It lent its name to films and records, inspired our imagination and contaminated popular culture with its curves, edges and, above all, its color - pink. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the Cadillac.
A certain America fits in the trunk of a pink Cadillac. The trunk but also the white upholstery of the wide and deep seats, an imaginary with an open top and hair flying to the wind, with dark sunglasses and a cigarette between red lips, in a perpetual escape towards the horizon, to freedom and a golden age that we are not sure how it crystallized. There is a certain American dream in this gigantic car that decorates our thoughts when we imagine the land of diners and milkshakes, rock'n'roll and hoola hoops, a land blessedly crossed by Route 66. There is no exaggeration here. The imagery of a particular romantic idea of America includes, among its components, the famous pink Cadillac. By the way, and since Route 66 is mentioned: near Amarillo, Texas, there is the Cadillac Ranch on the edge of the most famous North American transcontinental road. It is not exactly a Texan ranch, it is rather a megalomaniacal sculpture by the artistic intervention group Ant Farm. In a terrain crossed by Route 66, there are ten Cadillacs with the front part buried in the ground, from the rear up, in an almost vertical position. None of the cars have pink paintwork, but all models - from the Club Coupe to the 1963 Sedan, and the Coupe de Ville - were launched between 1949 and 1963, precisely the golden period in which we will end up placing the pink Cadillac. By the way, Cadillac Ranch itself has a prominent place in pop culture - and so we enter a cycle-matrioska: within one phenomenon there is another, which contains yet another. Therefore, and going back to the Cadillac Ranch, there is a song by Bruce Springsteen dedicated to it on the album The River, from 1980. Unsurprisingly, the song is called Cadillac Ranch, and it is the first of two Boss compositions dedicated to the iconic American luxury car brand. The second was released in 1984, on the mythical album Born in the USA, as a b-side of the first single, the smash hit Dancer in the Dark. The song is called Pink Cadillac, which is great, because that is how we put the Cadillac back on track, because it is this one, the pink Cadillac, and not another vehicle, that we are talking about here.
It's the king’s fault
The original idea of the pink Cadillac has an author and a signature - and what a signature. It was Elvis Presley, himself, the king of rock'n'roll, who popularized the pink Cadillac, of which he had two models. The first, a 1954 Fleetwood Series 60, was actually pink. However, what the car had in abundance in terms of beauty, it lacked efficiency in terms of braking: and it was the lack of brakes that caused it to crash on a side of the road. The car would eventually be destroyed after it burned down following the accident. But the Cadillac bug had already bewitched the King, who did not hesitate to order a new car of the same brand, and of the same model. Only the color was different. Sure, it was different when it was purchased, but it didn't take long for Elvis to have it painted again, and that was how a blue and black Cadillac became indiscreetly pink, with a white cap. It was this pink Cadillac that Bruce Springsteen had in mind when he sang on that b-side in Dancer in the Dark that was talked about back in the beginning of the text. Natalie Cole, in 1988, and before the Southern Pacific, in 1986, did covers of the song, amplifying its reach and the popularity of the already famous automobile of our dreams. But is this really the Cadillac we imagine? The truth is, in principle, no. The most famous – because it was the most reproduced and made iconic - of the pink Cadillacs is the 1959 model, the Cadillac Series 62 Convertible, the one with the rear headlights at the end of sharp edges, inspired by shark fins. Interestingly, Cadillac did not produce any pink car of this model, that is, all that exist were customized by their owners, who thus helped to build this romanticized idea of one of the most famous convertibles in history.
In pop culture
The pink Cadillac has become so entrenched in popular imagination and has won such a cult that even today the expression “pink Cadillac” is stamped on countless luminous advertisem*nts in North American establishments, from roadside diners to pubs where bourbon is drunk by the counter in tiny glasses, as Hollywood imagery demands, and drive-in cinemas as well: there are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of signs bearing the name - and often parts of the car, if not even the whole car, to present themselves to the public. In addition to the 1959 pink Cadillac miniatures offered for sale by houses such as the Franklin Mint, among others, the famous model gave a title or was the motto for several films and records. In 1989, Buddy Van Horn directed the action comedy Pink Cadillac, starring Clint Eastwood, for example. Ten years earlier, in 1979, country musician John Prine released an album of the same name. Douglas Adams, in his fabulous Hitchhicker’s Guide to the Galaxy, describes Elvis Presley in a passage - Elvis is the driver of a pink ship, in a clear allusion to his pink Cadillac. The list with references and presences of this indiscreet dream extravaganza on wheels could go on, but we can stop everything when we find a co*cktail named after him. It's Pink Cadillac Margarita and goes like this: tequila of the best quality - this is essential, it must be the best - hibiscus salt to wrap the glass, a sweet and sour cream (they are available in specialty stores: look for sweet & sour mix), cranberry juice, Triple Sec Cointreau or Grand Marnier, quarters of lime and crushed ice. Cling! A toast to the pink Cadillac. May the car of our dreams be pink.
Translated from the original on the "Pink Issue", from may 2021.Full credits and story on the print version.
