A very few British-built Triumphs were exported to the United States after World War II, but American sales didn't amount to much until the "TR-2" and following "TR" series sports cars began in the mid-1950s.
Triumph began as a bicycle manufacturer in 1887. Its first four-wheeled cars came along in 1923.
This Dolomite series convertible of 1938 was a beauty, though some reviewers at the time didn't like its Hudson/ Terraplaneish grille, which they derided as having the look of a "fencer's mask." The center-dip bumper looked like it was borrowed from a mid-1930s Ford V-8, not to mention the pair of outside trumpet horns that were generally passe after 1935.
But Triumph wasn't behind when it came to introducing hydraulic brakes; Triumph was one of the first British cars to adopt them, in the mid-1920s.
Despite the good looks of this 1938 Dolomite, Triumph was in financial hot water in the late 1930s and went into receivership just before the war. When the postwar era began (1945-46), Standard picked up Triumph. Triumph and Standard became part of Leyland Motors in 1961, and eventually Triumph became associated with "a dog and a cat" as Rover and Jaguar joined the Leyland group.
1981 was the final year Triumphs were available, though after that a Honda-based Acclaim sedan appeared as a so-called Triumph.
The "TR" series of Triumph sports cars were popular in the United States from the "TR-2" of 1954 to the final "TR-7," "TR-8" and Spitfire of 1981.