Great Cars: American Classics

The 1953 Corvette was the American car designed to fulfill the yearnings of soldiers returning from war.

Billy Durant was asked to help David Buick’s company. He saw the potential and leveraged its assets to create the world's largest corporation, GM.

One of Henry Ford's early suppliers, Henry Leland, took over from Ford and turned his first company into one that would symbolize the best of America.

The Pontiac GTO was created by John Delorean alongside his engineers. They raced against kids at night and took what they learned back to the office.

The 1955 Ford Thunderbird was meant to fulfill the desire for a sporty American car. In just two years, about 40-thousand T-Birds were sold.

In 1959, Carroll Shelby was America's best competition driver and a household name in the industry. After retirement he made his dream car, the Cobra.

In the 1960’s Ford Motor Company's Lee Iacocca decided that Ford needed to compete with the likes of Ferrari. Enter Carroll Shelby and the Ford GT-40.

After the war, nobody thought the Jeep would have a purpose after World War II, but today Jeep-like SUV’s are among the world's top sellers.

Starting in the 1990’s Sport Utility Vehicles took over the streets of America. No car company could survive without an SUV in its lineup.