Cars Of The Stars
There is no doubt we are living in a celebrity-obsessed culture. We scrutinize their homes, their fashion鈥nd their cars. And in some cases, a star鈥檚 particular automobile has gone on to become famous (or infamous) in its own right. Here are five cars that have become crucial, in their own ways, to the legacy of their masters. Elvis Presley was rock and roll鈥檚 first real superstar, and many things have become synonymous with his name: the famous hip shake, the hair, the glittery jumpsuits and aviator shades. But perhaps nothing is more closely associated with the Elvis legend than the Pink Cadillac. To this day, just about any tribute to the King, whether it鈥檚 a painting or a movie or an impersonation, will find a way to feature the car as well. Elvis is believed to have purchased some 200-plus cars, most of them given away to friends and family. The garage at the Graceland museum features sixteen from his personal collection. And yes, many of them are Cadillacs of the mid-to-late 1950s variety. The original Cadillac was a 1954 Fleetwood Series 60, which Elvis bought for himself and his band.
At the time, a Cadillac was the ultimate status symbol, exactly the sort of thing that a poor boy from Mississippi would buy to show the world that he鈥檇 arrived. The car was destroyed in a fire along an Arkansas highway, the result of an overheated brake lining. Later that same year, Elvis bought another Series 60 (blue with a black roof) which he had repainted pink. The car was given to his beloved mother as a gift, even though she could not drive and had never had a driver鈥檚 license. Today, the car remains on display at Graceland. Note: Some artists choose to depict the Caddy as a '59 DeVille rather than a '54 Fleetwood. This is probably because the '59, with its famous tail fins, is more recognizable. John Lennon probably wanted a Rolls for the same reason that Elvis wanted a Cadillac. It was less of a car and more of a calling card: a sign of power and prestige. Lennon purchased the Phantom V limousine in 1965. At the time, it was painted a traditional black.
He rarely drove it himself (he was, by his own admission, a terrible driver) and preferred to lounge in the back while his chauffeur did the work. The car was used to take the Beatles to Buckingham Palace to receive their MBEs from Her Majesty later that year. The Rolls Royce鈥檚 famous psychedelic paint job was done by a Dutch artist鈥檚 group known collectively as The Fool. Among the other additions to the car were a TV, a refrigerator, a bed in place of a backseat, and a specially modified record player that wouldn鈥檛 skip while the car was in motion. Lennon had the car shipped to America in the 1970s after moving there with Yoko Ono. He hardly used it while stateside, preferring to loan it instead to various rock star friends, including Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. He sold the car to the Cooper-Hewett Museum in 1977, while facing tax problems.
It has remained in various collections ever since. Neil Young is many things: folky troubadour, rock and roll wildman, environmental activist, and a famous lover of cars. In 2010 he had his 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible, a true gas-guzzler, converted into an electric hybrid. The project鈥攄ubbed 鈥淟incvolt鈥濃€攚as undertaken by Young himself and Jonathan Goodman, the owner of SAE Energy. Their original goal was to enter鈥攁nd win鈥攖he Automotive X Prize competition, the objective of which was to design a car that could get 100 miles out of a gallon of gas. Lincvolt was forced to drop out of the competition, however, because the goal involved designing a business model, not an actual car. Lincvolt was damaged in a fire in 2010, but has since returned to the road. Young still owns and drives it, and the car can be said to reflect his own approach to music: an unusual and fascinating blend of old and new.
