A sleek but somewhat homely concept car, which was totally ignored in the rush (beginning in 1947) to make ever taller tailfins.
2 comments:
Anonymous
said...
This is a gross misrepresentation of the actual events that led up to the 1948 Cadillac, which this car, the Cadillac C.O., was the forerunner to. The actual reason for the scrapping of this concept was A) The introduction of jet fighter craft, which cancelled out the monocoque shape derived from propeller craft, B) The influence of Italianate and European design themes, along with Studebaker, which were lighter and had flatter surfaces, and C) The personal aesthetic preferences of Harley Earl, GM chief designer at the time. The tailfins did debut on the 1948 Cadillac, but they were moderate. Fins didn't get blown up until 1955, and that was a Chrysler thing.
In 1941, car designers were apparently invited to view the new Lockheed P-38 which Harley Earl fell in love with- leading to the radical for the time 1948 fins (actually just bumps- you're right). The jet fighter influence came in 1951 with the Le Sabre showcar- named after the F-86 jet fighter.
2 comments:
This is a gross misrepresentation of the actual events that led up to the 1948 Cadillac, which this car, the Cadillac C.O., was the forerunner to. The actual reason for the scrapping of this concept was A) The introduction of jet fighter craft, which cancelled out the monocoque shape derived from propeller craft, B) The influence of Italianate and European design themes, along with Studebaker, which were lighter and had flatter surfaces, and C) The personal aesthetic preferences of Harley Earl, GM chief designer at the time. The tailfins did debut on the 1948 Cadillac, but they were moderate. Fins didn't get blown up until 1955, and that was a Chrysler thing.
In 1941, car designers were apparently invited to view the new Lockheed P-38 which Harley Earl fell in love with- leading to the radical for the time 1948 fins (actually just bumps- you're right). The jet fighter influence came in 1951 with the Le Sabre showcar- named after the F-86 jet fighter.
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