On August 20, 2005, the USPS issued the first stamps in a nostalgic series honoring classic American cars. Over the next 17 years, America on the Move would celebrate four distinct groups of vehicles, from sleek 1950s sports cars to the pony cars that became symbols of youthful performance.
Automobiles had appeared on US stamps long before the series began. One early example was the 4¢ stamp from the 1901 Pan-American Exposition issue. It pictured an electric automobile used by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to transport passengers and baggage. The stamp was part of a set celebrating modern transportation, which also included trains, ships, bridges, and canal locks. Cars continued to appear on US stamps over the following century. In 2005, the USPS introduced America on the Move, a series devoted to memorable automobiles from the 1950s through the 1970s.
The first set, ’50s Sporty Cars, was dedicated at the Michigan State Fair in Detroit on August 20, 2005. The five 37¢ stamps pictured a 1953 Chevrolet Corvette, 1954 Kaiser Darrin, 1952 Nash-Healey, 1953 Studebaker Starliner, and 1955 Ford Thunderbird. Each represented a different approach to the growing American market for sporty automobiles. The Corvette had a lightweight fiberglass body. The Nash-Healey combined an American engine with British engineering and Italian bodywork. The Kaiser Darrin was distinctive for doors that slid forward into the front fenders. Ford promoted the Thunderbird as a comfortable “personal car” rather than a pure sports car.
Carl T. Herrman designed the stamps, while noted automotive illustrator Art Fitzpatrick created the paintings. Fitzpatrick had worked in automobile design before becoming a successful advertising artist. At just 20 years old, he helped design Packard automobiles. He later produced automotive advertising for General Motors and built custom cars for entertainers including Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, and Al Jolson.
The series returned on October 3, 2008, with 50s Fins and Chrome. The stamps were issued at the Fall Carlisle Collector Car Swap Meet in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. They pictured a 1957 Chrysler 300C, 1957 Lincoln Premiere, 1957 Pontiac Safari, 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk, and 1959 Cadillac Eldorado. The Chrysler 300C combined luxury with a powerful Hemi V8, while the Lincoln Premiere emphasized size, comfort, and upscale styling. The Pontiac Safari stood out as a sporty two-door station wagon, the Studebaker Golden Hawk offered supercharged performance, and the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado became famous for its towering tail fins and elaborate chrome trim.
Fitzpatrick again supplied the artwork. This time, the stamps focused on the dramatic styling that defined many late-1950s American automobiles. Large tail fins, sweeping body lines, bright chrome trim, and elaborate grilles became visual trademarks of the period.
The third set, Muscle Cars, was issued on February 22, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway, two days before the Daytona 500. The Forever stamps pictured a 1966 Pontiac GTO, 1967 Shelby GT-500, 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, 1970 Plymouth Hemi ’Cuda, and 1970 Chevelle SS. These cars represented a different automotive trend. Muscle cars generally paired relatively ordinary production bodies with large, powerful engines designed for rapid acceleration. Their popularity grew during the 1960s as automakers competed for younger buyers interested in performance.
The Pontiac GTO helped popularize the muscle-car formula of putting a large engine in a midsize car, while Carroll Shelby transformed the Mustang-based GT-500 into a higher-performance machine. The Dodge Charger Daytona used a pointed nose and enormous rear wing for high-speed NASCAR racing, the Plymouth Hemi ’Cuda could be ordered with Chrysler’s formidable 426 Hemi engine, and the Chevelle SS was available with Chevrolet’s massive 454-cubic-inch V8.
Artist Tom Fritz painted the five cars, while Herrman again served as designer and art director. Seven-time Daytona 500 winner Richard Petty joined Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe at the dedication ceremony.
Nearly a decade later, the Pony Cars stamps were issued on August 25, 2022, at the Great American Stamp Show in Sacramento, California. USPS publicity for the 2022 issue did not prominently use the America on the Move name. However, Linn’s Stamp News identified Pony Cars as the fourth set in the series The five designs pictured a 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302, 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, 1967 Mercury Cougar XR-7 GT, and 1969 AMC Javelin SST.
The Mustang Boss 302 was developed partly to compete in Trans-Am racing, while the Camaro Z/28 also grew from that racing rivalry. Dodge’s Challenger R/T emphasized straight-line performance, the Mercury Cougar XR-7 GT offered a more luxurious take on the pony-car idea, and the AMC Javelin SST gave the smaller American Motors Corporation a stylish competitor to models from Ford, Chevrolet, and Chrysler.
The “pony car” category took its name from the Ford Mustang, introduced in 1964. These automobiles were generally compact, stylish, relatively affordable, and available with a range of performance options. Their success encouraged competing manufacturers to introduce models such as the Camaro, Challenger, Cougar, and Javelin.
Tom Fritz returned to create the paintings, working from photographs and painting the cars in oils on hardboard panels. Zack Bryant designed the stamps, and Greg Breeding served as art director.
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View the 2026 Lowriders stamps here.
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I was fortunate enough to attend the First Day Ceremony when the 50s Sporty Cars were issued in Detroit on August 20, 2005. It was pretty cool, and I got to make up a whole bunch of my own unique FDCs for my US FDC collection.
See the USA in your Chevrolet! Remember that commercial song???
I certainly do. We had a two tone 1955 Chrysler Newport. So nice to have two shades of blue on a car.
Don, you and your great team did it again. Grate all the way…glad I am back this time till I run out of life or money…I pray both do not….you and yours have set my life back on track, at 80 I am good for another round of life…
I look forward to your daily posts which I find so interesting. As a retired Social Studies teacher I frequently used stamps to emphasize various historical events or people. It was surprising how any of my students were stamp collectors. When I was in high school, the school librarian introduced me to first day covers. She would order these covers for me and a number of other students. We only had to pay to cover the expense of the cover and the stamps to be applied.
Interestingly, my mother’s sister was married to Charles H. Mekeel Jr. My Uncle Charles’ father and his brother had founded Mekeel’s Stamp business located in St. Louis. They were a leading company dealing in stamps and published Mekeel’s Stamp Weekly. My Uncle Charles also offered a stamps on approval service and he often gave my brother and I with older stamps for our collections.
A while back you mentioned how Latvia, upon obtaining independence after World War I, printed stamps on the back of German maps. I was given a large box full of these stamps by my Aunt Mary Mekeel when I was a teen ager. I sold the box to a coin/stamp dealer in Trenton for $10. A few weeks later when I visited the shop again, the owner gave me another $20 for the stamps sayig that he had learned they were worth considerably more than he initially thought. The photo of the stamps you provided in your article were exactly like those I had sold so any years ago. I always wondered about those stamps; your artile provided answers to many of my questions.
Incidentally, my Uncle Charles Mekeel’s personal stamp collection was sold to Applebaum’s in Philadelphia and it’s sale paid for his four grand-children’s college educations back in the 1960-1970’s.