Nudie Mobiles

Last updated

Nudie Mobiles are vehicles customized by the designer Nudie Cohn. [1] He was known for designing rhinestone-covered outfits worn by celebrities such as Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. Between 1950 and 1975, he customized 18 automobiles with added animal horns, silver dollars, chromed horseshoes, and firearm embellishments. [2] The fanciness or garishness increased with each successive car. [3]

History

After Nudie became successful by making outfits for county singers, he purchased a new 1950 Hudson convertible. This became the first "Nudie Mobile" when he customized it by adding steer horns to the front end of the white convertible. [4] [5] He also had a sign on it for his "Nudie's Rodeo Tailors" store that was located in North Hollywood near the Universal Film Studios. [3]

Nudie would decorate the cars with various objects to make them "stand out." [5] Once the Nudie customs attracted attention, General Motors provided Nudie with cars. [5] Nudie modified Pontiac, Buick, and Cadillac convertibles with typical Nudie icons, such as silver-dollar-studded dashboards, pistol door handles, and longhorn steer horns as hood ornaments. [6] Several of the cars were pictured in Nudie's Online Car Museum. [7] [8]

Webb Pierce purchased several Nudie mobiles, including a 1962 Pontiac convertible. [9] [10] The interior of his car with Webb Pierce standing by the open driver's door is on the cover of the Cross Country album.

A 1963 Pontiac Bonneville customized by Nudie with hand-tooled leather with over 300 silver dollars on every surface, including the floor, doors, and dash, as well as leather seats, steering wheel, and even seat belts replaced with hand-tooled cowboy belts. [1] A longhorn is ahead of the grille, a continental kit with rifles on the rear fenders, a saddle between the front bucket seats for a third passenger, as well as a total of 14 guns to operate the door handles, transmission, horn, and emergency brake. [11] The car was purchased by Roy Rogers in 1984, for $4,000. [11] [1]

Elvis Presley almost got himself a Nudie mobile, "In 1972, Nudie made a [customized] car for Elvis 'cause Elvis thought, Well I've got to have that in my collection'...but his manager would not let Nudie get close to Elvis." [12]

Two cars, a 1975 Cadillac Eldorado convertible and a 1964 Pontiac Safari station wagon, remained in the family and are at the Valley Relics Museum. [5] The nine surviving cars have become collector's items. [4] One car is in the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1972 and 1974, two vehicles were bought by Bobbejaan Schoepen, a Belgian entertainer with a passion for country music. [13] The Roy Rogers Pontiac sold for $308,000 in 2015. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum</span> History museum in Nashville, Tennessee

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amassed one of the world's most extensive musical collections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontiac (automobile)</span> Discontinued automobile brand owned by General Motors

Pontiac, or formally the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors, was an American automobile brand owned, manufactured, and commercialized by General Motors. It was originally introduced as a companion make for GM's more expensive line of Oakland automobiles. Pontiac quickly overtook Oakland in popularity and supplanted its parent entirely by 1933, in turn establishing its position as one of GM's dominant divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cadillac Eldorado</span> American personal luxury car

The Cadillac Eldorado is a luxury car manufactured and marketed by Cadillac from 1952 until 2002 over twelve generations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontiac Grand Prix</span> Automobile model made by Pontiac

The Grand Prix is a line of automobiles produced by the Pontiac Division of General Motors from 1962 until 2002 as coupes and from 1989 through 2008 model years as four-door sedans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oldsmobile 98</span> Flagship car model produced by Oldsmobile from 1940 to 1996

