225:. The 1959 Cadillac fins looked like jet airplane vertical stabilizers with sharp points and twin bullet-shaped taillights. Many of automotive press and much of the public were getting weary of the exaggerated tailfins, and the manufacturers were ready to phase them out because they added cost and complexity to design and manufacturing. Tailfins descended throughout the early 1960s, even adopting a downward slope on the 1965 Cadillacs. Mostly they disappeared and were replaced with a new style of taillight, called lobster-claw taillights, although in instances a sharp-edged quarter panel meeting a downward sloping trunk created the illusion of fins. Vestigial tailfins, however, remained on American cars into the 1990s, at least as far as the 1999
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194:, which predates the P-38, also contained hints of tailfins via projecting tail-light "paddles", although it is unclear if this influenced later fin designs. The 1941 Cadillac Series 63 4-Door Sedan also had a form of jutting tail-lights, although milder than the 1937 Fleetwood. Even though the 1948 model was the first conscious effort at fins, the earlier partial occurrences may have made the concept more acceptable to consumers and designers. (
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styling encompassed the 1950s and 1960s, peaking between 1955 and 1961. It was a style that spread worldwide, as car designers picked up styling trends from the US automobile industry, where it was regarded as the "golden age" of
American auto design and
127:, thought the twin rudders of the airplane would make a sleek design addition to the rear of future modern automobiles. Tailfins took particular hold on the automotive buying public's imagination as a result of
174:
added a center fin to his prototype designs in the 1920s for aerodynamic stability. Influenced by his patents some car producers made streamlined prototypes with one center positioned tailfin. For example, the
149:
claimed that the tailfins were not fins, but "stabilizers" to place the "center of pressure" as far to the rear as possible and thus "reduce by 20% the needs for steering correction in a cross wind", while
342:(1958), is also prominent in the study of personal injury from parked vehicles. In both of these cases, children were injured by sharp protrusions on parked cars. The plaintiffs lost in both cases. In
139:, which subsequently resulted in manufacturers scrambling to install larger and larger tailfins onto new models. As jet-powered aircraft, rockets, and space flight gained public recognition through the
780:. Recent Cadillacs have continued the tradition of the brand's signature vertical taillamp tailfins. Cadillac's designers call the current Cadillacs's styling evocative of tailfins. In 2010, the
198:
produced a gap of
Cadillac model production between the early 1940s and late 1940s as factories turned to military goods production, interrupting the development of the fin concept.)
143:, the automotive tailfin assemblies (including tail lights) were designed to resemble more and more the tailfin and engine sections of contemporary jet fighters and space rockets.
1010:
206:
The
Cadillac 1948 fin styling proved popular, and its use spread to other models in the General Motors family of brands. Soon it was adopted by other manufacturers, with top
346:, the court found that Chrysler was not responsible for anticipating "all the possible ways in which a person may injure himself by falling against an automobile." In
119:, who at the time the 1948 Cadillac was being designed was chief of the GM Special Car Design Studio. It was Hershey who, after seeing an early production model of a
306:. Since the Ambassador's exterior design remained virtually unchanged for nearly sixty years, the tailfins were retained for the duration of its production
350:, the plaintiff attempted to rely on a law governing the size and protrusion of radiator caps and grills, which the court said did not apply to tailfins.
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In 2009 Trabant introduced the Nt concept with distinct tail fins projecting from the rear similar to the earlier models made the
Trabant company.
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styling incorporated the trademark vertical taillights sculpted into tiny tailfins projecting from the rear. This was also done with the
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in particular taking the tailfin look on board. As confidence grew in the styling trend, the fins grew larger and bolder.
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Cadillac tailfins had started to turn downward already by 1965, here seen vestigially a quarter century later on a 1990s
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338:(1963), a seven-year-old child on a bicycle collided with a fin and sustained a head injury. A case of the same era,
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Though not officially mentioned by the manufacturer, reviews from the media compared the sharp angles of the
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115:, but according to many sources the actual inventor/designer of the tailfin for the 1948 Cadillac was
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tail-lights similar to tailfins. This is better seen when the tail-lights are lit.
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Tailfins have been criticized as a safety concern, even as a parked vehicle. In
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The
Chrysler 300 from 2011 to the present has subtle, but noticeable tailfins.
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is often credited for the automobile tailfin, introducing small fins on the
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The most extreme tailfins appeared in the late 1950s, such as on the 1959
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962:'Dangerous Instrumentality': The Bystander as Subject in Automobility"
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890:(First ed.). New York NY: Harper Collins. pp. 176β177.
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795:'s rear styling included subtle delta fins as a homage to the
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concept to lead the marque's new design language, known as
997:"FindLaw's California Court of Appeal case and opinions"
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shows the fin as a separate assembly added to the tail
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The tailfin was first introduced on the 1948 Cadillac
162:, sight lines that ostensibly aided in backing up.
255:with similar rear "sight line" augmentation.
239:series of sedans, which gained the nickname "
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187:production car or Fiat Padovan prototype.
