1955 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible

"The true worth of any possession may be measured largely in terms of the enjoyment it brings its owner. And that is why the great Cadillac car must be counted among the most prized of personal possessions. For certain it is that few worldly belongings add so much to the sheer joy of living.

In the first place, it stands completely alone in all the things that make a motor car a pleasure to utilize. Through every mile of every journey, it provides recreation and comfort in unprecedented measure. And how rewarding a Cadillac is to own! Owners everywhere will tell you that it is their greatest source of pride and happiness  . . .  and that it enhances their daily satisfaction to an unbelievable degree.

Of course, it isn't necessary to decide on a Cadillac solely for your personal gratification. For the car is practical as well as wonderful  . . .  and represents a surprisingly sound investment. Why not visit your Cadillac dealer today — and see if you are among the many who should move up to the 'car of cars'?"

We don't know what kind of substances were involved when the advertisers were texting for this 1955 Cadillac ad, but for certain they pulled the "big guns", verbally. The car they praised, though, was well worth the admiration, exuding a rare mixture of dazzling road presence and refined understatement at the same time.

To strike such a fine balance between flamboyance and sophistication requires experienced styling mastery and no one could have done a better job than the GM Design Department. Through the mid-1950s, the design team around Harley Earl was the undisputed pacesetter for automotive style, and Cadillac was their poster child. The designers did incredibly well in developing the Cadillac form language very carefully. The cars appeared "new" every year, but because the alterations were subtle, there was a continuity of design that wouldn't make older Cadillacs look outdated — exactly what Cadillac's conservative clientele longed for. 140,777 Cadillac were produced in 1955. That was significantly more than the 93,901 cars which America's other luxury makers — Lincoln, Packard and Imperial — sold combined. Cadillac owned the luxury market in these days, and rightfully so.

The massive grace of the Cadillac models was not a hollow promise. These cars were built rock solid, and a true engineering showcase, too. Even today, the automatically retractable roof and power windows of our pictured Cadillac operate as quiet and effortless as they did six decades ago.

1973-1974 Toyota Land Cruiser Hardtop

"Built to the teeth, the Land Cruiser is a solid example of traditional Toyota craftsmanship. Put together with nuts, bolts, cotter pins rivets and welds. For roads that are buckety, we don't build anything rickety."

The Jeep. The Land Rover. The Land Cruiser. For half a century, these were your best options if you went somewhere remote and needed a seriously tough off-road vehicle.

Just like the Willys Jeep, the Toyota Land Cruiser originates from military needs. The outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 urged the U.S. forces in Japan to commission domestic car manufacturers with the development and production of light 4x4 vehicles and trucks. Toyota had a prototype of the "Toyota Jeep BJ" ready by January 1951. The car was built in rather small numbers for governmental use since 1953, and soon would evolve into the Land Cruiser, when trademark violation claims by Willys made a renaming inevitable.

The commercial Toyota Land Cruiser debuted in 1954, but its stereotypical look should emerge with the second generation, built between 1960 and 1984. Throughout its lifetime, this generation of Land Cruiser models received a number of improvements which makes it possible to narrow down the production year of our pictured car to the time between 1973 and 1974. In 1973, Toyota added a fuel filler door, while 1974 was the last year of the flat doors. Redesigned doors from 1975 onwards would have lift-type door handles, and embossed sheet metal to increase stiffness. Accordingly, the door hinges were now recessed into the door panels.

Toyota's Land Cruiser is quite a familiar sight in Cuba. Mostly registered to state-owned businesses, they're usually in a good shape. The sunny climate of Cuba is no real tread to the most common corrosion problems, and their mechanically sound construction helps the Toyotas to keep marching on without too much trouble.

1955 Packard Clipper

"Small wonder people with a desire for individuality so warmly welcome this distinctive new car which sets both itself and its owner apart from the crowd. There's nothing uncertain in their approval  . . .  they are trying and buying the 1955 Clipper in unprecedented numbers. One visit to your Packard dealer will show you the reason for this tremendous reception  . . .  and will convince you the 1955 Clipper is the most individually distinctive car in the medium price field."

Who wouldn't like to be an individualist? At first glance, the advertisement for the new 1955 Clipper sounds great, but in its historic context this was the only way left for Packard to distinguish themselves from the overwhelming competition. Packard's brand image as America's undisputed luxury leader gradually diminished since the company had decided to expand Packard's high dollar lineup into the medium price field, and launched the Clipper in 1941.

Because Clipper sales initially looked very promising, Packard's brass came to the conclusion to base the more prestigious Packard models on the successful Clipper design, too. This idea didn't go down well with Packard's conservative clientele who wouldn't see the point of paying a premium price for almost identical looking models, save for different trim appointments. Besides, the Clipper managed to conquer customers  from other makes at a disappointing rate of 30 percent. The vast majority of Clipper buyers were Packard owners that previously had been paying much more money for their Packard. That seriously affected the revenue and made substantial product updates nearly impossible.

In the mid-1950s, Packard was in the unfortunate situation of being neither fish nor flesh because of its ambiguous brand image. The wealthy clientele went on to buy shiny new Cadillacs, while the sensible customers didn't see much value in the low-end Packards when a Oldsmobile or Buick offered more glamour for the same buck. By 1954, Packard's sales had dropped to around 31,000.

Packard president James Nance settled on a twofold solution for the dilemma: first, separating the Clipper as an own marque from the pricier models (effective from 1956 and revoked already mid-year, after massive dealer complaints), and second, a merger with another independent car manufacturer. Hudson and Nash had just found each other to form AMC, and, brokered by the Lehman Brothers of New York, Studebaker seemed to be the most promising candidate left. Unfortunately, this shouldn't be the last time the Lehman Brothers miserably failed in their prediction: only after the merger, Packard should realize the precarious financial situation of the South Bend brand.

Back to the Clipper: the facelift for 1955 indeed transformed the Packard into a all-new looking car. The designers under the lead of Richard Teague skillfully modernized the aging Packard body from 1951 by adding a panoramic windshield and a new front clip sporting ultra-fashionable hooded headlights which appeared on this year's Mercury, too. Under the skin, Packard had some real goodies to offer for 1955: an all-new V-8 engine, "Twin Ultramatic Transmission" and  optional "Torsion-Level Ride" made the Clipper a truly competitive automobile.

Around 55,000 cars sold in 1955 were an encouraging sign of relief, but the profit went directly into covering the losses caused by the merger with Studebaker. Developing a new body didn't seem reasonable, and thus, the next generation of Packards should merely become rebadged Studebakers. By now, only a few would perceive a Packard a luxurious automobile, and consequently the less than 2,600 cars sold in 1958 became the last Packards ever.