Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

What made the Cadillac so great during it's glory days of the mid Fifties to mid Sixties?

American, and proud of it!

Cadillac was the dream car of most Americans during this period. This was reflected in popular culture, especially pop music.

This is a great four CD set of 50's and 60's auto related rock music.

I was cruising on my way to work listening to some of these old time songs featuring Cadillac's. Some were kind of funny like "Beep Beep"

Who could ever forget Chuck Berrys' Maybellene?

Videos from YouTube.

Most post war American cars were pretty good, but a bit plain and under powered. As the Fifties dawned and the economy was improving American buyers responded with a desire for more luxurious, flashy, well optioned cars.

The Fifties started here in 1949 with a new OHV lightweight V8
and the birth of the tail fin.

Still Cadillac was one of the biggest, most powerful, most comfortable and flashiest cars available in the U.S. While a six cylinder Ford or Chevy was comfortable cruising down the highway at fifty mph, a new Cadillac from 1950 could hit 100 mph. and cruise at 80 mph. when you could find a suitable highway.

Stay to the right except to pass.

This was before the interstate highway system was built and the ability to easily and safely pass traffic  was a big selling point.  You could make better time on a trip when you weren't trapped in a line of slow moving traffic.

Cadillacs came with luxurious interiors, power gadgets and plenty of chrome. They were also supremely reliable and their styling was distinctive. It only became overwrought as the decade came to a close. And they were "almost affordable" to the common man. They were the best that an American could aspire to.

The Lincoln was a fine car but after the War and the passing of the Continental, it seemed they began to resemble a common Mercury. A styling similarity that lasted through most of the mid 1950s. Lincoln did make a fine showing at the Carrera Panamerica, and the Mexican Roadrace Lincolns have created their own legend.


In the first race in 1950 the winner was an Oldsmobile, with a Cadillac coming in second. The next year the European makes decided to make an appearance. Ferrari came in first and second, followed by Chrysler, Mercury, Packard, Hudson, Cadillac, and Lincoln. The third year the race was broken down into sports car and touring car ranks. This became the final running of the race. Mercedes came in first and second in the sports car category with a pair of 300 SLs.  In the touring car ranks the Lincolns swept the first four positions. Amazingly enough, the Lincolns average speed was only 10 mph. less than the 300 SLs.


Cadillac chose to race with the big boys in 1950 at Le Mans.  Briggs Cunningham entered a specially bodied version and a conventional race prepared coupe. The special did quite well, with a twenty mph. advantage over the coupe. If it hadn't struck and been buried in a sand bank, it might have finished  higher.  Still, it finished 11th to the standard coupes 10th. place. A respectable showing bolstering the Cadillac's image at the beginning of the decade. The results were lauded by the European racing community.

The special leads the coupe- for now,

A little plain looking, but a proven Champion.

While these results are truly exceptional, most Americans were more interested in how well these cars could make a high speed run across the Texas panhandle or a family road trip across the country. This was where these cars could really shine, they could eat up the road in comfort and silence. By mid Fifties the availability of air conditioning made these cars the gold standard for touring. Truthfully, the best of the European makes couldn't match the American's performance in this arena until the 1980s. The travelers were usually warmly received, as the American Dream was still alive, and everyone thought that they would someday get their chance to partake in the good life.

This was where the Cadillac belonged, out on the open road.

The Cadillac was the obvious choice of America's elite.

Yeah, Who would have guessed?

And it was the choice of glamorous and famous Americans.

It was dream that took a decade to die.

It was Everyman's dream to drive a Cadillac and their popularity when new, made the pre owned models of a few years of age just as desirable. Five to ten year old Cadillacs were still driven proudly. There were obvious elements of styling continuity, but even when there had been quite a bit a change over the years, the Cadillac look remained. There was "something" that was instantly identifiable as a Cadillac.

The best new car makes the best used car buy.

During this period the Cadillac was recognized by almost everyone, everywhere, all over the world as one of the best cars available. In the U.S.A. it was pretty much considered to be the best car, period.

Was it really that good? You're darn tootin' it was. It did seem to give the most people what they wanted in a car. Models from this era were great road cars, big and roomy, comfortable and quiet, and fast. They were actually pretty good handling cars. They handled well on the biggest cross country highways and the secondary country roads. If there were a lot of turns involved any sensible person would slow down for a tight curve, not enter it in four wheeled drift!  The really tight, back country by ways were best avoided, not because the car couldn't handle them, but because where were you going to find the next Howard Johnson's or Holiday Inn?

Just a part of the good life.

They were good looking in a flashy kind of way and conferred an aura of status on their owners. Perhaps the fact that they were universally desired and held in high regard made the owners feel that they were really part of a special group.

I have owned and had personal experience with  1956, 57, 64 and 1970 models. They were very good cars and they were the fulfillment of the American Dream, on wheels, at least. Over time our expectations as a society have changed, with many different opinions and definitions of success. The luster of the Cadillac marque has diminished over the years, and there were periods in the 1980s where the light was almost extinguished. Thankfully, Cadillac has begun it's return to relevance and respect.

Still, there was a period of greatness, well earned and celebrated. Only those who never experienced it could consign this period of design to the parody of the illustration pictured below.