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Topic starter
04/03/2025 3:01 pm
In 1954, a year after the Corvettes debut, the other GM divisions designed their own 2 seat roadsters and convertibles as Motorama concept cars. Buick's Wildcat ll roadster was perhaps the wildest of the group. Under the full width hood that incorporated the front fenders they put a 220 HP 322 cis V8 with 4 Carter carburetors linked to their new Dynaflow automatic. There were 'floating' headlamps attached to the bumpers that had huge "Dagmar" bumper guards. The fender wheel wells revealed chromed inserts in the coves. The tail light assembly was very similar to their to their top-of-the-line Skylark for that year. The Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels had the tri-color roundel on the hubs. The car still exists today and is supposedly a lot of fun to drive.
Model by Minichamps:
04/03/2025 3:18 pm
I wondered why those bumper guards were called "Dagmars." ChatGtp said...
Old-school bumper guards, especially from the 1950s, were called "Dagmars" because they resembled the prominent, pointed brassieres worn by actress and television personality Dagmar (real name Virginia Ruth Egnor). She was a popular blonde bombshell of the early TV era, often appearing in tight-fitting outfits that accentuated her curves.
Car manufacturers, especially Cadillac, designed large, protruding, bullet-shaped bumper guards as a styling trend in the late 1940s and early 1950s. These features, particularly on Cadillacs from 1946 to the mid-1950s, reminded people of Dagmar’s famous figure, and the nickname stuck.
They were part of the exaggerated, jet-age styling of the era, emphasizing power, luxury, and a bit of playful excess.
Topic starter
04/03/2025 3:26 pm
04/03/2025 3:38 pm
Yep; nearly always associated with the Caddy.I wondered why those bumper guards were called "Dagmars." ChatGtp said...
Old-school bumper guards, especially from the 1950s, were called "Dagmars" because they resembled the prominent, pointed brassieres worn by actress and television personality Dagmar (real name Virginia Ruth Egnor). She was a popular blonde bombshell of the early TV era, often appearing in tight-fitting outfits that accentuated her curves.
Car manufacturers, especially Cadillac, designed large, protruding, bullet-shaped bumper guards as a styling trend in the late 1940s and early 1950s. These features, particularly on Cadillacs from 1946 to the mid-1950s, reminded people of Dagmar’s famous figure, and the nickname stuck.
They were part of the exaggerated, jet-age styling of the era, emphasizing power, luxury, and a bit of playful excess.
04/03/2025 3:41 pm
I wondered why those bumper guards were called "Dagmars."
You can tease me about gassers vs. drag cars vs. funny cars vs. altereds ..... to me, they're ALL gassers! 😀 😜 But being the Caddy fan that I am, I know all about "Dagmars." 😉 😏
As always Rich, terrific pics!
04/03/2025 3:53 pm
A sensational dream car and Minichamps replica of it. Bumpers like that would be the highlight of any car !
04/03/2025 4:23 pm
04/03/2025 4:26 pm
04/03/2025 8:03 pm
When MiniChamps did these models I was running out of display space so I acquired all of them in 1/43 scale.