Let’s go back and rummage around in Dave Gelinas’ collection of vintage slides, most of the Kodachromes. This time we’ll go through his Buick collection, and relive a time when Buicks were very common, especially with the kind of folks who could afford Kodachrome, which wasn’t exactly cheap. But in perusing his collection, I’m always impressed just how common Buicks were in the mid-late 50s. Well, they were the number three selling brand in ’55 and ’56, and typically a close number fourth behind Plymouth before those two years.
A Buick Special was the default car to buy for something a bit nicer and more prestigious than a Chevy, Ford or Plymouth without costing much more, and then one could climb the Buick ladder all the way into Cadillac territory. Buick had been the backbone of GM ever since GM was created, and it stayed that way for a mighty long time. But the 50s were Buick’s best decade ever.
New York City
Checking out the new house under construction?
Stereotypical Buick owners
This is a serendipitous shot, as the Flxible Clipper bus was powered by a Buick straight eight engine.
1941 Cadillac, Buick and Olds four door convertibles. And we think the 1980s GM cars looked alike.
Suburbia in the early-mid 50s
1950 Jetback
This one’s for JPC: a 1950 Jetback and Studebaker Hawk
Nantucket – B. F. Coffin House
Reno, NV.
New York City
Lake Tahoe, CA.
1949 Buick woodie in front of the pioneering Burlington Zephyr at the 1949 Chicago Rail Fair
Boston
Great photos! I especially like the cover shot.
The only Buick of the 50s that I have never been able to warm up to was the 57. Most may disagree, but I find the 58 a big improvement over it.
This is the first time I have seen that shot of the 59 Indy pace car – that angle really catches that car’s sleek shape.
And yes, I am loving the juxtaposition of the fat, toothy 50 Buick and the lean Studebaker Hawk. Which I am going to ID as a 1957 Silver Hawk.
I too, love the look of that ’59. I passed a 59 every day on my way to high school, it had almost a 45 degree angle it seemed, to get into its garage, below grade. To this day I don’t know how they did it. That same driveway has since been filled in, as seen in this shot. When parked in the driveway, such as it was, facing out to the street, the grille on that presented a menacing beast!
Something like this. . . ?
(Also a vintage Kodachrome)
Exactly, only pointing upwards even more.
You are not the only one. There is just something off with the ’57 Buick. The ’58 is probably too much, but it works somehow.
I find Olds to be the opposite. The ’57 is just about perfect, and the ’58 is just kind of awkward.
I thought the 57 wagon that Kay drove in Godfather II was magnificent – in part the color combination made it so. Now the 58 – I guess somebody has to love it but I’m not the one…
As I recall the Buick stereotype was doctors and managers, not little old ladies. Spinsters drove Pontiacs until Bunkie evicted them.
Doctors and managers is way too narrow for a brand that was the third and/or fourth best seller. Back then, a much larger percentage of the population owned small businesses, like stores of all kinds and other undertakings. This was before most folks worked for large companies. And these small business owners favored Buicks too, along with just about anyone except for the very thrifty/modest means or the very flamboyant.
In any case, my caption was meant for the husband(s) in the front seat of the women in the back seat. Older folks were also big on Buicks, if they had the means.
Agree, my grandparents owned a welding shop in Chicago, and Buicks were unpretentious luxury.
When Buick temporarily dropped their full size wagons in ’65, my Grandad traded in his ’63 LeSabre wagon for a ’66 Chrysler Town & Country. But Gram hated driving it compared to her 225, and usually left the T&C home on road trips.
When I was in kindergarten, two or three families on my block had Buicks. One owner was a good friend of my father’s who sold insurance and the 50s Buick they drove was a black and white Riviera hardtop. I wasn’t a big fan of any GM brand, but that was one sporty, yet classy looking car.
Another family drove an early 50s Buick sedan. I thought it was one of the dowdiest old sedans I ever saw.
Amazing how two cars just 5 years apart could “represent” the high and low of 50s styling for Buick.
“Spinsters drove Pontiacs until Bunkie evicted them.”
Along with 6 cylinder/Powerglide Chevrolets.
I remember reading that, in the 1950s, Plymouths were popular with female school teachers. In those days, women school teachers were likely to be unmarried.
(When the flashier 1955 models debuted, Motor Trend asked, “Will school teachers keep buying them?”)
