1955 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible

"The true worth of any possession may be measured largely in terms of the enjoyment it brings its owner. And that is why the great Cadillac car must be counted among the most prized of personal possessions. For certain it is that few worldly belongings add so much to the sheer joy of living.

In the first place, it stands completely alone in all the things that make a motor car a pleasure to utilize. Through every mile of every journey, it provides recreation and comfort in unprecedented measure. And how rewarding a Cadillac is to own! Owners everywhere will tell you that it is their greatest source of pride and happiness  . . .  and that it enhances their daily satisfaction to an unbelievable degree.

Of course, it isn't necessary to decide on a Cadillac solely for your personal gratification. For the car is practical as well as wonderful  . . .  and represents a surprisingly sound investment. Why not visit your Cadillac dealer today — and see if you are among the many who should move up to the 'car of cars'?"

We don't know what kind of substances were involved when the advertisers were texting for this 1955 Cadillac ad, but for certain they pulled the "big guns", verbally. The car they praised, though, was well worth the admiration, exuding a rare mixture of dazzling road presence and refined understatement at the same time.

To strike such a fine balance between flamboyance and sophistication requires experienced styling mastery and no one could have done a better job than the GM Design Department. Through the mid-1950s, the design team around Harley Earl was the undisputed pacesetter for automotive style, and Cadillac was their poster child. The designers did incredibly well in developing the Cadillac form language very carefully. The cars appeared "new" every year, but because the alterations were subtle, there was a continuity of design that wouldn't make older Cadillacs look outdated — exactly what Cadillac's conservative clientele longed for. 140,777 Cadillac were produced in 1955. That was significantly more than the 93,901 cars which America's other luxury makers — Lincoln, Packard and Imperial — sold combined. Cadillac owned the luxury market in these days, and rightfully so.

The massive grace of the Cadillac models was not a hollow promise. These cars were built rock solid, and a true engineering showcase, too. Even today, the automatically retractable roof and power windows of our pictured Cadillac operate as quiet and effortless as they did six decades ago.