1st Concours d'élégance Paleis Het Loo 1999

Where the Eight was Cadillac's base model, the Sixteen was top of the range. And you might already have guessed why: its engine counts twice the cylinders!
The Sixteen was introduced in 1930 to ultimately establish the Cadillac marque within the realms of top luxury car manufacturers like Packard, Peerless and Pierce-Arrow. It succeeded wonderfully and is considered now as one of the greatest cars of that era.
The Sixteen wasn't constructed for high top speeds or amazing acceleration but for extreme cruising luxury. Engine power was ample, torque immense and it was very smooth and well-behaved. The 7414 cc V16 construction allowed for continuous cruising at 110 kph and was powerful enough (165 hp) to top 145 kph, not bad for such a heavy car.
The Cadillac series 452 Sixteen roadster in this picture has bodywork by Fleetwood and just oozes wealth and luxury in my opinion. Fantastic! From 1930 to 1931 some 3,250 Sixteens have been built; pretty amazing if you take the economic crisis in that time into account. After that, the Sixteen ran out of steam but continued to be in production in small numbers up to 1940.

Filling the obvious gap between the Eight and the Sixteen was the Cadillac Twelve. This model appeared nine months after the Sixteen and the V12 engine was in fact a V16 with four cylinders less. The Twelve was constructed on the smaller chassis of the Eight and was considerably cheaper than the Sixteen. Still it was almost as flexible, smooth and silent as the Sixteen.
The 6028 cc V12 engine offered 135 hp and a top speed of 135 kph. During 1930 and 1931 5,725 of them were built. But the depression got the better of the Twelve and sales diminished rapidly, and after 1937 this engine option was dropped.
The flashy bright red Cadillac 370B Twelve here has also roadster bodywork by Fleetwood, quite similar to that of the Sixteen model above. It's hard to tell that the wheelbase of this car is some 20 cm less compared to that of the Sixteen.

The second golden age of the US car industry was undoubtedly at the end of the 1950s and start of the 1960s. Who doesn't know these large cars with big fins on the rear, decorative styling and striking color schemes? The design of the cars were an embodiment of an optimistic view of, and an unshakeable trust in, the future.
A distinctive example of that is this Chrysler 300G model, one of the famous "letter-series" that still makes hearts of enthusiasts run faster. This line of cars was started in 1955 with the 300 model, a full size top of the line hardtop coupe that combined brutal power (300 hp) with attractive sporty styling. The 1956 revision of that model was designated 300B and so the letter-series had begun. Each yearly revision of the 300 model was given an ascending letter, ending in 1965 with the 300L. After that, the 300 series continued without added letter until 1972.
This 1961 300G was on display at the Chrysler stand on the concours location. Chrysler was one of the sponsors of the event. It was in beautiful shape, a very impressive car. The 300G was powered by a big block V8 of 6769 cc, offering 380 hp @ 5000 rpm (400 hp was optional). Top speed was an amazing 240 kph for this 1960 kg car. Only 1,280 300G hardtops have been produced, but the convertible version is even more rare: only 337 left the factory in 1961.

I've mentioned E.L. Cord already in conjunction with the Auburn marque, but he also produced cars under his own name. First of those was this L-29 model, a very technologically advanced front wheel drive luxury car.
Errett Lobban Cord had already taken over control at Auburn and Duesenberg when he decided to develop a car under his own name. The Cord was meant to fill the price gap between the amazing value for money Auburns and the truly exotic and exorbitantly priced Duesenbergs. The model was named after its year of introduction (1929) and the first letter of Mr. Cord's second name (Lobban). Chief engineers were race car builder Harry Miller and Cornelius van Ranst.
The Auburn straight 8-cylinder engine was adapted for front wheel drive and powered the Cord L-29. The novelty of front wheel drive in a production car caused many engineering difficulties and the car had a lot of practical and reliability problems, but it made for a great looking car. It was low slung and had an incredibly long nose, making it a design classic.
Unfortunately the L-29 sold poorly, due to the recession and the unfamiliarity of the public with front wheel drive. Added to that the L-29 was also rather slow and unpractical (huge turning circle for instance). Total production of this car was 5010, produced between 1929 and 1932.
The picture shows a 1929 Cord L-29 with standard cabriolet bodywork. Its 4891 cc 8-cylinder engine turned out 125 hp, resulting in a somewhat ineffective top speed of 120 kph. Acceleration was hopeless: 0-96 kph (0-60 mph) took more than 30 seconds!

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