The+Car

= =  The cars that used to travel and are still travelling on Route 66 have always had an influence in the history of the highway. One of the many attractions of Route 66 is the Cadillac Ranch. It is located along Route 66 west of Amarillo, Texas. This monument represents America's hopes and dreams, art and commerce, materialism and spiritualism. This work consists of 10 Cadillacs that show the evolution of the automobile, produced between 1948 and 1964. In the 1940s, Europe had to recover from the ravages of war, so the best cars were Americans. They were big cars, prestigious, with a reputation for quality, power, space, comfort and beauty. The most popular brands were Ford and Chevrolet. The most prestigious were Cadillac and Lincoln. Most of these cars had huge powerful engines. Economy definitely was not a concern. Many of the engines had six or eight or even twelve cylinders in line. In 1950, Chevrolet came up with a revolutionary style that would set a pattern for decades. This style was the convertible with a non-detachable solid roof. In the years 1950 to 1960, the route became a synonym for world freedom. Driving aimlessly on it was much more than a tourist pastime: it was rejecting the conservative environment of the east coast for adventure in sunny and liberal California. The Route 66 allowed anyone that knew how to drive a car or a motorcycle to be free. The great irony is that the same ideal of increasing mobility encouraged the decline of the route. The increased traffic demanded wider and safer roads, and by 1970, almost all segments of the original road received variances for a modern four-lane highway. An interesting and quirky fact is that driving on Route 66 from West to East is historically wrong.