(first posted 3/27/2013) Trying to pick the best Cadillac is an exercise in futility, or even worse, masochism. I’ve obsessed over the brand since my earliest encounter with one in Innsbruck, and have repeatedly played the game of which vintage Cadillac I’d like to have in my garage. That imaginary Caddy has been a notorious shape-shifter, but in the end it settles down to a battle between the 1948-1949 fastback coupe or one of these ’54 – ’56 sedans. And why does the more dramatic (and highly collectible) coupe lose? Because of Mrs. Welch.
In 1963, I was in fifth grade and obsessed with cars (easier to get brochures on than girls). Cars from the mid-fifties already seemed quaint and old-fashioned, given the rapid styling changes that had occurred in the previous years. My favorite cars that year were the Riviera and the Grand Prix. But whenever I saw Mrs. Welch’s baby blue ’54 Caddy sedan gently burbling down the street towards Lincoln School, my heart jumped a bit and my pace quickened.
Initially, it was by association: Mrs. Welch was a substitute teacher, whom we saw more than usual that year due to our sickly regular teacher. And did I love every bit of her–and believe me, there was a lot of Mrs. Welch to love. She was built just like her Caddy: big, brawny, and bulging. Not in an overtly sexy way, but dripping with self-confidence and totally comfortable in her (ample) skin. And the utter opposite of stuck-up, like these two. It made her attractive in an unexpected way. And she completely spoiled us.
She couldn’t be bothered with a lesson plan, or pretty much any formal academics at all. I just remember her reading Pecos Bill books to us for hours on end: my idea of school heaven. But that wasn’t all: One day, she decided to take us on a field trip to her farm. A couple of Moms showed up with wagons, but I was on the short list for the big Caddy, and it was a deeply memorable experience.
It was like being invited into her bedroom to sit on her big soft bed and have her read Pecos Bill to me in private. I just can’t think of another car ride where I felt more secure and happy; this was the ultimate cocoon within which to insulate oneself from a fifth grader’s profound troubles. These Caddys truly live up to that overused descriptor “tank”; they simply exude solidity and security. From the thick gauge of the steel of their bodies, to the solid chromed castings used for levers, handles and trim on the inside, to the tall and sturdy sofas standing in for seats. Eminently comfortable, even for a passel of fifth graders and Mrs. Welch.
The biggest mistake Detroit ever made was to make their subsequent cars lower, longer and wider. This vintage Caddy is just right: there’s very little front overhang and not too much in the back. Most of all, it was still tall, with the kind of upright seating position and easy of entry/exit that quickly deteriorated with the next generation and kept getting worse. Not to mention the highly questionable tacky styling of the late fifties.
These cars have a stature that only Rolls Royce and Bentley understood the value of and, for the most part, made sure to keep. No wonder SUVs replaced the big cars. And although some details of their styling can be questioned, they had an integrity and relatively cleanness that has withstood the test of time. Yes, the front end with its “Dagmar” tits was certainly baroque, but not yet downright kitschy.
And it was the last time that big, rounded booty would be there in its natural state, before it was adulterated with ridiculous pointy protuberances.
That vent is the air intake for the huge air conditioning plant that sits in the trunk, under the rear window. If you look carefully, you can see the outlet and the base of the Plexiglas duct that feeds cold air to vents in the ceiling above the windows (sorry, I forgot to shoot it properly). These were expensive options, and it wasn’t until 1956 or so that Nash finally integrated A/C into the heating system.
I now understood why Mrs. Welch hung on to her aging Caddy: She just wouldn’t have looked (or felt) right in a little Monza, Karmann Ghia, or Chevy II like the other teachers drove. And if Pecos Bill had driven a car, it too would have been one of these, a rag top though, with steer horns on the front. These cars epitomized the American confidence to take on anything that life could dish out in the mid fifties, even a bunch of fifth graders.
