GM’s 1959 cars are an endless source of, ah, visual amusement (I’m trying to be generous). It’s best not to take them too seriously, as presumably the design studio water coolers were being dosed with hallucinogens. How else to explain them? Sputnik? Googie architecture? Irrational exuberance? Desperation at having been shown up by the ’57 Chryslers? Well yes, that’s certainly what triggered the mad rush into the automotive stylistic unknown.
Their origin story has been told many times, including here in my 1959 Cadillac CC. Today we’ll look at what I consider to be the poorest expression of that wild rush to go where no automobile has gone before. The ’59 Olds looks like it escaped the reject pile, although its front end does have some barely redeeming qualities. But under the skin, the Olds still had some of the qualities that had made it as good or better than its corporate siblings. Let’s start from the inside out, and save the wild stuff for last.
Starting with its frame. Somewhat curiously, Olds never used the X-Frame, which was used on a variety of GM cars starting in 1957. In 1957-1958, Olds and Buick had used what amounted to a hybrid of the X-Frame and a semi-perimeter frame. For 1959, Buick and Olds diverged frame designs, and Olds used this, still a combination of X and perimeter elements, which was referred to as “Advanced Wide-Stance Chassis”. The side frame rails take the place of the reinforced body sills on the X-Frame cars.
Even more curiously, Olds used a leaf spring rear suspension from ’57-’60. That was rather going against the GM coil-spring grain, although the ’57 Cadillac (not the Eldorado) also used leaf springs.
Under the hood, the Olds was as good as it got at GM. The new 394 CID Rocket V8, the latest evolution of the original Olds V8 from 1949 that rocketed the industry, now had 315 gross hp, and was right up there with the best the other divisions fielded. And it was backed by the best transmission GM had on tap, the “Jetaway” Controlled Coupling Hydramatic, an expensive to build but significantly improved evolution of the original. It still had a fluid coupling, four gears and split-torque for unparalleled efficiency , brisk acceleration and now with smoother shifts.
So that’s the good stuff. Now for the not-so good stuff. All the ’59 GM cars were based on the Buick body shell, which explains why it was the most organic looking of the bunch. Everyone else had to start with that and try to create a variation that best reflected their division’s brand, or just look different, in the wild melee that was happening in the GM design center at the time.
Cadillac’s over-the top fins and strong front end were certainly differentiated and unique enough, and resulted in an icon.
Essentially the same can be said for the Chevy.
The Pontiac, especially from the rear, starts to suffer from a bit of desperation to differentiate. The rocket tubes with their own fins is a bit affected to say the least. But its split grille front end and Wide-Track stance are its saving grace.
But the Olds rear end can’t escape the tacked-on look.
In fact, that little descending line that sweeps down across the rear fender has the unfortunate effect of looking as if the upper portion and its bulging tail lights are literally grafted on, as on some of the more unfortunate Studebakers of the era. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing cohesive or organic about this. It’s a jumble of elements pulled out of a grab bag and applied in a scatter-shot way. Go back and look at that Buick rear end, if it’s necessary. That was actually a design, wild as it was; this is a mess of musty leftovers.
But we can amuse ourselves with it, especially from the right angles.
I look at this picture and it starts to look like something that the Russians might have shown at their Great Hall of Industry in 1962 as a preview of what the comrades would be driving in 1969, if the (red) stars all lined up just right.
Admittedly, the sedan ’59 body was the weakest one, but then it was also the most common, at least in the lower 88 lines.
Yes, the Holiday four door hardtop with its flying wing helps. But it’s never going to be a…’59 Buick. Oh well; it can probably outrun the Buick. And get better mileage. You know, the under the skin stuff.
Let’s take a quick stop inside, although this is hardly original upholstery. But that deeply dished steering wheel certainly is, and was a real Olds trademark for a couple of years. Now if only they’d gone with a Citoren-like single spoke; hey, Olds was “the experimental division”.
Here’s a more cheerful look at the interior.
And how did the “Linear Look” 1959 Oldsmobile do, on the market? Not too shabby; it outsold Buick, which was in a downward trajectory. And it was only barely beaten by Pontiac, which was of course on an upward trajectory. This was life in the middle of GM’s family; the oldest and youngest were firmly entrenched in their respective positions, but the middle three endlessly fought it out.
But in 1960, when that rude upstart Rambler popped into the top five and Dodge had its very brief moment in the sun, Olds slipped out of its typical #4 or #5 spot all the way to #7. But that fall from grace was temporary.
And I’ve purposely left the front end for last. Why? It intrigues me, to some extent.
It’s credited to Irv Rybicki, who would go on to replace Bill Mitchell in GM’s Deadliest Era. But here he shows some uncharacteristic flamboyance, thanks to the spiked water. I’m not so much a fan of the details, but I do rather like the way the hood dips in the center section.
That theme was of course taken up by the 1960 Corvair, in a drastically sparser variation. And of course the Corvair’s front end was one of the key elements of its design, one which was quickly and widely copied in Europe.
This one is even wearing chrome eyelashes, which only add to its farrago of complex textures and shapes.
Is there some sort of bug screen over the middle section, to obscure the bold Oldsmobile letters?
