[1] GIs returning after serving overseas in the years following World War II were bringing home MGs, Jaguars, Alfa Romeos, and similar European sports cars, a category that largely did not exist for American manufacturers.
[2][1] In 1951, Nash Motors began selling an expensive two-seat sports car, the Nash-Healey, that was made in partnership with the Italian designer Pininfarina and British auto engineer Donald Healey,[3] but there were few moderate-priced models.
[6] Celebrities such as Groucho Marx and Howard Hughes were offered private viewings of the Vega by invitation of Henry Ford II.
[6] Gardner had planned on producing an inexpensive fiberglass version of the Vega to be offered in kit form, unfortunately, the rights to the vehicle's design were the property of Ford according to the rules of the original contest.
While Ford did show enthusiasm the Vega was a one-off project that ultimately did not enter series production.