The gentle burble that emitted through those twin exhausts was delectable: just the right balance of delicacy mixed with a hint of the power that murmured deep under the hood. It was more like a big power boat’s sound than a car’s, and appropriately so. The fifties were the great horsepower-war years for the premium brands, as Cadillac, Lincoln and Imperial duked it out while upping the ante each year. Cadillac’s superb V8 started out with 160 hp in 1949, but between 1951 and 1957 it more than doubled its output, to 325 hp. This ’54 has a 230 hp version of the 331 CID engine, hooked up to the venerable four-speed Hydramatic: about as perfect as it got, and for quite a while.
In 1954, this Caddy offered a combination of comfort, power and features unparalleled in the world. That its price of $3,933 ($32,000 adjusted) made it available to an increasingly large segment of America’s population was simply inconceivable to Europeans at the time–especially so the idea that a simple Iowa farmer’s wife who substitute-taught to bring in a little extra income that allowed her to drive exactly the car that perfectly reflected her physiognomy and personality. That’s a priceless form of freedom.
PS: GM’s Greatest Hits are numbered according to their original publication date, and not ranked by “greatness”.
The feature car is in pretty nice shape. I’d invest a day or so to get it looking as good as it could without any paint or body work. Fantastic car, I dare say. I recall in 1968, when I turned 16, I dreamt of owning such a car. The Pittsburgh Press Sunday classifieds (the only day of the week my parents bought the paper, for the ads and coupons, I guess) were filled with Cadillacs of 50’s vintage. $ 200 or a bit more would buy a nice example of the 10-15 year old vehicles. I’m sure the handsome couple in the 1954 ad wouldn’t be caught dead in a 54 sedan in 1968.
I”ve had a fascination with Caddys since a toddler. On another note, the houses seem the same vintage as the car. They probably sold new for well under $ 10K.
A little automotive air conditioning history for you – The first factory installed, up front, in-dash air conditioning was introduced in 8 cylinder 1954 Pontiac models. The system was manufactured by Harrison and was available as an option beginning in December 1953. Nash followed a few months later in 1954 with their excellent up front, in-dash system “All Weather Eye.” Below is an ad for the 1954 Pontiac Harrison air conditioning system.
Mr. Bill
Hamlet, NC
Thanks for that clarification.
hi paul something interesting for you this torquise and white roof 54 caddy in this article i own now its in melbourne victoria australia cheers
Lucky you! Enjoy.
Thanks, I was about to add the same thing, Delphi-Harrison recentley restored a 54 Pontiac with a/c for the lobby of the Harrison Thermal Systems building in Lockport.
Yes, I have the edition of Pontiac Owner’s Club International magazine in which an in-depth presentation of that restored ’54 Star Chief Custom Catalina with factory air. The edition also showcases another ’54 Star Chief Custom Catalina so equipped and gives the history of how Pontiac came to get the system over the other GM divisions. It also details a special event that made headlines that got the engineers to thinking about taking the air conditioning systems out of the trunk and mounting them up front in the dashboard.
Mr. Bill
Hamlet, NC
And then Ford introduced its SelectAire integrated system in late ’55.
Yes, in 1955, Ford introduced Select-Aire which ducted throught the dash (vents were mounted on top by the radio speaker), however Mercury and Lincoln still utilized a trunk mounted system.
Other through the dash a/c systems introduced in ’55:
Chevrolet (first year for a/c in a Chevrolet)
Oldsmobile
Hudson (utilized the Nash “All Weather Eye since Nash cars were built off of the Nash platform beginning in ’55)
Packard (ducted from two vents on top of the dashboard)
And, while not a dash mounted system, Studebaker finally joined the other manufacturers in offering air conditioning in the form of a trunk unit sourced from NOVI that could be installed on the assembly line or by the dealer.
Chrysler Corporation, Buick, and Cadillac soldiered on with trunk units for a couple more years, gradually transitioning to systems that were completely “up front.”
Mr. Bill
Hamlet, NC
You mean to say there’s no radar behind those nose cones?
Tom Wolfe put it this way in “From Bauhaus to Our House,” regarding that era:
“The energies and animal appetites and idle pleasures of even the working classes — the very term now seemed antique — became enormous, lurid, creamy, preposterous. The American family car was a 425-horsepower, 22-foot-long Buick Electra with tail fins in the back and two black rubber breasts on the bumper in front.”
