The perfect car? A 1959 Cadillac Eldorado

Assuming that any US roadtrip is going to involve far more long-distance cruising than backroads cornering, there’s only one choice to live the American Dream.

The main essential is a big, unstressed, rumbling V8 engine. Sure, 1950s Chevrolet Corvettes have character in abundance but their two-seat layout is an obvious drawback. The seminal Ford Mustang Mk1 (1965-73), as driven by Steve McQueen in the 1968 film Bullitt, is the other classic American machine you’ll want to be seen arriving in.

But what you really need is a Cadillac Eldorado. The fourth-generation model, released in 1959, is the pinnacle of the US “fins and chrome” era of US car design, when optimism and excess combined to spectacular effect. It had a 6.4-litre V8 developing 345bhp, although this was blunted by the massive car’s 2.5-tonne weight.

Serial Cadillac fan Elvis Presley owned an early Eldorado, which probably tells you all you need to know. Even if you don’t know what it is, you’ve probably seen a ’59 Eldorado in countless US films and TV shows, while many found their way to Europe as a symbol of postwar US excess.

However, the magic lasted only a year. While similar at a glance, the 1960 model was toned down (a relative term), with lower tailfins and significantly less chrome.

Possibly even more than in its heyday, this is one of the few cars in the world that will turn heads wherever you roam.

Paul Hudson, Motoring Editor