Cadillac Ranch – A Classic Icon Of Route 66

Classic Route 66 vehicles

In a rather poignant way, classic car motoring on Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, is a rather beautiful thing. It's a monument to America's past, where the big sky covered a wide-eyed landscape and your dreams could come true if you worked hard, and where your car was so large you probably couldn't touch the shoulder of the person riding shotgun, and Route 66 was how you motored west.

Of course, all that has changed now, in a less naive world, we tend to look back on America from the fifties with rose tinted nostalgia, films like 1973's American Graffiti harked back to the birth of the teenager with applaudable affection.

1950 Series 62 Sedan, 1954 Coupe de Ville, 1956 Series 62, 1957 Sedan, 1958 Sedan, 1959 Coupe, 1960 Sedan Flat Top and a 1962 Four Window Sedan...

In the midst of all this, on Route 66 silently stands Cadillac Ranch. Created by a group of hippies calling themselves the Ant Farm, Chip Lord, Doug Michels and Hudson Marquez created their gift to the world in 1974. The Stone Henge-like monument consists purely of vintage Cadillac automobiles spanning the 'tail fin' era from 1949 to 1963. Lined up and nose first in the desert at the same angle as the Great Giza Pyramid in Egypt, each car is unique, thanks to the rainbow colours of spray paint from years of actively encouraged graffiti.

There are ten of these old classic and very sought after Cadillacs nose diving in the Texan desert, from the 1949 Club Coupe (or Sedanette) to the 1963 Sedan. In between these two vintage motors are a 1950 Series 62 Sedan, 1954 Coupe de Ville, 1956 Series 62, 1957 Sedan, 1958 Sedan, 1959 Coupe, 1960 Sedan Flat Top and a 1962 Four Window Sedan. I don't think you would need to worry about getting your classic car insurance up to date, as these cars have now been stationary (apart from a slight move in 1997) for longer than they were on the road.

While popular culture has embraced Cadillac Ranch, from Bruce Springsteen to King of the Hill, there has been surprisingly few imitators. One notable homage with connections is Slug Bug Ranch, consisting of five VW Beetles buried in a similar fashion in the same town.

Just like Stone Henge, the Cadillac graveyard is visible from the highway, drawing the curious away from their journey, but unlike Stone Henge, people are encouraged to leave their graffiti tag on these monoliths. And while the tail fins and many other parts may be long gone to souvenir hunters, Cadillac Ranch continues to provide a monument to the demise of the American Dream.