Days of Future Past

Tail fins were king in the 1950s, and they are still one of the first things people think of when they recall the styles of that decade. Soaring fins – which had their origin in allusions to WW2 fighter planes – were a Jet age trademark, but after the October, 1957 Launch of Sputnik, the Space age began to overtake the Jet age in popular culture. The increasing popularity of slick modernist architecture and cleaner industrial designs coupled with a harsh recession in 1958 – which happened to coincide with the wildest and most opulent of Detroit’s fifties creations – also signaled a shift to more restrained styles. The new “international style” automobile would arrive in the fall of 1960 in the form of the slab-sided, clean-lined 1961 Lincoln, but even in 1960 most manufacturers were toning things down from the exuberance of the fifties.

This thinking did not apply at Plymouth, where fins grew to giant heights in 1960 – far greater even than Chrysler Corporations’ flagship Imperial. Guided by design boss Virgil Exner, Chrysler Corporation had transformed itself from a purveyor of staid, tall, conservative machines to the industry style leader from 1955 to 1959 – and every 1959 American car attempted to match the befinned styling of Chrysler’s 1957 “Forward Look” cars. But in 1960, Chrysler’s divisions continued to build on fins while other manufacturers began to turn away. Fins would continue on most Chryslers into 1961 – a consequence of Exner not being available due to a health crisis during the planning for 1961.

This photo was part of a large series done at Trust Salvage. Special thanks to Matt C. for the opportunity!