Wikipedia has quite an article on “Dagmar bumpers“, as complete and well illustrated as a good CC.
“The term was coined by customizers in direct reference to Dagmar,[1] an early 1950s television personality well known for her pronounced cleavage on Broadway Open House. Dagmar’s physical attributes were further enhanced by low-cut gowns and the shape of her bra cups, which were somewhat conical. She was amused by the tribute.”
“As originally conceived by Harley Earl,[2] GM Vice President of Design, the bumper guard elements would mimic exaggerated artillery shells…”
I was kidding about the radar of course, but now it seems the 2013 Cadillac XTS does have radar!
“Short- and long-range radar systems that support adaptive cruise control, front/rear automatic brakes and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.”
Apparently the radar antenna is located behind that big plastic crest.
Don’t forget the Night Vision that was a Raytheon product introduced for MY2000. It was originally a military application converted to civilian use. Several other makes have introduced systems but it has not seemed to be particularly popular as it complicated the driving experience. Cars have had back up alerts for some time now. A Chrysler T&C minivan I rode in in Florida in February had a back up camera that activated automatically when the van was put into reverse. All of these things are interesting and lovely from a technological standpoint, but the risk is that driving, like flying, and most other control experiences, largely will be dictated to human sensory perception and your ability to effectively judge and interpret what you are sensing. Technology will never replace good judgment.
There certainly was radar inside that nose cone and part of the radar was a piece that was joined together during a space mission.
Shoot, Paul, now you’re tempting me to start scouring fleabay for one of these beauties… I’ve never owned (or even driven) a passenger car from the ’50s (my ’50 International L170 doesn’t count), so the closest I can come is my ’66 Tempest, which still at that point had solid chromed cast knobs and levers on the jewel-like dash, and felt very solid, even by the time I got it in the mid-80s. Can’t imagine what this beauty would be like to drive.
Oh, great. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1953-Cadillac-Series-62-4dr-Sedan-Beautiful-Org-California-Car-Loaded-A-C-/281081349642?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4171c1060a#ht_51603wt_974
There was a ’56 “60 Special” in the local classifieds last fall that tempted me so badly, but I controlled myself (barely). Finally admitted 2 cars and 2 pickups for 1 person is already enough and I can’t buy another one unless I sell one of the ones I already have.
I’m probably odd man out here, but the thing that fascinates me most about cars from the fifties through early sixties is the emerging technological advancements of features (i.e. air conditioning). As far as wanting a Cadillac from this era, why would anyone want anything else but a 1957/58 Eldorado Brougham? A car with luxury features so advanced some wouldn’t appear again for 20 years.
The 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham: (wallpaper)
I agree Michael, that is my most cherished post-war Cadillac. I have had the opportunity to work on several of them over the years, and know owners of several of them personally. Virtually all of them that are still complete have been restored and bring mad money. There were even more features considered for the EB that were not released to the actual production car including disc brakes. The EB was based, in part, on the 1956 Town Car concept vehicle that was recently sold in 2011 at Amelia Island http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=632310.
I cannot go with the Eldo Brougham. To me, the Brougham represents Cadillac’s future – a pre-occupation with whiz-bang gadgetry and flashy style. It would take a few years, like a dozen, but Cadillac would eventually wring all of the deep-down quality out of all of the little pieces, leaving you to stare at a dash of cheap plastics.
Todays’s car is a real Cadillac, with all of the attributes that made Cadillac a household name: deep down quality in everything that an owner, driver or passenger would see, hear or touch.
Because it would be an expensive PIA to actually own and keep on the road?
By far the most complicated and troublesome part of the EB was the air ride system, of which probably 1/2 to 2/3 of the remaining cars had replaced. Other than that, mechanically, it is not significantly more difficult than other cars of the era. There was a gentleman by the name of Morgan Murphy who, after stepping away as an editor of Southern Living, started a website called Motorpool.com. As part of the promotion of Motorpool.com he embarked on a 12,500 mile trek visiting most all of the continental states in a 1958 Eldorado Brougham WITH air ride. He passed through North Carolina when we met him at the house of a friend in Salisbury, NC who also owns a 58 EB. Too bad his website has disappeared the closest thing I can find out there discussing it is third party coverage by local media: http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2009/06/29/daily27.html
I heard the memory seats are a pain too, as memory seats from 1958 would be I imagine….
