It doesn’t feel like over eight, whole years have passed since I first discovered Curbside Classic while surfing the internet for car-related content. This number seems unreal. Once I had obtained a smartphone (later than most), increasingly more of my weekday commute time into downtown Chicago and back was spent reading an assortment of car blogs that kept me returning through their factual data, compelling photography, quality of writing, and/or something else that set them apart – that je ne sais quoi. Combining many such things, CC quickly became a favorite, pulling me in as much for the comments as for the articles themselves.
On a lark, I began contributing some of my pictures of vehicles I considered to be rare or interesting, or simply some of my favorite car images, to the Curbside Cohort. You could have knocked me over with a feather the first time I had seen one of my submissions featured as a “Curbside Outtake”. I can’t remember which car it was, but it was one of those moments when I wanted to vigorously tap the shoulder of the fellow passenger sitting next to me on the CTA Red Line train, point to my phone, and say, “They featured my pictures today! Those are my shots!” Of course I didn’t, but the thought of doing so did cross my mind.
This same Viking Blue ’54 Cadillac Sixty Special, spotted only a few months ago in September of this year, was the first of my finds featured to also include a few words I had written, to which I made reference in my essay from last Tuesday. I had typed out a few paragraphs to accompany those pictures, and site founder and Chief Editor Paul Niedermeyer had fashioned a “Curbside Outtake” out of them, with that article first running in January of 2015. After months of hesitation followed by some encouragement to try my hand at writing, formatting, and scheduling my own content using the WordPress platform, I began my tenure as an actual contributor.
I strove to feature only my better images and to write good essays, devoting hours to compose and proofread on weekends, keeping my grandmother’s old dictionary handy. Growing up as a middle sibling, I’ve always had a keen sense of understanding how to play up my strengths and deemphasize the things at which I may not be so great. I was never going to be the contributor that could to tell you who engineered what, how to fix something, or had working knowledge about the mechanics of an internal combustion engine.
Being in a relationship at the time I had began engaging with the CC community, I also didn’t have an unlimited amount of free time in which to research the things I wrote about, which gave me even more appreciation for other CC writers who really do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to gathering and presenting factual data. I found my strength and niche as a writer in relating the cars I found interesting to various insights and aspects of my own story, and to life in general, with a few facts sprinkled in. That’s it. That’s my formula, whether you love, hate, or are indifferent to it.
Reading through the comments on my pieces has sometimes given me a sense that my chosen topic du jour had resonated strongly with a greater number of readers. On other instances, an essay I thought would have more engagement from the community has been met with only a handful of comments. I learned and internalized a few years back not to judge or discount the quality of my essays by the number of comments left by readers, and I stand by every single one of my entries without exception, including my earlier work. Not every great song found success on a Billboard chart.
Harley Earl, Vice President of General Motors in charge of Styling.
Spotting this ’54 Cadillac Sixty Special in the River North neighborhood this past summer was an event. I was with a close friend as she and I were exiting the Whole Foods in the background when this Caddy came southbound on State Street. I quickly apologized to her before breaking into a full-on sprint in the hope of catching a few photographs of it. Remembering my very brief conversation from 2011 with the gentleman behind the wheel, I recalled that he had owned this car for fifty years at that point.
How rare and unlikely was this entire set of circumstances. Here was a 1954 example of Cadillac’s ultra-luxe Sixty Special, on its extended 133-inch wheelbase, of which 16,200 were originally made. It was being driven by a gentleman who had owned it for six decades by that point, as the Cadillac’s 230-horsepower, 331-cubic inch V8 engine glided authoritatively in modern traffic among comparatively anonymous-looking vehicles. This Sixty Special seemed emblematic of the lore of old-school Chicago, the broad-shouldered Midwestern city that had long-since risen from the ashes of the Great Fire of 1871. Like this Sixty Special, Chicago is bold, decisive, unpretentious, won’t suffer foolishness, and is unafraid to tell you so.
Not long after taking these pictures, I had started to wonder if I had much left to say as a regular contributor to CC. Most of the makes and models of vehicles that I’ve taken the time to photograph are ones that that I’ve previously written about at one point or another. Corvettes, El Caminos, Eldorados, Mustangs. Readers have been kind (and yes, unkind), real, informative, and understanding as I have found ways to even work out some of my own personal demons through my writing, as a form of catharsis. Personally, I’m in a much, much better place today than when I had first written about this Cadillac.
