged. In 1954, American Motors was formed when Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation in a deal worth almost $200 million, the largest corporate merger in United States history at that time.
Northern (automobile)
Though the automobile industry was in its infancy, both of these men had already compiled a resume of automotive experience. Both had worked for R. E. Olds. King, who had an engineering degree from Cornell and had moved to Detroit in 1891, was the chief designer at Oldsmobile but left the company after the 1901 fire at the plant. Four years after moving to Detroit, he formed the American Motor League to promote good roads. His first car was created in 1896, and was immediately driven on the streets, much to the dismay of other travelers. The new contraption was loud (as were most other vehicles of the time) and disturbed the horse-drawn carriages. Henry Ford's first vehicle was built three months after King's.