Yeah, I don’t remember where, but I read about programming the memory seats for these things and how it was quite an adventure in patience. And it was a bench seat, too. I’m pretty sure the memory seats had the “exit” feature, as well. Imagine being the front seat passenger when the driver exits and the seat starts to go backwards on you. Weird experience.
1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham memory seat controls:
I have a book somewhere that has an interview with one of the designers of the memory seat system, the description seems complicated to say the least, I know of one of these that was semi-restored( for the original owner, a woman in her 80’s!)in the late 80’s that had a modern Cadillac memory seat system adapted to their Brougham.
If I had a staff of Ferrari mechanics…
Amen. A Coupe de Ville might not be as fancy, but would be easier to live with.
It takes a moment to realize that the picture of the front seat interior does NOT reveal grass floor mats. The reflection is perfectly aligned, though.
I am 100% with you on these Cadillacs. If ever there was such a thing as the perfect American car of the 1950s, this would have been it. This car is proof of how much work Cadillac put into competing with Packard in the early postwar years. If Cadillac was not the first name in American luxury cars in 1941, it certainly was by 1951.
Was there really anything better? Chrysler may have had a better engine, but it was hobbled by a 2 speed PowerFlite (at best), and was nowhere near as nice to look at. Lincoln was a full class down and a much smaller car that was good at road races, but nowhere near as impressive, in lots of ways. There was still Packard in ’54, but it was an ancient straight 8 mated to a lockup torque converter that passed for an automatic transmission.
Is the site running slow? It was me clicking on all of those beautiful pictures. Just look at that interior. I want to find this car and just sit in it. All day. An absolutely wonderful, wonderful car.
Imperial had the TorqueFlite in ’56.
Great story. It’s surprising how powerful childhood memories can be of things which lose their novelty with age.
The height aspect about SUVs has occurred to me too. They are in effect reverting to an earlier paradigm of vehicle height.
My paternal grandfather, a Blue Chip capitalist of the old school, had a black ’58 Sedan DeVille, more decadent than this one stylistically, but very impressive nonetheless to me at the time. The legroom in the back of those things is rarely equalled today. And look at how minimal the driveshaft hump is! So it’s ironic that nowadays, it seems to me that American luxury brands have long since abandoned one of the distinctives of past luxury cars — copious rather than merely adequate passenger space.
While American homes have gotten larger over the years, our cars of late have not, despite the increasing amount of time we spend in them.
The car actually became lower and longer for 1954-1956. The 1957 cars were actually dimensioned pretty close to the earlier cars, but despite have a lower overall height, appeared to seat higher due to the switch from the box frame to the X frame and the sculptured open look wheel wells.
In my opinion, they have abandoned a lot more than that. Part of it is fuel economy and general efficiency it would be hard sell such a big passenger car today. Plus, of course, today we have more options for hauling people and things so rear seat room is less of a consideration. Aside from size, the styling touches that made cars like these recognizable is largely non existent now. I think Cadillac does a decent job now with the Arts&Science theme with the sharp crease angles much as the taillights cars today just do not have the presence.
Perhaps any mention of Cadillacs of this era must include a discussion of the fabulous jewelry ads that were as much a far of the Cadillac mystique in the 50s and early 60s. Led primarily by Harry Winston, along with Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartiers, and others, advertisements bore the image of the car as well as (usually) an attractive female with very attractive (and expensive) jewelry. Since by the mid 1950s Cadillac was the dominant luxury make in the United States, the advertisements were most appropriate.
http://www.hemmings.com/hmn/stories/2006/09/01/hmn_feature15.html
I love the fin era, so my choice would be a slightly later Caddy. On that note, guess what I spotted pulling into the local Walmart yesterday evening? A beautiful red ’59 Caddy Coupe de Ville! I shouldn’t have because I was already running late, but I detoured to stop and take pics. Unfortunately I wasn’t fast enough to catch the driver and find out why they were driving it in the winter with salt obviously still coating the roads.
