An Exner design is a sure way to get me to stop and pay attention. And these ’59s are at the tail end of Exner’s peak, still fully under his design reign before being affected by a life threatening heart attack in ’56.
Who is to blame for the oddities after? Exner’s health condition has left some wiggle room ever since, though I still think those unusual ’61s carry mostly Exner genes. For the time being though, let’s not worry about such things and let’s stick to these Lawrence Welk era shots.
Talking about which, ’59 was the last year Chrysler sponsored Lawrence Welk’s variety show. Mostly out of concern the program was out of step with the rising young. Really? Could have fooled me.
FWIW, here’s Lawrence in a ’56 Dodge, trying out a nifty Highway Hi-Fi record player.
And for those who wonder what we’re talking about all of the sudden, the Youtube link for Welk’s Dodge Dance Hour is HERE.
If there was anything that showed the weakness of the mandatory annual model change, it was Chrysler’s transition from the 57’s to the 59’s. Talk about making change for the sake of change, because you have to.
In Dodge’s case, going from a bit annoying to downright overblown and ugly.
And yes, Lawrence Welk was horribly out of step with modern culture. That’s why my parents were lifelong fans of the show.
Please see my post for a chuckle 😃. Every Saturday night we faithfully watched Lawrence then turned to CBS for Gunsmoke! As Archie and Edith sang 🎵 Those 🎶were 🎵the Days 🎵.
I agree with you on the facelifted 1959 Mopars. The 1957-58 Chrysler and Desoto models were graceful, but none of the ’59s worked in my view.
I completely disagree. The 1959 DeSoto Fireflite is downright beautiful and the 1959 Dodge Royale is just just plain mean, gives off bad boy vibes in the front, especially in black or two tone black and red….but what do I know, im only a 28 year old…..
You just made my day! Nice to see a young guy appreciate these vintage treasures. At car shows most young people are only interested in Corvettes and other muscle cars. Check out tri tone 55 DeSoto Coronado and 56 Packard Caribbean. Like you, they are extremely important.
Royal* typo (wont show my original comment so I can not edit it)
Yes ah Yes! Hurry on to your friendly Dotch Dealer with a smile on your face and a song 🎵 in your heart! Did not know of Exners health issues. Loved His OTT finned fantasies. A yellow and black 59 Dodge convert was featured in Elizabeth Taylor, Mark Harmon SWEET BIRD of YOUTH. 🏆. 59 was best Dodge. Don’t suppose Lawrence was in a 56 LaFemme. Anyone recall that Dodge 🤔. And remember friends SERUTAN spelled backwards is NATURES! 😉
Personally, I prefer the 2 Dodge trucks to anything they’re carrying.
If it had been Jack Benny, they could at least have had jokes about his driving the car carrier.
I was not a fan of the ’59 Dodge until I saw this color combination. The pastel two-tones that were usually seen on these did not do justice to the design. Like Rich, I prefer the pre-1960 designs over Exner’s subsequent monstrosities. Never understood the appeal of the ’60 Dart with the pursed lips bumper and the cow catcher grille.
That is a sharp looking Dodge!
Yes that is a very good looking car.
There was a Dodge D500 driven by a woman on Brooklyn New York who had this exact car. It was heavenly and so was she!
Another view
I guess the ’60 Dart had more appeal than the Plymouth counterpart where the styling looked a lot like if it was 1957 again.
Then someone else liked the 1959 Dodge by turning a 1964 Custom 880 convertible into a 1959 model despite it was unibody.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-the-mystery-of-the-1960-chrysler-unibodies-is-solved-thanks-to-this-remodel-of-a-1964-dodge-880-into-a-1959-dodge-custom-royal/
The ’64 to ’59 conversion was a great read! Thanks for posting it as I missed it when it originally appeared.
Incidentally, the trucking company here was Automobile Shippers, Inc., which was owned by Eugene Casaroll. Casaroll is most remembered in automotive history for founding Dual Motors (during WWII), and for later putting the Dual-Ghia into production:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/last-nights-dream-dual-ghia-and-ghia-l-6-4-turning-dreams-into-semi-reality/
Casaroll may be remembered for putting a dream car into production, but shipping Chrysler products was how he made his money.
Rich, FWIW—Exner’s heart-attack was in 1960, not `56. Just an FYI
Interesting. What’s your source? I’ve at least two (one in print, one online) stating it was in ’56.
His heart attack was in July 1956.
I love the styling of the ‘59 Dodges…I’ve had mine since 1983!
Love that car of yours. Sweet looking.
Thanks…it’s definitely part of the family! Drove my grandson & his girlfriend to homecoming in it; he thought it was pretty cool.
The ’59 Dodge is kind of the “ne plus ultra” of late ’50s design. Hard to believe it’s real, yet there it is! You walk around it and see all these incredible, swoopy shapes and contours unfold. I’ve always wanted to own one, but I haven’t found a nice one locally since 1986.
