In the 50s, chrome was introduced to more cars and also a more luxurious look in a country slowly getting back to its feet after the war. The 1950s saw a huge boom in American car manfucaturing, and during that time, the US made more cars than England, France, Japan, Sweden and many other nations put together - and many times over.  The 50's was the decade of cars, and the huge demand saw both Ford and GM hit the 50 million car mark.