Although Cadillac styling ultimately drifted to chrome-laden glitter,
reaching a low point with
the 1958-59 models, the basic 1948 tailfinned design, inspired by wartime
aircraft and
originated by Franklin Q. Hershey under the watchful eye of GM design
director Harley Earl,
was good enough to remain largely intact through 1953. This was no real
surprise. As
Cadillac styling chief Bill Mitchell noted: "A traditional look is always
preserved. If a grille is
changed, the tail end is left alone; if a fin is changed, the grille is not
monkeyed with."
And so it was: a new one-piece windshield, revamped grille, and a
somewhat bulkier
lower-body look for '50; small auxiliary grilles under the headlamps for
'51; a winged badge
in that spot for '52; one-piece rear windows and suggestive "Dagmar"
bumper bullets for '53.
Otherwise, the Cadillac lineup didn't change much in this period. Still
accounting for most
sales, the Series 62 offered four-door sedan, pillared coupe, pillarless
Coupe de Ville, and
convertible, all on the usual 126-inch wheelbase. The familiar Sixty Special
continued as a
solitary super-luxury sedan on its own 130-inch platform (versus 133
inches in the Forties),
while the Series 75 continued its traditional array of limousines and long
owner-driver sedans
on a 146.8-inch chassis. The Series 61, still the "entry-level" Caddy, was
demoted to a
122-inch wheelbase (from 126), but again offered a sedan plus newly
styled de Ville-inspired
pillared coupe. Manual shift was standard on 61s, which were otherwise
identical to 62s
except for chrome rocker moldings and slightly plainer interiors. Cadillac
also continued
supplying chassis for various coachbuilders, averaging about 2000 units per
year through
1959.
The division really didn't need a "price leader" anymore, so the 61s were
dropped after 1951,
never to return. Rival Packard, meantime, was still pushing cars priced up
to $750 less than
the Series 61s, a mistake that Packard didn't fully realize until too late.
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