It was on this day in 1954 that the 50 millionth car produced by General Motors rolled off Chevrolet’s assembly line in Flint, Michigan amid a day of national celebration.

In honour of the occasion, the historic vehicle - a Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe - was plated gold inside and out. Following a brief ceremony, it was then loaded onto a float and towed through Flint, much to the delight of thousands of onlookers who packed the streets eager to get a glimpse of the special Chevy.

Eager to make the milestone a national event, GM also opened its doors to 114 factories and 11 centres across America in a day long ‘open house’. It was later estimated that this move attracted over 1 million visitors.

The historic milestone coincided with arguably the peak in General Motors’ history with the corporation having snared an astonishing 58% share of the US market.

Though an influx of European imports and a revival from its great traditional rival, Ford, saw GM lose some of its stranglehold on the US market over the next decade, it took only a further 13 years for the company to hit the 100 millionth car produced milestone.

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