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.
Columbia Motors
Columbia Motors was incorporated in 1916, with John George Bayerline as company president and William E. Metzger as vice-president. Bayerline was the former president and general manager of the King Motor Car Company and former general manager and founder of the Warren Motor Car Company. Prior to founding Columbia, Metzger was a founder of the E-M-F Company which was later purchased by the Studebaker Corporation.