Mistake of '58: The GM Chromemobiles and Far Out '59s
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2022
- A classic car connaisseur tells the story of General Motors misstep in 1958. The future wasn't about chrome, but about tailfins. This video goes deep into the design process that ulitmalety resulted in the most space age cars ever made... the 1959 Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac!
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Call me Tasteless, but I love all these space age designs far-FAR more than pretty much every 'standard' car design post 80's.
Better bold than boring.
You are correct Sir.
YOU'RE TASTELESS!!
(but you're not wrong)
The one who calls you tasteless needs his tongue cut off
1000% in agreement with you friend! These cars had character!! (ALL OF THEM!) Wouldn't that be awesome if one manufacturer was formed to bring these styles back with limited runs? I bet they would sell out!!!!!!!
It’s just mind boggling that they could put out completely different models on a yearly basis.
I would argue the only thing comes close in its design, total reinvention and integration of new technologies is modern day sneakers although cars of that area were obviously on another level
Most cars back then where body on frame, which made it easy to swap out bodys as long as the mounts on the frame matched the body, most modern cars use UNIbodys now, the frame and body are built into each other, making it more resource intensive to change
Hugely wasteful! Contrast this with French designs of the era: the 1934 type Citroën Traction Avant had only just gone out of production, replaced by the DS21 / ID19, which remained on the market until 1975. Often, older models were kept in production concurrently with new designs for a few years as "junior" models...for example, Renault 4 saw several "replacements" enter the market during its 30 year run. I commend this approach.
Pretty awesome huh. I drive a 2014 accord coupe and for the most part it looks exactly the same as the 2008-2017. Now my 1964 Olds Cutlass/442 convertible that i had back in '97, that car as simple and straight as the body was, you could easily spot it lined up next to a '65.
LeMans/GTO, Chevelle/Malibu, Skylark/GS and Cutlass/442, all GM A body cars and all of them were made to look 100% different.
Human creativity will never be replaced by computer programming. I wondercwhat the new Chargers etc would look like if not for their stylish ancestors. Probably look like a Nissan Altima or some other (plastic) bucket of bolts (sorry, clips! Not many nuts and bolts anymore
Whilst the Americans focused on cosmetic appearance change for purely marketing reasons, the Europeans/Asians made real technological improvements, leaving the US far behind with their gas guzzling monsters.
These designs were not mistakes but rather amazing. In fact, they're the most creative and beautiful cars that GM ever made.
Today all SUV's and sedans? tend to look alike. To the point you have to read the manufacturers' names to know what they are. That's why I buy Chrysler 300 models. They do look distinctive from the other rolling trash cars.
jetuber,
Amen to that!!!
@@henryhorner3182
Yeah,
That's exactly what they are,
"rolling trash cars"
Huh? 😲
@@henryhorner3182 not as good as the1964 chrysler 300 though !
When you could tell a make, model and year from a block away shows how unique and creative car designs were.
As a young designer at GM, I was working on the 59 Pontiac design, when Jordan got a bunch of the studio designers to see these brand new ‘57 model Plymouths, Dodges, Desotos and Chryslers just rolling off the assembly line. He wanted to see if we were as shocked as he was by what he had seen earlier that day on his way into work. Well, we were. Jordan went back and convinced his boss Bill Mitchel to immediately start reworking all our ‘59 design programs. Mitchel took quite a brave risk to do this without first approval by Harley Earl. Earl ultimately agreed with the changes we all came up with.
Which is your favorite redesign Bernard? I am looking for one of these space age masterpieces and would appreciate your view.
I have ‘59 Eldorado Seville, ‘67 olds Toronado, and ‘71 Riviera boat tail. All stunning masterpieces of carchitecture. Thankyou Bernard and your colleagues for creating these gorgeous creations for the world to enjoy.
Love 59 Pontiacs! My Grandpa had a 59 Catalina 389 tripower.
wow!! to be a GM designer then!! must have been very challenging, interesting and a little stressful!! write a book!!
My friends father had a good position where you are talking about. I remember her talked about the new designs. We were school chums in Birmingham.
I worked in an automobile repaint shop during the early 1970s, and how I remember what a nightmare it was to prep and mask those rolling jukeboxes against overspray.
Rolling jukeboxes hahaha well said
Rolling jukeboxes. That's great.
Rolling Jukebox. GOLD!
You suffered for nothing. Why didn't you move to another industry and saved yourself from all the nightmare?
@@Motocicleiros oh shut up
@1:18 that little red Studebaker I call the bullet nose car. My mom almost died in 1964 was "Teed" on passenger side, Mom's in and dad was driving, we kids weren't with them. She was in a coma for six days, they didn't expect her to live, plevis broken in 37 places, they didn't even sew her ear rt. on yet till they knew she had a chance at living. My poor mama. But she lived and raised us and thank you mother for being our mom. We were 9, 7 & 3 little girls ages we were. Body cast for a long long time in hosp. over a year or two. I miss you mom. RIP Mother Dear. See you in a few years in Heaven. xo
Beautiful story, it sounds like your mother was a woman with 20 men’s worth of strength
Very touching excellent story. Thanks for posting
Now, why would you want to make me cry like that? I'm already, worried over my own mother's condition these days, and I just keep seeing these comments about mothers suffering and dying. This has been going on ever since Mother's Day for me. My mother recently, fell in her kitchen and hasn't been herself for months prior to that. This is all too sad, and Donald Trump is DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!!!!!!
Some of the most beautiful cars ever built came out of the 50's and early 60's. Maybe because I was coming of age then, but seeing cars of that era inspire me more than any other styles.
Me too- I loved looking out my window watching those Flotillas of 59 Cadillacs floating grandly down Pelham Parkway when I was a kid.
65 ford 2 door with a 390 great shape but made a cheese box in 66.
I was coming of age in the 2000s but I still think the American cars of the 50s and 60s are the coolest and most stylish in the country’s history. I want one of each
Considering I was born in 97, I don't think it's because of when you grew up. I've always absolutely loved American cars from the 50s and 60s.
