May 2000
AutoInc. Cover

This would be the last body offering where Cadillac would use the sleek sedanette fastback styling, which the company started in 1933, calling it "aerodynamic." The first new postwar body styling for Cadillac shows up on this 1948 model, with the famous "airplane tail fins" that started a whole new styling competition to see which manufacturer could have the biggest fins. Even with all-new styling, the engine was still a somewhat-updated version of the venerable flathead V-8 introduced in 1937. This Series 61 was the least expensive Cadillac and has few accessories, with the exception being the Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. It is owned by Doug Dauterman and is completely original with factory-applied powder blue nitrocellulose lacquer.

© Bud Juneau Photography