59 Caddy Tail fin with bullet tail lights

by Debby Richards

Title

59 Caddy Tail fin with bullet tail lights

Artist

Debby Richards

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

Tailfin with bullet headlights from the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
Summary from the museum:
This car symbolizes 1950s America: a time of exuberance, self-confidence, excess, and self-indulgence. Cadillac designers drew on jet aircraft for ideas, from the sharp, swept-back tailfins to the front parking lights that resemble B-52 bomber air intakes. Under that jet-inspired skin is a 345 horsepower engine, air suspension, and a host of luxury options, including an automatic headlight dimmer. We are unlikely to ever see such cars again.
From the National Museum of American History:
The assembly itself is beautiful—steep chrome lines punctuated with red, bullet-like taillights—but it's also a classic example of how our curators can use a small object to explore a big topic in U.S. history—in this case, the reason why we buy products designed to be replaced.

Tail fins started to appear on American cars in the late 1940s, and while many cars eventually adopted them, most experts credit Cadillac for introducing fins to the public. Cadillac's 1948 lineup debuted with a number of stylistic innovations, but the ones that captured most customers' attention were the small fins that curved up from the rear fender. Although the fins served no practical purpose, they instantly connected Cadillac's luxury brand to the technological wonders that were capturing Americans' popular imagination at the time: rockets and jet airplanes.

Uploaded

February 23rd, 2019

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