Long and sleek! In the 1950s, Elvis was everyone's hero, so whatever car he drove became the car of the day. And Elvis liked how shiny new tail fins made him look. His fans liked them, too, so he made more than thirty models that stopped people in their tracks during the 1950s. Back then, no one cared if cars used a lot of gas, if the paint would last, or if the shiny chrome on the back of the car begged to have dents put in it within the first few weeks.
Elvis wasn't the only thing that made cars cool in the 1950s. Even if you were just a regular worker, you had prestige and glitz. When riding in these elegant cars, the feeling of luxury seeped into one's mind and heart, and romance grew with respect.
When it came out in 1950, the Chrysler Town & Country Newport coupe didn't have fins (they started creeping into the design around 1952). Still, it wasn't like most cars from the 1940s. Compared to the styles of today, the Newport was almost a dinosaur. It had a distinctive wood frame on the outside, which people called a "Woodie," and it was very popular with hunters and sportsmen.
Pontiac's mascot was an Indian Chief whose face was at the bottom of the front hood. He didn't smile. Chrome streaks slid back over the hood and were picked up again on the trunk to make his headdress. Sleek looking! Everyone wanted a car with character, and the Indian Chief gave the Pontiac one.
Because the cars of the early 1950s looked a bit dowdy but had the potential to be shiny and glamorous, car designers got more and more creative. By 1957 and 1958, the designers were making responses that were way too big. The sharp, clean fins went in every direction. They had chrome stripes, and a body was grafted into the middle of them. Yellows that pop! Reds with fire! The blues! And convertibles were in, even if the top was never lowered. This was true no matter where you lived.
Because there was so much competition between car companies, each model went out of business quickly. Planned obsolescence meant that customers had to decide every year whether to buy a new car or become social outcasts. Because it costs a lot to redesign all models every year, car companies started keeping the cars' insides pretty much the same and only changed how they looked.
Some models, like the 1958 Oldsmobile, were starting to be called "ugly" by 1958. Some people even said it looked like a brick on which a hardtop was placed. But the dents in the chrome on the doors still made people look twice.
All systems break down from the inside out. The era of flashy cars was over, and it made sense that what came next in the 1960s would be based on performance, care for the environment, and simple designs. In the 1960s, people didn't care about how someone looked on the outside more than what was on the inside. This was how she felt about both people and cars. Still, who can forget Elvis? Or the flashy cars of the 1950s?