Youre absolutly right these cars were destined to be, all time classics
My grandfather had a 1958 Oldsmobile 88 Holiday Coupe. He said he bought it in part because it had the most chrome you could get on a car.
im surprised olds didint offer a chrome-a-roo option pack to put over that
Our 1959 Super 88 was the 1st car we owned with AC and carpet on the floor. We all took our shoes off on our 1st ride. I'd buy a brand new one today if it were possible. To heck with the gas mileage.
Though some people may prefer the cleaner designs, I think the over extravagance of chrome is iconic in its own way and holds its place in looking good.
Well-said! I honestly had no clue why 1950s car designs looked so funny and bulky compared to cars today. I learned a LOT from this video! I had no clue about the history behind these designs.
Using a shopping trolley as a hat is equally extravagant and looks pretty much the same, but also is equally stupid.
yup, beautiful wedding and funeral vehicles.
Most of us agree... If it had not been the way these cars rapidly decayed there would be piles of em driving around even today.. The new products have little room and little more purposes than something to drive to the store. I am seeing some of these time machines redone with modern stereo radios and the likes. They R awesome... I redo old trucks and when they R finished they something to behold compared to the mostly factory rejects produced today... Don't care if it is cardboard frames and bodies most of the new stuff just ain't got no soul Once bought people know it will only last a few years and its junk... Some of the old stuff is still pretty solid and I hope to see more folks restoring em... I am seeing some stuff here where I live and encourage those folks..
Definitely! Give me fins! My parents owned a 1959 Plymouth Belvedere wagon with his gigantic fins, push button automatic, oval steering wheel, a rear facing rear seat and an electric rear window! Special!
A real piece of art, not just a car design!!
For many years, dashboards changed year to year and engineers did some fantastic work in styling! A lost art. 58s are problematic in terms of restoration due to difficulty in getting oem parts. They still are very beautiful and special.
🦅🇺🇸🦅 the American automobile industry in 1958 was thriving , and so was our country , thank you Richard M Nixon for your deregulation that bankrupted the American Auto industry, thank you Bill Clinton for passing NAFTA we lost 50 million American manufacturing jobs 🪒🤕 ‼️
@@davidstaudohar6733 as a farmer under Nixon, we never (prior to that) had it so good! Jimmy Carter wrecked the farm economy and put us all back on the government farm programs which have strict rules and penalties. We didn't need programs under Nixon!
@@davidstaudohar6733 You should read up on NAFTA. It didn't cost US manufacturing jobs. What cost those jobs was Reagan's tax plan that sent manufacturing elsewhere. It essentially said all corporation "X" needed here in the US was an office. The manufacturing facilities could be anywhere in the world, and take advantage of their labor costs.
Engineers wouldn't actually be doing styling of dashboards. That was done byl art school folks known as "Industrial Designers". Engineers had to make the Industrial Design cartoons function as an automobile.
Laughs in imperial
Cars from the 40's-60's just have way better styling than anything now in my opinion, and I think I share that opinion with a LOT of people.
yepper, today you can hardly tell one car from the other and they are all bullshit period, poor quality for what you pay for and the mileage scam is just that a scam.
@@KingmanRoss sure. car is fine, driver is dead. todays cars are way safer in every aspect. nowadays the cars die and the driver lives, as well as their kids. at 1970s Mercedes Benz, now that would be a different discussion.
@@KingmanRoss eheheheh do you like your neck? If its a serious crash your classic will crush you alot easier
Totally agree (1935-1965)
"where is my white car???". Wal-Mart.
I may be an oddball, but I love the '58 GM line. Completely over the top. My uncle had a lower end Oldsmobile in black for a short while when I was a kid. Probably '85-'86, it was a Minnesota car and a rust bucket, but that chrome always had a polish to it!
Amen. The 58-60 gm lines were absolutely beautiful. I had a 58 chevy and everyone loved it.
I think they're more popular now, then in 1958. They're so boisterous/obnoxious compared to today's cars.
Obviously chromed out, and I could see why it wouldn’t continue to work [ especially add , that it was a Recession in ‘58, as well], but I too, like the ‘58 designs - and better than that Plymouth.
🚗🙂
I like the ‘58 Olds and Caddy but the Chevy is the ugliest model year ever.
I bet you look like Charlie Brown don't you?
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks cars have faces with expressions! My grandfather owned a Mobil service station. Chevy was our family’s brand. The grandparents would buy a new car every few years in the 50’s and hand down the old car to one of the kids. My mother finally got her first brand new car in 1965, a Chevy II, a very attractive car!
Back in the early to mid 1950's, I always associated Buick headlights with a bloodhound and the grill with mean teeth. The later Buick's like the 57-58 era tail lights reminded me of root beer barrel candy that was popular back then. Just a first grader with a good imagination.
When I was a child (1969-72 ish) a bloke up the road from us had loads of American Cars in his drive, probably 6-8 . . . He lived on a smallholding with a massive area to park. They were this era and I loved sitting in them and pretending to drive them. They seemed absolutely massive compared to our (UK) cars. . . Still LOVE them
My father was a tool and die maker and in the 50s and 60s, he made the dies that stamped out the bumpers and trim for GM cars. He would bring home the first samples of the test stamping of the trim and would decorate the walls of our large garage/shop. I thought that it was a little tacky at the time. Now I wish that I would even have a picture of this. (BTW, my last name is Buick, but we were unrelated to the founder of the company.)
had an uncle who made early drawings of Cadillac with the big fins. He was very young, and was drown by a few guys in a lake while out swimming. Guys were jealous of him. He was a drummer and attracted the girls. That happened in the 50's. When I got older, my grandmother had an original photo of Lee Iacocca on her kitchen wall with other things from 3/4 of a century ago. Around the '90's someone found out I wanted that picture and they must have took it. All-in-all the past is priceless, and the coolest thing is to be old enough to have lived a slice (the picture was taken outside of Lee shaking hands with another guy, most likely a business venture. Looking at the picture you could tell the automotive industry was flourishing in that era)
@@d.s7741 ... Oh my! Did those guys go to prison? This world is filled with evil people, from those who kill due to jealousy...to those who take something simply because someone else would like to have it. Judgement Day is coming though!!
I love those 59' Cadillacs. Absolutely over the top tail finns. Crazy, daring, a statement on its own. We shall never see their likes again.
