Personal luxury car is a North American car classification describing somewhat sporty, sophisticated mass-market coupés that emphasized comfort over performance.[1] The North American manufacturers most often combined engineering, design, and marketing to develop upscale, distinctive "platform sharing" models that became highly profitable.[2]
Although luxury coupes had been produced in North America for several decades previously, the beginning of the "personal luxury car" genre is generally considered to have started in 1958,[3] due to the success of the Ford Thunderbird (second generation) when it was redesigned from a two-seat car to a four-seat car.[4][5][6][7] These changes shifted the Thunderbird's emphasis from sporting to comfort and luxury, and sales increased by 50 percent.[3] The Thunderbird was sold for eleven generations up until the 2005 model year.
The longest-running nameplate of the personal luxury car was the 50-year production of the Cadillac Eldorado, which started in the 1953 model year, originally designating ultra-premium, low-volume versions of lower-priced Cadillac models, including the hand-built four-door 1957 Eldorado Brougham. According to Hemmings Motor News, Cadillac first entered the "personal luxury car" market in 1967, with a smaller high-volume model.[8]
Before the late 1970s, personal luxury cars were usually large, rear-wheel drive vehicles powered by large V8 engines. As a result of the downsizing trend in the American automotive industry during the late 1970s, many personal luxury cars have been produced as mid-size cars with six-cylinder engines and front-wheel drive. By the 21st century, the personal luxury market had largely disappeared as consumers migrated to other market segments.
^Fitzgerald, Craig (September 2019). "Personal Luxury Coupes of the 1960s and 1970s". BestRide. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
^Koscs, Jim (January 8, 2014). "Instant Car-ma: How Detroit created the 'personal luxury' boom on the cheap". Hagerty. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
^ abGartman, David (1994). Auto opium: a social history of American automobile design. Taylor & Francis. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-415-10572-9.
^Genat, Robert (2006). Hemi Muscle. Motorbooks. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-7603-2678-7. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
^Koscs, Jim (May 23, 2016). "Other Perspectives: what is a Thunderbird". AutomotiveMileposts.com. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
^"1958 Ford Thunderbird: Personal Luxury 101". AutomotiveMileposts.com. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
^Vaughan, Daniel (March 23, 2006). "1958 Ford Thunderbird". Conceptcarz.com. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
^McGean, Terry (December 2010). "1967 Cadillac Eldorado". Hemmings Motor News. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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