Text by Patrick Bell.
The “Standard of the World” was Cadillac’s claim, and in many ways they achieved it. They were certainly untouchable in the sales department for many years. Let’s take a look at a few from the fabulous fifties.
We begin with a fashionable lady that was posing by a 1957 Sixty-Two Coupe from California. It looks like someone parked the car in the middle of the aisle just so a good photo could be taken. To the left was a 1954 or 1955 Series 62 Sedan, along with two 1956s and one 1957 Chevrolet, plus a 1955 and a 1958 Ford. To the right was a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Town Victoria, and behind it a DeSoto Firedome convertible from the early 1950s.
Here was another California car, this one a 1948 Series Sixty-Two Club Coupe. It had the optional fog lamps along with accessory curb feelers to protect those whitewall tires. This was the last year for the flathead 346 cubic inch V8 engine that had been around in that size since 1936.
Out on a winter day was a 1952 Series Sixty-Two or Sixty Special Sedan that was wearing an Ontario license plate that could have been any of the even years in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. Cadillac celebrated its Golden Anniversary in 1952, so they used that point in time to give the new in 1949 overhead valve 331 ci V8 engine a horsepower boost from 160 to 190. Power Steering was a new option as well.
And a 1952 Series Sixty-Two Coupe or Coupe de Ville with a few custom touches such as a vinyl roof, continental kit, and spotlight/mirror combination. The quarter panel looks a bit rusty around the fender skirt so this one likely had a few years under its belt when the image was taken.
This gentleman was posing by the top of the line non-limo Cadillac, a 1950 Series Sixty Special. Power was carried over from 1949’s new 331 OHV V8 with 160 hp, and Hydra-Matic Drive was standard on this and the Series Sixty-Two. Power steering and air conditioning were still in the future.
1953 brought a new front bumper and park/signal lights to the last year of the 1951 reskin. The 331 V8 was up to 210 horsepower, and air conditioning was now optional. Glass technology had improved to allow for a one piece curved back glass. The car above was a 1953 model, but the series cannot be determined from this angle.
The chrome creep was well underway on this 1953 Series Sixty Special. And we thought the 5 mph bumpers of the 1970’s looked big. The one extra piece of equipment I see was the spotlight/mirror combination. During the 1950-1953 era the Sixty Special rode on a 130″ wheelbase, which was 4 inches longer than the Sixty-Two.
From 1946 through 1955 The Series Sixty-Two Sedan was the best selling Cadillac. In 1956 the 4 door hardtop Sedan de Ville debuted, and it took the top sales position that year. They bounced back and forth until 1961 when the Sedan de Ville took over. The car above was a 1951 Series Sixty-Two Sedan with the optional fog lamps.
A nice and shiny 1955 Series Seventy-Five Sedan was enjoying a scenic golf course with an ocean view. The wheelbase on the Seventy-Five grew to 149.8″ in 1955, where it remained through 1970. That was about 2.5″ less than the overall length of a late model MINI 2 door. The 331 V8 was up to 250 hp for 1955, and was used in all models except the Eldorado, which had 270. The license plate has the look of a Hawaii issue, but there was a yellow tag of some sort obscuring the state/territory name.
This 1955 Series 62 Coupe de Ville was at least 8 years old when this image was shot as it had the black California license plates first issued in 1963. It looked in very nice condition, and had likely been pampered by the gentleman in the photo. Hydra-Matic Drive and Power Steering were standard on all 1955 Cadillacs, but power brakes were optional. On the left edge was an early 1960s Volkswagen Type 1.
A sharply dressed young man was posing with a close to new two tone 1954 Series 62 Coupe from Essex County, New Jersey. The 331 V8’s annual boost in horsepower brought it up to 230 for this year. The 62 Coupe was the entry level Cadillac from 1952 through 1964 when the name was retired. The base list price for a 1954 model was $3,838.
The notes on this 1957 image indicate these folks were “on their way home from the car dealer” in Sarasota, Florida. Their ride was a 1957 Sixty-Two Convertible. The Cadillac V8 received a boost in displacement to 365 ci in 1956, and 1957’s version had 300 horsepower. Across the street at a construction site was a white over grey 1952-1954 Ford Crestline Victoria, and the black car may have been an early 1950s Chrysler Imperial.
Here was the nose of a 1958 model that looked like a 4 door, which means it could have been a 62, de Ville, or Sixty Special. They were called sedans, but were exclusively hardtops from 1957 through 1964. The standard 365 V8’s horsepower was 310 for this year. This one had an unusual small front license plate that likely was a local issue.