For 👆 your giveaway package 📦
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You won something special
🎁🎁.
yes i agree i am 71 and my Grandfather owned a baby blue 59 Caddy and I loved that car and he owned it til he died never know what happened to it but wish I had it now
I remember a friend driving grandmas '59 El Dorado.
And waiting for the air ride to pump it self up.
Then 40 years later waiting for my LSC to do the same thing.
The auto headlight dimmer could have been a great thing with today’s electronics. Back then they were a nightmare on a busy big city street. Up-down, Up-down which sounded like Morse code message coming in. They did ride like a dream on level roads.
Probably, everything is a cycle....
The '58 Chevy and it's rounded fins has become recognized as a good looking car. I love them. The "batwing" fins on the '59 Chevy impala were the height of "fin" design. They were beautifully integrated into the design and didn't, at all, look added on as an afterthought.
"Batwing" as in Ford Thunderbird or a Lincoln Futura (the base of the Batmobile)!
I had a ‘59 Biscayne when I was a teenager, and we called it the Batmobile.
... I was born in the US mid-atlantic state of New Jersey in 1951, and I grew up watching The Great American Lead Sleds zooming all over the place. They were simply amazing-- and they all had definite "facial expressions" which we kids delighted in mimicking with our own faces. We used to play a game where one kid would pull a "car face", and the rest of us would try to guess which car it was. And the Guessers were consistently surprisingly accurate. A good example is here at 0:39. That Imperial is popping the same sloe-eyed grin a rich drunk uncle would flash on the holidays. Then computers got hold of the designs, and now everything looks like a watermelon seed with headlights.
Yes! I remember when you could look at a car.... just about ANY car and know right away what year it was. Try doing that today, and you'll be hard pressed to even discern the difference between MANUFACTURERS.
Such a strong point ! Agreed !
Your absolutely right, and I think it is sad ! As a kid in the 50's and 60's, I couldn't wait to see the new models every year. You could sense things getting boring in the 70's and 80's, and from then on styling was replaced with practicality. Now were getting to a point where you won't even have to know how to drive. In many cities, were going back to bicycles and scooters. Maybe someone will put some chrome and fins on those ! What a boring industry automobiles have become.
Don't think my love affair with cars (born '55) would've taken off if not for the obvious styling cues. Still love 'em to this day..even as a girl, I dated "cars" 😃
@@davearnold748 I started losing some interest in about 1969, with GM's elimination of vent panes, the cheaper looking interiors on so many cars, but really lost interest in the mid 80s with almost all models now "downsized" and Front Drive. I don't like front-wheel-drive. But I would love to have a 66 - 67 Toronado or 36 - 37 Cord!
Not to mention there's no cool colors available, when your driving on the highway and you look around, all you see is drab boring black, Grey and silver cars. I miss the 90s when you would see turquoise, barney purple, and everything in between!
I remember these so well, plenty on the road when I was little kid in the late 60s and throughout the 70s. Their eccentric character and many variations were fascinating to me. Every outing was like wandering through a carnival midway. My family were Ford folk and the first car of ours I remember was a 59 Galaxie 500 with a rather determined expression on it's face .
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiii>ii>>i>>>>²>
I realize Billy Todd is a Ford man, but does he really have to repent to The Man, just because he likes Fords?
Right, it looked like a nerd in school with braces on picture day
@@omni201 😂
I'm a car enthusiast and '58 is my favorite year with GM products leading the way. They were 'one offs' and even if they weren't well received at the time, go to any car show today and they, along with the '59 Caddy, will draw the most attention.
I was five years old in 1958, and I could already tell you the make and model of most cars on the road. That's the kind of hold the American automobile industry had on the public imagination in those years. Inconceivable now, but those heaps of chrome held all the beauty and mystery of life!
I saw a 58 Chevy for the 1st time on craigslist in a 2 car package project. One car was really rough but ran and was complete. The other one had a good frame, body and floors already done, a spare NOS quarter panel and extras with no drivetrain. I bought them both for $3200 delivered to my house. Frame off restored the better one in 2018 in my garage, I love the 58 style for some strange reason. I found a '68 396 bbc shortblock unassembled fresh from the machine shop (stored 20 years) and put it together with a 700r4 trans. I found a deep blue "firemist" color online which was a cadillac thing and very heavy on the metallic. "Neptune blue firemist" and artic white 2-tone. 2nd car i ever painted and it was a passion project. I repaired every piece of stainless myself which was tedious but rewarding. Its the stainless and chrome that make the car "shine". I spent more time wetsanding and polishing than actually painting the car. i painted every piece off the car.
Link?
Would love to see the results
Wow. Nice book. Now, stop writing and go work on it some more!
@@mikeconti3537 🔧
@@WhitefolksT that's what he use to work on his car 5 years ago. A tool. Well,before he started writing strangers about it,so 6 years.
Man I've always thought that the 58 Cadillac was one of the best looking cars ever made.
Your thought is correct and you are confirmed sane!
58 Chevrolet Biscayne for me.
Yes sir you are not wrong
Sorry, I will have to vote for the 1959. Especially if it had the flattop. Work of art to me. And literally looked like a land rocket!
@@Dion-rz3fz have you ever had the opportunity to see it nodded into an El Camino equivalent?
I love these designs. They were a product of the time, bold, often ludicrous, and a reaction to the illusion that mankind had transcended the great wars of the previous decades.- They were a manifestation of the zeitgeist. It's impossible to separate these products from their period of conception.
My uncle had a 59 Oldsmobile 88. The amount of chrome on that thing was incredible/ ridiculous.The entire dash, and every knob attached to it, was chrome. I remember him mentioning how that dash could blind him with reflected light while driving at night.
Love that!
And the Olds was not the worst offender at GM The '58 and '59 Pontiac had a heck of a lot of chrome on the dashboard
This video gave a seventy four year old guy a surge of nostalgia. The production and presentation is in my opinion, fantastic! You earned another subscriber as a bonus for your hard work.
I'm 71. My Grandfather had one of those Buicks with the "speed minder". I remember asking him waht was that buzzing sound? And he showed me. My parents told me that I used to call that Buick: "Bapa's Buke".
