Is there a better emblem for that strange, flamboyant automotive decade of the Fifties than the tailfin? A completely superfluous, stylistic flourish that quickly overtook the U.S. auto industry, then left even faster than it came. Fins are fun, so I thought some Curbside Classic readers might enjoy a game to test their tailfin knowledge. If you want to play, click through!
These 16 photos are all pictures that I took in Scottsdale, Arizona during the January classic car Auction Week. Some of them are a little blurry because I had to zoom in to isolate the fin, but that should just make it more challenging. On a few I (very crudely) colored over name badges or emblems that would give the answer away. Some are photos I’ve used in previous auction articles, some will be in future articles and some won’t be in any other article.
For some this will be very easy, hopefully at least a few will be more difficult. I arranged them in descending order roughly what I estimate will be easiest to hardest. Most are year specific, though a few I think can only be narrowed to a 2 year range. Most are also model specific. The winner (or winners) will be the person who identifies the most years and models and the ones that can’t be narrowed down further if appropriate. But really everyone who spends their time looking at old cars on the internet is a winner, naturally!
The title image is #1.
#2 This is a twofer, with that most vain of Fifties creations, the tailfined pickup truck in the background.
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9 Another twofer, with a bonus point if you can name the third car back (which has no tailfins)
#10
#11
#12
#13
#14
#15
#16
Tomorrow I will post the answers with the full size photos. If you want to i.d. many or all of the cars, you can copy and paste the template below to put your answers in the comments. No fair peeking at other comments first!
1.
2.front: back:
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. front: back: bonus:
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
1. 59 Chevy Bel Air
2.front: 57/58 Studebaker Hawk back: 58/59 Dodge Sweptline
3. 55 Tbird
4. 60 Chevy Impala
5. 55 Cadillac
6. 61 Chrysler
7.
8. 57 Chrysler
9. front: 59 Pontiac back: 58 Cadillac bonus:
10. 57 Cadillac Eldorado
11. 55 pontiac
12. 60 Buick
13. 57 Lincoln
14. 56 Plymouth
15. 56 Packard
16. 57 Lincoln
Excellent work!
The Hawk in photo 2 is a top line Golden Hawk (as opposed to the cheaper Silver Hawk).
I have 7 as a 1960 Ford
The 57 Chrysler in Photo 8 is a New Yorker
16 threw me, but I think I agree that it is a second 57 Lincoln. That fin looks very different between the two angles of the two photos (13 being the other).
7. 60 Ford
I see the 60 Ford now. I couldn’t figure the angle out. What is the taillight, looks like wood maybe?
The “wood look” of the 1960 Ford tail light appears to be due to a reflection off its nicely polished, near-vertical surface.
The sideways fin throws off your perception!
5. ’52/3 Cad
1. 59 Chevy
2. 56 Golden Hawk/57 Fargo Pickup
3. 56 T-Bird
4. 60 Chevy
5. 54 Caddy
6. 57 Imperial?
7. 60 Ford
8. 57 Chrysler
9. got me…but is that photo taken in the basement of the Petersen Museum?
10. 57 El Dorado
11. 56 Pontiac
12. 59 Buick
13. 55 Lincoln Capri? No probably not
14. 57 Dodge wagon
15. 56 Packard
16. stumped
“got me…but is that photo taken in the basement of the Petersen Museum?”
LOL!
I thought my age would be an advantage in this 1950s era contest, and I was off to a good start. But then things started to go to hell and I realized I had lost more brain cells than I had previously thought.
Or maybe I wasn’t really paying full attention.
1. 1959 Chevrolet (rode in many)
2. front: 1957 Golden Hawk (rode in one) back: 195X Dodge Pick Up (not into trucks in those days but then but this was really weird).
3. 1955 T-Bird
4. 1960 Impala (drove one – a convertible – loved it)
5. 1954-or 55 Caddy (drove one – 4 door sedan – black)
6. 1960 Chrysler (the Yellow Bird supporting actor from my COAL)
7. 1960 Ford (I really was much of a Ford guy, and these were not as nice in my mind as the 1959s).
8. 1957 Chrysler (I left seated one often). In 1958, the Chrysler’s red rear lens did not go all the way up. I’d say Saratoga; definitely not a Windsor.
