Cadillac presents elaborate rear fins, vast windows, plenty of chrome, and numerous
i lights. The engineers have contributed new V-8 engines with 325 and 345 horsepower.
V--(
03
t r . - ' .- " T
i: -: . Tart mi im . r. . I
De Soto has undergone a decided styling change; most noticeable: the sculptured two
tone roof. Three series are available this year, Firesweep, Firedome, and Fireflite.
4&- W
t.:i Lincoln has made little change in its "an-
..l ii J--; Ti re ,
guiar design, ii oners umi construction.
Oldsmobile combines a box and "X" construc
tion and smoother, more economical engine.
' tic iini t il - J.- gMM
PV T-.
Mercury's redesigning has reduced the transmission hump in the front compartment and
added four inches to the length. It also boasts the largest windshield now available.
Dodge this
year is distin
guished by its
deeply fluted
fenders in
front. Manu
facturer claims new
engine will
save owner 80
cents on each
tank of fuel.
t"- .
.! TiVv-X. .1-- ..:k'. SV'.-Uf U..V' .'.
by Donald MacDonald
For the last two months auto-laden
"haulaway" trucks have rum
bled out of Detroit around the
clock, supplying the nation's 40,000
dealers with 1959-model cars to dem
onstrate and (hopefully) sell during
the announcement weeks just past.
The stakes are great dollar-wise, al
most beyond comprehension and the
industry is worried. Here's why.
With but few exceptions, the longer,
lower, wider new cars represent for
each maker a record investment in
styling change. But what is your re
action as you see them appear, one by
one, on the streets of your city? Are
After a disappointing year in 1958, Detroit is banking heavily on its new
models, which offer many surprises in beauty, comfort, and economy.
they too long to park? Are they too
low to get into? Are they too wide for
your garage?
If you answer "yes" to these ques
tions, it's about three years too late
for constructive criticism. Paper de
sign work on the cars you see now
was finalized in the Fall of 1955. By
mid-1957 multimillion-dollar tooling
was ordered, which meant the point-of-no-return
for the manufacturer.
The new crop, in other words, is based
on what you seemed to like then.
The market-research people pretty
accurately predicted a growing cus
tomer distaste for excess chrome. All
1959 cars use it sparingly and with
refreshing good taste to highlight
sculptured body contours as typified
by the new Buick. More importantly,
the designs are worked out so that
chrome is placed for maximum parking-lot
protection. One auto-company
chief, referring with good humor to
his relatively disastrous 1957-58 sell
ing seasons, remarked: "Chromed
portholes don't help a sinking ship."
Vintage 1955 market research, how
ever, may have missed by a usable
year the current public clamor for so
called "compact" automobiles. Even
now it is hard to determine whether
people really want smaller cars or just
want today's car to stop growing.
In any case, the biggest sellers took
on noticeable girth for 1959. Except
for Cadillac, General Motors' makes
average a five-inch increase in length.
All of them are wider than in 1958,
particularly Chevrolet and Pontiac,
but seating space benefits. Somehow
roofs have been lowered again without
sacrificing appreciable headroom. Ford
Motor Company products have fol
lowed a similar pattern; Chrysler
Corp. has held the dimensional fort
intact, neither growing nor shrinking.
"I know this is contrary to what
some people are advocating," Buick
head E. T. Ragsdale explains, "but as
long as men take pride in their pos
sessions, there will always be people
who will vant bigger and more
luxurious cars."
Fnmilw Weekly. November IB, 195S
9