Did you serve?
@@leoborn4013 No and I have regretted it all my life.
GODBLESS YOU MY GRANDPARENTS GOT A NEW CAR ANOUT EVERY 15 MONTHS SO WE GRANDKIDS DAW A LOT OF DIFFERENT STYLE 😆 🤣 LAYING IN THE BACK WINDOW STANDING UP BEHIND THIER SEATS WHAT A GREAT TIME MISS THOSE DAYS FREEDOM IS WHAT WE HAD!
@Repent and believe in Jesus Christ you.must be tammy
I was a "Keen Teen" in the late 50's and a close observer of the cars of the time. Among my peers, the '57 Chevy was considered the car to have, especially in the ultra-cool Southern California area. The '58 Chevy Impala was also in that category. Either of those two cars entitled you to jealous looks from the multitudes as you cruised a local Oscar's or Jack-in-the-Box drive-ins. My Dad bought a '58 Buick the day after we arrived back in the States in 1958 after a 2 year tour on Guam. That was the car I took the lovely Nancy O. to the THS Senior Prom and then to the Coconut Grove to hear the famed lady of song Gisele MacKenzie entertain. I felt like a king! Two years later when I returned from my own USAF duty station in far-north Japan, my Dad presented me with his commuter car, a very plain '58 Chevy Biscayne. But that unit allowed me to do my USAF duties by day (in Texas) and drive to my night time gig as a radio DJ on the #1 pop music station in town. Life was never better!!
Yes! The 57 Chevy! 283 quarter mile warrior! I spent my teen years in Nevada, where we could literally mark of a quarter mile on the highway with half the town out spectating. Usually it was a 57 chevy that won! The 58s, although they had a larger engine, were too heavy. As one who watched all the chrome monsters come out with disgust, there wasn't much we could do but wait.
Sounds like you made the most of your younger years!
I agree about the '57 and '58. They are still popular at car shows AND expensive to buy.
Ford ruled the roost in 57.
58 Chevy Del Ray 327 cam, 2 4s, the car to have in 1964.
Episode 50? Holy crap! I just found this series, and I'm STOKED to find out there are at least 49 other episodes to binge watch! 👍
I'm 79 yrs old and what I remember most about those oversized chrome plated monsters was their tendency to rust. They would melt like a pop sickle on the sidewalk in July. It was hard to wear one out before it rusted away.
Not if you lived in the South or California. Cars remained rust free for decades
1958: When cars were still considered works of art!
The new Cadillac Celestiq isnt a work of art to you?
@@joecool9739 if it's Cadillac, it's probably gonna be one of many, self-driving money pits. A $300k tacky POS.
@@joecool9739 it's literally a generic blob. I've driven nearly every new car as a valet and they're EXTREMELY boring
@@bldontmatter5319
Bro youre a valet, tf would you know 🤣
@@joecool9739 looks like chevy suburban
Nvm i thought u were talking about suv
Your best video yet! GM may have been caught flat footed with their '58s, but their "rushed" designs for '59 ushered in the design language used by the entire industry in the 1960s. Take a look at the '60 Chevrolet Corvair, with its clean, horizontal lines and lack of unnecessary chrome. It and the wicked cool '61 Lincoln Continental, '63 Buick Riviera and '63 Studebaker Avanti were part of a wave of clean, sharp-edged design that is completely different than where we were headed in '58. By 1965, all cars looked completely different than they had just seven years earlier.
Completely agree. In fact GM's 1964 cars were the last year to have any connections to the '50s at all. The '63 and '64's retained some of the glitter of the '50s, (even if slight) but with the restrained sense and sensibility of the '60s. By '65, not a trace. The '64 and 5 Impalas illustrate this very well. The '61 Lincoln influence was seen strongly not only on the '63 Buick Riv, but also on the '63-'64 Ninety-Eight.
I wanna see what the world would be like if the 59’s designs weren’t rushed.
The Corvair was an engineering and marketing misstep, but a styling triumph. When euro design houses start cribbing the lines of your cheapest Chevy, you’re doing something right.
The guy who designed the Lincoln convertible was fired from Chrysler ,or hired by them and fired by ford......I can't remember.......shit I'm getting old
Nearly all '61 GM cars were beautiful, from the Chevy to the Cadillac. But look at the monstrosity that was the '59 Caddy!
Man those magnificent flying machines and rock and roll . What great time to be alive👍🎸🍁
In 1958 I was 12 years old and beginning to get interested in cars. I instinctively felt that the overly chromed Buicks and Oldsmobiles were ridiculous and helped direct my dreams to clean lined and sleek european sports cars. My tastes have broadened and a half century later I'm still interested.
I think a lot of people just dont realize how much the Forward Look cars shook Detroit to its absolute foundation. It came from nowhere, from the manufacturer you least expect it.
Imagine as if Chrysler launched a car tomorrow that looks absolutely stunning and like nothing on the road today, being a million miles away from their current lineup, being sold at a reasonable, almost cheap pricepoint, while Ford and GM are still playing dress up with their oversized tall hatchbacks
Santiago Rocha ......And try to imagine if those 57(and a couple years afterward) MOPARS were better built then they REALLY would have been game changers!!!!!!!.
@@mikeweizer3149 the drivelines and B engine were better than anything contemporary.
@@randymagnum143 Couldn't agree more. B-block/T-Flite/8,3/4 Most reliable drivetrains in automobile history, till today.
@@bigblockjalopy they did, the minivan
This episode reminded me of the launch of the LH platform, i was a teen and to me, these were modern, sexy cars...they looked beautiful and futuristic....
As the current owner of an original 1958 Buick Century 2 door, I can say that these GMs from 58 are much more loved now than they were when they hit the showroom floors. Great video!
Yes, and I envy your ownership ❤
You really make it sound so dramatic! I kinda like those 58's. As a two-year-old I remember standing in the garage waving bye-bye to my daddy in a silver '58 Cadillac convertible. Those were the days!
What's this guy talking about-🤔
A co-worker colleague of mine who was as much of a car buff that I was, once quipped to me, complaining that all of the new cars from about 30 yrs ago, (1990's) all came out of the "Jellybean School of Car Design"... I had to chuckle and heartily agree.