I had planned to save these shots for my last essay of new content for 2022 in which I was going to thank the Curbside community, and specifically Paul, for allowing me to share my pictures and thoughts as expressed in pixels and words, before calling it a day in my tenure as a regular CC essayist. No one forces any contributor to the site to write or do anything, nor has there been any undue pressure from anyone or threat of exclusion from the group. Putting my creative writings together on what eventually turned into a weekly basis for a few years now has simply been something I have really enjoyed doing.
Later this year, I had started to feel a renewed sense of creativity with both my automotive finds and in my ability to express my thoughts about them. As I had referenced in last week’s essay, life does keep moving, changing, and evolving, and it’s completely natural for us to feel an ebb and flow of motivation and ideas when it comes to crafting things. All this is to say that I look forward to continuing my contributions into 2023 as long as I have something to say, a working camera, and access to a computer. This site has given me not only a creative outlet, but also a voice and a platform from which to express my thoughts about things important to me and my life’s experiences thus far. That, alone, has had value far beyond seeing my photographs featured on somebody else’s website during my rush hour commutes. See you all next year.
River North, Chicago, Illinois.
Saturday, September 10, 2022.
Brochure photos were as sourced from www.oldcarbrochures.org.
It’s likely safe to assume I am not alone in being happy to hear you are sticking around. Your ability to catch awesome cars, and have them pose so ideally for you with no surrounding traffic in downtown Chicago, is amazing.
About the Cadillac – awesome color, good looking car, and 60 years of ownership(!!!). Unfathomable.
Thanks, Jason – means a lot coming from another OG of CC. One of the earliest things I learned about photography was to take a bunch of frames to facilitate getting the best shot(s). Of my panning shots, there are usually as many duds as good shots, but with a bunch of frames, I often have much to choose from.
And six decades of ownership blows my mind. Says something of luxury cars of old being built to last with proper care and maintenance. Standard of the World.
Really glad to hear this, Joseph! I really enjoy the perspective that comes across in your writing. Your way of relating cars to family, culture, life. Keep up the great work!
As for this gem, WOWZERS! Great find! I love that it’s original down to the paint and owner!
Sam, thanks so much. I was so pleasantly surprised and happy to see this same Sixty Special over a decade after my first sighting being driven by the same gentleman. Put the biggest smile on my face that day.
First, the car. I am sure this is a function of my age, but there are two cars that jump to the front of my mind when someone says “Cadillac” – the 1963-64 model and one of these. And this was true long before my six-month long (and not entirely successful) ownership of a black 1963 Fleetwood. And how fascinating that the car my Cadillac’s original owner traded in for the new 1963 was a black 1955 version of this very car. I simply love these, full stop.
Second, I will join Mr. Shafer in being happy to hear that your work will continue to appear here. Cars impact most of us here in very personal ways, and your writing shares what these cars mean to you in a way that resonates with readers here (including this one).
Finally I will confess that after all these years I still get a charge out of looking at pictures of cars online and stumbling across one of my own photos that I published here.
Thanks, JPC. I’ll repeat myself that it’s been great reading your COAL series (being written after years of your participation) and also reading your perspectives of the cars you’ve own. Ultimately, cars and vehicles are more than appliances, and our experiences of and with them are what bind them to our memories.
I was starting to worry, about 3/4 of the way through reading this. I’m relieved to read that you’re planning to keep on keeping on here. I think I happened onto the place around 2015, and primarily read along on my commute at the time as well. Since then CC has become my guilty pleasure during the workday, as a “mind cleanser” of sorts between phone calls, emails and the (familiar to at least one contributor, I’m sure) drudgery and stress of insurance account management. (Note that I’m in Florida…emphasis on the stress part lately.) I have at times thought it’d do me wonders to try my hand at a contribution or two, but life and its pace seem to prevent me from even taking the time to comment as often lately. The time I spend here might not thrill my employers, but the break it provides certainly keeps me sane.
We all need mental breaks and mind cleansers, especially between solving difficult tasks. CC also serves that purpose for me, as long as I’m mindful not to get sucked in. Florida is where my insurance career started over two decades ago, and I still have friends and colleagues down there. I think of them, and all of us industry-wide.
