American automobile industry in the 1950s
In 1954, the smaller American Motors Corporation (AMC) was formed when Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation in a deal worth almost USD $200 million ($1.735 billion in 2013 dollars) the largest corporate merger in U.S. history at that time. Other mergers with smaller independent manufacturers followed. Although AMC was moderately successful it was never sufficiently large to challenge any of the Big Three, and was eventually bought by Chrysler in 1987.
Vector Motors
Vector Motors Corporation is an American automobile manufacturer originally based in Wilmington, California. Its history can be traced to Vehicle Design Force, which was founded in 1978 by Gerald Wiegert. Vehicle production by Vector Aeromotive began in 1989 and ceased in 1993. The company was later revived as Vector Motors Corporation, and has continued to develop supercars. When founded, Vector represented America's first attempt to compete with European performance car manufacturers like Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Lotus. Altogether around 50 Vector supercar models were developed and produced during the 1980s and 1990s including some racing versions mostly built using American made components.