Once upon a time Cadillac claimed to be the standard of the world, it was with cars like this that claim was made in a couple of years it bnecame too low in the roof and too cramped compared to the RR and Bentley competition. This seems to be what led to the most useless vehicles ever designed the stretch limo you can only crawl through. Who was it dressed in their best that wanted to ride stretched car we have some here they take more room on the road than a semi trailer. At least RR kept building luxury cars while cadillac chased market share into bankruptcy, building crap
That brings to mind a possible cultural explanation for lower height: During my lifetime (post-1960), American stopped dressing up when they went out, & both men & women stopped wearing formal hats. Cowboy types (both with & without cattle) are an exception, & they like tall pickups — the official vehicle of Texas. Ford & Dodge, at least, even have special editions for that state.
I’ve routinely worn hats for 25 years. Not formal hats, but about as tall as formal hats, although they haven’t been cowboy hats. I had no trouble wearing a hat in my Audi 4000, the lowest car I’ve owned.
Aside from RR being an extreme niche player rather than a general mass market car (even today) – RR has had their own financial troubles. Remember in 1971 RR collapsed as an entity being nationalized by the British government and split into automotive and non automotive entities. Of course more recently, the whole VW-BMW RR-Bentley purchase is an epic story right out of an MBA case study. As for GM, Cadillac has been a net profit maker for the corporation by and large from a vehicle standpoint so its contribution to GM’s bankruptcy was rather minimal. I will agree with you on the stretch limo thing since the various combinations out there today are ghastly, however, they are all made by third party companies who are free to do them at their own will.
Craig, do you have some link to back up your assertion that Cadillac was a “net profit maker” for GM?
I actually wrote a pretty detailed reply to this then hit post and WP ate it apparently the logging out gremlin struck again.
Suffice to say that the mere fact that Cadillac has survived as a brand while Pontiac Oldsmobile and Saturn have not is evidence of this. Cadillac’s sales have waxed and waned over the years but of course naturally it is the company’s most profitable brand. Even in the darkest days of the HT4100 warranty claims, the volume was always there to overcome the costs. By the time Cadillac sales declined to their lowest point in the 1990s, warranty claims were also at their lowest point. When I moved from Oldsmobile to Cadillac in 1993, at that time GM was making money on everything non-NA operations while NA operations were a net wash or a loss. It is almost the opposite now (or was). It would be hard to quantify an exact figure due to the allocation of common resources like social benefits and the like. From a sales-model standpoint, Cadillac has never been upside down on a model in any significant way. Even the dud that was the Catera was nearly fully amortized by the time the Opel Omega become a Cadillac variant. The Allante was about the closest thing to being upside down although its high selling price probably made it a wash. Even the much maligned Cimarron was basically bought and paid for by Chevrolet and while sales were low Cadillac still made money on the car. At one point in the 00s before the CTS fully ramped up the profits the Escalade contributed to almost 25% of the division’s profit entirely of course it was bought and paid for as a Tahoe. There is no question that most luxury makes worldwide have benefited mightily from the profits generated by their luxury brands. It is widely believed that Ford’s profits and survival during the 90s and 00s was due to Lincoln and SUV sales. Lexus returns $2.6 of every $1 invested into Toyota. A major part of Chrysler’s program during the latest financial crisis was its lack of a premium brand profit center aside from Jeep.
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2012/07/cadillacs-global-expansion-carries-unexpected-benefits-for-gm/ Recent article
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19920904&slug=1511016 old article from 1992 offering historical perspective.
Keeping this post from getting out of control I will leave it there.
In the eary “70s, there was a Wall Street Journal article that revealed that although a Cadillac sold for about 100% more than a Chevrolet, the actual cost of making the Cadillac was only about 10% more. Comparing the two vehicles at the time, that does not appear to be incorrect. However, I am certain the ’54 model cost more than 10% more to build; there really was a difference between the two cars then!
