Sometimes, more is just too much. The 1959 Cadillacs marked the peak—and the end—of an era of stylistic one-upmanship fueled by America’s fascination with aviation. Lavishly chromed and featuring aggressive front ends, 1950s American cars saw their tailfins grow to extravagant proportions. The ’59 Caddies were the ultimate expression of this trend. Considering they were aimed at a wealthy, mature, and rather serious clientele, the contrast between intent and execution is almost comical. By the following model year, designers had already begun drastically scaling back their metallic space-age excesses.