The Concours of America : Cadillac Tail Fin Design

By: Dan Vaughan

One of the impressive group of cars assembled at the Concours of America at the Inn at St. John's was titled 'Rise and Fall of the Cadillac Fin.' This arrangement of Cadillacs sat side-by-side in numerical order from 1949 to 1965. This allowed show-goers the opportunity to study the evolution and progression of the provocative tail fin design during its two decade lifespan.

In September of 1939, GM Design Chief, Harley Earl and the Cadillac design team visited the nearby Selfridge Field to study the new aerodynamically advanced Lockheed P-38. A number of design studies and 3/8-scale models, known as the 'Interceptor' series, soon followed. A full-scale version was halted by America's involvement in World War II. After the war, the development continued and for 1948, Cadillac introduced the new Series 61 and 62 with a modern design with pronounced tailfins, reminiscent of the twin tails of the P-38.

A redesign followed in 1950, with lower and sleeker contours, sweeping front fenders, long rear decks, and a broken rear fender line. There were round parking lights, long tailfin rear fenders with imitation chrome air slots, and a one-piece windshield.

The economic expansion of the early 1950s, and a seemingly insatiable demand for all products, spawned some of the most exciting eras of automotive excess the world had ever seen. GM played their part with their traveling Motorama, which was a no-holds-barred display of technology and stunning styling.

With the Jet age flourishing by 1955, Cadillac went a step further by introducing the razor-edged rear stabilizers for its new Eldorado Special Convertible.

This motif spread by 1957 to encompass the entire Cadillac lineup from the base Series 62 models through the hand-built Eldorado Brougham. The most radical, daring, and outrageous fins ever to grace any production automobile appeared in 1959.

The top of the fins soared nearly to the roof height, and had rocket-shaped tail lamps, chrome, and a V-shaped trailing edge.

The following year, the pendulum began to swing in the opposite direction, as designers lowered the fins and raised the rear fenders underlying them. The rocket lamps were replaced with more elegant red lenses in the fins' trailing edges and lower lamps were placed in the leaner rear bumpers.

The space age styling of the 1950s gave way to the 'skeg' (a nautical term in reference to the tapering or projecting stern section of a vessel's keel) styling of the 1960s.

This tail fin design would be applied to the entire Cadillac lineup for 1961 and 1962. Over the years that followed, the tail fin height would continue to decline, the tail lamp housings were revised, trim changes made, and various bumper designs implemented. After 1964, only small remnants of the tail fin remained.

The well curated Tail Fin display at the Concours of America was memorable and educational, providing a rare opportunity to examine the various design expressions implemented on the Cadillacs over two exciting decades of automobile production. We are sure everyone in attendance got the point.