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| Established in 1899 as the Detroit Automobile Company, Cadillac is the oldest automobile manufacturer to originate in Detroit. General Motors purchased Cadillac in 1909 at which time Cadillac was producing 6000 cars a year. Over 9 million Cadillacs have been sold since. The ‘59 Caddy had it all-- looks, performance, and comfort. It was, (as Caddies continue to be) a symbol of success -impressive and controversial. The outrageous tail fins and jet pod taillights evoked either a love it or hate it attitude with the public. The 1959 Cadillac was the culmination, the ultimate exageration of everything that was ‘50's automobile styling. Although fins were not new, having been a styling element for cars since 1948, they never reached ludicrous proportions until 1959. If Cadillac was to be the ultimate of vehicles, everything about it had to be bigger and better. Upfront, the new grille for ‘59 was a “glittering cliff of chrome”. And as if one toothy grille wasn’t enough, there was even a second “dummy” grille below the chrome strip. To further the “bigger is better” motif, if one marker light per side was standard the Caddy had to have two. That is why we see four markers across the front and back. So how did it all come to be? Well, it is the “lucky for us” timing of three events. First, to cut tooling costs for the ‘59 model year, GM execs decided that all full size vehicles across the corporation would share the Buick front door (among other things) Although not an uncommon proposition, it did create some interesting design issues. The front door of the Buick had a rearward taper which led designers to the side panel flow from high in front to low in the back. The second event was the world’s (and GM designers) infatuation with jet aircraft. In 1948, Styling Chief, Harley Earl, began the “Fins Race” by sending his designers out to study a Lockheed Lightning P-38, particularily its rear stabalizers. But by 1957, Chrysler was out-finning Cadillac and that was unacceptable. Third, Harley Earl put Dave Hols, a twenty-something designer incharge of the ‘59 Cadillac. Dave had been designing cars with Harley Earl for many years and was the first to put “Sharp” fins on cars in the early 50's for Motorama shows. With Harley away in Europe, Dave was free to design using the mindset of a twenty- something adult in the 50's,. The results of these events are the tailfins , “Jet Pod” taillights and the sweeping taper of the ‘59 body that are unmistakable forty-five years later. |
| 1959 Cadillac Project Scrapbook Page 1 |
How Did I Get Here?
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