WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2007
The Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz for 1958 blends the automotive design of tomorrow with today’s finest engineering. Its custom design is distinguished by individual treatment of rear fender panel and fins . . . by single-winged ornaments on the front fender crowns . . . by a broad chromed molding accenting the rear wheel opening . . . and by dramatic chrome rear panels that curve gracefully into the rounded rear deck. Air suspension is, of course, an option at extra cost . . .
1958 would be the fifth and final year for two-door Eldorados that differed significantly from Cadillac’s standard coupes and convertibles, at least until the debut of the front-drive 1967 cars. The 1953 and 1955 through ’58 Eldos sported unique sheetmetal, most of them with cut-down, shark-finned rear ends. The last gasp of Eldoriginality came with the attractive 1964 convertibles, which had full cutouts for the rear wheels instead of fender skirts.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2007
The Sedan de Ville for 1958 provides a brilliant and original interpretation of Cadillac styling. Its completely new profile and interior elegance mark it as one of the most dramatic and inspiring motor cars of all time. Its four headlamps enhance the dazzling new grille and produce exceptional illumination on the highway. Its distinctive new rear fender design . . . its tasteful use of chrome and color and its beauty of appointments mark it as a singularly beautiful motor car . . .
The best-selling Cadillac of 1958 was the Sedan de Ville, a four-door hardtop 10 inches longer than its 1957 predecessor, using the same 225-inch extended-deck body as the longer-wheelbase Fleetwood Sixty Special, and a kissing cousin to the even longer Buick Limited.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2007
≈
Series Sixty-Two Convertible
The popular Sixty-Two Convertible presents the 1958 Cadillac in its fullest beauty. In the fresh flair of its dramatic styling . . . in the superb performance of its power-assisted driving controls . . . and in the incomparable elegance of its interiors, there is positive assurance that this motor car will be prized and desired for years to come. The Sixty-Two Convertible is powered by the dynamic new Cadillac engine and offers all of Cadillac’s newest engineering advancements. It is, indeed, motordom’s masterpiece for nineteen-fifty-eight.
Sharp of fin and pointy of bumper, Cadillac convertibles were right up there with mink stoles and steak dinners as accoutrements of the good life — two-ton baubles that, like diamonds, were often set off to best effect decorating a pretty girl.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2007
Because of its exclusive, custom-built character, the Eldorado Brougham for 1958 will continue to be built in limited numbers. This dramatically beautiful car — with its brushed stainless steel roof . . . air suspension . . . special engine . . . and many other revolutionary new engineering developments — has been created to be the finest motor car of all time. The custom-crafted interiors of the Eldorado Brougham are exclusively fashioned in the world’s finest leathers and fabrics. Carpeting is either nylon Karakul or genuine mouton. The rear armrest is fitted with a vanity mirror and perfume atomizer containing Arpège Extrait de Lanvin . . .
Crowds flocked to see the Eldorado Brougham when it was a Motorama “dream car,” a following that evaporated in the showrooms after the production version made its debut. Priced at $13,000, the first-generation Brougham sold 704 copies over its two-year run in 1957 and 1958, with Cadillac supposedly losing $10,000 on each one. The second and final iteration, a stunningly understated and beautiful car, was farmed out to Pinin Farina in Italy. After 1960, the Eldorado Brougham disappeared forever.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2007
Imperial’s long-admired classic look has never been more briskly interpreted. The basic Imperial concept — simplicity, dignity, totally integrated design — is still much in evidence for 1961, but a number of arresting new accents set the car brilliantly apart from its predecessors. The clean, youthful line is still the hallmark, but an imaginative grille and headlamp treatment give it fresh elegance. The Imperial evolution is by no means limited to styling, however . . .
