Given the limitations of my Camera on my smartphone I normally don’t shot photos of cars at night. But tonight, while getting a cup of coffee before spending an evening dancing at Hard French at the Uptown I ran across a trio of General Motors beauties randomly occupying Telegraph Avenue.
At first I thought this 1946 Pontiac was a 1948 Buick that roams the streets of Oakland and Berkeley on weekends that I spotted in June. The large swaths of Silver Streak trim on the flanks didn’t register to my mind until I came up front to realize that I was looking at a Tin Indian. In remarkably good shape out on the town for a bit of fun like I was.
But if I really wanted to see a Buick, there was one on display for me. I turned my back and there was a 1947 Buick in a tastefully custom two-tone paint job. I used to not think of the immediate Post War General Motors cars as beautiful until I really studied their looks. Their organic flow is so interesting to study, especially on a rainy night when beads of water and different sources of light play interesting tricks on their buxom curves.
This undulating ocean of curves was so influential, being repeated in cars all over Europe ( I seem more than a little bit of this era Buick showing up in the “Baroque Butterfly” BMW 501/2 Sedans of the 1950s). But for those of you not a fan of these curves, as you can see in the distance we’ll soon ascend the Sloan ladder one more step, and fast forward 10 years.
What we have here is a genuine 1957 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. The sad irony is that it wasn’t the best preserved of all the 3 cars I ran into tonight. And it’s amazing how much presence it had, especially looking like a shark about to attack that minnow of an early 1990s Civic Hatchback.
There’s even a shark-like quality to the headlights. And although there’s the obvious flaws to what I guess is the original paint, all of the Chrome and Gold trim is accounted for. A drivable dream out on the town to brighten my night. I’m sure glad I got to the nightclub too early and got caught out in the rain. I found a delightful detour on my Uptown Saturday Night.
Great work, Laurence. The head-on Poncho shot looks like a movie still. Speaking of, and from the movie you borrowed your title from…
(Thanks to imperialclub.com.)
Loving those first two, Amigo. Especially love the two tone on that Pontiac.
Nice indeed. Always loved those late forties GM-mobiles, especially the Buicks.
While the Caddy resembles a shark, the Buick could be a piranha.
I find it tough to remember that Pontiacs were not always overpriced Chevrolets with even cheaper, uglier interiors and vomit inducing plastic cladding. In the 1940s, Pontiacs had three nice, body length chrome trim pieces where the cladding was from the 1980s through the 2000s.
Thanks for sharing those great pictures. Love the Pontiac. I wish I lived somewhere that had cars like that casually cruising the streets. this time of year its mostly beaters on the roads that keeps life interesting…hate winter
I love the mood in these shots, great work! For my tastes, I’d have the two tone Buick as I think it really highlights the lines.
Agreed about the ‘mood’. You almost expect humphrey bogart to stroll by in a trenchcoat and cig hanging out of his mouth.
Great shots Lawrence Ive always liked the 40s GM styling could be Havana except for the licence plates