1956 Oldsmobile: Maximum Ovals

Following some rather busy designs -- especially that for the 1942 model year -- Oldsmobile styling settled into a pattern of comparatively simple grille designs.  I wrote about that here.

The general grille frame theme was a half-oval.  That is, assume an oval horizontally positioned.  Then sliced in half horizontally.  The detached upper half roughly approximating the grille framing. 

That continued until model years 1955-1957 when the framing became essentially ovaloid.  Leading up to this was the presence of oval details elsewhere on the cars.

The peak-oval model year seems to have been 1956, as shown on today's featured car below.  For 1958 and beyond, Oldsmobile styling went on other paths.

Gallery

1953 Oldsmobile 98 Holiday Coupe - via Hemmings
The oval theme is seen on the bumper guards.

1954 Oldsmobile Dashboard
The first year of 1954-1956 bodies.  The main items are circular or nearly so.

1956 Oldsmobile 98 Holiday Coupe - car-for sale photo set
But for 1956 they became oval.

Plenty of curves that aren't actual ovals, yet harken to the idea.  Note the non-circular, non-rectangular, sorta teardrop wheel openings.  Plus the side chrome trim the can be interpreted as distorted-oval.

Rear styling lacks the oval-derived them seen elsewhere.

Ah, the grille framed by the bumper.  Basically a stretched oval.