Which car has the biggest fins?

[Frank]

59 DeSoto Firesweep

[Frank]

1957Chevrolet Belair

[Frank]

1956 Packard

Another one I really like.. this time a show car that might have very well done a good job for the then dying Packard (remember the name Packard died in 62 but stopped in 58) This one is called the Predictor... Done under Bill Schmidt's leadership, style done by Richard Teague.. (this is one of the un-sung heroes of car design) for after Packard died he later went to Chrysler then AMC (American Motors corp) and was the design director of all their cars, the Gremlin, AMXs, Pacer and the JEEP as we know it now.
The Predictor had a 300-hp Packard engine and has electronic push button Ultramatic transmission, electric trunk (like Lincolns now!) reversible cushions leather on one side fabric on the other.. the panels above the doors slide into the roof over the doors to ease getting in and out.. and could be left open for ventilation like T tops on a Trans Am years later.

That rear window (Backlight as designers call it) was retractable. It was built by none other then Ghia of Turin (the same ones from Karmann-Ghia VWs and Ghia is now part of the Ford family) This car would have been a HUGE influence on the cars of Packard had the company survived.
The cars styling was a bit different and hard to say if it might have had the same problems as the Ford Edsel with the Vertical grille which is suppose to give the cars that "classical " look of the 20s and 30s but which was really out of the norm for the 50s and most didn't care for that... the shape is VERY similar to the Edsels "industrial espionage"? nah.. just designers thinking like they do.. that upright vertical is classical and just happen to be by chance that both cars looked a bit alike. the back window though WAS to influence the '58 Continental though! and a few other styling exercise cars at FORD during that! time.
I even like the color.. this is a car though that for ME at least is much better styling and taste for it's size then the 59 caddy monster of the same time.. and this car also reflected much more of cars to come.. as the lean squared body and conservative use of chrome was pointing RIGHT TO THE ' 60s...lean, clean and nice...

[Frank]

1956 Chrysler Dart

This one is one of my favorites WONDERFUL STYLING! started off as a INK BLOT! driving at 200 mph helped to shape this wonderful car. The ink blot tests conducted in one of Europe's largest wind tunnels enabled engineers to design the dart to "pierce" the air with the least amount of air resistance, aerodynamics on a 50s car from America. (GO FIGURE!) was the most nearly perfect aero car design in the world at that time..

It gave less then one-third the air drag of any other passenger car at that time (very good but they had aero perfect ones as far back as the 20s in Europe) Had (s) three dimensional windshield (panoramic?) sloping at a sharer angle and offering more visibility then production cars.

Full-wrap rubber mounted bumpers provided complete protection yet blended into the car so that they seemed part of the body. A sliding roof panel telescoped into a concealed compartment behind the rear seat. The roof could also be partially retracted so as to leave the front seat open and rear closed.
Very nice.. was done under Virgil Exner's reign in design at Chrysler, one of the best in the US then (AND NOW) and he was the one that actually started the BIG FIN movement in the 50s NOT GM as everyone thinks.. he had prototypes running and GM designers got a glimpse of it.. it freaked them out OH MY THOSE FINS ARE HUGE! and the car was VERY LOW for it's time.. then the fin thing went nuts..

[Frank]

1955 Ford Mystic

This one is something I like too. Very odd but sometime compared with some others of that era this one seemed just right. ALMOST. OK this car had front glass curved all around the vertical center pillar at the back of the door and that whole assembly lifted UP! there were NO sliding or roll down windows (hot!) passengers had to rely on air conditioner for air
NO ,,,,.. what looked like a periscope on the top is a roof vent..
There were huge round tail lights beneath the fins.. where the parking lights would usually be were the bumper pods for air cooler reservoirs. Has a gas turbine engine mounted in the rear.. steering was a control stick AND! could be swung around from driver side to passenger. side

YEAH! NO NO! LET ME DRIVE!! ... end of the car? don't know.. most are scraped WAY back then.. or museum or collector.. don't you just love those colors?!

[Frank]

1959 Caddy Cyclone

The 59 Caddy Cyclone equipped with radar in two large nose cones in the front fenders, the car alerted the driver with both an audible signal and warning light of objects in it's path. The pitch of the signal would increase as the car grew closer.
An ultra futuristic feature was a one-piece canopy of clear plastic coated with vaporized silver to deflect the sun's rays. It snug fit against a panoramic windshield to give the driver true 360 degree vision, the canopy was hinged at the rear and was power-operated. It lifted to afford easy entrance for the passengers when the door was opened. at the touch of a button on either side the door moved outward fron the car 3 inches. The person entering then slid the door back along the car
The muffler and exhaust were located in the front engine compartment with the exhaust outlets just ahead of the front wheels a communication system allowed occupants to converse with persons outside without using the canopy. length 196.6 wheelbase 104 inches

NOW on display at Cadillac Historical Museum Warren MI

[Frank]

1957 Ford

[Capt_Dan]

Batmobile Then:




Batmobile Now:

[Bonita Cruiser]

Originally posted by Frank
1959 Caddy Cyclone

Looks like Speedracers car the Mach 5.

[Bonita Cruiser]

WOW, fins to the left and fins to the right. I think my favorite so far is the 59' Dodge. Thanks Capt Dan.