Car: Cadillac DeVille Convertible

Year: 1965

What makes it special: The DeVille was originally a trim level and later a separate model produced by Cadillac. The first car to bear the name was the 1949 Coupe de Ville, a pillarless two-door hardtop body style with a prestige trim level above that of the Series 62 luxury coupe. The last model to be formally known as a DeVille was the 2005 Cadillac DeVille, a full-size sedan, the largest car in the Cadillac model range at the time. The next year, the DeVille was officially renamed DTS.

What made it famous: As it had been since DeVille became a separate series, DeVille denoted Cadillac’s mainstream model, falling between the Calais and the Sixty Special and Eldorado. The DeVille was redesigned for 1965 but rode on the same wheelbase. Tailfins were canted slightly downward, and sharp, distinct body lines replaced the rounded look. Also new were a straight rear bumper and vertical lamp clusters. The headlight pairs switched from horizontal to vertical, thus permitting a wider grille. Curved frameless side windows appeared, and convertibles acquired tempered glass backlights. New standard features included lamps for luggage, glove and rear passenger compartments and front and rear safety belts. Power was still supplied by the 340 horsepower 429 cu in V8. Perimeter frame construction allowed repositioning the engine six inches forward in the frame, thus lowering the transmission hump and increasing interior room. Pillared sedans appeared on the DeVille series for the first time, while six-window hardtop sedans were dropped. A padded vinyl roof was a $121 extra-cost option on the hardtop model. All four DeVille models had small “Tiffany-like” script nameplates on the ends of their rear fenders just above the chrome side molding.

Why I would want one: Love the stacked headlights, and the downward canted tailfins.

Fun fact: The name “DeVille” is derived from the French de la ville or de ville meaning “Of the town.” The first Cadillac “Coupe de Ville” was shown during the 1949 Motorama.

Car: Nash Metropolitan

Year: 1954

What makes it special: The 1954-1956 Nash Metropolitan Series 54 was Nash president George Mason’s idea of the ultimate commuter/shopping car. Styling was based on the Bill Flajole design for the NXI show car and bore a resemblance to the big Nash, but the scale was tiny. The Met’s wheelbase was shorter than a VW Beetle’s. The Met had modest success in the United States and was continued by AMC even after Nash and Hudson had left the scene, both badges were used on the car so both sets of dealers could sell it.

What made it famous: Bodies were built in England by Fisher & Ludlow, and the four-cylinder engines came from Austin, which also did final assembly. A three-passenger convertible and fixed-roof hardtop were offered. Later cars had flashy two-tone paint that reminded one stylist of “Neapolitan ice cream.” The little 1.2-liter engine was bored out to 1.5 liters during the 1956 model year to produce the Met 1500, and the car would remain basically unaltered until sales ceased in the early ’60s.

Why I would want one: It’s no speed demon or sports car in any form, but it’s design made the car famous, and also a collector item.

Fun fact: In today’s terminology the Metropolitan is a “subcompact”, but this category had not yet come into use when the car was made. At that time, it was variously categorized, for example as a “small automobile” as well as an “economy car”.