Fifties Fins

Inspired largely by rapid advances in aviation technology, the automobile tailfin became one of the most potent symbols of 1950s American affluence and the optimism represented by the dawning Space Age.

This colorful looks back at the greatest automotive styling craze ever features dozens of modern color photos depicting tailfins and the cars they adorn, from the first subtle incarnations to appear on the 1948 Cadillac to the nearly absurd variations seen on American avenues and highways in 1959.

Automobiles from each of the "Big Three" American manufacturers are represented, as are others which have gone by the wayside, including Kaiser-Frazer, Packard and Studebaker.