We close today with three ladies and a 1959 Sixty-Two Six Window Sedan that looked very close to new. The new style for 1959 was the culmination of the flamboyant fifties and would begin heading the other direction in 1960. Other news was an upgraded power plant to 390 ci with 325 hp, where it would stay through 1963. The sedans were also available in a 4 window style with a flat roof. The license plate could have been California, but it is hard to be certain.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
I’m thinking that the second to last picture (’58 Cadillac) is the same car as shown from a different angle in set of Cadillac pictures posted here last year. That photo is below; the original posting is here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/vintage-snapshots-and-photography/when-cadillac-ruled-the-road-a-gallery/
A few commenters pegged the location as the back alley of a Philadelphia row house, which is undoubtedly true. That photo was memorable for me because my father grew up in a nearly identical house in Northeast Philadelphia. Also, these neighborhoods were definitely not typical Cadillac habitats.
In case anyone’s curious what these alleyways look like in real life, here’s a current Google StreetView link to the same kind of block:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/S3dFgZgyxQnUK49EA
As for the license plate, it’s a Pennsylvania Civil Defense tag. These were issued between 1954 and 1980, and the idea was that cars bearing these front tags would be allowed on the roads if there was a Civil Defense “Red Alert,” when all other traffic would banned. They were issued by the state through county Civil Defense offices to local and state officials, emergency personnel, and operators of “essential” businesses/services. No doubt people who were chummy with politicians could probably get them too.
Pennsylvania Civil Defense tags were county-coded, and “51” as shown on the Cadillac’s tag was the code for Philadelphia.
I remember a few a these!
I’m thinking you are correct, Eric. I actually had the same thought but did not want to put the time into looking for the old gallery. And thanks for the license plate information, both here and the Hawaii image.
There was a certain sense of pride, you can see it in the faces, of the men, anyway. The 40s and 50s shots are especially interesting. These guys, possibly war vets, that dreamed of a new Caddy when, and IF, they got back, or immigrants fleeng a war torn country, worked hard, and by the mid 50s, finally got that Caddy. It was the “other” American dream. Like the guy with the VW passing, the opposite end of the spectrum, not intended, but look at the guy, I bet possibly an immigrant, came here, got a good job, took him a while turning small engine crankshafts( or whatever) but he got it, and was still mighty proud. My old man had many cars, worked his way up from Oldsmobiles, finally got that Caddy in the early 70s, a ’72 4 door. He was so proud, on the maiden voyage, he had us all put the windows down, while he shouted, “Look you bunch of (expletives), Jerry A. is driving a Cadillac, as we all slumped down in our seats. I don’t see that sense of pride today, my grandfather felt the same way about his Packard. I wonder if we’ll ever feel that way about our cars again?
Very nice vehicles indeed, but according to an article in Road and Track twenty years the 1955 Cadillac sedan is actually lighter than 2000 Mercedes S class despite the modern Mercedes has many weight saving materials and technologies, all those features add up the weight.
I’m pretty sure that Picture #9 (black Series Seventy-Five Sedan) was taken at the Oahu Country Club. It’s definitely a Hawaii plate, and the “N” prefix was used for Honolulu. Oahu Country Club’s Clubhouse is made from stone that looks very similar to those stone retaining walls in the background, and from images that I’ve found, there’s still a number of those low retaining walls at the Country Club now. And the view would match up.
The yellow tab (or tabs) on the bottom is a bit puzzling, because it’s bigger than most Hawaii tabs. My best guess is that maybe the Cadillac is some sort of for-hire vehicle, and the big tab consists of a registration number, but that’s just a guess.
In any event, that’s my favorite picture of the bunch here… can’t beat the combination of car and scenery.
Just verified from some other vintage photos that the yellow tab is a taxi identification tag – not sure if it’s specific to Honolulu or not, but they were evidently four numbers long, which is why it seems like a big tab in the vintage shot.
That’s a fancy taxi.
Photo 1 is at the Dunes Hotel parking lot in Las Vegas. It was on the west side of the Strip. The photo looks north by northeast toward the Sheep Mountain range. The edge of the roadside marquee is just visible on the side of the photo. The Dunes opened around 1955.
I’ve never understood the attraction of the 1950-53 Cadillacs. As a little kid in the 1950s I thought they were ill-proportioned, bloated, unattractive, and I still see them that way. By comparison the 1954-56 models were among the best looking Cadillacs of the decade. Then styling took another series of bad turns until the lighter appearing, more modern 1961 models.
The second photo, in addition to featuring the handsome black 1948 Series 62 Coupe, shows it parked in what I recently learned is called a “Hollywood driveway”. We had our backyard demo’ed and re-landscaped from scratch last year, and the designer and a couple of the contractors used that term for two parallel strips of concrete for the tires, with grass or other vegetation in between. We did not end up doing that. Up till now, I had only heard the name Hollywood used in an automotive context, in the expression “a Hollywood stop”… in other words rolling through without stopping.