Growing up we had 3 old non-running Cadillacs out behind the barn a 52′ Coupe that was complete, but hadn’t run in 30 years and a 53 coupe and 52 sedan that were both wrecked parts cars. They were so impressive, even in that state. Wonderbar Radio, Autronic Eye, that huge Batwing airfilter. Someday I want to have an early to mid 50s Caddy to drive, one of my dream cars.
Great write-up wrapped around great memories! Thanks Paul.
What is missing from the ad is the omnipresent fedora hats the men of that era always wore when leaving the house. Sitting upright and having the headroom was all part of facilitating the fashion of those times.
My father-in-law always wore hats and as I was first acquainted with him in the late ’70s, it was clear that his ’76 Olds 98 and subsequent cars (Toronado, Crown Vic) frequently knocked the fedora off over one ear or the other depending on whether he was getting in or out of the car.
Did it spell the end of beehive hairdos too? 😉
Yes, give me headroom! I wear a hat pretty often, but not inside my car or it is mashed against the headliner.
Try sitting in a Scion xB (gen-1 at least); I’m 6’0″ & can put my fist over my head inside the thing. Incredible space utilization for a car in the Corolla size class. The salesman said it was patterned after the London Taxi, which sounds plausible at least.
If it didn’t have close to 6 ft. of hood out front, then it wasn’t a “car” in my father-in-law’s eyes.
Neil, it’s really amazing how often I have heard, “The salesman said.” Probably he made it up. Tall boxy cars have been around in Japan for a very long time.
IIRC, I read somewhere that the xB was patterned after the Chevy Astro. The Astro was fairly popular in Japan during it’s run:
“In addition to being sold in North America, the Chevrolet Astro was exported to Japan, where the van enjoys a cult following. In 2005, to celebrate the last year of Astro production, Chevrolet of Japan offered a limited edition run of the final production models. The Astro’s popularity in Japan comes even though it was only offered in left-hand drive.” (Wikipedia)
If you run quick search on Google, you find articles on how to convert your xB’s to Astro headlights and other similar tricks.
I’d wager the Suzuki Wagon R was the real inspiration for theXb.
Hey, I resemble that remark! (fedora)
One of the things I loved about my New Beetle and the ’64 that preceded it is the headroom. I could wear a cowboy hat in either with no problem, and I’m 6’-5″ tall. Not that I typically *would* wear a cowboy hat in either, mind you.
This winter I’ve been wearing a Hanna Irish walker hat that I bought years ago, just decided to start wearing it.. (Must have been thinking Jerry Lundergard.) It has a relatively high crown. I’ve had no problem wearing it (aside from a few odd looks) while driving any of my cars, including the 2002 Deville. It seems to bump around when getting into the wife’s 2012 RAV, though.
Back in the 70’s, I still used to wear fedoras, dress or sport, and had no problems. My 68 Fury III had the most headroom of all the cars I’ve owned. Then at some point, no one wore hats anymore. The same thing with Ivy snap brim caps. Everyone wore them, now I’m all alone.
Put me down for the full-figured earlier postwar Cads, too. My current crush is this zaftig fastback from ’47, correct me if I’m off a year.
Zaftig, that’s the perfect word. Zaftig.
There is something very enjoyable about talking to a woman who likes and appreciates cars especially if she is older. My aunt is like that. You can toss out an older car rarely seen anymore and she will say “oh yes I remember those, so and so had one, I always loved it”. Or “have you seen those new X,Y or Z cars I really like those, what are they like?”. Or “that 1967 Impala we had, boy was that a great car”.
You did a great job describing Mrs. Welch and the Cadillac. I could feel her attraction to the car and how she enjoyed sharing that with her students, from what you wrote.
I’m sure Mrs. Welch would love the 1950 Cadillac CC logomobile I know I do.
These cars had a design defect that proved very costly to Sammy Davis, Jr.:
“The impact of the crash had driven Sammy’s face into the steering wheel, and his left eye was forced out of its socket by the bullet-shaped cone at the center of the wheel.”