It's funny you said that. That is the exact term I used when one of my co workers bragged about the new japanese luxury sedan. I said it looked like a jellybean.
That "jellybean" derision was aimed primarily at the 1986 Ford Taurus by competing manufacturers. The'86 Taurus was a groundbreaking car in terms of being aerodynamic yet very American looking, had great features and great handling at a good price. It immediately became a best seller in the USA, and GM and Chrysler had to make THEIR cars look similar to compete.
Let it be known that Audi was the first manufacturer with the truly modern aerodynamic family sedan of the 1980s with the 1983 Audi 100/200/5000. They and Ford, and to a lesser degree SAAB, were WAY ahead of everyone else in making a popular, modern aerodynamic car. I still think one of the coolest cars ever was the 1986 Audi 5000 Turbo quattro sedan. WAY ahead of its time! The 1988 Taurus SHO was also really cool. "Jellybeans" are VERY fast because good aero gives higher top speeds!
@@snowrocketYou should mention Taurus as THE jellybean from other than Ford producers and industry analysts. Mom had a "stylized" 1995 Taurus wagon to replace her beloved 1969 LTD Country Squire which was more of a "BRICK".
@@snowrocket The Oldsmobile Aurora was the best looking of the jellybean school of design.
@@MarinCipollina Everybody has an opinion on that one, Connor. I don't know if I think it's the best, but I'd give it at least top five. Third generation Taurus and second gen Intrepid are very strong contenders for me. I STILL think the second gen Chrysler LH cars (Intrepid/300, etc.) are way more modern looking than the retro RWD Charger/300 that replaced them. Of course retro is by design NOT entirely modern looking.
The '58s were overall some of the best looking cars they ever built...it's not GM's fault there was a recession that year.
The 1958 Impala is a gem.
@@tron77x79 Yeah, I thought '58 was a good year for Chevy. The '58 Ford Fairlane coup was pretty good looking, too. But '59, Naww, Our neighborhood still had people riding horses and they were fun to see.
I agree. Those '58 GM's were gorgeous.
@@tron77x79 The Bonneville was my favorite
They were butt ugly.
58 was not a mistake. There was a world wide recession and today most of my favorite classics are 58 models.
How anybody could think that the rather ugly 58 Chevy was beautiful is beyond me. It was a big let down from 1957 IMHO.
Almost everything from 55 to 60 GM was good.
But Chrysler did put out some Bad*ss cars.
Ford, not so much.
Owned a brand new 1959 Chevy Bel Air. It was gorgeous and had it for years. Loved that car and its way out fins
I was 5 yrs old in ‘59 and becoming all boy. I remember these cars and absolutely loved them. My dad had a used 1955 Pontiac Star Chief but in 1960 he went with Plymouth Valiant. We lived in South Jersey, in the summer, highways were an endless parade of these vehicles. Boy oh boy how I loved riding around with dad and looking at all the fantastic cars especially on Friday evenings going to McDonald’s where you could see tail lights on. My favorite was the Cadillac with the huge wings and the Impala with equally impressive wings. Man I miss those old styles…
What impresses me about these cars is how well crafted they look, real quality. When compared to today's autos, where one make of car so often looks like another make of car, it's great to see true imagination at work.
there's only one American made automobile that has weaved it's way through the design history of the U.S. auto industry and that is the Chevrolet Corvette. (i'm not a Chevy guy)
@@d.s7741 Corvette has had inspiring designs from the first
BUT,…anyone else feel that Government Intervention in the design of cars in the late 60s, almost did away with the element of design and replaced it with Government Mandated ‘safety’ add-ons making them more bland than Cream of Wheat?
@@drwooly I know just what you mean
Really I am driving a 15 year old car that has never had a major mechanical issue, The old cars were junk by year 10, Rusted hulks.
I like all the GM designs of 58. The 59 models though were the best. Actually all 59 models from the big 3 were outstanding. You could tell they were all trying hard to outdo each other. I owned a 59 El Camino in my younger days so I've always been partial to GM but I really can't imagine what it would have been like to walk through all the dealership showrooms in 59. Beautiful cars!!!
As a 14 -16 year old car-nut kid in the late 1960's me and my buddy used to sneak into the lots before they "released" the new models to see what they looked like. Long time ago!
I think we all owe a big thank you to not only the genius designers at GM, but also to Chrysler for the pressure their designs put on GM. Competition breeds innovation.
58 was my favorite year for styling. This narrator is nuts.
Yeah, I know GM’s chrome cars are supposed to be mistakes but I love them. The more chrome the better.
I Agree lots of real old style chromed steal on a vehicle makes them look sweet, esp. big, heavy, chromed steel bumpers, front and rear. But some of the "chrome" trim was sweet also, made of real polished stainless steel, not dipped plastic... which is great in my book too. I hate the cheap plastic garbage vehicles they have been making since the late 70s /80s. P.S. the old mistakes are still 200% better than the designed ones of today.
If GM From the 50s could just hear all of us talking about the awesome cars they built back then.. Ford I think was the 1s who fell behind after the 54 production.
Just my opinion...
@@tommyjay4723 my father had been a Ford man, and when he got out of the Marines in 1957 he bought a new 57 Ford. He liked the 57 Chevy better as he sqwaked the tires in all 3 gears lol. Buy he went with the ford as it was 200 bucks cheaper lol. Anyway he got a lemon. Was a piece of crap from what I hear. By the time I was born 1969, we had a 65 Chevy Caprice. 327 dual exhaust, quadrajet. Was a beautiful car that could really move. In 77 they got a 77 Malibu. Ok car, but in my opinion those mid 70s Chevy's were the ugliest cars ever made.
@@theboyisnotright6312 probably because ford means fucker only rolls downhill
I love my chrome pipes underneath my bathroom aink
The '58 Impala is one of the most beautiful pieces of machinery ever assembled.
It absolutely is. Even the interior is the most beautiful and lavish Chevrolet ever did. I've got one guy here telling me I'm wrong that the '58 Impala had fins apparently because Ed here said they didn't. Ed's wrong, and does make the occasional mistake in his videos. No, the '58 fins were not the 'sharp edged' fins of the '57, '59 and '60, but instead were gentler, rolled fins instead. Truthfully you'd have to blind not to see that, but oh well.