Bylines are almost not needed when opening up CC.
The clear, quick-draw capture of moving vehicles in traffic, the sometimes moody shots of parked and often well worn road warriors, and then the thoughtful essays that follow. To me (and I would guess many others) these qualities say “Joseph Dennis”.
It is clear these posts take time, effort, and skill.
As a former native of New York City, the thought of running through traffic to get good shots of a specific and moving vehicle can be a life-threatening activity. I trust the nice River North neighborhood of Chicago is kinder to camera carrying pedestrians than NYC’s Times Square, but it is still a hobby with some built in dangers.
“… I found my strength and niche as a writer in relating the cars I found interesting to various insights and aspects of my own story, and to life in general, with a few facts sprinkled in… “ .
Indeed! I always look forward to these well photographed and creatively constructed posts.
Thank you so much. To be clear, I didn’t cross against any lights, but getting these pictures did involve just making the light and keeping my eyes open for left-turners
Sometimes when I’m composing one of these essays, I think of Mrs. Parks, one of my favorite high school English teachers (actually, like 90% of my English teachers have been “my favorite”) and wonder what she would think of my compositions. I think she’d approve, even if my sentence structure does meander sometimes. It’s all part of creative license. 🙂
I always enjoy your articles and photographs – your ability to connect cars with people’s life stories is remarkable.
It’s always interesting to see the levels of community engagement for different topics and articles. I find it amusing that of the dozens of articles I’ve written at this site, my favorite was one that generated only about two dozen comments. But writing and researching is something that I enjoy, so the satisfaction goes beyond comments.
In any event, happy holidays, and I’m glad we’ll be able to continue enjoying your work!
Eric, Happy Holidays to you, as well! It’s great to be among so many other fine writers and participants.
Wow… about 3/4 of the way through this post when I read, “before calling it a day in my tenure as a regular CC essayist”…. I found myself saying NNNOOOOOO!!!!!! – Say it ain’t so, Joe! Phew… I was so happy to then read, “All this is to say that I look forward to continuing my contributions into 2023…”
I’m sure I am not the only one here that would miss your essays terribly.
Like you, I discovered CC in 2015, most likely the same way most others have, by searching for car related content. I’ve shared this before, but it was when I was reminiscing about my ’73 LTD and found JPC’s scathing review of it. I was not turned off by this though, and quickly became hooked on CC.
One of these days when I have more time, I’d love to become a contributor, but like you, I am not as knowledgeable as, say, Paul, JPC, Jason, Aaron, etc.…. So far, I can only think of personal reflections about cars and how seeing one always takes me back to a time in my life. This is probably why I love your essays so much. Furthermore, commenting is awesome, and I love the camaraderie here.
Regarding the subject car and the CC Effect and song references and….
Just last night, my wife and I were having dinner and listening to Christmas music when Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby” came on. In discussing the song, when it got to the part about how the original “Material Girl” wants “a ’54 Convertible too, light blue”, whether accurate or not, the car that always comes to mind when I hear this song is the ’54 Cadillac, like the one pictured below with the lovely Marilyn Monroe.
As always, looking forward to more of your essays Joseph. Thanks for all the great reads. Have a wonderful holiday season!
That photo is classic. If you have a desire to write, I’d encourage you to do it. Your comments are always well thought out and well written. I’m sure you could write some quality articles.
I’m hardly an authoritative expert on any topic (maybe station wagons…), but that hasn’t stopped me from opining as a contributor. I occasionally reveal my ignorance, but for the most part I do a lot of research for my articles. As a lifelong car enthusiast, I have a minimal baseline knowledge, a.k.a. I know a little about a lot of things. However, I’ve found there are few cars or topics I don’t need to read up on quite a bit to write about. And I know 95% of the mistakes I make will be picked up on by the commentariat. I’ve found it really enjoyable to write about cars I find.
So much in this comment that speaks to me! First, if you’re thinking of contributing, by all means you should. If I could learn to navigate WordPress without too many issues, I’m guessing most could, as well. Different perspectives on the car we’re familiar (or unfamiliar) with is what makes for interesting reading.
2015 seems to have been the year at least a few of us joined CC!
