Detroit Fins and Chrome

Post-war prosperity in the United States brought the most indulgent and flamboyant period ever in car design, as car makers at all levels of the market dressed up cars with ever increasing amounts of chrome plating and styling excesses: fins, bullets, and aircraft-inspired detail. Cars and engines grew to enormous proportions, peaking in 1959 before blander styling arrived in 1960.

Plymouth Fury, 1959

 

Origin	USA
Engine	5,205 cc, V8
Top speed	105 mph (167 km/h)

Plymouth was on the way up from 1955, with dramatic new Virgil Exner styling and a lively V8 engine. The Fury two-door coupe was one of its most stylish models.

Chevrolet Bel Air, 1953

 

Origin	USA
Engine	3,859 cc, straight-six
Top speed	87 mph (140 km/h)

A quarter of a million Bel Air sedans, Chevrolet’s luxury model, were made in 1953, helped by competitive pricing and attractive styling with increasing amounts of chrome.

Chevrolet Bel Air, 1957

 

Origin	USA
Engine	4,343 cc, V8
Top speed	106 mph (171 km/h)

Seen as a “baby Cadillac” with its iconic finned styling and hot V8 options, the 1957 Chevrolets are among the marque’s most popular classics today.

Chrysler New Yorker, 1957

 

Origin	USA
Engine	6,424 cc, V8
Top speed	116 mph (187 km/h)

Designer Virgil Exner’s new “forward look,” plus new torsion-bar front suspension, helped Chrysler win Motor Trend’s Car of the Year in 1957 and turn its falling fortunes around.

Lincoln Continental Mark II, 1956

 

Origin	USA
Engine	6,030 cc, V8
Top speed	108 mph (174 km/h)

Lincoln reintroduced its top-of-the-line Continental in 1956 with an exceptionally well-proportioned-if large-two-door coupe body style. The price tag was almost $10,000.

Lincoln Capri, 1958

 

Origin	USA
Engine	7,046 cc, V8
Top speed	110 mph (177 km/h)

Believing biggest had to be best, Ford’s top brand built the largest car of the post-war era. The Capri was over 20 ft (5.8 m) long, with a 375 bhp V8 to lug it along.

Pontiac Bonneville Custom, 1959

 

Origin	USA
Engine	6,375 cc, V8
Top speed	114 mph (183 km/h)

The late 1950s saw Pontiac reinvent itself as a sporty marque with low-slung styling and hot V8 engine options, resulting in many stock-car race wins in 1959.

Edsel Corsair, 1959

 

Origin	USA
Engine	5,440 cc, V8
Top speed	119 mph (192 km/h)

Ford introduced the Edsel in 1957 to target the mid-range U.S. market, but it did not succeed and closed in 1959. Only 1,343 of this attractive and powerful Corsair were built.

Ford Fairlane 500 Club Victoria, 1959

 

Origin	USA
Engine	4,785 cc, V8
Top speed	98 mph (158 km/h)

The 1959 Fords won the Gold Medal for Exceptional Styling at the Brussels World Fair, and sold well. This two-door Club Victoria was a relative rarity, with just 23,892 sold.

Studebaker Silver Hawk, 1957

 

Origin	USA
Engine	4,736 cc, V8
Top speed	115 mph (185 km/h)

One of the world’s oldest road vehicle producers, Studebaker introduced distinctive styling after the war; this two-door body style began in 1953, with fins growing steadily to this 1957 peak.

Buick Roadmaster Riviera, 1957

 

Origin	USA
Engine	5,965 cc, V8
Top speed	117 mph (188 km/h)

Buick’s hardtop Riviera appeared in 1954. By 1957 it had ladles of chrome and big fins, but Buick’s popularity was in decline despite 250/300 bhp engines.

Buick Limited Riviera, 1958

 

Origin	USA
Engine	5,965 cc, V8
Top speed	115 mph (185 km/h)

For 1958 Buick went for heavy emphasis on its already massive fins. The 300 bhp Limited models were the most luxurious and longer than ever, but sales flagged.

Cadillac Series 62 Club Coupe, 1952

 

Origin	USA
Engine	5,424 cc, V8
Top speed	98 mph (158 km/h)

Cadillac was the style innovator at the top end of the U.S. market and was a pioneer of big fins, as seen on the back of this luxurious 190 bhp coupe.

Cadillac Series 62 Convertible Coupe, 1958

 

Origin	USA
Engine	5,981 cc, V8
Top speed	116 mph (187 km/h)

All-new styling brought Cadillac up to the minute in 1957, and the fins grew even bigger in 1958; the engine had grown too, now boasting 310 bhp in standard form.

Cadillac Series 62 Sedan, 1959

 

Origin	USA
Engine	6,391 cc, V8
Top speed	114 mph (183 km/h)

The massive fins of the 1959 Cadillac were divided by twin-bullet taillights, and the engine now had 325 bhp. It was surely the most flamboyant of 1950s American car designs.

 

It is a quote. The Definitive Visual History Of The Automobile 2011