A few years ago I was looking at an old photo of a female relative who had been a school teacher. She lived to be 98, and had never married (she died in 2011).
In the photo, she was proudly standing beside her car – a 1956 Plymouth Savoy two-door sedan.
My mother’s spinster aunt also owned a 56 Savoy, though her’s was a 2 door hardtop. In 1964 she traded it for a new Belvedere sedan.
When she wrecked the 64 in 74-75 it had LESS than 15,000 miles on it.
You remind me that my old maid second grade teacher Miss Butler was still driving a low trim 61 Plymouth sedan in 1967-68. It suited her.
Lest we forget: In the first season of “The Beverly Hillbillies”, spinster secretary “Jane Hathaway” drove a ’62 Plymouth convertible.
Our small town doctor drove Buicks his entire life – one cut short by lung cancer (he was a heavy smoker and would drop ash on you during examinations if you didn’t dodge his cigarette!).
That wide open rear wheel well treatment in conjunction with the sweeping side trim was a stroke of styling genius. The look gives the cars such a lithe profile. I always think of a rabbit about to pounce. The cars just look like they’re ready to spring forward on muscular rear haunches. That treatment is the automotive equivalent to the muscle tee.
Marvelous pictures. The best ones are the ones where the buildings just work with the cars, both being of the same (or similar) era in a way that the same buildings today look a little out of place with modern cars in front of them. An example being the Reno, NV shot with the parking garage in the background. Then again, the house under construction shot looks more like a house a decade newer, I’m imagining a mid 60’s Thunderbird in front of it.
Great photos, I would love to see all these locations now.
The only one I could figure out was the parade scene in Wheaton Ill.
The mall on the picture from Lake Tahoe still exists. Just Google Big Daddy Burger at South Lake Tahoe and the mall is just on the other side of the road. They sells great burgers btw.
PS: I have never notice so obviously but the 4 vs 3 port vents on the fender really make the difference
Kodachromes just freeze time in place. It’s almost surreal for someone my age to look at them, because the vivid, accurate colors and lack of graininess juxtapose with what’s in the photographs. Usually only photos from the ’80s or later look this good; anything before the ’70s is usually either B&W or somewhat faded colors like an turquoise sky. When I think of before-my-time events that occurred in the ’30s through ’50s, it’s almost as if they actually occurred in black & white because that’s nearly the only way I’ve ever seen it. Of course I’ve seen well-preserved or restored old cars both in photos and IRL, but only at car shows, museums, or randomly one at a time surrounded by newer cars. When I see photos that look like they were taken yesterday (photo quality wise) but with subject matter that says “1958”, it’s a weird juxtaposition that doesn’t seem right.
Were Montgomery Ward stores really that small back then normally (4th photo) or is that just a small-town version?
MW did start out as catalog/mail order retailer, so in small towns they had places to order/pick up merchandise.
Sears and JC Penney, both of which also had large catalog operations, also had small stores in small towns and big stores in big cities and suburbs.
Thank you for the pictures. They bring back a lot of memories. We couldn’t afford a Buick, but I remember marveling at a lot of them during my teen years in the 1950’s.
When better automobiles are built . . . .
These shots immediately reminded me of the opening of Donald Fagen’s “New Frontier” video. Quintessential.
Yes, my immediate thoughts also.
One of my favorite of the Gelinas photos. Can’t remember whether it’s been on CC before. Above the front door the sign reads, “WE DON’T SELL BEAUTIES, JUST DEPENDABLE OLD CARS.”
—————————————————————————————————————-
“Would you buy a used car from this man?”
“Yep.”
“Battery’s”
Fantastic photos!
My favorite is the one photo from the 1960’s – the redline Wildcat Show Car from the 1966 Chicago Car Sow.
I’ve always found it interesting how GM’s BOP trio each had a decade of sales success.
Buick ruled the ‘50s. Achieving 3rd place in ‘55 & ‘56 then dropping to 9th place in ‘60, returning to 5th place from the mid ‘60s on …
Pontiac ruled the 1960’s – #3 from ‘62 through ‘69 then dropping to 4th place in the 1970’s.
Oldsmobile was the most successful – it ruled the 70’s till mid ‘80’s. #3 in ‘72 & ‘73, ‘75 – ‘81, ‘84 & ‘86. Beating out Ford for the #2 spot in ‘83 & ‘85. Olds was also the only make besides Chevy & Ford to sell 1 million+.