I recently bought a Christmas / holiday music CD from a local thrift store (2 for a dollar) that featured Madonna’s c. 1987 rendition of “Santa Baby”. Total pastiche, though not horrible and fun to listen to. Nothing will ever replace Eartha Kitt’s rendition. Ever.
Much like GM, when a post says “Joseph Dennis”…it’s the mark of excellence.
Always enjoy your great photos and the musings that accompany them. Glad to see that you’ll be sticking around!
Tom, thank you so much, and I especially like the GM connection being from Flint.
Put me in the worried at the 3/4 mark in your post. Glad to clarified the situation by the article’s end. Any day with a CC by Joseph Dennis is a good one in my book.
And today is no exception! That Cadillac is stunning! Incredible that it’s still in the care of its original owner and in such fabulous shape.
Keep that camera handy, and your typing fingers limber, Joseph!
Thank you! Funny you should mention keeping the camera handy. One thing I always have to get used to is the extra step of taking my gloves off in winter before hitting the shutter button. I’m sure there are winter gloves designed for photographers. Or if there aren’t, some should get working on that idea.
First, thanks for deciding to stick around Joseph. Your posts, and recently your Tuesday morning essays, are highlights of my reading experience. And it’s not just your themes and writing; your willingness and ability in capturing cars in their environment is outstanding … I’m just not as motivated to try, nor as skillful when I do.
As a young child I had the opportunity to ride in a Cadillac of this vintage, though it was a two-door convertible, white with a white top. This generation with those small airplane-like fins at the tip of the fenders remains iconic for me. But the picture in front of the Whole Foods is almost jarring for me. Not just the juxtaposition of the store with a very non-Whole Foods car, but as someone who’s always lived where supermarkets are one or at most -two story buildings with attached parking, the sight of that plate glass high rise Whole Foods with a 1950’s car passing by created all kinds of cognitive dissonance.
A ’54 Cadillac convertible in white on white sounds like a dream – like a cloud on wheels. You mentioned the jarring juxtaposition of the glass-and-steel Whole Foods as a backdrop for this Sixty Special in passing. I think I remember wishing there had been some other backdrop for this car as it passed by, as this area of River North has no shortage of beautiful, historic buildings.
Everything happens for a reason, though, and ultimately, I think this modern residential / commercial building in the background serves to emphasize just how much things have changed since the Caddy was new. I think this contrast is just as effective as the comparison with the Lincoln in the lead shot.
And thanks for your kind words.
You’re teasing us with this retirement talk, Joseph! I’ll echo the others here in saying you have a unique writing voice and deft photographic touch. I’ve observed your growth as a writer and it would be a shame for you to hang up your keyboard.
You’ve been prolific at times, and I can see how you might feel a bit burned out or drained of ideas. My suggestion if having those feelings would be to modify your writing schedule. I’ve never gotten any pressure to produce from Paul, so I’d imagine you haven’t either. No quota, just write as you have inspiration.
I waited to write longer than you did. I don’t remember exactly when I started reading CC, but it was towards the end of its time at TTAC (2010?). I just read and commented occasionally until 2018, when I started writing with a long series of articles on the cars I found at that year’s Arizona classic car auctions. I feel like my skill at writing CC articles has improved, but I don’t think I have as distinct a style or niche as you do. I spend a lot of time choosing pictures, researching cars, and tweaking my prose. With a busy work and family schedule and other hobbies, my output is pretty slow. I do well to put out one article a month. If I felt I had to do more than that, I could see myself getting burned out and overwhelmed, which is why I’m glad this is strictly a volunteer gig. This is fun as a hobby, I think writing could get stressful as a job. I do it because I like finding and photographing cars I think are interesting for some reason, putting those thoughts out there and creating something new.
I hope you continue photographing and writing for a good long while, even if you have to write less.
Thanks, Jon. I’d say “consistent” fits me better than “prolific”, at least for the past three years or so that I’ve put together just one entry on a weekly basis. I could see how it might seem like I’m doing a lot these days, when my new essays can sometimes compete with reruns of my earlier output from six years (!) ago.
When I started, though, there were weeks when I might have featured on bigger essay and maybe an Curbside Outtake to be featured in the same week. By 2020, I decided to concentrate on one piece on a regular basis and leave it at that.