Never knew that’s what happened to Sammy Davis Jr’s eye. That is a pretty wicked chunk of plastic on the Cadillacs of the era (especially the ’53s iirc). It seems like in the 50s they weren’t designing a steering wheel to protect you in a crash; instead it was supposed to be a coupe- de-grace to put you out of your misery.
You always hear stories about people being impaled on the fins…
http://ndnation.com/boards/showpost.php?b=backroom;pid=39105;d=all
In the early ’80s I happened to attend a lecture by Ralph Nader (yeah, I know, what was I thinking?). I remember hhe got a big laugh out of his college audience with a line about cars with protruding, pointy hood ornaments shaped like rockets, fighter planes, etc:
“And we all know what those hood ornaments are for, don’t we? To protect the car from pedestrians.”
Not that those sorts of dangerous hood ornaments were actually still around in the ’80s — they were already gone by a couple of decades, never to return — but then Ralph has never been the type to let facts get in the way of a good argument.
My father had a 1953 Cadillac as his first car after emigrating to the States from Germany. He bought it used from his employer at the time. He traded it off to get his first of many Fords, I think he got the 1957 Fairlane 500 after this car. Apparently the Caddy developed electrical issues and left him stranded more than once. He never bought another GM car after that.
As for me, I’m hoping to have a Caddy of my own before I take my dirt nap.
I’d guess I better start playing the lottery…
1953 would have been the first year for 12 volt at Cadillac, probably issues with the new parts, or just a good old fashioned lemon.
The early 1950s may have been a high-water mark in GM’s engineering and innovation; but the Cadillac IMAGE is what counted. And…I have a not-so-savory image of these cars.
A friend down the street, had his grandfather also living in the extended neighborhood…four streets over. Like many people in our metropolitan area, he was an older immigrant…he appeared in his seventies to me. I was twelve.
The old man was a house-painter. Whip-thin; hideous teeth, accent impossible to understand. He’d done well, obviously – newish house in the suburbs, late-model VW Squareback…but what killed me was the 1954 Cadillac in the garage.
It was cared-for but not immaculate. In fact it was often used as shelving for tarps and other light knick-knacks in the garage. The paint was okay but had seen some sun. And…the plates were five years out of date.
The car got driven once a year or so…generally down to the corner gas station (expired tags and all) for gas and service; or over to the son’s home for a family meal. Other than that…it sat in the garage.
And looked old. And hideous, with that two-tone green paint. And pretentious, with that bent, withered house-painter as its owner…so badly wanting to be somebody.
So you gents like this vintage of Caddies, do you? Well, do you like them enough to buy a T-shirt?
For a while now I’ve been sitting on this very nice, very screenprintable piece of artwork of (I believe) a ’55 — but haven’t yet added it to HollywoodLoser.com’s Designs page. But if I get enough positive feedback from folks here saying they’d buy one, then I’ll start making them.
This is why my favorite car of my dad’s was his ’57 Coupe de Ville. Note, the pic below is a 62 coupe, but color is same as his C de V.
I grew up in a Cadillac family. To my eye, the ’57 coupe is one of Cadillac’s finest designs — clean and “right sized”. It all started to go to heck with the 1958s and Cadillac didn’t get back on track until 1961.
The ’61s through ’70s were the last of the great ones. Cadillac has been lost ever since.
Especially since `81 with that POS 4-6-8 engine, the Cimarron, and the De Ville and Fleetwoods proudly announcing their six cylinder engine on the front fender. And lets not forget the Allante, the ridiculously downsized Eldorados and Sevilles, and the Craptera.Methinks the ELR will join that same group.
Great write up, Paul! I’m partial to the ’58s for some reason, but love the ’48-49s as well. I’d say ’54-’64 was the nadir of Cadillac style….
hi paul this 54 caddy torquise with white roof in this article now lives in melbourne victoria australia i own it cheers
Once Again, Paul and I are in complete agreement on a car!
This article’s car, with it’s brocade-cloth covered seats, 4 speed Hydramatic transmission, factory air conditioning and (I assume) power steering would “fit me well”.
