1955 Ford Thunderbird Sunnyside 1:24

The first generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a two-seat convertible produced by Ford for the 1955 to 1957 model year, the first 2-seat Ford since 1938. It was developed in response to the 1953 Motorama display at the New York Auto Show, which showed the Chevrolet Corvette. The Corvette in turn was developed in response to the popularity of European sports cars among Americans.

Dubbed a "a personal car of distinction" by Ford, this appellation was also used by the motoring press at the time. The car built upon the heritage of the bespoke roadsters of the 1930s, yet was constructed largely of existing components, marking the first step toward the evolution of the personal luxury car as a mass market segment in the United States. While light weight for its era and fitted with a standard V8 engine, the Thunderbird focused more on driver comfort than speed, and was not a direct rival to either the Corvette or European sports cars. The Thunderbird proved more suited to the American market than the Corvette, with sales of 16,155, versus 674 Corvettes in 1955.  This remained the only two-seat convertible Thunderbird until the eleventh-generation was unveiled in 2002. The design of this generation of the Ford Thunderbird was the direct inspiration for the Auto Union 1000 Sp sports coupe.

1955 BMW 507 1:24 Motormax

 

 

The BMW 507 is a roadster that was produced by BMW from 1956 to 1959. Initially intended to be exported to the United States at a rate of thousands per year, it ended up being too expensive, resulting in a total production figure of 252 cars and heavy financial losses for BMW.

The BMW 507 was conceived by U.S. automobile importer Max Hoffman who, in 1954, persuaded the BMW management to produce a roadster version of the BMW 501 and BMW 502 saloons to fill the gap between the expensive Mercedes-Benz 300SL and the cheap and underpowered Triumph and MG sports cars. BMW engineer Fritz Fiedler was assigned to design the rolling chassis, using existing components wherever possible. Early body designs by Ernst Loof were rejected by Hoffman, who found them to be unappealing. In November 1954, at Hoffman's insistence, BMW contracted designer Albrecht von Goertz to design the BMW 503 and the 507.

Thirty-four Series I 507s were built in 1956 and early 1957. These cars had welded aluminium fuel tanks of 110 litres (29.1 US gal) capacity behind the rear seats. These large tanks limited both boot space and passenger space, and gave off the smell of fuel inside the car when the soft top was up or the hardtop was in place. Series II and later 507s had fuel tanks of 66 litres (17.4 US gal) capacity under the boot, shaped around the space for the spare tyre.

1955 Oldsmobile Super 88 Convertible Welly 1:24

From Wikipedia:

In the 1955 model year, new sales records were achieved for the U.S. auto industry and Oldsmobile that would endure for a decade. Wide public acceptance of the division’s well-appointed “Go Ahead” styled models, which were fortified with an even more powerful 324-cu.in. overhead-valve Rocket V-8, propelled production to 583,179 cars being built.
Oldsmobile offered the 88 and Super 88 series on a 122-inch wheelbase and the Ninety-Eight on a 126-inch wheelbase. The entry-level 88 line featured a four-door sedan, two-door sedan or two-door Holiday coupe (hardtop). A 324-cu.in. two-barrel engine and three-speed manual transmission were standard with the four-barrel engine optional.

1955 Chevrolet Belair Taxi Hot Wheels 1:64

From Wikipedia:
 The 1955 Chevrolet (sometimes referred to as '55 Chevy) is an automobile which was introduced by Chevrolet in Autumn 1954 for the 1955 model year. It is considered a huge turning point for the manufacturer and a major success. It was available in three models: the 150, 210, and Bel Air.

The '55 Chevy was the first successful Chevrolet with an optional V8 engine. Chevrolet had produced an earlier car with a V8 in 1918 (Chevrolet Series D), which used a 36-horsepower overhead valve 288-cubic-inch V8, but it remained in production for only a year. In 1955, Chevrolet decided to fit its new car with an overhead valve V8 engine design, which was similar to the 1949 Oldsmobile "Rocket 88" V8 engine which was an earlier GM success. Chevy's new 265-cubic-inch overhead valve V8 was designed to be smaller, lighter, and more powerful than previous V8s in the auto industry, and would come to be known as the "Chevy small block".

However, the new small block engine in the '55 Chevy had some early teething issues. Some problems existed with cracked pistons, there was no integrated oil filter, so an external bypass filter was offered as a factory or dealer option. Those who did not order the engine with the "oil filter option" dealt with a high frequency of oil changes. Even with the oil filter option, only part of the oil was actually filtered (the oil going through the thermostat). This issue was corrected for the next year when a full flow oil filter system was added to the engine. Additionally, to keep performance and mileage levels high required spark plug and ignition points to be replaced on a regular basis. But other than those issues it was an easy to maintain engine. The small block Chevy V8 became so popular that Chevrolet still sells it today as an over the counter replacement engine or better known as a "crate engine". There have been various changes made to the engine to modernize it since its introduction in 1954 however the basic design of the original 265 remains in place.

1955 Chevy Nomad Custom Hot Wheels 1:64

From Fandom:
 The Classic Nomad was a car in the 1970 Hot Wheels series, based on the 1955 Chevrolet Nomad, part of Chevy's top-of-the-line Bel-Air series.

All versions were issued with clear windows, a white interior, cap-style wheels, and an unpainted metal base with a USA manufacturing location.

After being out of the line-up for 21 years the '55 Chevy Nomad was retooled for the 1991 California Customs series. It was named either the '55 Nomad or Classic Nomad depending on what series it was released in.

For the 2018 release, the Nomad was retooled again. The body and front fascia was given an overhaul. The hood scoops are now more prominent.