I was never going to quit as a contributor. I was just going to go back to being sporadic with it as I had been prior to 2019. I absolutely agree with you that if writing here was on something other than a volunteer basis, it could suck the fun out of it in some instances with added stress, etc. That’s why CC is nearly perfect the way it is. It’s great to know I’m in good company with other writers who care about doing a good job.
Glad to hear you found a new creative upswing to keep contributing here. You’ve become an important part of CC, creating a genre here that previously was not common here. You’re the only one that’s committed to a regular weekly spot (other than our COALers). That’s exceptional, and makes you a cornerstone here. I can appreciate that doing that can at times be both overwhelming as well as liberating; it’s quite different than just writing a post when one feels like it. It’s not unlike being in a committed relationship! 🙂
Having said that, please know that if you ever decide to give it a break, I totally understand. I’ve been there myself, and “retired” for five months, which recharged my creative energies. Nobody here should ever feel under any obligation, except COALers 🙂
Paul, thank you again for everything. I honestly enjoy the challenge in coming up with a new topic and developing it, on a weekly basis. It’s been almost a symbiotic relationship with my writing skills at work. Given, that’s a different animal, but I’ve honed my skills in finding diplomatic ways to sometimes write about cars or general topics that (ahem) require some finesse. Some of that skill with words is definitely transferable.
And like I mentioned to Jon, above, I wasn’t going to just quit writing at CC – my plan before I decided to keep going was to become more of a “sometimes” contributor, but I like my Tuesday morning berth, so that’s probably where I’ll stay for now! It’s almost the same as with exercise. You find a time and routine that works for you, you stick with it, and you will see gains. Choosing one day in which to be a regular (in my case, Tuesday), was one way for me to measure how far I had come.
Joseph
Thanks for all of your great stories to date, and looking forward to seeing more in 2023. You do have a way for words and capturing the moment based on your photography.
I think that the Caddy looks like a Land Shark, surrounded by a sea of Remora, but I might be a touch biased in that regard.
Best wishes for the Holidays and 2023.
Dean
Dean, thank you so much and Happy Holidays to you, as well!
Thanks for putting those wonderful print ads in your article. I’ve always like those and find them to be so much more effective than today’s ads where the brands (nearly all) show vehicles flying around and spinning up sand and dirt. (BMW, I’m looking at you)
I truly feel Cadillac (and maybe Buick) would be doing themselves a great service by going back to similar ads today.
Dan, my personal taste agrees with yours. I would love to see ads featuring classy cars doing classy things. And just being classy in some way. It’s a lost art.
The Lincoln alongside the Cadillac is almost anonymous, I think that it’s an MKZ? Who knows, and looking at sales not too many potential buyers care. I don’t see these being collected or even remembered in the future.
The ’54 was the first of a three year run, and it’s the cleanest design, note how narrow and prow-like the center of the hood is. This is also the only year that has the simulated air intake/stone guard. This series wrapped up the kicked up tail light fin motif that had been around since 1948. It was the end of the aeroplane based design, that gave way to the rocket/jet designs that followed.
These really do personify the image of the post war Cadillac. My Uncle had a ’49. sedanette back in the late 1950’s that I got to ride in. But I was most influenced by a ’56 Sedan de Ville that I saw for sale in a gas station in the mid Sixties. I’ve had many old Cadillacs in the years that followed, but I finally got my own ’56 Caddy in the early 2000’s.
I will add to the chorus that is relieved to know that you will continue to be a contributor. Your work is an amazing mixture of photography and narrative. You capture the ideal of this site; not only does every car have a story, but it’s intimately tied to the people that shared parts of their life with it. I hope that you have printed out copies of each post that you can save as a book. Thank you Mr. Dennis, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to you, Paul, and the entire community of contributors and commentors. Curbside Classics is a gift that keeps on giving!
Jose, thank you so much, and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you as well. Always enjoy your perspectives on the cars you reflect upon. I remember seeing one of these Cadillacs from this era and seeing how the fuel filler was hidden beneath one of the taillamp assemblies which rotated upward! That was a little mindblowing detail I wasn’t expecting. The overengineering approach of the ’50s.
Thank you for always sharing your life and car journeys so thoughtfully and honestly with us. I hope to be reading your wonderful articles for a good while still.
Pikesta, thank you so much.
Just a bit late to the chorus of “Say it ain’t so, Joe!”, but whew. There’s absolutely nothing about your articles that seems exhausted, although I can understand how you might sometimes feel exhausted at the pace you run.