The Oldsmobile 98 is the full-size flagship model of Oldsmobile that was produced from 1940 until 1942, and then from 1946 to 1996. The name – reflecting a "Series 90" fitted with an 8-cylinder engine – first appeared in 1941 and was used again after American consumer automobile production resumed post-World War II. It was, as it would remain, the division's top-of-the-line model, with lesser Oldsmobiles having lower numbers such as the A-body 66 and 68, and the B-body 76 and 78. The Series 60 was retired in 1949, the same year the Oldsmobile 78 was replaced by the 88. The Oldsmobile 76 was retired after 1950. This left the two remaining number-names to carry on into the 1990s as the bread and butter of the full-size Oldsmobile lineup until the Eighty Eight-based Regency replaced the 98 in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontiac Catalina</span> Motor vehicle

The Pontiac Catalina is a full-size, junior series automobile produced by Pontiac from 1950 to 1981. Initially, the name was a trim line on hardtop body styles, first appearing in the 1950 Chieftain Eight and DeLuxe Eight lines. In 1959, it became a separate model as the "entry-level" full-size Pontiac.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontiac Bonneville</span> Motor vehicle

The Pontiac Bonneville is a model line of full-size or mid-size front-engine rear drive cars manufactured and marketed by Pontiac from 1957 until 2005, with a hiatus for model years 1982-1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysler Imperial</span> Motor vehicle

The Chrysler Imperial, introduced in 1926, was Chrysler's top-of-the-line vehicle for much of its history. Models were produced with the Chrysler name until 1954, after which it became a standalone brand; and again from 1990 to 1993. The company positioned the cars as a prestige marque to rival Cadillac, Continental, Lincoln, Duesenberg, Pierce Arrow, Cord, and Packard. According to Antique Automobile, "The adjective 'imperial' according to Webster's Dictionary means sovereign, supreme, superior or of unusual size or excellence. The word imperial thus justly befits Chrysler's highest priced model."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oldsmobile Series 70</span> Car model

The Oldsmobile Series 70 is a full-size midrange automobile produced by Oldsmobile between the 1939 and 1950 model years. Oldsmobiles of this time period were in an unusual "middle" position in GM's hierarchy of automobile brands. Chevrolet and Pontiac were the budget priced models, while Buick and Cadillac were the luxury brands. GM would share their "A" body platforms between Chevrolet, Pontiac, and "B" body on Oldsmobile and Buick, while leaving Cadillac on the senior "C" platform. Oldsmobiles were then branded as "luxury level" Chevrolet's and Pontiac's, while Oldsmobiles using the "B" platform were "budget priced" Buicks and Cadillacs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buick Roadmaster</span> Automobile

The Buick Roadmaster is an automobile built by Buick from 1936 until 1942, from 1946 until 1958, and then again from 1991 until 1996. Roadmasters produced between 1936 and 1958 were built on Buick's longest non-limousine wheelbase and shared their basic structure with the entry-level Cadillac Series 65, the Buick Limited, and after 1940, the Oldsmobile 98. Between 1946 and 1957, the Roadmaster served as Buick's flagship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Motors Motorama</span> Auto show from 1949 to 1961

The General Motors Motorama was an auto show staged by GM from 1949 to 1961. These automobile extravaganzas were designed to whet public appetite and boost automobile sales with displays of fancy concept cars and other special or halo models. Motorama grew out of Alfred P. Sloan's yearly industrial luncheons at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, beginning in 1931. They were almost invariably held in conjunction with the New York Auto Show, that for many years was held traditionally in the first week of January.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontiac Parisienne</span> Motor vehicle

The Pontiac Parisienne is a full-size rear-wheel drive vehicle that was sold by Pontiac on the GM B platform in Canada from 1958 to 1986 and in the United States from 1983 to 1986. Right-hand drive models were locally assembled in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa until 1969. For most of its run, the Canadian Parisienne was nearly mechanically identical to the American Chevrolet Impala or Chevrolet Caprice. The Parisienne wagon continued under the Safari nameplate until 1989. Parisienne or La Parisienne means a grammatically female person or thing from Paris, France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viking (automobile)</span> Defunct American vehicle brand from General Motors

