mmarshall

Opinions, of course, will differ on what is the most garish and ostentatious car of all time...but mine has to go to the 1959 Cadillacs. The late 1950s, style-wise, were the epitome of a truly excessive, happy-go-lucky age of American car-styling (thanks to the original influence of noted GM design chief Harley Earl) that started early in the decade and lasted well into the following 1960s. During this period, we saw gimmicks like entire solid-roofs disappearing into the trunk in one piece, three-tone paint jobs with three-tone interiors, jet-aircraft fins, glass-roofed station wagons, over-chromed instrument panels that blinded you in the sun, tires whose entire sides were whitewall, wraparound windshields, swivelling front bucket-seats for entry-exit...the list goes on and on.

But, in this Age of huge rolling circus-mobiles, perhaps nothing else stood out like the 1959 Cadillac. It would, even today, turn more heads than a bright-yellow Lamborghini. It had everything....enormous size, an enormous (for the period) V8, power controls inside for almost everything, all kinds of room in the back seat for (well, you know......), pink paint-options, and a magic-carpet ride so smooth and quiet that you floated over most bumps without ever feeling it at all (just don't ask about its handling). The Russians, of course, at the time (we were at or near the height of the Cold War) also pointed to it as a classic symbol of American/Capitalist decadence....never mind the crude junk that their own Russian and Iron-Curtain factories were producing (when they produced cars at all).

Not only that, but, in that day, Cadillacs weren't looked on as blue-hair Geezermobiles like they were to become in subsequent decades. Noted singers Hank Williams and Elvis Presley both owned Cadillacs. Williams, who had a chronic and painful back condition, loved Caddies for their smooth rides....he died in the back seat of his 1953 Cadillac while en route to Cincinatti to give a concert. Presley not only loved them, too (especially pink ones), but, with his enormous wealth, gave them away to his relatives and friends as gifts....one of those pink ones is still preserved at his Memphis, TN Graceland museum.

So, may I present what I consider the original (and still reigning) King of Bling.....the 1959 Cadillac.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I look at these pictures and just think that cars were more about statements and works of art. more so than today's cookie cutter designs "one sausage different lengths" and point A to point B vehicles.

The details, the lines. I love it.

To the above pictures, I don't find them ostentatious at all.

True senses to motoring and the spirit of driving.

LexBob2

I love looking at these old boats. Driving them, not so much. Some of these old caddies etc. are probably still bouncing up and down from dips in the road they hit in 1958.

SC400slide

iTrader: (11)

Man, what brilliant looking automobiles! Love the wings on them too. Truly one of my favorite old time designs.

Gojirra99

One of my all-time favorite model

mmarshall

True, to some extent, they reflected the culture of the time. The 50s were an age of advancing jet aircraft, science-fiction, the beginnings of space-exploration/satellites, more and more disposable income for families, the peak of American influence in the world, and a desire of the American public to have the best of everything....including bling in their cars. And, of course, with this car, they certainly got that bling.



Maybe I could have used a different term, but, but "ostentatous", I meant large, showy, chrome-laden, and big....enough to show the world that , "Hey, I've got money, I've made it, and I like to show off. " That's why Cadillacs, back then, weren't necessarily looked upon as geriatric geezer-cars......a lot of the most successful people in the music/entertainment/buisness worlds owned and drove them (or had chauffeurs drive them)


I don't ever remember actually driving a '59 in my youth, but I did get to sample a '62 (my dad briefly owned one), which had the same platform, drivetrain, and interior design/hardware, but with lower tail-fins and more-subdued body-styling. I also briefly sampled a few other Caddies from the mid-late 60s (one of my grand-uncles owned a '67, and often let me drive it considerable distances)

Driving a Caddie of that vintage was like driving a 2.5-3 ton rolling cloud....with the manuverablity/handling of a battleship. The only real fly in the ointment was that the brake-engineers, back then, had no idea how to properly set up power-drum brakes and their proportioning-valves. At low and parking-lot speeds, the slightest touch of the brake pedal with your toe, if the brakes weren't already faded-out from heat build-up, could jerk the car to a immediate halt (fortunately, many Cadillacs, even that far back, had seatbelts, so you at least had some restraint). It took some time to get used to the clearly over-boosted pedal.

edgeucated

iTrader: (4)

I agree that the old Cadillac were excessively-styled but I don't know if they are the most ostentatious. Lambos are quite bold in their designs.

I just love how flashy the aventador is

2BENVD

iTrader: (1)

I would so rock that!

mmarshall

By the term (as I replied to Hoovey above), I was basically referring to a car with a lot of bling and something that the owner would buy not only to drive and enjoy himself/heerself, but also to show off with. The late 50s were an age of classic materialism and a time of keeping up with (or passing) the Joneses.

However, there were some signs of this obsession wth size also having reached its peak and starting to backfire. By 1959, the Big Three already were working on compact-size cars to go head-to-head with the AMC Ramblers and the increasing flow of small foreign-imports. Those compacts from the Big Three would debut in 60-61.

adamls2

....and I love them all!!

Lil4X

The '58 Buick Limited Riviera coupe was no slouch in the category of "over the top" application of chrome either. It was rare, with only 1,026 manufactured, but the same load of chrome was also available on the Roadmaster and Estate Wagon as well.





The color here was similarly gaudy - called by Cadillac "Persian Sand", and "Laurel Mist" in the Buick line, it was available only in 1958 and only on the highest of the high-end GM cars. Purple to mauve in direct sunlight, it would shift to a metallic silver bearing even a greenish tinge under various streetlights, incandescent, or mercury vapor.

The following year, Buick, possibly doing penance for its excess, stripped most of the chrome from its line and went with enormous sculptural tailfins for its brand statement. Remember, this was the same year as the chrome-laden Caddy, so Buick opted for a different design language within the GM family, toning down the bling.



It was somewhat akin to what the folks over at the bow-tie division were doing that year . . .

Lil4X

It's possible that the '59 Buick was called a "boat" for a reason . . .



About ten years ago the Coast Guard picked up a Cuban family making their way to Key West in a modified '59 Buick. The doors were welded shut (a'la "Dukes of Hazzard") to make the cabin watertight. The idea was they would strip off the flotation and prow on making landfall, then drive the Buick to their final destination with family in Lake Worth, FL.

Although they were intercepted and deported to Central America, the story of Luis Grass, his wife Isora, and their 5-year-old son Angel Luis has a happy ending. They eventually worked their way from Costa Rica, through Mexico, and entered the country (illegally) through Matamoros.

It may be the only time a Buick became a real boat. You gotta respect that kind of initiative, mechanical skill, persistence, and desire.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I love the '54 Kaiser with it's slide into front fender doors I've seen at a car show.

Vossen Wheels

Ostentatious, maybe. But the '59 Caddy is an extremely desirable car for that reason. The massive grille, huge tail-fins, length of a boat, and all of it's styling cues made the car a Cadillac and it stood out from the rest. Even during a time when car styling was very unique and differentiated. Look at the Escalade nowadays with it's big, shiny grille, factory 22's, plush interior, LED and HID lighting, and high-end options; it's much like the '59, just modernized and following the trends of today, rather than accentuating the trends of the 50's and 60's. I'd love one, it would make for a perfect Miami cruiser

I8ABMR

The beauty of this car is that it gives us a window in the past when American cars were THE cars to have. When the companies took pride in what they built and made the cars look as pretty as possible as opposed to stripping any and every thing from the car that is possible to lower costs and increase profits