BillH had an excellent suggestion for a Friday Fun Thread: Top 10 Big Fins.
Tailfins as an automotive decoration started in the late 1940s - the post-war era that saw the true boom of American automotive design. The name most often associated with tailfins would be that of Harley Earl, the man responsible for the design of both the 1953 Chevrolet Corvette, and our number one Tailfin car. For this week's list, I'll post pictures rather than links simply to do greater justice...
Here we go!
1.
1959 Cadillac El Dorado.
2.
1958 Plymouth Fury (the astute observer will automatically whisper "Christine"...)
3. 
1956 DeSoto Adventurer
4.
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air5.
1957 Ford Fairlane
6. 
1958 Packard Hawk
7.
1951 Buick LeSabre concept
8. 
1957 Chrysler Imperial
9. 
1967 Cadillac El Dorado
10.
1959 Dodge Coronet
Okay. I think we can all agree that tailfins are pretty much a 1950s concept...
That is all
14 comments:
Hey, you forgot the '59 chevy.
All they did was turn the fins horizontally. =)
Rust,
Believe me, I thought long and hard about the '58-'59 Impala.
I just didn't want GM to be TOO over-represented - as it is, they've already got four slots...
The 1961 Chrysler Saratog had a FREAKISH fin. And earlier models weren't too shabby in the protrusion department.
saratogA
Let's not forget the Europeans who followed our lead (probably while sneering at us) the Mercedes and a whole bunch of others. Or the ultimate : Bertone "Batmobile"
libertyman,
I wanted to put up a '50s era Heckflosse for the Mercedes but I could NOT find a decent picture... :-|
Jay,
Here's another suggestion . . . American Automotive Oddities of the post WW2 era not to see full-scale production. Two examples:
1948 Tucker "Torpedo"
1963 Chrysler Turbine Car
Good list, although the Belair may deserve the top spot, just from a pure recognition standpoint.
That '60s Eldo is freaking sweet!
Brad,
Top Ten Concept Cars would be FREAKIN' SWEET...
Chris,
Gotta disagree there. The '59 El Dorado is widely recognized as having the ne plus ultra in tail fins. The Bel Air might be more recognizable overall, certainly, but not for the fins... IMHO, of course...
Buick LeSabre concept wins it for me hands down.
Heck, I think they should build the first "VolTec" Buick modelling that design.
:-)
I think we can all agree that tailfins are pretty much a 1950s concept...
Which is more the shame, really.
oooohh, you did GOOD! And your #1 is my #1 as well... truly a classic.
AWESOME! I am quite the fan of Virgil Exner's Forward Look design. Nice to see 4 of the 10 are Forward Look cars.
And NJT: I owned a '59 Saratoga. (What a tank! Someday I *will* own another Forward Look car)
The Saratoga was a mid-level Chrysler. The Saratoga, Windsor (lower) and the New Yorker (higher) were all basically the same car with differences in trim levels and engine. If you like one, you'll like em all. :)
I'd have gone with a '59 Impala over a second El Dorado, but it's a minor quibble.
Linoge, I agree with you, it's a shame tailfins died off so soon.
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