Other cars -- Chryslers, Lincolns, and DeSotos -- had massive tail fins, but none took them to the heights that Cadillac did. The fin era peaked in 1959 and the Biarritz was the peak of the peak. It was nearly 19 feet long, of which eight feet was front and rear overhang, and weighed more than two-and-a-half tons.
Kitsch for years, these cars are now considered high automotive art. The '59 model launched in a recession and only 1,320 were ever built, so we'll probably never see Don Draper drive one on "Mad Men." You can buy a nice example today for $175,000.
