The Ten Most Beautiful cars of the 1950s

Just about every year of 50's Cadillacs (Coupes or convertibles, of course).
55 - 56 Fairlane Vicky
58 Buick
59 Buick
Etc
Etc
It was an awesome decade of style and excess - Harley Earl hit his zenith - even Nash created some gems, and who can forget Virgil Exner's creations?
It set us up for the 60's and into the 70's, then the designers lost their way ................
Hang on, we're celebrating the 50's.
Thanks for all the chrome.

 

I'm really looking forward to the '60's thread.

 

Any Corvette in the 50's!!

 

For me its the 56 Cadillac and the 57 Chev-both of wich I have. That Harley Earl guy was a genius!

 

1957 fairlane
1958 plymouths
1952 chevys
1956 fairlanes
58 impala
59 impala
54 chevy
52 plymoth

 

I'm going to my Opthomologist tomorrow as I didn't see the 55-57 T-Bird; especially the 57 high on anyone's list.
What's wrong with me?
Bruce

 

Anything by Virgil Exner! Harley Earl was the man too.
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Lots of love here. That is a true work of finned art! Everything in '57 was pretty. That's a tough list to narrow for sure. I'll take anything from that era. Especially a '58 Edsel Ranger Hardtop (that's alittle bit of my dark side showing) and yes a two door hartop '57 Ford. The color is more important, Black is the only way to fly.

Tim

 

As a teenager I worked at a men's clothing store.....A store owner in the same mall owned a Continental.......Was black with gray interior(IIRC)....

I remember reading the build description..........extreme attention to detail, finest materials, and 10 coats of paint(IIRC)........Very elegant car, but the original Continental was a beautiful and elegant car too......

 

I'm with you Jeff,,I love the '57 Fords. HRP

 

......

 

Hmmm.. in no particular order...

1953 Studebaker Starliner coupe
1957-58 Eldorado Brougham
1956 Lincoln 2 door (Premiere or Capri)
1958 Pontiac Bonneville
1959 Ford
1954 Buick Skylark
1953 Cadillac Eldorado
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air
1956 Continental Mark 2
1956 Packard

 

Harley was amazing, this is true! But at the same time I think Virgil Exner was just as much of a design genius but doesn't get as much credit. Ford didn't have the huge design budgets of GM and Mopar, which might be why a lot of their designs were cleaner and simpler than the other two, which is part of their appeal for me. Gotta love the dog dish cars, less is sometimes more for sure.

 

Oh,

And since this is the HAMB I figured we're talking stuff that's within the grasp of the board. But.. in case I could swing a little outside the realm of topic... Here's my modified list:

1956 Lincoln 2 door
1953 Studebaker Starliner
1953 Jaguar C-Type
1957-58 Eldorado Brougham
1956 Continental Mark 2
1956 Citroen DS
1954 Porsche 356 Speedster
1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa
1957 Jaguar XK-SS
1956 BMW 507

And if I could pick 2 cars on that list it would have to be the '56 Lincoln and the '57 Ferrari.

No car guy on the planet who has ever seen a 250 Testa Rossa in person hasn't gone a bit weak in the knees. It's just perfect.

 

As not being a fan of the finned cars, I love your list. Especially leaving off the '57 Chevy, that took balls, but I've never liked that car.

 

Great fun to think about and, seeing the added lists it is clear to me that it would need to be more like the top 25 of the 50's to start to cover most of the best. At least I can still remember when they were new and how much fun it was to read about them or even see one on the road.

Thanks

 

Pretty good list... Although I would say:

1.) 1957 Eldorado Biarritz
2.) 1957 Chrysler 300C
3.) 1959 Coupe De Ville
4.) 1953 Eldorado
5.) 1953 Ferrari 250
6.) 1953 Nash Healey
7.) 1958 Eldorado Brougham
8.) 1956 Chrysler 300B
9.) 1951 Hudson Hornet
10.) 1957 Plymouth Fury

It's pretty much in order... although I might shuffle around the later ones a little.

 

Wasn't it the 1957 Chrysler with the legendary 392 hemi that had everyone scrabbling to catch up and why are they not on the list? The comments about some of GM's cobbled together '58 catchup wannabes are myriad....

 

Having had the exquisite pleasure of sitting in one of these I concur wholeheartedly....

 

And then there's the engine....

 

I guess we are talking about cars from the USA as they came off the showroom floor & not as improved by us over the years. I cant figure how you could miss out:

The 53 Stude Coupe (pure beauty)
The 59 Coupe De Ville (pure excess)
The 57 Coupe De Ville (twice the car a 57 Chev will ever be)
The 57 Ford Sunliner
The 57 Corvette (I know everyone hates Vettes, but they do have great lines - and wonky owners)

 

Weasel beat me to it, but any 56 or 57 Mopar. I'd love to have a '57 New Yorker as a 300 is light years out of my budget.

 

I was one of those dork kids that always wanted a '57. Now that I have one I love how much it pisses off all the traditional guys. That being said, I don't like them stock. They need to be a Kustom, gasser, hot rod, or some combination of those to appeal to me. As popular as the '57 is, it's actually not a very coherent design and was actually built as a last minute update on the '56 because the '58 was actually supposed to be the '57 but wasn't ready in time.

 

1957 Chevy convertable.

 

The 50's were a tough one to pick the best because all the car companies produced many standout models. One of my favorites was the 58 Chevy which was a unique one year design. Although the Impala was the top of the line, I had a Belair and a Biscayne that kept me happy.
My new favorite is a 56 Chevy. I always loved the lines on the one my grandmother drove and last year started driving my own version of this 50's classic.

 

Dog Dish- your right, the 50s fords are beautiful-I love the Crown Vics and all the birds of the 50s.Easy to customize,perfect lines and the tops are already chopped.I would love a 56 crown,low, bubble skirts, candy purple,white tucknroll-oh-oh-I feel another project comming on!

 

Surprised and pleased to see my car on your list Jive-Bomber. So many great cars designed in that decade. I would also include ;

1950 Buick sedanette

1951 Olds 98 convertible

1953 Olds Fiesta

1954 Olds

1954 Buick

1957 Olds

1957 Buick

1958 Impala

1958 Bonneville

 

Cliche kitsch or not, I can't believe this thread got three pages without mention of the '59 Cads.

 

50 Merc coupe
53 Victoria (cause i own one )
55 Lincoln Capri
56 Fairlane
53 Merc
56 Caddy Convt
55 Buick special
55 Olds
59 Chevy Impala
53 Chevy Bel Air

 

And don't forget the 1956 Lincoln Preimer 2 door hardtop... someone PLEASE post a picture for me!!!!! Thanks Mike