Series 62 4 Window Sedan
The Series 62 Cadillacs are easily identified by the absence of the
script on the rear fender. Instead, they feature a Cadillac crest under
the mid-body spear on the front fender. The Series 62 was the base model
for the Cadillac line up. The four window sedan sported a wraparound
rear window and a flat roof. Hence the popular name Flat Top for
the 4 Window Sedan.
Series 62 6 Window Sedan
The Series 62 6 Window Sedan had a small fixed window at the C-pillar.
The roof sloped gently over in the rear window. Trim levels and exterior
identification was identical to the other three cars in the Series 62.
Series 62 Coupe
Third in the Series 62 is the Coupe. Sometimes mistaken for a Coupe
de Ville, this car has a more sober trim than its de Ville counterpart
and less standard accessories.
Series 62 Convertible
Convertible driving was possible in two different types of Cadillacs
in 1959. This is the Series 62 Convertible (there was no DeVille Convertible
until 1964), which had basically the same trim level as the Coupe, except
it featured an all leather interior.
Sedan de Ville 4 Window
The De Ville Series was more upscale than the Series 62. It featured
more luxurious interiors and had a couple of extra standard accessories.
This is the 4 Window Sedan de Ville. Exterior identification of the DeVille
Series is easily accomplished by noticing the rear fender scripts and the
absense of the front fender crests found on the Series 62 Cadillacs.
Sedan de Ville 6 Window
Just like in the Series 62, there was also a 6 Window Sedan available
in the DeVille Series. Again, trim level was identical to its 4 Window
counterpart. The only difference was in the body style.
Coupe de Ville
Coupe de Ville is a name that sounds a bell with many people.
This name has been used in songs and movies and is still synonymous with
luxurious two door driving.
Fleetwood Sixty Special
If asked which 59 has the most flamboyant exterior styling, one must
rapidly admit that the Fleetwood Sixty Special is the prime candidate for
that title. Sporting a fake fender skoop, chromed ice cones and
a molding that swung all the way from the front to the rear and back, this
was fifties exhuberance at its best.
Fleetwood 75 Limousine and Sedan
Executive and celibrity transportation was also possible in a 59 Cadillac.
At 244.8" long and running on a 149.8" wheelbase, this dinosaur was preferred
by CEOs and movie stars as their form of expressing their position in society.
The Limousine featured a glass division window between the chauffeur and
the passengers. Just like the Sixty Special and the two "regular" Eldorados,
the 75 had V-ornamented backup lights. However, it did lack the special
three row bullet rear grille found on the Fleetwood 60 Special, the Eldorado
Seville and the Eldorado Biarritz.
Eldorado Seville
Now we arrive at the high end of the Cadillac range. The first of the
three Eldorados offered for 1959 is the Seville. Just like its convertible
counterpart, it had a unique side trim, sans mid body spear.A broad stainless
steel molding sweeps back from the 'A' pillar, following the curve of the
door and rear fender, all the way to the rear bumper, then down and forward,
running the full length of the body sill up to the front wheel opening.
An oval name plate is affixed to that molding, just below the power-operated
vent windows; the plate reads "Seville" for the coupe and "Biarritz"
for the convertible. Block "E L D O R A D O" lettering is affixed
to the lower front fender,an inch or so above the broad stainless steel
rocker molding, just behind the front wheel opening. The same
lettering is affixed across the full width of the stainless steel trunk
lip molding. Like the Fleetwood Sixty Special sedan, the two
cars in the Eldorado Series feature (a) an imitation rear grille with three
rows of bumper 'bullets', like those used for the front grille, and (b)
an open "V" ornament across the reversing-light housing in the rear bumper.
The roof was covered with vinyl, a styling trend that would become increasingly
more popular in the sixties and seventies.
Eldorado Biarritz
This is one of the most sought after fifties Cadillacs. Featuring almost
all the goodies available on Cadillacs as standard, sporting the largest
fins ever to grace an automobile and having only seen a production of 1,320
units, a 1959 Eldorado Biarritz in good condition is a very expensive car
to buy today. But you have to admit: nowhere would you go unnoticed anymore.
Arriving in a 59 Eldorado means arriving in the utmost style.
Eldorado Brougham
Now here is a rare breed. Hand built on a Cadillac chassis by Pinin
Farina in Turin, Italy, this beauty was sold at the then incredible price
of $13,075. The production was very limited to 99 units. This car showed
many styling cues of later model year Cadillacs. The fins could be found
on the standard 1960s, and the front window design was adopted by the 1961
and 1962 line up. The story goes that 100 units were built but that one
of them was dropped and destroyed during loading operations at the docks.
This story has never been substantiated.
