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In 1923, General Motors President Alfred P. Sloan initiated the annual model change. This revolutionized the relationship between automobiles and affluence, as well as design and advertising.
Sloan's revolution was based on making the automobile a "visible and easily understood symbol of personal progress." In retrospect, this can be viewed as an implicit attempt at creating a scheme of class distinction. However, the rise and influence of the annual model change opened Americans' imaginations, not to mention their pocketbooks.
Sloan hired designer Harley Earl as head of GM's Art and Color Section. Because most annual alterations to cars were cosmetic, Earl's position seemed necessary to continually pique consumer's interest.
At the same time, a new design aesthetic began creeping into the American auto design pedigree: streamlining. Chrysler was the first manufacturer to feature streamlining in their cars, and did so with the aerodynamic and boastfully modern Airflow. Debuting in Chicago at the 1933 World's Fair, the Airflow's sleek contours both intrigued and bewildered onlookers.
Advertising for the Airflow centered on the idea of "functional beauty," in other words, the marriage of art and technology. Unfortunately, this modern vehicle made it's debut during the depression era and the concept was not understood by consumers. Therefore, it flopped commercially and production ended in 1937. However, the Airflow's significance did not elude the scope of designers. Its influence led to true technological advances becoming a part of the annual model change.
Never straying too far from the allure of aesthetics, American car buyers ultimately preferred flash over function. The Lincoln Zephyr, initially a rival of the Airflow, used symbols of speed and modernity in their advertising. Cars were often juxtaposed with ships and speeding trains. The Zephyr itself drove just fine, but it didn't have the tested wind resistance and improved gas mileage of the Airflow. Nevertheless, it sold exponentially better.
World War II halted what is considered by many the fastest moving era of the American automobile, stylistically and mechanically. Manufacturers turned their efforts toward support for the war, producing engines, tanks and other necessities. Car production stopped entirely in 1942, but their advertisements did not. Wartime ads typically depicted dramatic battle scenes with copy underscoring the particular company's role in the war effort.
The spoils of war only advanced America's self-image as an affluent society. Status became the predominant theme of car advertisements. It was presumed that the purchase of a new car would be accompanied by a rise in social status - a social phenomena that was symbolized and paralleled the advent of the tail fin.
Legend has it that after admiring the design of a fighter plane, Harley Earl designed the first car with fins - the 1948 Cadillac. This might not be far from the truth given streamlining's explicit link between automobile and aeronautical design. Cadillac was at the top in both price and ostentatious design.
In 1948, the Crosley, America's first small-sized car was designed. The Crosley boasted great gas mileage ("4,000 miles for $27!"), adequate room, and a small sticker price.
Advertising throughout the '50s extended through all levels of car manufacturers. Ads for the 1959 Cadillac were garishly adorned with jewels, such as, a figurative tiara for Cadillac's perennially royal stature in the industry. Chevrolet's Corvair series wins the prize for least politically correct. The Corvair ads featured scantily clad vixens and other undeniably sexual scenes.
Through a series of federal mandates regarding emissions and safety regulations, the industry virtually required functionalism over design in the '60s and '70s.
The ramifications of the annual model change remain in the automobile industry today. Streamlining and the marriage of function and flash still exist in new and updated forms today. And the automobile industry continues to move quickly, both on the street and in magazines.
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