When the redesigned “Forward Look” Imperial bowed for 1957, it was the most sedate of the Big Three luxury liners. By 1961, though, Lincoln had debuted its classically spare “Kennedy era” design and Cadillac was much toned down, leaving the Imperial, with its Virgil Exner lines intact and a bit exaggerated, as the Space Age extrovert of the trio. Later in 1961 Elwood Engel, who was responsible for the new Lincoln look, would move to Chrysler and begin remaking Imperial along the same lines.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2007
If you wanted to explain the complete Lincoln idea to somebody, you could simply show him this new 1956 Premiere Coupe — destined to be the most sought-after Lincoln of all. Lincoln distinctiveness for 1956 is not made up of added parts or exaggerated contours. Instead, its individuality springs from essential design. Integrated jet-pod exhausts establish Lincoln identity even from a distance. The finely-jewelled star just ahead of the taillight identifies the new Premiere series . . .
The excerpt above, from the 1956 sales brochure, takes a jab or two at Cadillac and its Buck Rogers styling. Entirely new and riding on a much enlarged chassis, Lincoln was heading for its best year of the decade, with sales almost doubling to 50,000 cars.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2007
In every man’s life there should be at least one convertible. If this is to be your first, you’ll be glad you waited. If you’ve already had yours, you may suddenly feel one isn’t quite enough when you see the 1961 Imperial. You can’t deny it. It is rakish . . . has verve and snap and eagerness. But there’s a goodly measure of Imperial dignity in it, too . . . the assured, impressive classic look. The truth is, the Imperial Convertible is every bit as much a sedate Sunday morning car as it is a gay Saturday picnic car . . .
From the 1961 sales catalog, an illustration by Charles Schridde of the most out-there Imperial ever to roll down the pike, in the final year for Virgil Exner’s tailfins before they got lopped off.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2007
As any good cook can tell you, there’s quite a trick to applying just the right amount of heat to the right place at the right time. When it comes to “industrial cooking” — in food plants or in factories, at temperatures of several hundred degrees — special problems arise in pressure and control. With DOWTHERM at work, quality is improved in hundreds of familiar products — ranging from hosiery and tires to paint and potato chips . . .
This is exactly where we see ourselves in a few years, if not months. The drawing is by Harry Beckhoff (1901-1979), whose technique was to start with a very small sketch and then trace it with a pantograph to outline the working illustration.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2007
≈
We Shall Travel by Aero-Plane!
If you’ve flown on the airlines recently, you know what a fast, easy way it is to travel. When you fly, you have more time to spend at your destination. And, nowadays, it frequently costs you less, too. Ask any airline or travel agent to tell you more . . .
A 1950 illustration by Charles La Salle for United Aircraft of East Hartford, Connecticut, manufacturer of Pratt & Whitney aviation engines as well as the early Sikorsky helicopter. With air travel stealing passengers from the railroads by the thousands every year, a spirited public-relations battle ensued. With each side never mentioning the other, magazine ads for the airlines trumpeted speed and convenience; the rail carriers never failed to mention the safety of their “eye-level route” in an era when there were usually several high-profile airline disasters every year.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2007
Youthful, sportsminded Dads — like yours — will enjoy these splendid gifts all the summer days ahead. SUEDEKNIT and Flatknit Shirts designed for action-in-sports. Cast your eye over the wide choice of modern colors and styles — 18 in all. Colors are fast to sun and tub. A: Suedeknit Two-Tone “V.” Choice of Champagne, Birch Gray and Sierra Blue, each with harmonizing “V” panel. $1.95. B: Suedeknit Open Collar. Body of Sierra Blue, Birch Gray, Canary or White with harmonizing striped bib insert. $2.50. C: Chest Stripe. Flatknit. A wide range of colors. Choose from Canary, White, Beige, Blue and Pearl Gray body backgrounds. Each with harmonizing chest stripes.
From 1950 we present the latest in duds for Dad on Father’s Day. What say we kids really splurge and get him the $2.50 shirt?
PREVIOUS POSTS (JANUARY 2007) • SITE © 1999-2020 PLAN59.COM