@@robmcgowan4034 I had a friend with a '58 Impala in college. And I have to say, in terms of design, her car outclassed my '63 Catalina. But only slightly.
@@eriksmith6873 The '58 Impala had all the bells and whistles that (of course) were long gone by 1963, when the '61 Lincoln's sense, sensibility and simplicity was the standard for the new decade. The '63 Bonneville and Catalina were 2 of the best looking full-sized Pontiacs ever. Somehow in '58, even though they were basically the same car as the Impala, the '58 Pontiac just didn't have the commanding magic of the Impala. Part of it was the 'Sculpturamic' rolled-style fins the Chevy had, along with the stunning use of chrome. Wouldn't you agree that the '58 Impala did have fins, even though they weren't like those before or after it? Those fins ushered in the look of Chevrolet's horizontal fins that would peak in '59, be reduced on the '60, ushered out on the '61, and gone completely by '62.
All that chrome without being gaudy. '59 made the Impala look fast with all the chrome trim, while the Bel Air and Biscayne looked boring without it.
Last week I was at a truck stop in Tennessee, and just before I went to bed, three pickups with car trailers rolled in. They were all classics, but the last one was a ' 55 or '56 with the '59 Impala rocket trim. It looked like it belonged on it.
I don't get it. Agree to disagree, I guess.
I love the 59 Buick's 2 DHT design. And i love either the bad evil front lights and the jet tails. From the same year, GM used a lot of components suitable on Olds super88- Impala's - Buick- and of course the 59 Caddy coupe de Ville.
Your post is inspiring me to get my butt working on restoring the 59 Buick Invicta 2 door hardtop that has been sitting in my driveway like an immobile hulking monument to the 50s for about twenty years now. She wants to fly again.
I was only 10 when the '58's came out. Since my brother's new '57 Chevy Bel Air was so cool, I couldn't wait to ride my Schwinn bike down to the local Chevy dealer and see what they'd come up with for '58. I rode up to the showroom window, filled with anticipation. And there it sat. A bright yellow convertible with a strange new name... "Impala." As I stood there straddling my bike, my stomach began to churn. I was never so disappointed in my life.
My parents had a ‘59 Cadillac. But it was in the early 70’s. Not such a great car then (we weren’t poor, but nowhere near rich). It was Peak oil years, and besides it wasn’t so cool to be driving a 15 year old ‘car’… packed with your 4 brothers. Though looking back… it was a cool car! Thanks for the video.
`59 Cadillac was a great looker and great for a highway cruise but parking and maneuvering in close quarter ... yikes!
59 Cadillac Miller Meteor...Ghostbusters' Ecto1!!!!
I'm an old guy, so I sure remember how exciting were the auto dedign changes during the 1950's. These days, it's all gone. Cars always look more or less the same for the last 20 or 30 years. Why would I want a new car? I'm still drivin' the same ol' Ford van (or is it a Dodge van?) for the last ten years.
@@paulthomas963 Fashion at least, has got caught in a loop and all the teens around here are trying their best to mash together hairstyles and clothes of the 90s and early 2000s. It's hideous. Mullets and shapeless dull clothes
My first car was a 1958 Olds 88, 371 engine. You flipped over the driver side tailfin to put gas in it. I loved it.
I'm only 35 and I absolutely love this era of cars.
It seems that only now in the last 7 years or so have we seen cars finally go back to this extreme styling - just of a different age.
When you let the artists express themselves, you reflect the society of the times - wealth, exuberance, imagination - all at the whims of the daily driver.
Ah, what an age.
I was there. Born in 55. Every September when the new cars came out helped going back to school a little easier.
Bewitched used to introduce the new Chevrolets on the season premiere from 66 through 69. Then they drove Pontiacs in 70.
I don't really understand your comment about the past seven years. I cant even tell what model vehicles are anymore! I actually have to get close and read the decal to know what it is because they all look so generic. And all these ugly SUVs just look like you mated an ugly car with an ugly truck! I wish they would go back to having some body styling.
@@Dion-rz3fz if you can't tell the difference between a modern Camry and a Ford Taurus, you night want to get your eyes looked at, bruh.
@@Nurhaal I just looked up both those garbage looking cars to compare. Yes, of course their are a few differences, but they still have basically the same shape. Which is really my point. From a distance most of these vehicles now a days look the same. Butt ugly! Not sure how you can watch a video about cars from way back when they really had some style, and then try to tell me these ugly ducklings you mentioned have any aesthetic quality at all!
@@Dion-rz3fz bro... just uh... no. A car is going to look like a car from the distance man. Especially sedans and coups. Are you purposely being facetious?
In the book "Engines of Change" it describes the GM designers going by the Chrysler test track and seeing the fins sticking out above the grass around the track. And their shock. Great book for anyone that loves cars.
Lol. I used to have a 58 Oldsmobile. It was a tank . I towed tow trucks with it. Great car.
Great comments. Thanks for sharing.
While some models over the top, the majority were works of art! Classy, elegant and unique, most were absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
I am the second owner of a coral pink 1958 Buick Limited. Seventeen different pieces of chrome just in the bumper. Ten-body trunk. Love it.
I've always loved the '58 Impala. Not only because of its uniqueness, but also because of its elegance.
🦌 🚗 😊
When I was in the 8th grade (1964), Fisher Body had a competition for teenagers to design and build a specified sized scale model of one's own vision. They even sent the rubber tires at no charge. I built a sapphire blue painted basswood Olds Torando looking design (they had not been introduced yet so it was mere coincidence) . I thought that was pretty cool that they gave young people a chance to design a car and have it judged. Seems like first place may have been a college scholarship?
Gorgeous , outrageous, awesome. Gone are days when you could tell the difference between automobile manufacturers model years and the specific manufacturer & model.
Chromeotherapy indeed!
