Here’s why you’ll want to drive a new Ford in 1954.

In 1954, Henry Ford II was still hard at work in his aggressive campaign to rebuild the Ford Motor Company into a modern manufacturing corporation, one that could be the equal of its arch-rival, General Motors. The trusty flathead V8, introduced way back in 1932, was finally retired that year, replaced by an innovative overhead-valve V8 (read about the Y-Block V8 here). And there were a host of other up-to-date features, including power steering, four-way power seats, and the Ford-O-Matic automatic transmission, based on a Borg-Warner design acquired by Ford engineering chief Harold Youngren. Company founder Henry Ford, Henry II’s grandfather, would have hardly recognized the product.

The FoMoCo marketing campaign that year included the taglines, “the standard for the American road” and “worth even more for ’54.” The “American road” theme would become a touchstone in Ford corporate messaging—the address of the company’s World Headquarters in Dearborn, known to all as the Glass House, is 1 American Road. You’ll hear these familiar tropes, along with a straight-ahead pitch for the ’54 passenger car line, in the original factory clip below.  (Note: Don’t forget to click and subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we host our videos and feature tons of great content. Thanks!)