A glamorous golden oldie: a rare 1953 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Fiesta gets set for auction

Richard Holt
Updated
The 1953 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Fiesta - Erik Fuller ©2017 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
The 1953 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Fiesta - Erik Fuller ©2017 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

In the 21st Century, the car industry is trying to do two very different things. On the one hand it is producing an increasing number of crazily powerful cars that bring high-speed driving within the reach of ever more people. On the other hand, it is trying to prepare itself for the day, not long from now, when driving on the road will not be entrusted to anything so fallible and clumsy as a human being.

The 1953 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Fiesta - Credit: Erik Fuller
The impressively imposing car, which was a star of the 50's Motorama fair Credit: Erik Fuller

Soon car companies must decide how much resource to put into each of these diverging priorities. Driving just for the fun of it will become a niche activity, something that a small number of die-hard motorists do on private land, far from lampposts and pedestrians.  Everyone else will just want comfortable, safe, autonomous vehicles that do as they are told.

The 1953 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Fiesta - Credit: Erik Fuller
The retro interior Credit: Erik Fuller

We all know this is inevitable, the only uncertainty is how long it will all take. The car industry is no longer some great adventure into the unknown, because we know where it is heading. In mid-20th century USA, however, there was new money, new technology, and endless confidence. The car industry was like Silicon Valley is today, selling products that offer a view into a previously unimaginable future, allowing the consumer to see far beyond the limits of his home town.

The 1953 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Fiesta - Credit: Erik Fuller
The car was full of the latest technology Credit: Erik Fuller

General Motors was then the largest company in the world and throughout the 1950s it led the charge with a series of glitzy roadshows called Motorama, where it would show off all the latest Cadillacs, Buicks and Oldsmobiles, along with fancy prototypes and concept cars. In keeping with the industry’s position as a tech leader, GM did not limit itself to cars, but had fashion shows produced by the company’s own design team, and screened slick movies showing fully automated kitchens of the future.

The Oldsmobile pictured here is a rarity – a show car created for the 1953 Motorama that was actually made available to the public, albeit in limited numbers. The Ninety-Eight Fiesta had all the latest innovations beneath its two-tone paint job, including a wraparound windscreen, spinning wheel covers, as well as power steering, power brakes and power windows – it even had a power seat, in 1953.

Its striking two-tone paint job - Credit: Erik Fuller
Its striking two-tone paint job Credit: Erik Fuller

A new car launch in the car in the 1950s could create the same buzz as a new iPhone being unveiled today. But watching a striking new car like this being paraded along a catwalk cannot be compared to the sight of a middle-aged pluto-nerd holding up a phone that looks suspiciously like the one he showed us last time. This car is a reminder not just of a golden age of motoring, but of a golden age full-stop. This was a time when you could get into a car and drive into the future, rather than watch it on a little screen.

The 1953 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Fiesta - Credit: Erik Fuller
The classic car is set for auction through RM Sotheby's Credit: Erik Fuller

The 1953 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Fiesta is Lot 153 in the RM Sotheby’s Hershey sale in Pennsylvania, USA, on Thursday October 5th. Estimate $150,000 - $175,000 (£110,000 - £130,000)