Ahh, 1958, the best year!!! (I was born in 58). Ed, you really captured the chrome excess of GM cars!! The space race was in full bloom & the idea of more is better was running rampant!!! Thanks for sharing this fun video!!! 👍👍🙂
I was born in mid-'57 (when the re-done '59s were nearing completion) but really love the '58 Impala---a lot. Criticized here, I really love the '58 Oldsmobile too. The Pontiac and Buick not so much. Caddy fell somewhere in between. These preferences (and passes) were the same on the '57s. On the '59's, it was Chevy, Buick, Pontiac then Cadillac. The Oldsmobile was 'okay'. Interesting to see some of the design proposals. I think it worker out the way it was supposed to. The '58 was such a beautifully sculptured design, I don't see how it could have been successfully face lifted, at all.
I have my parents 1958 cadillac they bought in 1960 from a doctor friend of theirs. I was just 1 year old..lifelong Southern California car, in good shape, on the road. Mom knew I always wanted it, and signed it over to me in 1982. Palm Springs car so of course it has factory AC, power windows, and wonderbar radio. People frequently come up to me around town to ask about it. And it gets pretty good attention at the car shows. Since I literally grew up with this car, I never considered the styling to be anything but normal. Now, im 63, and she's 64 so were growing old together! Lol.
@Hello John how are you doing?
Great video.... enjoyed it very much. I was at a seminar back in the early 90's when the designers of that era GM cars, talked about styling the 59 cars. I videoed it, with their permission. Of course back then it was VHS and the video quality has diminished on the tape over the decades, but I did record the video playing with my GoPro on my TV from a VHS player I own that still works. I uploaded it to my channel, but it's kinda fuzzy with poor sound, due to the VHS tape being so old. By the way, I own a 59 Chevy.....
Outstanding video. Especially enjoyed the Iconic 1950's film footage. Thank you very much for taking the time and effort to compile such an enjoyable viewing experience. I look forward to and welcome your other video's.
Gotta love the ' 58 Buick has a chrome grill weighing about 6 tons held on with 50 1/2 inch diameter bolts. Ahhh, childhood memories.
@Hello John how are you doing?
I was born in 1954, and glad to remember all of these.
The Chrysler imperial in 1959, we had a clergyman who bought one of these as a classic in 1975. He was so so proud of his black 59 imperial. I was a funeral home owner, a whenever we had a funeral cortège, with this pastor, he’d ask to lead the funeral through town to the cemetery gates. He’d “eat it up” with his proud Chrysler imperial.
And I was glad he enjoyed it.
We had a '59 Chevy, the tailfins were enormous, and mostly horizontal. but for all of the bumpers & tailfins, I saw one used for a crash test comparison with a modern car, and I'm very glad to have had no accidents in the '59.
It doesn't surprise me that you found the video.
It seems to me, that with the advent of hybrid and electric engines and LED lights there is a spark of creativity in car design that has been missing for decades. Concept cars often look really cool, but don't seem to translate to real models.
Thank you for the video. This is fascinating history!
"Concept cars often look really cool, but don't seem to translate to real models." Very true. Best example - Pontiac Aztek.
The 58s and 59s were works art. Fabulous.
As an owner of a ‘57 Chevy, it’s very nice to see why and how they made certain decisions to the cars that came next. And why Chuck chuckled…
Great stuff again Edward. Enjoy your time in the States.
My dad had a '59 Chevy Impala in blue/white. Beautiful car! :)
My buddy just had a 58 Buick Centry convert restored. Absolutely incredible over the top chromemoblie. It's so killer.
There is nothing "wrong" with any of them, stunning, I have a '68 Plymouth Roadrunner here in the UK for 38 years so this stuff is wonderful in comparison, went for a run out yesterday and the owner of the US Diner had a fully restored Olds eighty eight on show.
It was the SPACE ERA ! What did you expect ? Most of the cars were beautiful. Buick over did the chrome on their top model. The chrome and the fins were what they were pushing. I was 13, so I loved them all ! Every mfg. had their good year !
You're right, that Olds looks like a main battle tank, and its glorious.
My 1st car was a '49 Chevy... Followed by a '56 Chevy and a '51 Chevy pickup. The supercar era starting in '65 with Mustang and Camaro led into the fastbacks and more aerodynamics. Now, we've gone from Chrome to No Chrome. With collapsible bodies and plastic the predominate material for front and rear ends...
@Hello John how are you doing?
@@lydianderson0241 I'm fine thanks. How are you?
@@johnw65 I’m good and thanks for asking? Were are you from
I really enjoy your videos. Great wit and opinions in well-produced episodes. Great job!
Amen to that! And better English than some of the native Americans...😁
I'm a GM man.And I love what you have done here.Pat yourself on the back my friend you deserve it.
I'm loving this!! As a child I used to watch It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, and I couldn't take my eyes off those big beautiful card that seemingly flooded every scene in that classic road trip loony caper. Now I see what inspired them all. Brilliant!
THANK YOU for this fantastic vid! We were always a Chevy family because my father worked at the Chevy plant in N. St. Louis in the 1950's until they closed it and built a new one in Wentzville and the Corvettes went to Kentucky. Love the tri-five!. We had a 1957 Bel Air. Loved it even then, and I was only 6 at the time.
I always find 50’s cars very interesting. Sure some might look ridiculous but I think in their own way they have a great style. The preservation on these things that I see today is amazing and definitely feels like a relic of a past era.
I agree, they look a heck of a lot better than they garbage they've dished up to us when the big 3 started to collude with each other in around 1974
Very well researched and presented in a truly great way! Thanks Ed - ik waardeer je video's enorm!
Beautiful Iconic style of American car history... Wow !
some serious research went under this episode. Good work. All of your narrative lined up against your findings, and it make for an excellent streamlined story.
I thought the 58 GM cars looked great! Especially the 58 Chevrolet. We had a 58 Oldsmobile and really liked it. I don't think the 58 GM cars were ugly at all - but I can see how GM feared Chrysler corp was ahead pf them in styling. Still, I am glad this situation happened - leading to the redesign of the 59 models. This way there are even more cool 50s American cars with different body styles! Really, what was so awesome about this time period was the significant yearly redesigns. 57-58-59 were the most changes seen in a short period of time - but how cool for the rest of us to have seen all these changes and choices! Then in 1961 - again, totally different body styles! Imagine how old a 1954 model looked in 1961 at 7 years old. Or even a 1957 model in 1961 when it was only 4 years old! Think of how much less change there is, especially today. You have to go back to practically 1987 now for a car to look old. And it doesn't matter what company makes a car today - they all look the same. Very little creativity or interesting styling in today's cars.
