(first posted 3/1/2017) Yesterday’s Part 1 of this two part series focused on the period of time before the “palace revolt” that led to a rethinking of the Earl-led concepts underway before the ’57 Chryslers first appeared. In Part 2, reposted here courtesy of Hemmingsblog, historian Michael Lamm looks at how the new design direction was shepherded along to their dramatic conclusions.
It says the stacked center high beams were “under very serious consideration”. So the ’59 Chevy nearly became even more bizarre than it already was! Imagine if that had happened, just a year after the Edsel.
Interesting that Lamm characterizes the gullwing fins on the production Buick and Chevy as “questionable” styling features. Now that another 25 years has passed, I’m liking the Buick more and more; it works as a nicely integrated unit from front to rear, with only the bluff front end of the hood not fully synched with overall lowness of the car.
The Chevy though in my mind remains just wild, and there’s little harmony between front and rear ends. Really amazing though that traditionally conservative Chevy became so “out there” in ’59.
” Really amazing though that traditionally conservative Chevy became so “out there” in ’59.
And that with well over a million of them put onto the roads how normal they soon looked just because of the constant exposure.
I should add to my post from 6 years ago that Buick did address the bluff front end of the ’59 Buick by lowering the leading edge of the hood for 1960.
The production cars are batshit and the clays are super-batshit. That being said, the batshit 59 Chevy was my dad’s first car and I will always have fond memories of it- it was one of my favorites to see at car shows as a kid because of the association. Funny to think that car was only 25 years old at the time- the equivalent of seeing, say, an early 90s car on the street now. But an early 90s car has a heck of a lot more in common with a new vehicle than that batshit batwing had with anything produced in my younger years.
Imagine these going through an automatic car wash? I can picture it just hooking onto every machine and pulling it out with it.
The more time I spend looking over the GM ’59’s, the more intrigued I am. There’s of course no question, even at first glance, that 1959 was a “special” year in automotive design, but I’m really enjoying the in-depth analysis.
This was a very interesting moment in auto history. The major manufacturers had devised ways of creating a million-selling line of automobiles that can be stripped and remodeled within 24 months and justify doing so simply based on auto fashion. Within a few years, new separate lines of cars would double, then triple the different kinds of vehicles available to the public at this rate of production. Yet in 1959, nearly all manufacturers only offered one model in different levels of options and trims.
GM went from one car carried over from 1955 to 1957, then a new car for only ONE YEAR, and then another completely new car in 1959 which was applied across all brands and from there, evolved slowly until 1965. To call 1959 an aborration is an understatement.
The idea that GM needed to toss away their new 1958 automobiles in their entirety, over a set of Chrysler fins is mind-boggling. Especially after the spectacular failure of those very cars by 1958. By most measures, the Exner 1957s caused incredible damage to the entire Chrysler line. Had GM not tossed away their 1958 cars, GM would have save itself millions. Ford blew through $200 million with Edsel, millions more with Continental, and Chrysler’s finned beasts caused Chrysler hundreds of millions as well – all self inflicted. Without even trying, Edsel, Continental, and DeSoto competition was gone.
GM didn’t need to do this in 1959. No one really wanted that 1959 Buick, those Cadillac tail fins, or those other space oddities tacked onto those fenders. Within 12 months, GM realized this as well.
Was it the spirit of the age? When Eisenhower announced the existence of Sputnik, the beginning of the space race – there was some kind of miasma in the air? Was the fear not reaching for the stars in time mean that the average American consumer needed to see Cosmonaut and NASA space designs in their everyday living? I wasn’t around back then to know what the Gestaltung was. Did we experience something in a national way similar to what transpired during the Gold Rush of 1949? I don’t know.
Within a year, the old Eisenhower was leaving and both political parties offered 40-something political leaders. The Greatest Generation took command at the executive levels of our corporate world and brought with them an understanding of WWII era organization, execution and loyalty. This generation believed in teamwork. They rebuilt America and they sacrificed believing in creating a better world for the next generations. These are the, mostly men, who grabbed GM’s styling department and aimed for the galaxies.
It was a special year, no doubt. These cars look like nothing before – or since.
I was around when the first Sputnik was launched, although I was only 5 years old. I do remember my grandfather, who emigrated from Italy when he was a young adult, often repeating the word “Sputnik!”
Those ’59s were quite the sensation, and my aunt had a Bel Air sedan from that year, purchased new to replace her ’57 Plymouth Savoy that had so many problems (don’t remember the specifics, but the upshot was that she swore off Chrysler for good).
One error in your timeline about the GM cars in 1957 and ’58: Only Chevy and Pontiac were redesigned for the latter year, after a 3-year run from 1955-57. Buick, Olds, and Cadillac were redesigned in 1954 and again in 1957. The ’58s were heavily facelifted, but their greenhouses give away their common origins.
Bottom line is the one-year wonders were limited to Chevy and Pontiac.
The article notes that some costs of redesigning the full line of cars after only one or two years were offset by having all of them share the same basic body with the higher-end brands simply getting a stretched version, rather than the distinct A, B, and C bodies used up through 1958 (the B and C designations were kept, but now referred to just a wheelbase stretch and a lengthened rear seat and luggage areas on the C body). Starting in the early ’60s, the rear styling of the C bodies was made distinct from the B bodies on brands that used both (namely Olds and Buick) so buyers could tell them apart more easily.
The 1957 Mopars were indeed considered failures by the time the ’59 GM cars were being readied, but it was quality-control and reliability issues rather than styling generating the complaints. By and large the Chrysler styling was well received, although there were some complaints the low roofs made them impractical.
Yes, all correct. Also as Paul has pointed out on the ’57 Chrysler cars, the low roof was combined with a high floor (no footwells) because the bodies were mounted on top of the frames. This was addressed with the redesigned 1960 models, which used unibody construction (except Imperial) behind the firewall.
Thank you for the clarification
Glad to help. GM did such a masterful job of facelifting the Buick and Olds in 1958 to make them look all new compared to the rather bulbous 1957s. Their decks were extended, the rear wheel openings were reshaped (Buick lost the full cutouts) and horizontal side character lines were added in spades. Cadillacs on the other hand maintained more styling continuity, as was the marque’s tradition.
So, when you look at the entire 1958 GM lineup, they all look very similar in overall form.
GM maybe was worried the Edsel would be a hit, so they went overboard with ’58 mid-lux brands, chrome for days. But, Mopar really did upstage the General with 1957 Forward Look. But then, trying to out-do themselves, with 1960-62 “whack-a-doodle” cars, didn’t quite work.
The change in GM cars from ’58 to ’59 was a big one, but then another huge change for 1977. Also, 1991 B body, but that was end of the line.
After the popular 58 Chev the 59 was another bust here along the lines of 57 there were no reorders after the initial batch was delivered. Pontiacs came in via Domminion motors not GM NZ, nothing else from GMUS was on offer