At one point (1982-83), Buick was #3 in sales.
Wonderful photographs- thanks for another trip down Memory Lane.
Really nice pictures. Not just the cars, but also the view of the 50s America.
Always amazing is the total lack of imports back in the day, only these big land yachts or “Strassenkreuzer” as we say here.
In the 1950’s, the only import was the Volkswagen Beetle. You’d see it on both coasts and a couple of hundred miles inland, but that was it. They didn’t really hit the Midwest until the 60’s.
All those other brands we like to make such a big deal over? It depends if there was a dealer in town. My Johnstown, PA’s Oldsmobile dealer also had Renault, so it actually gave Volkswagen some competition for about a 40 mile radius. For a few years. Then nothing most likely until Pittsburgh and Harrisburg.
You’d see one or two Opels (the Buick dealer) and Vauxhalls (the Pontiac dealer) but that was about it. Less than ten sold per year, per dealer, I’d guess.
The Ford dealer also offered English models, but they probably sold less than Vauxhalls.
DKW? Saab? Volvo? Mercedes-Benz? I think there was one or two of the latter in town (there was a dealer in Indiana, PA, 30 miles NW of us – never could figure out how they did that), the only examples you saw of the former were in the buff books, or on a shopping trip to Pittsburgh.
And we did have a British dealer. 99% sports cars (and there were damned few of those I my blue-collar, shot-and-a-beer, coal mining/steel town), but he sold anything British. Mostly MG’s. Never saw an MG sedan in town. There was actually one family in our church that had a Humber. Still the only one I’ve ever seen on the street. No Jaguars, too rich for his blood (and dealership finances).
After the failure of the Austin America, he was smart enough to grab Subaru (about the only remaining Japanese marque available by the early 70’s) and after a tight decade or so has probably turned into the most profitable dealership in town today.
Thanks for your writing Syke. Thats very informative. It is still unbelievable that this has changed so dramatically. Nowadays you have to search a domestic car with the magnifying glass. Look at the pic DougD posted for example. I can´t see one US made car.
in ’56 my folks drove their Mercedes 220S, picked up in Germany, from NY to LA, complete with German “Z” plates (export). It was quite the attention-getter everywhere they drove.
You mean this one? They are not in use anymore, but funny is two days ago I saw one in the side window of a truck cabin.
Where your parents flying to Germany to pick up the car or was the car a “Mitbringsel” (souvenier) on return from military service.
When it comes to 50s Buicks, I must always think of one of my favourite comics. I don´t know if anybody here is familiar with Spirou and Fanatasio? It is a comic from Belgium and was once popular all over europe. This special story I am talking about featured a car called Quick Super, which looks like a Buick in my opinion. Considering that these comics were drawn by Franquin in the 50s, too, it shows how popular Buicks were back then, even in europe
Love that comic Buick from Belgium! Looks like a later ‘50s Simca on steroids
lol
What absolutely stunning pictures. No wonder a song was written about Kodachrome.
A great set of pictures! I would love to see how the house under construction turned out. I hope it’s a mid century modern that still survives today.
These are great photos but, like some of the others, I’m surprised that I there don’t seem to be any imported cars in the background. I didn’t expect to see very many, but I would have thought there would have been a few. As a child in the early 1960s, besides Volkswagens, I recall seeing a lot of Renault Dauphines, Vauxhall Victors (sold by our Pontiac dealer), Opel Rekords and Olympia Caravans (sold by our Buick dealer), and the occasional odd Fiat, Austin, Hillman or Simca. And there were a few sports cars around, too. MGAs, Triumphs, Austin-Healeys, Sunbeam Alpines, Porsche 356s, Mercedes 190 SLs, and the occasional Jaguar XK-120, 140 or 150.
These fine Buicks bring back memories. For fours years a bunch of us neighborhood kids were driven to school in Miss Margie’s ’52 Buick Special. I can still hear the motorboat-like moan of the Dynaflow straight 8 as it pulled away from the house. And those little Buick idiosyncracies, like the starter under the accelerator, the radio antenna in the middle of the windshield with a knob inside to manually lower it and the side opening hood.
I’m surprised that nobody has posted this obvious reference yet:
Got to be the 1950 Jetback for me.