The 1959 model year marked a high point in the Motor City for fins and chrome. Here’s a detailed look back.
“Nothing exceeds like excess,” the saying goes. In 1959, the Motor City reached the climax of its grand baroque era in automotive design. The stylists reached the outer limits of what could be accomplished with fins and chrome, crafting some of the most memorable cars Detroit has ever produced.
At General Motors, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Buick went straight over the top, and even the lowly Chevrolet sprouted enormous batwings. Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln achieved new levels of ornamentation, while at Chrysler, Virgil Exner’s Forward Look reached its ultimate expression. But meanwhile, there were other trends brewing across the U.S. auto industry.
+ Imported cars were rapidly gaining in popularity, led by the Volkswagen Beetle and Renault Dauphine, while Mercedes-Benz was slowly gaining momentum in the premium-price category.
+ Studebaker scored a minor coup by cleverly repackaging its aged sedan platform as the compact Lark (read more about the ’59 Lark here) and briefly, the company’s sales shot straight up. American Motors, led by George Romney, had reintroduced the compact Rambler American the year before to exploit the demand for smaller, more sensible cars, and in 1960, all the Detroit automakers would jump into the compact category with both feet.
+ On August 26, 1959, the Austin/Morris Mini was introduced in the United Kindom. While the Mark I Mini had a minimal effect on the U.S. sales charts, its eventual influence on the American auto industry was enormous, as countless U.S sedan platforms would later adopt the Aled Issigonis-designed transverse front-drive layout.
+ Chevrolet introduced the El Camino, its answer to the Ford Ranchero that debuted in ’57. In a strange way these car/pickup hybrids foreshadowed the civilian pickup boom of a few decades later, but in reverse. While the Ranchero and El Camino were based on passenger cars, the popular pickups of today are built on truck chassis, but with every luxury and convenience you can imagine.
All these developments and more can be explored in the gallery below. Click on any image to start a slide show.
My dad had a 1959 Buick Invicta convertible he bought new right before he and my mom got married in April of 59. I remember riding in that car well as a kid. I came home from the first grade one June day in 1966 and it was gone, replaced by a brand new 66 Buick Riviera.
I believe the very last picture of the 1959 Ford Fairlane is actually a Sunliner. The give away is the trunk lid. That trunk lid is for the Sunliner. The Fairlane would have a trunk lid that curved down to the bumper.
Thanks, you are absolutely correct. Good eye. We just read the photo’s caption and slept right through.
Sorry but I believe it should be Skyliner- hardtop retractable. The Sunliner was a cloth top convertible
I’m a 1959 model, and with the exception of the Corvette and the Stude Hawk, most of the rest of the 59’s were just plain ugly! Gigantic fins, goofy grills, canted headlights, the big three were struggling for attention. The lowly VW’s never changed much during their lifespan, proof that a good style never goes out of style. For me, 1957 was the last decent looking year for the big three until about 62 or 63, most everything in between missed the mark in one way or another. I would exempt the 58 and 61 Chevys and maybe one or two others, but would have to pass on most of the rest.