(first posted 10/21/2012) The story has been told many times: After Chuck Jordan had caught sight of a new 1957 Chrysler, Bill Mitchell and the rest of the GM design team tossed out the renderings and clays they’d been working on for the 1959 models while Harley Earl was away in Europe, then confronting him with a drastically changed approach when he returned. I’ve been wanting to see what was abandoned; now, glen.h seems to have a shot of what was undoubtedly a Cadillac clay that could only have been for 1959.
Just for comparison–as if you needed it–here’s the final design.
And here’s the 1958. It’s pretty easy to see aspects of the ’58s design being carried on into the abandoned ’59 proposal, for continuity.
Of course, there may well have been several different clays under development at the time, but this one makes a pretty compelling argument for being the one.
Hemmings had a story (including photos) of some of the abandoned clays:
Part 1:
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012/07/15/sia-flashback-gms-far-out-59s-when-imagination-ran-rampant-part-i/
Part 2:
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012/07/22/sia-flashback-gms-far-out-59s-when-imagination-ran-rampant-part-ii/
Yes, I now remember seeing those pictures long ago, but it didn’t include a proper profile of the Cadillac. It does show its front and rear ends.
Thank you so much for posting this old article. I remember reading it when it came out, but I am enjoying it all over again 20+ years later. One nice thing about getting older is that I can read stuff from 20 years ago and it is like it is brand new to me 🙂
What’s strange about the design is the front hints at a 1958 Oldsmobile while the back evokes the 1958 Cadillac Eldorado. And look at how the side sculpting shifts radically on the front door — it’s like they sandwiched together two different designs.
I question why GM would even consider givings Cadillac, its flagship brand, a hand-me-down look from Oldsmobile. But I also don’t see them giving Olds the trademark Cadillac tailfins.
If this were an AMC studio I’d wonder whether they were economizing by developing two distinct cars with one clay. But mighty GM?
I wonder whether this was ever a serious design proposal.
Actually in the front half of the design I see some Impala – not Oldsmobile.
Here’s the front and rear shot, and some text from Michael Lamm’s article in SIA: http://images.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/07/SIA-FarOut59s_08_1500.jpg
It definitely was a Cadillac proposal for 1959.
Lamm notes that the center right treatment seemed retrograde, with its heavy hood brow. More evidence that this particular clay wasn’t a major contender.
The weirder aspect to me is still the Olds-like side sculpting leading back from the headlights. In that era GM was usually much more careful about avoiding design confusion among its brands.
Well, at this stage, all the possible ’59 candidates were just various ideas and proposals. This is the only pre-coup Caddy shown, and except for that one detail, does show a considerable amount of evolutionary development from 1958. Although hardly a finalized design, to me it looks very much like what might have been developed further until the new cleaner direction was taken.
Well, remember this is BEFORE a 1958 Oldsmobile was shown to the public, so it was “up for grabs”, I’ve seen a similar mock up for the 1971 Cadillacs that used the divided headlghts that eventually ended up on the 1971 Oldsmobiles.
That explains why is some years the 98 might look more Elegant or serious than comparable DeVille. Olds saw it was “up for grabs” after being tossed aside by Cadillac.
The 59 is THE Cad of all time in my book. Everything just works together so well.
That side sculpting screams 64 Galaxie. Lose the fins and the wraparound windshield and I’d have been fooled
Could we imagine what if Chuck Jordan caught a sight of the 1957 Mopars?
You mean “hadn’t”? Well, they would have hit the streets within a matter of weeks anyway. They just saw the first ones coming out of the factory, before they were shipped, probably in August or so.
Yeah, I mean “hadn’t”, my bad. ^^;
Absolutely fascinating – this and the Hemmings article. I love reading about and looking at old design proposals, so many “what ifs” to ponder.
For me, Cadillac and Chevy, I’ll take the 58’s over the 59’s any day (and the Chevy over the tri-fives). That’s when 50’s design looked pretty.
If I recall correctly, even before Chuck Jordan saw early production 1957 Mopars, the GM stylists weren’t exactly thrilled with the direction proposed by Harley Earl. He was trying to put more frosting on the same old cake, while using the old LeSabre show car as an inspiration. The stylists felt that the early styling proposals looked dated and stale even before they had seen the radical new Chrysler Corporation cars.
I agree the b/w pic has cues from all divisions. Looks like the makes called “dibs” on different parts of the clay car for their 58’s.
I’ve seen prototypes of proposed ’59 Buick [on old bodyshell] in Collectible Automobile magazine, and it looked like the LeSabre show car, but more obese. Bill Mitchell did a good job with the 59’s onward.
I believe that there was a fair amount of “cross pollination” among the divisions when it came to styling cues.
MrJynx has a whole folder called Evolution of ’59 Cadillac, including the first photo above. The possibilities were terrifying.
Very nice; and in my mind, it confirms that the one shown was the primary design direction before the big change. It’s a very definite change of direction, despite all the crazy doo-dads.
Hey, is that a Cadivair?
It appears that link has been suspended.
The Internet archive had archived partially from that defunct link, some photos of what become the 1959 Cadillac. https://web.archive.org/web/20111211011700/http://public.fotki.com/mrjynx/cadillac-1/59-cadillac/
Another interesting find Paul; thanks. Off the subject a little, although I prefer the sportier ’58 Caddy, the rear seat passengers probably had their view cut off somewhat by the back swept roofline, as compared with the glassy ’59. Might be significant if you were taking guests on a sightseeing cruise. Of the ’58 GM’s, only the Chevy and the Cadillac showed any styling restraint.
I know it’s an old thread, but one wonders just how a ’58 Cadillac is “sportier” than a ’59. Indeed, how does it qualify as “sporty” at all?!
This is great stuff. Having only stumbled into CC in late 2014 there’s SO much stuff posted here prior to then that gives perspective that I’ve not been exposed to before. I ramble around the interwebs perusing a lot of different sites to feed my curiosities and obsessions with design and architecture, whether automotive, structural or interior, etc., but stuff like this is what makes CC one of my go-to sites for random mind food. There are days when this place just kills my productivity, but it can be so worth it in moderation.
Were they really going to change the windshield and A-pillar partway through the current generation cars? That’s rare.