Viking was a brand of automobiles manufactured by General Motors as a supplement to Oldsmobile division for model years 1929 to 1931 and used the GM B platform. It was shared with the Oakland Model 301 for 1930 and 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontiac Star Chief</span> Motor vehicle

The Pontiac Star Chief is an automobile model which was manufactured by Pontiac between 1954 and 1966. It was Pontiac's top trim package on the Pontiac Chieftain, with later generations built on longer wheelbases, and serving as the foundation platform for the Pontiac Bonneville. The car was easily identified by its chrome star trim along its sides, a feature all Star Chiefs were equipped with.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nudie Cohn</span> Ukrainian-American tailor and fashion designer

Nuta Kotlyarenko, known professionally as Nudie Cohn, was a Ukrainian-American tailor who designed decorative rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as "Nudie Suits", and other elaborate outfits for some of the most famous celebrities of his era. He also became famous for his outrageous customized automobiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuel Cuevas</span> Mexican fashion designer

Manuel Arturo José Cuevas Martínez Sr. is a Mexican fashion designer best known for the garments he created for prominent rock and roll and country music acts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brougham (car body)</span>

A brougham was originally a car body style where the driver sat outside and passengers seated within an enclosed cabin, — deriving the configuration from the earlier brougham horse-drawn carriage. Similar in style to the later town car, the brougham style was used on chauffeur-driven petrol and electric cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontiac Streamliner</span> Motor vehicle

The Pontiac Streamliner is a full-size car produced under the Pontiac brand by General Motors from 1932 until 1952. A mass-produced and popular vehicle, it was a significant luxury car during the recovery from the Great Depression, and during and immediately after the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valley Relics Museum</span> History museum in Van Nuys, CA

Valley Relics Museum is a museum located in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. The LA Weekly named the Valley Relics Museum one of its 2017 winners of "Best Of L.A.: Arts & Entertainment".

The Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum was a museum in Branson, Missouri, focused on the careers of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, stars of radio, film and television. The museum was open from 1967 until 2009, at three locations in California and Missouri.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bruguiere, Tony (17 January 2011). "Denver businessman displays priceless car belonging to Roy Rogers at NWSS". The Fence Post. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  2. ↑ Singer, Drew (7 July 2015). "Did You Know? The Guy Behind Elvis' Rhinestone Suit Also Made Outrageous Cars". gmauthority.com. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  3. 1 2 Umberger, Leslie; Doss, Erika (2007). Sublime Spaces and Visionary Worlds - Built Environments of Vernacular Artists. Princeton Architectural Press. p. 231. ISBN   9781568987286.
  4. 1 2 "History of Nudie Cohn and his Nudie Suits". The Carriage and Western Art Museum. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Valdes-Dapena, Peter (21 October 2015). "Driving Nudie Cohn's dazzling Cadillac". CNN. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  6. ↑ Nudie, Jamie Lee; Cabrall, Mary Lynn (2004). "Chapter 4: The Cars". Nudie: the Rodeo tailor. Smith, Gibbs Publisher. pp. 62–71. ISBN   978-1-58685-381-5 . Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  7. ↑ "Nudie's Online Car Museum - page 1". nudiesrodeotailor.com. 2004. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  8. ↑ "Nudie's Online Car Museum - page 2". nudiesrodeotailor.com. 2004. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  9. ↑ "Webb Pierce and his Nudie cars". mysteryhillbillies.com/. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  10. ↑ "Webb Pierce's 1962 Pontiac Bonneville - Would you drive it?". steemit.com. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 "1963 Pontiac Bonneville "Roy Rogers" Nudie Mobile". rmsothebys.com. 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  12. ↑ George-Warren, Holly; Freedman, Michelle (2001). How the West was worn . Harry N. Abrams. p.  159. ISBN   978-0-8109-0615-0.
  13. ↑ Dixon, Chris (4 September 2005). "A Rhinestone Cowboy Who Grabbed Cars by the Horns". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.