Related reading:
Curbside Classic: 1950 Cadillac Series 61 Coupe – The Ultimate Curbside Classic
Automotive History: General Motors’ 1950 Body Interchange Program
Wordless Vintage Snapshot: 1950 Cadillac – Living The Grand Cadillac Life
– Posted on January 30, 2024
Indeed ! .
A well padded lady on a well padded car .
My monitor shows it lavender, I more remember periwinkle blue .
-Nate
We often read or hear others say “they don’t make them like they used to”.
That really comes to mind here when I see this lady sprawled out on the hood of that Cadillac. Back then, I guess the metal in the panels was thick enough and firm enough that they could do that. Any more today, no way. If a lady of her stature did that on any vehicle from today, the entire hood would be caved in.
Love the blue caddy though.
The contours of the car in that area (visible on the driver’s side) make a good seat, which this woman is taking advantage of. A similar pose would be impossible on any recent car, truck, or crossover I can think of. Certainly wouldn’t work on an XT5 or Escalade.
Did we see this pic once before? Looks ‘familiar”. Guessing there was “staging” involved. Car is clean,(gleaming) and dust free. For sure, suggests “good times”.
Hey Paul, those rocks look familiar. I guess we missed the lady and her Cadillac though. By about 75 years.
Yes, they do. Isn’t one of the roads through there called “Movie Way” or something like that, because of all the films shot there?
I believe the road in question is Whitney Portal Road, off US Route 395 in Lone Pine, California. Here’s a Google Street View, showing the Sierra Madre mountains looming toward the west, with Mt. Whitney among them.
Oh, that’s interesting – I had assumed it was around Joshua Tree National Park (then National Monument) since the rocks look similar. I looked pretty hard for this specific rock formation on StreetView (assuming it’s right on the main park road or at a campground), but I couldn’t find it. Maybe it’s really somewhere else… I’d love to know.
Carey VanDruff: · This is my mother-in-law on a date with her soon-to-be husband in Joshua Tree (on his beloved Cadillac), summer 1952. From The Great American Road Trip – In Mid-Century Kodachrome.
Paul’s referring to Movie Flat Rd which is just off the Whitney Portal Rd. But it could be a lot of places in Southern California. People associate San Diego with sun and sandy beaches but more than half of that county’s land area is granite. Oh, it’s Sierra Nevada not Sierra Madre.
Ah, very interesting Eric703 and dman. Of course I meant Sierra Nevada, but I had Bogie on my brain for some reason (“The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”)!
Living the life. That rock on her ring finger should be registered as a weapon.
I see the car has a black roof. Can I assume paint instead of leather or vinyl?
With thick sheet metal and compound curves, the hoods and fenders could easily support the lady’s weight. These early Fifties Cadillacs had their own charms. Distinctly a Cadillac, but not as large or as excessive as what would follow later in the decade. A 1950 coupe similar to this, was raced at Le Mans and came in 10th. The stream liner crashed earlier in the race, and had to be dug out of a sand bank, but still came in 11th.
Here’s a picture.
Per Tom McCahill roadtest a stick Cadillac 2dr 0-60 mph in 10secs, fast for 1950. A hydramatic 2+ secs longer.
The lady in yellow appears to be a cross between Edith Prickley and her sister Edna Boil (both portrayed by the amazing Andrea Martin on SCTV).
Great Cadillac. Having seen one of those hoods more than once in person, I’m pretty sure it was something of a challenge for Edith/Edna to actually stay perched up there.
Edith Prickley came to my mind as well. Missing the leopard skins though.
What an eye full. I’m as big a car & babe guy as anybody, but, man, that may be the Kodachromiest thing I’ve ever seen. A tip of the hat to the folks at Kodak.
It’s the CC mascot car when it was new, and with different paint.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1950-cadillac-series-61-coupe-the-ultimate-curbside-classic/#
I saw it recently and it’s looking worse for still being outside. I’ll do an update soon.
Love the photo. She looks great and I do not think that she is as hefty as one might think. Posed picture? Certainly – and well done. Thanks for the entertainment. I have added a more recent posed picture for you all. And it still can be seen on this web site!
That image is extremely good technically for the era. Someone had a very good camera/lens for that period. Leica?
Pretty lady on pretty car!
The car is a 1951 not 1950. A 1950 has regular bumper guards and a 1951-1952 have large guards that make them appear to be an integral part of the bumper.
Pedantry time:
It looks like a 1950 Cadillac with a 1951 front bumper on it. The chrome trim under the headlights is very distinctly 1950. The car probably had a little fender bender and the owners took the chance to upgrade the look a little. Or the owner didn’t know any better when the body shop replaced the bumper with something that was in the back lot.
Walker is right, that is a 51 Cadillac. My Dad bought one new, remember it well.