1958 promotional image of the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham also illustrates its bumper/grille design, also known as Dagmar bumpers

Television personality Dagmar in one of her famous low cut gowns

Dagmar bumpers, also known simply as Dagmars (D-HAG-mar) is a slang term for the artillery shell shaped styling elements found on the front bumper/grille assemblies on several makes of cars produced in the 1950s, an era recognized for its flamboyant designs and excessive use of chrome details. Image File history File links 58caddagmarbumper. ... Image File history File links 58caddagmarbumper. ... Derived from a Cadillac concept vehicle exhibited during the GM Motorama of 1955, the luxurious, limited edition Eldorado Brougham models of 1957 through 1960 epitomized luxury car styling and technical/mechanical innovation of the late fifties. ... Image File history File links This is a magazine cover. ... Image File history File links This is a magazine cover. ...

The name Dagmar Bumpers (and Dagmars) was a direct reference to Dagmar (born Virginia Ruth Egnor), an early 1950s television personality who was as well known for her pronounced cleavage as she was for her dumb blond character on the program Broadway Open House. Dagmar's physical attributes were further enhanced by low-cut gowns and the shape of her bra cups, which were somewhat conical in shape. While Dagmar's appearance may physically have been provocative, her dumb blond characters seemed to mute the physical appeal of her body. During her life, Egnor was amused by the tribute. Life Magazine, July 16, 1951. ... Broadway Open House began in the late 1940s as televisions first late-night variety and talk show, hosted by Morey Amsterdam, on the DuMont Television Network. ...

Evolution

As originally conceived by Harley Earl, GM Vice President of Design, the bumper guard elements would mimick exaggerated artillery shells and were placed at either end of the front bumpers of Cadillacs. Their presence was both as a styling element indicating speed (as in the speeding bullet or projectile) and as bumper guards. Harley J. Earl (November 22, 1893–April 10, 1969) was an automotive stylist and engineer and industrial designer. ... Cadillac is a brand of luxury automobile, part of the General Motors corporation, produced and mostly sold in the United States; outside of North America, they have been less successful. ...

However as the 1950s wore on, the element on the Cadillac grew more pronounced, and in 1957 the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham gained black rubber tips, which were referred to in slang terms as nipples.

As the 1959 model year designs approached, American car designs were beginning to shed both their rear fins and the missile shaped grille elements. In 1960 the era of the Dagmar bumper ended when Lincoln dropped the element from its 1961 Lincoln Continental.

Vehicles sporting Dagmar bumpers

Postwar Cadillacs began sporting missile pointed bumper elements with their 1946 models. Beginning with the 1951 models, stylists began lifting these bumper guards up into the grille work, however by 1953 their shape and detail began to take on a bullet motif with the tips of the element being scored in the manner in which a bullet casing is shaped. In 1957 black rubber tips were placed on the element which was now placed at the top of the grille, approximatly ten inches above the lower bumper. The element continued to become more pronunced in size through 1958, but were eliminated in the 1959 Cadillac redesign.

Lincoln added Dagmars to its 1960 Lincoln and Continentals. The design took a different approach than GM, with the use of a black rubber ring separating the body of the element from the chrome tip. // The now widespread name Lincoln originated in a city in eastern England. ...

Buick sported Dagmars on its 1954 and 1955 models. In 1954 the element was part of the bumper assembly; in 1955 the element moved up into the grille area. Buick is a brand of automobile built in the United States, Canada, and China by General Motors Corporation. ...