What happened to the Rocker panel trim on the 1957 Eldorado ??

[Bill Balkie 24172]

Hello ,
   I have a 57 Eldorado Seville ,and always wondered why Cadillac  decided to eliminate the Rocker panel trim on that model .  All other 1957  models have it including the 1958 Eldorado .  Some time ago i purchased a Danbury mint Model of my car, and added the trim to the model just to see what it looked like . In my opinion the trim adds to the beauty of the car .  Just wondering if anybody else ever thought about it . i have added a few pictures with and without .

[Quentin Hall Australia]

G'day Bill,
            Ron Hill was straight out of Art school and this was his first design, the 57 Eldo rear end. He was partial to the clean lines of European design particularly in sports cars. If I recall correctly he drove a 356 Porsche at the time. As the Eldorado Seville and Biarritz were considered Cadillacs Sporty offerings it must have been a quandry to compare the barge-like, bejewelled Eldorado to the spartan Porsche. I read various articles over the years where he implied that a lot of the younger designers hated the overabundence of chrome. The removal of the sill moulds is perhaps a legacy of this thought. 
            I admit to once thinking that the car would look better with the sill moulds added, but now finding myself loving the austerity of the way it was built. I know the following year the 58 had gobs of chrome, as too the 59 Eldo, but it just makes me love the 57 that little bit more. 
But you are not alone as I remember seeing a movie one of Ed Woods' (can't remember the name now) from 1958. And a 57 Biarritz drives past with sills added. 
             Q

[Bill Balkie 24172]

Quentin,
   Thank you so much for your response , and for sharing your knowledge on the mid 50's cadillac , and the designer Ron Hill . As much as i like the 58 and the 59 models , with all the chrome . The 57 Eldorado in my opinion, is a clean look with just enough chrome . The back end truly tells the world it is something special .  My car is all Stock and does very well at shows . However i am on the fence about adding the sills to the bottom of my car . I look at it this way , i can alway remove them if i want to .  I also think the 1963 models are also very clean and stately looking .

  Bill