53:Another view of the 1959 Cadillac tailfin
235:introduced a modest tailfin on its 1959
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839:, sides of which may resemble tailfins
768:Subtle reintroduction into car styling
243:". In company terminology, they were
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983:, 221 F. Supp. 677 (S.D. Tex. 1963)"
42:The tailfin at its apex on the 1959
590:(Series II & Elite,) 1959β1964
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822:1950s American automobile culture
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968:19:1 (February 2004): pp. 61β94.
886:Knoedelseder, William (2018).
870:"Hershey, Franklin (Frank) Q."
810:fourth generation Toyota Prius
772:In 1999 Cadillac launched the
702:Studebaker-Packard Hawk series
279:Latent tailfin on the compact
1:
981:Kahn v. Chrysler Corporation
359:Examples of tailfin styling:
293:Cadillac Brougham d'Elegance
190:Some sub-models of the 1937
1065:Automotive styling features
27:Aspect of automotive design
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582:Mercury Turnpike Cruiser
154:called its own tailfins
941:"Cadillac history 1948"
912:"Cadillac history 1948"
873:industrialdesignhistory
793:2000-2005 Buick LeSabre
463:(all models), 1958β1960
330:Facel Vega HK 500 coupΓ©
99:American exceptionalism
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714:Studebaker Commander
708:Studebaker President
594:Morris Oxford Farina
304:Hindustan Ambassador
223:Imperial Crown sedan
170:Automobile engineer
1055:American inventions
1013:. 9 September 2015.
827:Googie architecture
546:Lincoln Continental
477:Facel Vega Facel II
413:Chrysler New Yorker
957:Jain, S. Lochlann
750:Vauxhall Cresta PA
678:Pontiac Star Chief
365:Auto Union 1000 Sp
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654:Packard Patrician
642:Packard Caribbean
576:Mercury Park Lane
490:(105e), 1959β1968
437:DeSoto Adventurer
401:Chevrolet Bel Air
395:Cadillac Eldorado
219:Cadillac Eldorado
81:A finned British
44:Cadillac Eldorado
16:(Redirected from
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868:Gantz, Carroll.
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684:Pontiac Catalina
672:Plymouth Valiant
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512:Ford Thunderbird
443:DeSoto Fireflite
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389:Cadillac Deville
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336:Kahn v. Chrysler
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636:Opel KapitΓ€n
588:Morris Major
506:Ford Galaxie
455:Dodge Lancer
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322:Toyota Crown
281:Lancia Kappa
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212:Virgil Exner
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196:World War II
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137:Forward Look
133:Virgil Exner
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763:, 1959β1962
756:Volvo P1800
752:, 1957β1962
746:, 1957-1991
740:, 1955-1962
734:, 1960-1964
728:, 1959-1971
722:, 1959β1968
710:, 1957β1958
704:, 1957β1961
698:, 1959β1971
692:, 1959-1978
686:, 1959β1960
680:, 1959β1960
674:, 1960β1962
668:, 1956β1960
662:, 1960β1975
660:Peugeot 404
656:, 1953-1958
650:, 1955-1958
644:, 1955-1958
638:, 1958β1963
632:, 1957β1959
622:, 1960-1965
616:, 1964β1976
606:, 1956β1965
596:, 1959β1971
584:, 1957β1958
578:, 1959β1960
572:, 1957β1964
566:, 1961β1963
560:, 1960β1964
554:, 1959β1968
548:, 1957β1960
542:, 1955β1957
536:, 1955β1961
530:, 1960β1962
520:, 1951β1966
518:Ford Zephyr
514:, 1957β1963
508:, 1959β1961
502:, 1957β1963
496:, 1951β1962
494:Ford Consul
488:Ford Anglia
484:, 1959β1961
457:, 1955β1959
451:, 1960β1961
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439:, 1957β1960
427:, 1956β1960
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409:, 1958β1960
403:, 1955β1960
397:, 1948β1964
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379:, 1955β1958
373:, 1959β1963
202:Tailfin era
183:prototype,
179:prototype,
109:Harley Earl
90:tailfin era
1044:Categories
929:Allpar.com
844:References
449:Dodge Dart
172:Paul Jaray
166:Background
141:Space Race
94:automobile
61:Tailfins (
832:Empennage
524:Holden FB
482:Fiat 2100
431:Cisitalia
367:1958β1965
267:The 1959
247:Peilstege
185:Tatra T77
181:Kdf-Wagen
158:Peilstege
131:designer
65:Peilstege
816:See also
534:Imperial
241:Fintails
210:stylist
208:Chrysler
147:Plymouth
129:Chrysler
18:Tailfins
1034:Tailfin
857:pbs.org
837:Spoiler
761:ZIL-111
744:Trabant
690:Saab 95
69:) on a
894:
716:, 1958
526:&
421:, 1962
354:Legacy
461:Edsel
348:Hatch
302:2013
283:CoupΓ©
73:sedan
892:ISBN
888:Fins
791:The
433:1947
344:Kahn
237:W111
121:P-38
88:The
135:βs
123:at
92:of
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612:β
602:β
528:EK
229:.
101:.
999:.
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20:)
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