I feel it would be a cool idea to take a poll on everyone’s favorite taillight design. We could pick just about any body part and find out what people like, come to think of it. Would there be objectivity, or will someone go, “I love 1966 Chevelles, so that’s my favorite taillight!”? That’s not how it’s supposed to work but, when you aggregate human opinions online, you might as well throw any expectations out the window.
One of the below vehicles in my AutoHunter Picks features my favorite taillights of the era (maybe even beyond), but I’ve always had a thing for full-width taillights, perhaps promoted by an early love for the 1966 Ford Thunderbird. Certainly, the taillights of this Pontiac gave the model distinction compared to other Pontiacs, which didn’t share the same design.
1956 Cadillac Hess & Eisenhardt Wagon
What can I say? I’m in love! I have always had an affinity for the 1956 Cadillac, but a custom-built wagon is just over the top for me. Add to it the spectacular colors (both inside and out), and this evening I just might ask my wife about borrowing against our home.
Only seven are claimed to have been built, which could be true considering they were all custom jobs. When you look at “chariot” in the dictionary, an illustration of this wagon would likely be by the definition. Trivia: Hess & Eisenhardt’s parent went out of business in 2022.
1966 Pontiac Grand Prix
Alright, folks, do you prefer the 1965 or ’66? That’s an answer I cannot give, but I absolutely adore the taillights of this 1966 Grand Prix. Other distinctions included parking lights in the grille (pioneering plastic grilles in Detroit, no less), concave backlite (true since ’63), and tasteful chrome touches.
Additionally, this car came from the factory with those classic 8-lug wheels, making this GP as stylish as could be. This is a car whose style is undervalued in the marketplace.
1975 Cadillac Coupe deVille
There was one of these with 12k miles on the side of the road when I was a kid. My dad bought it, and I managed to take it into three digits in the backroads of Lawrenceville, plus I’d go airborne (though not at the same time).
A 90-degree turn would result in me sliding to the passenger side if it wasn’t for the seat belt I was wearing. Though it lacks fins, it’s no less a Caddy than the classics of which we wax poetic, which is why I am waxing about this one, which is much more attractive than the one I almost destroyed.
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited
While I have no love for SUVs, the 1993-98 “ZJ” Jeeps stand out because they set the template for what we could expect from an SUV. Though the 1991 Ford Explorer was the one that truly first gained traction (pun not intended), it’s this Grand Cherokee that, to me, is the template.
The sport-utility market has evolved a lot since then, almost making this ’98 seem quaint, but its red hue, one-family lineage, leather interior, and 57k miles should pique someone’s interest.