Even my conservative, former “Old Money”,(pre-Great Depression) Grandfather, who always purchased Packards until the great economic upheaval, expressed grudging approval of this body Cadillac.
My favorite era of the Cadillac’s are the 1967-68 biggies’ with the 1969-70 biggies’ close behind, I feel that was the truly best era of the Cadillac’s, runner up’s are the 1959-60’s and the 1977-79 biggies
I will always love these cars. Especially the ’56. I had both a ”56 and 57″ Sedan de Ville hardtop. These were the epitome of American luxury. The ’59 models were too low and not quite as comfortable. I kept the ’57 for several years as a daily driver, it was a bit better driving than the ’56.
I’ve always loved these ’54-56s. In ’54 it seemed so modern due to the first use, along with Olds & Buicks, of the new lower-longer body. My own experience of them was from our next door neighbor at 627 Piccadilly Rd, Mrs. Kathryn Black, the divorced 1st wife of Mr. Alonzo Black, who with his business partner Mr. Decker, started a rather well-known power tool company that was then headquartered on in Towson MD. Mrs Black was a very kind older lady who, along with a pretty nice house, received from her settlement a new Cadillac every 3 years or so. The one I remember most was a beautiful baby blue with white top ’56 Sedan de Ville, for which she traded a tan ’52 or ‘ 53 Her garage was entered from the rear of the house, and there was a large parking and turn-around pad back there. She often left the car outside, and I loved to ride my 20″ bike around it, as the parking pad was large, and never once did she admonish me to watch out for her nice car, she was just that kind of lady. Living alone, she liked interacting with the neighborhood kids, and I loved to gawk at her massive Caddy, particularly since we always had crummy used Ford wagons! We missed her a great deal when she moved to an apartment in 1961, but then again our new neighbor had a ’60 DeSoto!
With a white top, this would have been Mrs. Black’s ’56:
Defective 68 yr old memory correction:
Mr. Black’s name was Duncan, Mr. Decker was named Alonzo.
Never met either of these fine gentlemen, just Mr. Black’s ex-wife!
in the early 5O’s the caddy was America’s fastest car so the magazines said
however in 56 you could get a chev with a corvette mill the blow the caddy
off the road the times they were a changin
I’m a few years older than Paul but had similar experiences with this car. Our family were the (poor) immigrants in a wealthy suburban village, home to a number of old money families who had made their fortunes in lumber and stockbroking over the previous hundred years. The first among equals of those families had grandkids who were my age and with whom I played regularly.
I vividly remember a ride into the city in the back seat of their ’54/’55 Caddy, and can vouch for the silent, luxuriously-upholstered sense of well being and tank-like security the car communicated. The upholstered cord across the back of the front seat, visible in the photos, made it feel like I was in the presence of royalty – perhaps a more 1950’s Canadian take on the experience (this was the heart of ‘Loyalist’ New Brunswick), compared to Paul’s more egalitarian American perspective. 🙂
In the early 80’s I was obsessed with old cars but broke. I bought a beat up ’55 Cadillac on the theory that the build quality was so good I wouldn’t have to deal with as much maintenance as an average car. I was right. It would sit under a blue tarp for months and start with the first turn of the key.
There is a young guy with a YouTube channel called The Corvette Ben. His longest running series involves a red 56 Sedan DeVille 4 door hardtop that he dragged out of someone’s yard and put back on the road. He has done what I call a functional rehabilitation rather than a restoration, which continues as money is available. His videos are fascinating to watch as he tackles this issue or that one. He still owns the car.
Ben’s videos are great. One part of his rehab/reno of the 56 Caddy that I really enjoy is the addition of accessories. A favorite vid is the one in which he installs a power trunk solenoid found on eBay. IIRC he also plans to install the A/C system from one of the parts cars he acquired – now that’s a part of the series I really look forward to seeing.
There’s a garage in Arlington Ma. where you can still see the holes made in the back wall
to make room for the dagmars. Only way to make the car fit.
I sure enjoy mine. Bought mine at 20 years old and im 33 now. Best car I ever owns!