The freedom to make choices is a fundamental part of the car hobby in our opinion here at MyStarCollectorCar, including the controversial topic of fender skirts.
We also believe fender skirt beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the choice is very subjective, depending upon one’s personal tastes.
Jim Sutherland
Consequently, MyStarCollectorCar picked five of our favorite fender-skirted cars and are certain our readers’ choices may vary wildly from our picks because fender skirts do not belong on every vehicle. We will also select our five choices of vehicles that we at MyStarCollectorCar believe look much better without fender skirts in a follow-up article to this piece about fender skirt love.
Bear in mind we will concentrate on rear fender skirts for our list, even though a few exotic cars from the past also sported front fender skirts.
Our list for fender skirts on cars begins during the pre-war era when higher end cars had them and separated themselves from the unwashed automotive masses because the big buck rides had fender skirts. Skirts were a way to make blocky pre-war cars more aerodynamic and stylish for their affluent buyers, so MyStarCollectorCar’s list would include any 1930s-era luxury ride with fender skirts.
The second vehicle on our list would be late 1940s and early 1950s domestic cars that underwent a major facelift when their builders replaced their outdated designs used from the early war years until 1948.
As mentioned earlier, we believe curves matter when it comes to fender skirts because they can enhance the vehicle’s overall style when applied properly to a car built during that time frame. Ford and Mercury products built from 1949 until 1951 are solid candidates for fender skirts, mainly because they are very popular candidates for customs. Therefore, fender skirts are the cherry on top in our view here at MyStarCollectorCar.
However, fender skirts also work on GM products (such as Chevy, Olds, Pontiac and Buick) built during the same era (late 1940s-early 1950s), even though GM cars are not as popular in the eyes of most car guys who build custom rides from that era. Nevertheless, we believe these cars are very solid candidates for fender skirts, given their overall factory design.
The third addition to our fender skirt list is any C-body (Mopar’s biggest land yachts) Chrysler product built during the mid to late 1960s. C-body Chrysler models underwent a major facelift in 1965 and became solid candidates for fender skirts with their new style.
The cars were less curvy than their predecessors and their low-slung appearance was well-suited for subtle fender skirts on their rear fender wheel openings because they were also low-slung.
The fourth members of our fender skirt list are the 1955-56 Ford models. The cars’ wheel wells already covered most of the rear tires, so the add-on fender skirts were not a radical style shift and instead enhanced the 1955-56 Fords’ overall design in our opinion here at MyStarCollectorCar.
Fender skirts also made the ’55-56 Fords look faster because they enhanced the cars’ side trim spears and subtle rear tailfins during an era when the space age style was in vogue.
The fifth and final addition to our “fender-skirts-are-cool-club” is any Cadillac model built between 1949 and 1970 (rear wheel drive versions only) because these cars were made for fender skirts. Cadillacs may have undergone countless style changes during that time frame, but one thing was certain: fender skirts were a runaway winner for the General’s flagship throughout the years in question.
Next time, MyStarCollectorCar will reveal our choices for cars that should not have fender skirts.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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