" At long last, the hallowed promise of "a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage " was on the verge of actuality for much of the middle class. Because of the ability to now make monthly payments on a car, rather than pay for the entire purchase upfront, by the mid-1950's "everyone who wanted a car (and could obtain credit) had one. Pricing was also aided by the mass invasion of the mid-priced level car by Ford, Chevrolet and Plymouth who began to edge out more expensive models that had previously been considered mid-ranged in price, Buick, Mercury, and Dodge. While this hurt the individual label marquee-companies, this did not affect the Big Three's bottom line or sales company wide, since each had been edged out by a sister company [Ford from Mercury (Ford), Chevrolet from Buick (GM), and Plymouth from Dodge (Mopar/ Chrysler)]. However, not everyone perceived this increase in automotive buying power as a positive. John Keats, in his book The Insolent Chariots (1958), attacked the automobile industry stating that their products were "overblown, overpriced monstrosities built by oafs to sell to mental defectives." However, Keats was definitely in the minority. Between 1950 and 1960, the average wholesale cost of a car increased from $1270 to $1822, an increase of nearly fifty percent. But based on the dramatic increase in sales, approximately forty percent, Americans did not see the Detroit autos as either overpriced or overblown.
The cost and styling of the car were two important factors. By the mid-fifties, Detroit had begun to capitalize on this by merging cost and styling with the concept of accessories and options. With the average buyer tacking on an additional $725 in available options, or more than a quarter of the price of the average cost of the car itself, it seems clear that "Motor Town became something of a soda jerk to the nation, dishing up a series of increasingly elaborate confections "loaded with extras "; hot fudge, air conditioning, whipped cream, chrome, chopped walnuts, "diamond lustre"" enamel paint with a maraschino cherry on top.