I see your articles sort of like the Cadillac in your photos. Writing that stands out, makes an impression and just has presence. Somehow even with all of the other rich variety and excellent content on CC, your unique take on how cars mirror and shadow life experiences always makes me stop and think. I too would run through traffic to capture that Cadillac…just like I always make time to read a Joseph Dennis article.
Happy Holidays, and I’m glad to know you’re still rolling into the New Year.
Jeff, thank you so much. I wasn’t tired of writing regularly so much as concerned with repeating myself, either with my subject cars or even my basic ideas. There have been moments when drafting an essay (I think I even mentioned this in my essay from last week) when I’ve had to stop and ask myself if I’ve used an exact phrase or idea before. I have this gift of memory, and I do re-read my own articles from time to time (catching typos a year later always makes me blush and fix it), so it’s entirely possible that I’ve repeated myself. But , hey – If I can’t remember having done so, chances are that the average CC reader can’t, either!
I’m sure it was one of my former English or writing teachers who had advised me how important it is to be memorable, and at that, and through my authenticity, I know I’ve succeeded on some level.
Happy Holidays to you, as well!
Joseph, I never even noticed your CC writeups are largely bereft of any technical or mechanical details until you pointed it out; I guess I’m too absorbed in all the life lessons and stories the car figures into (and sometimes the musical soundtrack). Really, I consider you to be one of the great automotive writers of our time, not just on CC but anywhere. And your photos of vintage cars with picturesque Chicago backdrops are up to the level of the writing too.
I like the symbolism in the top photo of the Lincoln that can’t keep up with (and is made utterly invisible by) the Cadillac. Kind of like Lincoln sales vs. Cadillac sales in the ’50s and the general cultural cachet Cadillac had at the time. Lincoln later would slowly make inroads with a succession of hits – the ’61 Continental, the Mark III/IV/V, and the ’80s Town Car, before both brands got overtaken by the Germans, Lexus, and later Tesla.
1950s car advertising was full of claims that the car’s style was ahead of its time and would be copied by others in the following years, and for the “styled to be copied for years to come” white Cadillac it’s true. The chrome molding that runs from the front edge to the back of the door slicing off the top of the front wheelwell, the forward-thrusting headlamp surrounds, the wraparound windshield, the straight-standing A pillars, and the vertical chrome molding rearward of the door all showed up on 1955 Packards – a year after these same styling elements were used on the new ’54 Cadillacs. I’m pretty sure Dick Teague had a ’54 Caddy pinned to the wall (mentally if not literally) when facelifting the four-year-old Packard bodies for the ’55/56 models; fortunately the wide eggcrate interpretation of the classic Packard grille up front and the distinctive “cathedral” taillights in back kept the car as a whole from looking like a knockoff.
It occurs to me I haven’t seen any 1950s or earlier cars in the wild in seemingly a decade, at least in roadworthy condition. I really should move.
Thank you so much for your kind words. I know I’m appreciated and never had any doubt, but it’s so great to read it in those words.
I loved that you pointed out the near- / relative invisibility of the Lincoln next to the Cadillac. I almost didn’t use that shot when originally editing these photos, and when I looked it it, a whole, different essay topic came to mind in which I might have compared either Cadillac to Lincoln, or vintage to contemporary, etc. I went in the direction I went with these pictures only because if I hadn’t, it would have been a wasted opportunity in tying in my original shots of the ’54 with the pictures from this September, as this year comes to a close.
It’s interesting also (to your point) to think about Cadillac’s general luxury car dominance up to a certain point, but also how Lincoln kept showing flashes of true greatness. I stand by an earlier comment I made at CC on another post about how the 1977 – ’79 Lincoln Continental Mark V is probably what I consider to be the pinnacle of style for the large personal luxury coupe of the 1970s.
Joseph,
I was getting a bit sad reading this essay… then things turned around. I’m so glad you will continue to write for CC !!!
Not to hurt any of the other amazing contributors to this site, but your essays are the ones I read first!! You have a way with words, and I enjoy how you give a glimpse into and about your life through your essays.
I can’t say which one of your essays is truly my favorite. Maybe 2023 will be the year I find one.
Thanks for sticking around!!!
