Why Tail Fins Disappeared

Why did tail fins disappear? The usual answer is that they were a fad. The designers who drew them tell a stranger story: Chrysler's 1957 fins first made GM's bigger, and the men who drew the biggest ones cut them down. From Harley Earl's P-38 and the 1948 Cadillac to the 1959 Cadillac and the cut of 1960 to 1965, told from the designers' own interviews and oral histories, with the usual reasons (the recession, Sputnik, the compacts) tested against the dates. In this video 0:00 The 1959 Cadillac 0:43 The first pair of fins 2:02 Chrysler's Forward Look 3:24 GM's panic 5:42 The usual reasons, tested 7:57 The cut at GM 9:11 The cut at Chrysler 10:28 The year it turned Sources Bill Mitchell, Automotive Design Oral History, Benson Ford Research Center (1984): https://autolife.umd.umich.edu/Design... Virgil Exner Jr., Automotive Design Oral History, Benson Ford Research Center (1989): http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Des... Chuck Jordan, Motor Trend interview (January 2006), reprinted by Dean's Garage: https://www.deansgarage.com/charles-m... Harley Earl, I Dream Automobiles, Saturday Evening Post (7 August 1954): https://saturdayeveningpost.com/2010/... Aaron Severson, Ate Up With Motor: the 1959 Cadillac: https://ateupwithmotor.com/model-hist... Fortune, Chrysler's Private Depression (1958): https://fortune.com/article/chryslers... Photos and credits kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exSd GPS 56, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exSi Greg Gjerdingen, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exTL Charles from Port Chester, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exTN Greg Gjerdingen, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exTS Andrew Bone, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exTo JOHN LLOYD, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exTp JOHN LLOYD, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exTy Greg Gjerdingen, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exWz Greg Gjerdingen, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exUB Charles from Port Chester, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exUH Coolalabright, CC BY 4.0: https://w.wiki/exUh Jeremy from Sydney, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exYJ Greg Gjerdingen, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exdD Eric Friedebach, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exdJ Coolalabright, CC BY 4.0: https://w.wiki/exdd Rex Gray, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exdo Greg Gjerdingen, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exds GPS 56, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exdt Space images: NASA (JSC), public domain Archive photos and engravings: Wikimedia Commons (public domain) JOHN LLOYD, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exTH https://w.wiki/exUw https://w.wiki/exdg Jeremy from Sydney, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exTJ https://w.wiki/exdw https://w.wiki/exTt https://w.wiki/exTv https://w.wiki/exUm https://w.wiki/exd9 sv1ambo, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exTK https://w.wiki/exdY Sicnag, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exUJ https://w.wiki/exYQ https://w.wiki/exdb https://w.wiki/exdZ https://w.wiki/exdB https://w.wiki/exe2 https://w.wiki/exe6 https://w.wiki/exTu https://w.wiki/exSp https://w.wiki/exSm https://w.wiki/exYP Valder137, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exVL https://w.wiki/exTr SG2012, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exVN https://w.wiki/exTP https://w.wiki/exSj Greg Gjerdingen, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exVM https://w.wiki/exYN https://w.wiki/exYG https://w.wiki/exdm https://w.wiki/exUL https://w.wiki/exUM https://w.wiki/exdW https://w.wiki/exTQ https://w.wiki/exdL https://w.wiki/exUE https://w.wiki/exUN https://w.wiki/exVD https://w.wiki/exVF https://w.wiki/exTk https://w.wiki/exUn https://w.wiki/exdF https://w.wiki/exUo https://w.wiki/exUf https://w.wiki/exUr https://w.wiki/exVg https://w.wiki/exUa https://w.wiki/exV8 GPS 56, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exUR https://w.wiki/exdj https://w.wiki/exdf https://w.wiki/exTM Cars Down Under, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exXu nakhon100, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exdS Thomas's Pics, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exVH https://w.wiki/exVG Charles from Port Chester, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exdM https://www.flickr.com/photos/pauldin..., CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exUY Rex Gray, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exdq duggar11, CC BY 2.0: https://w.wiki/exVf #CarDesign #TailFins #SignatureLine