Poll: Which '59? (2/4/2026)

True giants of the road in 1959 ! Driving one of these luxury automobiles meant you had definitely successfully made it. If necessary, you could land your private airplane on the hood or roof .....  

All three of these cars were not very attractive IMHO in 1959.  The Imperial grille looks extremely overdone and heavy, almost amateurish; the shoulder years were nice looking cars.  The Cadillac massive fins seem way out of proportion; the '60 is much more balanced.  The Lincoln is massive looking but the grille is a vast improvement over the horrible "google eyed" '58.  I give the nod to the Lincoln, but think the '60 is the better looking of this design's 3 year run.

Although the Imperial, to my eye, looks more nicely styled, I have to go with the icon of iconic periods; the 1959 finned & lovely CdV!!

1959 Cadillac is huge but iconic so I voted for it.  I wonder what it was like to park one of these on a busy street and how many times you had to ride around the block to find a space for one. 

I usually vote for the Mopar but the Imperial grill looks like it could scrape the ground it was so heavy but I think the tail lights and the design of the roof and trunk are cool.

The Lincoln is a mess. 

...ez-peazy.   Cadillac.  😉 

I went with the Caddy as well, it would have been the Imperial, but I also am not a fan of that grille. The '58 was much better. The Lincoln, I have mixed feelings on that one.

By comparison, the Lincoln is by far the most tasteful of these three which i never thought I would be saying. The Cadillac and Imperial both look like the designers just stood back and started throwing gadgets at their cars to see what would stick. IMO  the designers of these two cars should have been embarrassed to collect their paychecks.

I voted Imperial. I've read Chrysler threw money at these, and it looks a bit outrageous. Of course the Cadillac is even more so, but it comes second.

If it was not for the tire bump on the trunk of the Imperial, I would have picked it.  The Cadillac for me in this grouping.  I do not know what to say about the Lincoln.  It kind of reminds me of the rear of a T-Bird, side of a Mercury and I do not know where the nose came from.

@jack-dodds Jack +1. Begrudgingly because I think they are all too large.

This is what I love about your comparisons John; in this case these cars competed in the same class/price range yet were so completely different from one another.  The way these differences impact Forumites is equally varied and I find our reasons for liking or disliking them very interesting.  USA sales stats for these three marques (all body styles) are interesting as well: shocking to me in fact *(see below).  GM was smiling all the way to the bank!  Given the outlandish, "over the top" styling of their '59 Caddy versus its comparatively conservative and very successful previous years, I would say it was a very significant gamble as to how it would be received.  I'm sure there was heated discussion in the board room before production approval was granted.  These comparison sales numbers were very similar for 1960 as well, further signifying this GM home run decision.  Cadillac sales seem to have truly dominated this segment for many years before and after 1959.

*The 1959 Imperial was a luxury, full-size vehicle, featuring a 226.3-inch length. While 17,710 units were sold, this was significantly less than competitors such as Cadillac, which sold 142,272, or Lincoln, which sold 26,906, notes Curbside Classic. 

@david-green @jack-dodds Jack +1. Begrudgingly because I think they are all too large.

This era Lincoln seemed to me to present as far too large but I must say that the 2drht. version (posted by John) lessens this impression significantly for me.

@bob-jackman plus one. I don't care for luxury cars to start with. Lincoln is the lessor of the evil monsters.

This is a prime example of absurd!  I'm not a fan of any of the three, and if a gun was held to my head and I had to choose one, I'm thinking I'd tell the gun holder to pull the trigger! 

It's like the Big Three had a contest to see which of them could out ugly each other.  And they all lost the contest!  I refrain from giving a vote on this one.