(first posted 2/2/2016) Once upon a time, there was an undisputed King of American luxury automobiles. For much of its history, Cadillac sold far more cars in the U.S. than all other luxury brands combined, while simultaneously serving as a global symbol for American wealth and style. However, in spite of holding such a lofty position at the top of the U.S. luxury car heap, as the 1960s progressed, Cadillac couldn’t help but notice the huge success of the stylish personal luxury cars, with their youthful image and premium price tags. These interlopers couldn’t be allowed to gain too great a foothold in Cadillac territory, so the division responded in a big way for 1967 by dramatically revamping the top-of-the-line Eldorado, transitioning it from a rear-wheel-drive convertible to a new front-wheel-drive personal luxury coupe. Marketplace acceptance of the new Eldorado was immediate and impressive—would the automotive press be as smitten with Motown’s finest?
One of the big questions concerning the Eldorado, at least among car enthusiasts, was how unique it would be, given its close kinship with the recently introduced Oldsmobile Toronado. Motor Trend kicked off their reviews by stating right away that they feared the newest Cadillac might not be much more than a warmed-over Olds.
Driven the way the Eldorado was intended—comfortable cruising versus carving corners—performance was exemplary. The driver needed only to enjoy the myriad convenience features and bask in the quiet, relaxed atmosphere. The Eldorado provided exactly the sort of cocooning experience that had made Cadillac famous. Plus, with a dedicated assembly line, the Eldorado could also boast excellent quality control as befitting Cadillac’s high standards at the time.
One huge weakness was shared between the Eldorado and Toronado: subpar drum brakes as standard equipment. Optional disc brakes could be added to the Eldorado at extra cost, but based on negative feedback regarding the Oldsmobile’s stopping ability, Cadillac should have made superior brakes standard when launching the car. Even lowly Renault saw fit to provide better brakes and tires than Cadillac in 1967! Things were better under-hood: the Cadillac exclusive 429 V8 engine, while down on horsepower compared to the Olds 425 V8 (340hp versus 385hp), still provided ample power and could smoke the front tires with a stomp on the accelerator.
Far more than a Toronado in different garb, Motor Trend felt that the Eldorado came across as a unique car in its own right and was a testament to Cadillac’s stylists and engineers. In its heyday, GM was remarkably adept at adapting components and significantly restyling and repackaging them into unique offerings. It is an old, profitable—and necessary—trick in the car business.
So far in the 21st Century, the VW Group is arguably the leading practitioner of the art of deft platform sharing. Very few people have any clue that a Bentley and a Volkswagen share a platform. Wolfsburg should give thanks to General Motors in the 1960s for showing the way. Like VW Group’s tremendously broad offerings today, GM worked impressive differentiation into products with shared platforms. Back then, the various GM divisions were still pretty clearly focused on their individual missions, and each had a pretty strong sense of their desired customer base.
In the 1960s, there was little doubt as to Cadillac’s position in the car market or in GM’s hierarchy. Styling continuity was a hallmark of the brand, ensuring instant recognition of the cars—including the new Eldorado—from any angle. Engineering excellence was also a given, as Cadillac always needed to boast the latest in comfort and convenience features, along with thoroughly up-to-date engines and transmissions offering smooth, abundant power. The resulting strong resale values made Cadillac a surprisingly good buy, as luxury car buyers knew a good thing when they saw it, and there was no question for these customers that Cadillac was tops.
Even after drinking way too many martinis, no car buyer from the 1960s would have confused a top-of-the-line Cadillac sedan with a top-of-the-line Chevrolet sedan. And no one in their right mind would have ever mistaken a workhorse Chevrolet Suburban for a Cadillac flagship.
What a difference fifty years makes! It was a testament to GM in the 1960s that they understood the value of genuine brand differentiation. At the time, no one at GM, not even the greediest bean counter with no clue about brand equity or engineering excellence, would have dreamed of creating a “Cadillac” by slapping a different grille and taillights on a Chevy and calling it a day. There was too much at stake for the corporation, both in terms of the profits generated by Cadillac as well as the brand’s stellar reputation, to have ever risked doing something so stupid. Too bad the company’s leaders lost sight of that simple fact in the following decades…
GM in the 1960s wasn’t above chasing trends, however. The personal luxury market beckoned and Cadillac wanted a share of the riches that had long been enjoyed by a mere Ford. In the December 1991 issue, Collectible Automobile provided a glimpse back into the Cadillac styling studios as development work was underway on a suitable entrant into the booming personal luxury category sparked by the 4-seat Thunderbird. GM designers attacked the challenge with gusto, developing a uniquely new vehicle for a trendy segment that introduced a fresh, yet still instantly recognizable take on Cadillac’s well-established heritage.