9. front: 1959 Ford (drove and crashed one) back: 1958 Caddy bonus: Dunno
10. 1958 Caddy (limited model – say Eldorado or some such pre-Brougham tomfoolery)
11. 1954 or 55 Pontiac; I guess Pontiacs stayed off my radar until 1958.
12. These fins say 1960 Buick, but the fender shape should be convex (bulge out); instead it looks like it is concave. Or a trick with the lighting? Another possibility is I am completely wrong and this is some stupid Lincoln.
13. Early to mid 1950s Lincoln (did pay much attention to these; they seemed a bit off putting to me)
14. 1956 Plymouth (first year with push button transmission)
15. Er… I should know this – a Packard? But not like my DD 1953 Clipper – of course this could be a Lincoln too. Anything I do not know for sure is probably a Lincoln.
16. Hmmm, almost said 1961 Chrysler, but most likely not… too clean looking. Dunno; ergo probably a Lincoln.
To me, 12 is the trick fin of the bunch.
I’m stumped by the deep cove with sharp crease.
Great idea-
I’ll leave the answers to those more focused on details, but it’s fun to just scroll through the pictures and see what memories they trigger. I’d love to see similar articles in the future!
I Have to disqualify myself since I went to the same auctions and took photos of most of those cars, But #9 in background was a Barn find 1936 Cord 810
1. 59 Chevrolet
2.front: 57-58 Studebaker Golden Hawk back: 59 Dodge Sweptside pickup (taillights look like elliptical shaped 59 design)
3. 55 Thunderbird
4. 60 Chevrolet
5. 52-53 Cadillac
6. 61 Chrysler
7. 60 Ford
8. 57 Chrysler
9. front: 59 Ford back: 57 Cadillac bonus: no clue
10. 57-58 Cadillac Eldorado
11. 55 Pontiac
12. 60 Buick
13. 57 Lincoln
14. 56 Plymouth
15. 56 Packard Clipper
16. 57 Lincoln
1. 1959 Chevrolet
2. ‘57 or ‘58 Studebaker Golden Hawk ‘57 or ‘58 Dodge Sweptside
3. 1955 Ford T-Bird
4. 1960 Chevy Impala
5. 1953 Cadillac
6. 1961 Chrysler
7. 1960 Ford
8. ‘57 Chrysler New Yorker
9. ‘59 Pontiac ‘57 Cadillac Fiat 600(?)
10. 1958 Cadillac Eldorado
11. 1955 Pontiac
12. 1960 Buick
13. 1957 Lincoln
14. 1956 Plymouth
15. 1956 Packard Clipper
16. 1956 Studebaker (?)
1. 1959 Chevrolet
2.front: 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk back: 1957 Dodge Sweptside Pickup
3. 1955 Thunderbird
4. 1960 Chevrolet
5. 1953 Cadillac
6. 1961 Chrysler
7. 1960 Ford
8. 1956 Chrysler
9. front: 1959 Pontiac back: 1957 Cadillac bonus: ???
10. 1958 Cadillac Eldorado
11. 1955 Pontiac
12. 1960 Buick
13. 1957 Lincoln
14. 1956 Plymouth
15. 1956 Packard Clipper
16. 1957 Lincoln (again)
Great job, everybody! I’m seeing a lot of right answers, but so far no one has picked up the mantle and tried to i.d. all the models that are possible.
The outrageous tailfins of the late 50’s were both the greatest, and possibly worst, design aberration in the history of car design. And I love them.
I was born in this era, and to me at least, it succinctly describes the optimism and sheer braggadacio that was so evident in the US back then. Compared to our sober and conservative Austins and Rovers and Humbers they WERE the very personification of the ‘jet age’, as indeed was the intention.
However many examples are left deserve to be treasured, as they are they represent a 3 or 4 year styling time capsule which will never be repeated, unfortunately.
I’m not playing since it’s mostly covered, but about the finned pickup truck in the background of #2:
At the time it was obvious to me that the fender and taillights on those Dodge pickups was the same as on station wagons. I read somewhere (here?) that the way it happened was that the guys at Dodge saw what Chevy and Ford were doing and took an actual station wagon fender (same for Plymouth-Dodge-Chrysler) and held it up to a Dodge pickup truck and said yeah, this will work, and they welded them on. That’s how things worked back in the day, especially at Chrysler. It was even worse over at Studebaker.
I heard the same story about the Dodge pickup!