As a young designer at GM, I was working on the 59 Pontiac design, when Jordan got a bunch of the studio designers to see these brand new ‘57 model Plymouths, Dodges, Desotos and Chryslers just rolling off the assembly line. He wanted to see if we were as shocked as he was by what he had seen earlier that day on his way into work. Well, we were. Jordan went back and convinced his boss Bill Mitchel to immediately start reworking all our ‘59 design programs. Mitchel took quite a brave risk to do this without first approval by Harley Earl. Earl ultimately agreed with the changes we all came up with.
Very interesting! I see a similar situation currently. We also live in an era of bulgemobiles, or more bulk-mobiles. The actual cars can't be more bulky huge offroad truck-like enough. Look also to the rear ends of Cadillac Lyriq and Celestiq. Those overstyled themes are back. We urgently need a new 1961!
It's not the bulge so much as the designs now have almost no coherence to them. It's like a 6 year old kid scribbled some lines on a piece of paper and threw a bunch of awful gawdy crome and big ugly lights on it. Futhermore it's not just American companies doing it. It's practically all of them except for maybe VW/Audi who still have a nice elegant flow on their designs.
I would argue that not only are the current vehicles extremely ugly, but they all look al.lst the same. It's really tough for me to see a difference between a Chevy, Hyundai, and a BMW. If it weren't for the badges it would be tough. I think the companies are even sharing parts. I was at a dealer a couple of years back and the interior of a Toyota was quite similar to the same SUV thing as a Lincoln.
You know the gigantic emblems they put on the front of cars are so hideous that it's laughably bad. We had no reason to laugh at the cars of yesteryear when many of today's designs are genuinely ugly and non-functional.
@@joegrazulis2810 If you took the emblems off a BMW, Honda, Hyundai, and Audi 3 seat SUV's and put them next to each other, even their owners couldn't tell them apart.
@@joegrazulis2810 Have you seen the BMWs recently? They are hideous!
I was born in 58 and as a youngster, Dad had a used 57 Pontiac Star Chief. In 63 he went back to Ford. The only 59 I like is the Buick and the 60 more so. I love seeing design concepts, what their ideas were.
@Hello Dam how are you doing?
@@lydianderson0241 Are you on Instagram or TikTok?
Beautiful, comfortable and creative design .. I remember riding some models...they were extremely comfortable...like riding a plume
Ed surely studied a lot about that classic era of automobile and I share with him the good taste of what was back then the best cars in the world, each time I see one wandering around or in the streets I stop and admire what was american cars at their peak
Those were some of the coolest cars and people still LOVE these cars...
I had a 1957 Chevy 2 door Hardtop with the Power Pack 283 4 barrel. What an awesome car that was, Also loved th3 1963 Chevy impala 2 door hardtop Super Sport.
Excellent mini-documentary that supports my own conclusions about period GM design and Harley Earl's role. I believe the proposed 1959 Buick is mis-identified as a Cadillac and the Buick clay is actually the original Oldsmobile proposal for 1959. I have photos of the original 1959 Cadillac and Pontiac designs as well. These are very hard to find on the internet.
You truly know your cars. I've watched your videos and have been impressed by your knowledge and your research. But in this video, you topped yourself on your research. When you mentioned the National Lampoon article about the "58 Bulgemobile, I was blown away. I read that issue when it first came out. Someone of your age who could find an obscure early '70s magazine and put it in your presentation, well it just shows your supreme dedication and research ability!!! Well done!!
Very nicely said....
There was also a later book collecting Bruce McCall's work where that artwork appeared.
Well today google kinda does all the work for you.
He made it sound like that Nat'l Lampoon was from the '50s. I knew it wasn't as my older brother would buy it in the early '70s.
I truly loved their article in late '50s model car building. Still have it!
@@UberLummox ......Well look at what they did to the Griswolds queen family truckster (aka a Ford Country squire).
The Bulgemobile thumbnail was why I watched .
Aunt had the Oldsmobile Station Wagon Green & Chrome 1958 PUSH Button Everything- Big Wide- ONLY Five Cars made- Dealer said was a prototype test production run of 5 Units- this Specific Type by Oldsmobile and they had it for many years- it was cool- it was different Way different... Quite nearly a One of a Kind-Never saw another one like...
Godamn, your videos are just getting better and better. Great stuff.
I'm probably twice your age, was never really into American cars to begin with, but after slowly getting hooked by your storytelling and unique voice, I surrendered.. Very good work, my good man! :D
I loved the 50's cars. As a kid growing up, one of the most exciting times of the year was September when the new car models were to be revealed. The new models were kept secret as much as possible until announcement day and I can remember checking out the car dealers in town, trying to see if I could spot one of the next year's new models on the lot somewhere. It was so exciting to finally spot a new Buick or Pontiac or Chevy or Ford or whatever tucked away in the back of a lot somewhere (and hidden as much as possible from public view until announcement day) and see how much (or in some cases how little) they had changed from the previous year. One of the best years for change across all the makers was 1955. Our local dealer had a new 55 Chevy in the showroom with the showroom windows covered with paper to keep it hidden until announcement day. I was awe struck when I finally saw it and the 55' Chevy is still an all time classic today.
I loved em all during the 50's...the Ford, Chrysler, GM, Packard and Studebaker products. Packard of course was gone by 1958 but of the lines that remained, I thought that 1958 was one of the best, style wise, especially Chrysler and GM (the 1958 Ford, not so much). I liked the Merc that year as well. The 1958 Pontiacs, Cadillacs and Chevys were outstanding, some of the best looking cars of the 50's or of any era for that matter in my opinion. I agree that 1958 was not a great year for Oldsmobiles. I thought their styling that year had misfired. Buick was fine but not great for 58. My dad had a 58 Buick Limited and even though it was a behemoth, it was stunning to look at, ride in and drive. There is none of that kind of excitement in the cars of today in my opinion. The cars all look like each other and you can't tell the difference in them from one model year until the next.