Thank you so much! Sometimes I have needed to kick myself in the pants to come up with a good essay topic for the week (what runs on a given week has been in scheduled for at least two weeks in advance). In the end, though, it’s normally the perfect start to my weekend after completion of a first draft, reading it again, smiling, and liking what I’ve written. It really is its own reward, and I like doing it.
I too am pleased you’re not leaving us .
Cars are always interesting but the way they’re written about makes or breaks it, you’re doing fine, no rush, we’ll be here whenever you get the urge .
-Nate
Nate, thank you so much, friend.
One of the best things about contributing here is that, as Paul mentioned above, there is no pressure to contribute! Most of us probably put more pressure on ourselves to do a good job than anyone else will, and I think most of us have disappeared from the bylines for weeks, months, or even years for lack of an idea, or maybe the right push, or maybe laziness. Or maybe some of us are out on the garage floor or on a bike seat for months on end when the weather cooperates. Paul really has put together a unique thing here. Contributors aren’t getting paid, so they do it because they love cars, they love writing, and they love the interaction with the readers. There aren’t many places that have assembled such a group of talented writers about one general subject who are there simply because they love doing it, and are able to do it according to their strengths and life experiences.
So, keep on keepin’ on, Joe. And others – don’t be afraid to give it a shot if you’ve been thinking about it.
Hear, hear – well said on all points, Aaron!
Glad to hear you’re sticking around, Joseph; we’ve lost too many great contributors over the years. I’ll admit I too thought “Oh no!”, before I read to the end. We all need times of refreshing and recharging, maybe rethinking the degree some of our commitments.
What an amazing find, and such a beautiful colour too. There Cadillacs always remind me of one of the first records I got (pic) back in the seventies. Great band if you’re into fifties retro. I digress, again…
Back to the car, there’s so much to think about. There’s something iconic in that front end style which Cadillac lost, then tried to recapture. Squaring it off looked more modern for the sixties, but somehow lost the sense of conservative gravitas this car conveys, and the style seemed to degenerate to an almost cartoonish degree (compared to this) in the seventies. Or was that because the same stylistic theme had hung on for too long? In saying that, I don’t intend to rubbish later Cadillacs, just compare them visually to the stately presence of this one. Stately presence wins.
What a massive difference in style and proportions was to take place over the next five years! This somehow combines stateliness and style in a way the ’59 equivalent doesn’t capture. Yet the ’59 is somehow iconic and this model is comparatively forgotten. Sad.
No wonder the owner kept this one. I imagine entry and exit would be a lot more dignified than in a later model.
Peter, thank you so much. And your point at the end about the probable ease of ingress and egress of this ’54 Cadillac is in agreement with many comments I’ve read here about modern CUVs and their elevated ride heights.
I can only imagine what the occupants of this car were thinking about as they took that drive near the corners of Chicago and State that day. “Do you remember when…”
Always appreciate your articles, Joseph. Lived in East Ravenswood and worked in the Loop for a number of years more than 40 years ago. Great to see places now that I was familiar with then. Brings back memories. Never cease to be amazed at your ability to capture interesting subjects in the rustbelt these days. Life in Chicago has always been tough on cars. Back when I lived there, we had many “Flats Fixed” storefronts, one just 2 blocks from my apartment. Not so many where I am from in New York then or now. Wonder how high rents have affected these businesses? Used to be one place where I would see older interesting cars.
Donaldo, thank you. I have long been fascinated by Chicago’s history, changes in its demographics, neighborhoods, etc., so I can appreciate perspectives like yours that were familiar with areas around this city from other time periods. I’m close to two decades into living in this amazing city, and even during that tenure, I’ve seen so many changes. I hope to see many more. I want Chicago to be my forever-city.
Thank you Sir .
Chicago is often maligned by others, I spent some time there in the 1960’s and enjoyed it .
My mother was born & raised in Evanston, if ever you get an urge to write about the greater area I’d love to hear what it’s like now .
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL !.
-Nate
Roaring Twenties, before prohibition the affordable Cadillac was the LaSalle built for the executive living in Fernwood Illinois that worked in downtown Chicago. A wife and two children automobiles built to last a lifetime you’re considered an adult when you were 21 the commercial advertisement aired and December 1941 time capsule the analogues parameter still used in 50 years apart.