Ford was not the only one thinking about a 4-door personal luxury car in the 1960s. These 4-door Eldorado concepts were very sleek, but were rejected likely because 2-door coupes were seen as the real style leaders at the time. Also, the 4-door Eldorado Brougham may have been an early inspiration, but that money-losing venture was likely a turn-off to top GM brass in the Finance Department. Nonetheless, Pininfarina—the Italian design house responsible for the later Eldorado Broughams as well as Cadillac show cars—was still in the mix for the Eldorado, as some of their work appeared for design review in the styling studios.
Some of the most extreme styling concepts centered on housing huge V12 or V16 power plants. These massive engines hearkened back to Cadillac’s flagship cars from the 1930s, and showed the importance placed on smoothness, power, bragging rights and uniqueness as Cadillac hallmarks. Since Cadillac’s V8s, particularly the 472 cubic-inch V8 introduced for 1968, were already plenty powerful and fully suitable for a flagship, these ideas never got out of the design phase. But at least the designers were striving to create genuine, memorable Cadillacs.
Note to GM: despite all the corporate bragging about the new Cadillac CTS-V and its raucous heart, the harsh reality is that the Corvette engine is really best suited for Chevrolet’s halo sports car. Cadillac deserves better. Shouldn’t Cadillac have a powertrain that defines the absolute forefront of modern technology? A unique-to-Cadillac motor so impressive that it would be capable of luring buyers from today’s leading luxury brands like Tesla, Mercedes, BMW and Porsche. How about an incredibly smooth, quiet, tremendously powerful and surprisingly efficient gas-electric hybrid? Anyone?…. Anyone?….. Bueller?….
Ironically, the Eldorado might have impacted the Thunderbird right back. Before he departed his top-level GM post for the presidency of Ford, Bunkie Knudsen would have likely been familiar with these rather wild Eldorado concepts. Upon his arrival at the Blue Oval, Knudsen demanded ridiculously pointed prows on Ford production models for 1970, with the Thunderbird (and Mercury Montego) gaining an extreme “Bunkie’s beak” possibly derived from earlier GM styling studies like these. Though some sources claim that Knudsen was just knocking off Pontiac designs, it is hard to look at these Eldorado concepts and not see another source of inspiration for the short-lived schnozzes at Ford.
Thankfully “vent-mania” was cleaned up before the ’67 Eldorado went into production. Otherwise, this design shows the excellent proportions and dashing elegance that make this one of the best GM designs from the 1960s. It looked fantastic then and is still a masterpiece when seen in person today, as evidenced by this sleek Sable Black specimen and this fashionable Pinecrest Green example.
Style really was the key to the new Eldorado. Where it came up lacking, at least according to Car and Driver, was in substance. In fact, that was a charge they would level at the entire personal luxury category, To make their point, C&D ran a comparison test of the new Cadillac against the revamped Thunderbird Landau with its new 4-door body style.
Part of Car and Driver’s disappointment stemmed from the failure of both the 1967 Eldorado and Thunderbird to live up to their potential. While the designs could have combined style and driving enjoyment in equal measures, these personal luxury cars came across as just two more big American sedans, looks aside. C&D also lamented how the Buick Riviera, which had initially done a good job of combining ride, handling and comfort with sexy styling, had morphed into a flabbier, less special car. However, in upscale America in the 1960s, it seemed “bigger was better” and so domestic automakers just followed the market, much to C&D’s chagrin.
Interestingly, Car and Driver gave Ford the nod for innovation in the segment, thanks to the 4-door configuration. It was a good idea, though it wouldn’t be until after the start of the 21st Century that 4-door “coupes” would really gain any sort of sales traction. As for the Eldorado, C&D’s editors still saw too much Toronado to be particularly impressed about the novelty of the Cadillac.
Another area where the T-Bird trounced the Eldorado was in braking. It was embarrassing that the less expensive Ford came with disc brakes as standard while the Eldorado did not. The Cadillac’s standard drum brakes were dubbed as “treacherous” and the company was rightfully dinged (and repeatedly—it was the common complaint in the buff books) for offering discs only as an option, which C&D felt would be easily overlooked by most of the clueless “style-over-substance” buyers in the segment.
One point in Cadillac’s favor was C&D’s assessment that the Eldorado’s quality was as good as anything coming from Stuttgart (Mercedes-Benz) or Crewe (Rolls-Royce). It’s a sad reminder of a time when Cadillac was on par with the best in the world, before cost cutting crept into the mix and the quality of materials and workmanship took a nosedive. In fact, as the 1960s ended Cadillac was quietly dropping the super high quality materials like real wood trim. It was the start of an ominous trend as Cadillac components would get progressively cheaper and tackier in the coming years.