Yes there is. So let’s sign off with a nicer example.
Which is even available as a yoga mat. Seriously. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one that has a bit of a soft spot for that front end.
Note: a rerun of an older post.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1959 Pontiac Catalina Vista Sedan – Wide-Tracking To Success by me
1959 Buick Electra 225 Convertible: As Bat-Winged As The Batmobile by A. Severson
The 1960 Corvair Created A Global Design Revolution – Its Effects Can Still Be Seen by me
Curbside Classic: 1959 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – False Prophet Of A New Era by me
Curbside Classic: 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne – The Original Art Car by me
Vintage Commentary: ‘A Design Revolution’ – Chuck Jordan On The Styling Of GM’s Wild 1959 Cars by Rich Baron
As late as 1968-69 a neighbor lady had one of these. She was also my Cub Scout den mother one year, and I got several rides in it – a white 4 door sedan with blue/white interior. It seemed positively ancient then, but completely cool to me at the same time. I still remember angling for the middle of the front seat to get the full immersion in that fabulous dash and the obsolete controls. The styling was far more outlandish than the 60 Pontiac owned by an aunt and uncle then. At least it looks better to my eye than the 58.
The’59 Olds was a huge improvement over the thoroughly ugly ’58. I saw one at a car auction and I thought it was cool how the top fender extended all the way to the back fin.
Paul, I was far too old when I realized that all those ’59 GM cars had the shared roofline–aha! I can’t disagree with any of your judgments about what seems most/least organic. It was a heady time, with all those one-year exterior designs competing with each other…but I guess it couldn’t last. Thanks for this today (and hooray for the perimeter frame)!
Both the Pontiac and the Olds look to have had their rear ends bolted on with goodies. The Buick looks like it halfway melted in the furnace, causing it to sag as if coming out of a hot press. The Chev took what it was given and improved upon it. The Cadillac is just a hot mess.
From the side, the Olds looks more like a Chev than anything, and the frontage looks like a set of oven controls.
When I had a ride recently in a 59 Cadillac, I found headroom to be seriously lacking. I am under 6 feet, yet my hatless head was right up to the liner.
An amazing car, I can imagine those who love the looks are *very* adamant .
? Is it same to assume the full frame made these better handlers as well as safer in collisions ? .
Nice to see someone at some point loved this enough to save and retrim it, I hope another enthusiast gets it ere long .
-Nate
For several years in the mid-60s I rode to Towson High school in my friend Steve’s Mom’s ’59 Olds 98 4 door flat top hardtop, blue over white. It was a TOL Olds but by then was getting a bit superannuated, however it was still in beautiful condition. What stands out now was that classical Olds V8 basso-burble, the cool speedo with changing color speed bar, and the wild sponge-like Starlight Foam headliner with chrome cross-bars that was fascinating. By ’66 it was a bit out of fashion and odd looking but was so unique it made a big impression. There was also an older couple around the corner in their 70s who had that same model in 2 tone copper and white that same unique Olds V8 sound that was so characteristic (I wonder why?). Loved the ’59s ever since, weird or not.
As to styling the Buick is clearly by far the best integrated and clean , imo it’s the best Buick of the ’50s, ’56 is #2.
As a kid, in the early 60’s, I remember the Buicks and Chevys as being dramatic, even a bit scary. The Cadillac also dramatic, but less commonly seen and thus a bit exotic. The Pontic and Oldsmobile? I have no memories … just generic old big cars that looked nothing like their then-current (1962-64) versions.
The six-window 1959 GM sedan greenhouses all have that ‘Russian Hall of Industry’ look to my eye. GM designers were tasked with a quick (panicked) response to the ‘Forward Look’, but struggled to find a way to adapt a sedan greenhouse to the new lower-body lines & proportions they had created. The ‘flying wing’ hardtop motif was the one real GM design success of that year in my opinion – the sedan greenhouses were awkward and unresolved. In that one area, Ford’s four-window sedans always looked much more harmonious to me.
In the GM stable I agree that the Buick was the best of the bunch, but I always thought it was Chevrolet that was the real styling failure, lazily generic at the front end and embarrassingly ridiculous at the rear!
My uncle had a ’60 88 2-dr hardtop for family use; and a 21 or 23-window VW bus for his dry cleaning business.
I loved ’em both !
In 1958 I was 8 years old and and my family lived in Toronto. It was also the year the Burlington Skyway opened. It was a bridge over the west end of Lake Ontario, joining Burlington and Hamilton. It was quite impressive for the time and allowed vehicles to avoid the lift bridge. My dad, being an engineer, thought that we should go and see it and drive over it. So the 4 of us were in our 57 Plymouth going over this new bridge, and I spotted by first 1959 Oldsmobile. I remember that more than the new bridge. It might not be pretty, but it certainly stood out.
Agree the Olds was on the bottom rung of that 1959 class. Curious that Olds reprised the wide spaced headlight in the late 60s.
Cadillac did something very similar in 1971-73
Can recall a “59”, sdn rovig round my hometown as late as “74-5”. (tutone brown/beige) Person likly worked some place in “Point Plaza”.