Cadillac Eldorado
The 1950s brought post-war optimism and rising standards, so Detroit responded with fresh models and more power. But nothing could match the highly exclusive Cadillac Eldorado in 1953. They based it on the Series 62 convertible model. And the Eldorado was the first true personal luxury car as well as the most expensive Cadillac at the time.
In fact, the price of $2,000 was well above the rest of the lineup. The main features included an advanced one-piece wrap-around windshield. It also had an interesting belt line with a slight dip before the rear fenders. The raised tail lights were the announcement for the chrome fins which arrived a few years later.
The power came from the same 5.4-liter V8 as the rest of the models for 1953. But Cadillac only made 532 Eldorados that year. However, in spite of the limited availability, the Eldorado was popular and stayed in the Cadillac portfolio for 50 years.