I love Jean Shepherd’s take on the Lawrence Welk Show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J6mu6hUgik
It might have been because of Dodge’s association with Lawrence Welk that Hugh Hefner once stated that a man who’s “hip” does NOT drive a Dodge! This I find to be an unfair statement, since Dodge made some exciting, flashy, powerful cars in the late ’50s. Maybe Hef was referring to the rather stodgy pre-’55 models?
I know I’m probably an odd-ball, but my parents and grand-parents watched LW every Saturday night for decades and I also watched. Geritol and Dentu-grip also sponsord his show if this tells you anything about the demographics they were catering to. Sure, it was corny, but looking back on these shows either through PBS reruns or on YouTube, there was really some good talent there and frankly, I like a lot of the music. Certainly pretty girls aplenty. My favorite decade for this show is the 1960s and within that decade, the color seasons from 1965 to 1970. Almost near perfection. Ahh one and ahh two…..
Looking at the Welk’s Dodge Dance Hour link in the post–yes, there’s a lot of charm and talent here. Quite incredible to watch.
This same year, 1956, Elvis Presley and the rest of the rock ‘n rollers went on TV and utterly demolished the previously existing music world you see here.
The ’58-60 Dodge trucks, like this carrier, were especially nice. Modern, with headlights inside the grille, and sharp contours. Exner ruined them in ’61. Fortunately the ’58 design continued on the Town Wagon (SUV) for several years.
Speaking of the Town Wagon and Town Panel. There was once a Town Panel/Town Wagon offered in Argentina with the Sweptline look in the D-200 line-up.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120313192918/http://www.cocheargentino.com.ar/d/dodge_pick_up.htm
Possible it could be an aftermarket job however.
I would agree, the ’58 to ’60 Dodge trucks were good looking and contemporary in most every way except the base flathead 6 engine. Unfortunately Dodge’s truck market share during the time was in a pretty steep decline, due in no small part to a recession but also dealer apathy from what I understand. The ’61 trucks were supposed to change all that….but didn’t. Nonetheless, later on in the decade Dodge was able to ride the light truck sales tide with restyled and nicely trimmed versions of the awkward ’61 trucks.
Lawrence Welk spoke as if he was from another country, although I read that he was born in the U.S. I could never understand why he spoke with such an accent.
A friend’s dad was born in Fredericksburg, Texas in 1925. I needed a translator to understand him, even until his passing in 2015. Back then the pockets of thick immigrant communities were pretty much insular. My guess is LW came from that type of community.
German was his native langugage, and he didn’t learn English until he went to public school. The North Dakota town he grew up in spoke German. This was common in North Dakota during those times.
Lawrence was from North Dakota. As with most German immigrants, his family spoke German at home. Both of my grandmothers grew up in the same types of homes and many Dakotans spoke English just like LW.
I just want to see those cars without those horrible paper airplane fins on them. There is absolutely no reason for them. They look to me about as attractive as a Porsche with those whale tails mounted on their rear ends. Hideous.
Sorry – just can’t stand Exner. Yes, he started the long hood – short rear deck design that remained popular for generations, but still – he hid that under the most ridiculous gingerbread crap for which there was absolutely no purpose or function. Same goes for those hideous Continental Tire kits popular back then.
“Wunerful, wunweful”…
I am snickering at all of the comments about Lawrence Welk representing a hopelessly old-fashioned demographic – being made mostly by people (me included, because I have always shared the same thoughts on Welk) who are so far from today’s “youth” demographic that we couldn’t find it with a map. I hate to break it to you, but we Boomers are now the old folks and many of the musicians our demographic loves are the new Lawrence Welk. Yes, I like to toss off controversial comments in my old age.
I never warmed to the 59 Dodge, but it really isn’t any worse than the 59 Cadillac and is a whole lot more attractive than the 59 Mercury.
Excuse me?
I was right with you until those last two words – this Dodge is more attractive than a 1959 Mercury? Sir, you jest, surely.
My grandmother sat me on her lap to watch Lawrence Welk show. She sing and hummed along. In 1960s our family car was a used 1955 Plymouth like the one I drive now on weekends (shown). In 1955 Chrysler corp debuted their “forward look” which continued its design influences until the early 1960s. Colors were optimistic like the postwar times.
It simply does NOT get any better than a 1959 Dodge in 4 door pillarless hardtop form.
So much better looking than the more common and utilitarian 2 door hardtops than have been restored in healthy numbers over the past 20-30 years.
Makes you wonder how many ‘59 Dodge 4 door pillarless hardtops have survived in 2023. Not many, I expect.
Lovely car
Nice Dodge C-Series COE tractor front clip and frenched single headlights used on the conventional trucks in 1957 only, but kept on the COEs only through 1959, after which they were replaced with the LCF line. I’d forgotten although Dodge conventional trucks (finally) switched to an alligator-type hood in 1954, these COEs kept the pair of side-openers.