"Start of a New Styling Cycle . . . so totally new . . . so typically Olds! Oldsmobile for '59 heralds the start of a new styling cycle with the slim, trim 'Linear Look'! New Rocket Engines deliver improved performance and more economy with Oldsmobile's exclusive new 2-stage automatic choke! Added window area gives you a horizon-wide sweep of vision. More passenger room gives you greater comfort all around!"
Oldsmobile's 1959 "Linear Look" lineup was a direct response to the enormously successful "Forward Look" Chryslers of 1957, which had leapfrogged the competition with their striking design and courageous new construction. Certainly impressed (read: shocked) by this, GM rushed to develop completely new designs for all its divisions, which made the flamboyant 1958 styling obsolete already next year. In parallel, for 1959 a new set of bodyframes was developed from scratch for all of GM's brands. These shells sported significantly larger glass areas and thin roof panels, which made for a very airy feeling once you were inside.
Riding on the new corporate B-body, 1959 Oldsmobiles shared even the front doors with Buick and Cadillac. On closer inspection you'll notice a strange kink in the shoulder line, dipping down just behind the windscreen. On the 1959 Buicks, which were styled first, this line looks much more constant and elegant.
However, Oldsmobile buyers got a lot of car for their money. Even the entry-level "Dynamic 88" now tipped the scales at more than two tons of weight. The horizontal front grille and the wide quad headlights, made the cars look very modern in these days, and led the way to a cleaner design direction for the 60s.
1 Kommentare:
This was the first car I drove. I compared all mu future cars to this one
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