1957 Cadillac Fleetwood
With Packard in its death throes and offering rebadged Studebakers, there was little real competition for Cadillac, although Lincoln tried its best. This meant that in 1957, Cadillac was firmly atop the American car food chain, particularly when it came to four-door sedans and limousines.
For 1957, Cadillac styling was both elegant and current. In the case of the Series 60 Fleetwood Special, that elegance began with hooded headlamps and an aggressive grille with twin Dagmars (bullet bumper guards) on the swooping bumpers, hardtop styling in a four-door, and elegant fenders spreading into fins that made a statement without spiraling into excess. If someone pulled up in this car, you’d instantly know that he or she was successful and could pony up the $5,539 it took to take one of these home—and there were only 24,000 people who had the means to drive off the lot in a Fleetwood Special Hardtop.
The styling did little to minimize the size of the car, which stretched 224.4 inches bumper to bumper and weighed 4,755 pounds. The 365cid overhead valve V-8 featured a high 10.0:1 compression ratio to help it pump out an even 300 hp.
With power, elegance and luxury all wrapped up in one package, if you had this Cadillac in 1957 you had really made it big.