One other tidbit of information: I had no idea what was meant by “Metrecal-for-lunch bunch.” Turns out, Metrecal was a diet food, like an early version of a Slim Fast shake, which was quite popular in the 1960s. And I’d always assumed this crowd was having martinis at lunch…
Other than its atrocious braking performance, the Eldorado outscored the Ford on most measures of performance, comfort and build quality, as well it should have, given the whopping $3,050 ($21,644 adjusted) price differential between the cars. In that regard, the comparison was unfair, since the price put the cars in two very different market segments in spite of being similar conceptually. FoMoCo would soon address that gap: Lee Iacocca was already licking his chops with the potential of the Thunderbird platform for a much more upscale offering. The Lincoln Continental Mark III would soon arrive, providing a true rival for the Eldorado and kicking off the first of many “King of the Hill” comparison articles on the two expensive personal luxury coupes.
Car and Driver was right about how well Cadillac would hit its target market with the Eldorado. First year sales soared above the 15,000 projected units to reach a total of 17,930. Without a doubt, the newest Cadillac was successful and highly coveted. Road Test Magazine noted the first year results as they tested a 1968 Eldorado to see if it was, in fact, as good as its popularity and reputation suggested.
In many ways, the Cadillac brand was intertwined with the American dream. It was the quintesssential “show you have it made” car, whether you were a movie star or a working class couple. While some people disdained that aspect of the brand, it was embraced by many others, and embodied the uniquely American notion of “work hard and you too can have a Cadillac.” The reward didn’t come cheap either: most Eldorados sold for around $8,900, or almost $61,000 adjusted. Even the slow selling “price leader” Calais started at just over $6,000 ($41,000 adjusted), so there really was no such thing as an “entry level” Cadillac competing on price with “lesser” cars. It’s also important to note that in the late 1960s, Cadillac prices were comparable with, or in some cases higher than Mercedes-Benz prices, 600 series excepted.
This pricing power was also enormously beneficial to GM. As Roy Schneider notes in his book Cadillacs of the Sixties, for the 4 years that the first generation FWD Eldorado was on the market, the car generated well over half a billion dollars in revenue (about $3.5 billion today). Although no breakdown on profits is available, there’s little doubt this Cadillac was also a generous contributor to GM’s bottom line. No wonder Schneider wrote that these new personal luxury coupe sales represented “a bonanza worthy of the name ‘Eldorado’.”
While Car and Driver targeted Euro-centric readers who put a very high value on handling prowess, Road Test arguably provided a more accurate view into the psyche of the average American. As such, when RT’s editors noted that the Eldorado felt different than the Toronado, and that it performed very well, they were simply sharing in the same assessment that most U.S. drivers would actually make. Granted, Road Test’s 1968 test car was fitted with the more powerful new 472,V8 and it also had disc brakes, which Cadillac finally made standard for the Eldorado’s 2nd year.
What Road Test clearly understood was the power of the Cadillac’s image. When Cadillac said it was targeting “enthusiasts,” what they really meant was that they were targeting someone who simply wanted to look “younger and hipper” than the average Cadillac buyer. If bystanders presumed that the Eldorado owner was an “enthusiast” driver, then the mission was accomplished.
Perception is reality, and it’s still true today. The Tesla Model S is a good case in point. Based on what I’ve observed, many Teslas are gobbled up by gluttonous consumers with colossal carbon footprints. But “green” and “high tech” are the new status symbols, and the Tesla presses all the current egotistical hot buttons: “I’m very tech savvy and very important and very busy but I’m still doing my part to save the planet!” The fact that a Nissan Leaf or Toyota Prius—or better yet a Honda Fit—are more ecologically sound choices doesn’t matter one bit. Luxury customers don’t want to suffer as they show off their credentials. Cadillac used to get that in spades.
In fact, so profound was the cultural impact of GM’s prestige division that it even coined a lasting expression: “the Cadillac of __________” meant that the item referenced should be considered the “best.” While the brand ultimately lost its luster and the saying descended into satire (witness the Oldsmobile Silhouette “Cadillac of minivans” in the movie Get Shorty), for many years to be called “the Cadillac of something” was a genuine compliment, and GM happily basked in the glory. As well they should, since for much of the 20th Century, GM’s flagship cars were ideally suited for U.S. driving conditions and aspirational American tastes.
Those days of Cadillac’s leadership are long gone. Other automotive brands have now firmly captured the imaginations of luxury vehicle buyers as well as the general public. However, there are some people (me included) who would love to see a genuine Cadillac comeback.
Could there be a Return of the King? Not with pimped Suburbans or wannabe 3 Series fighters. Not with utterly forgettable series nomenclature like Q50, Q60, Q70, QX80—oops, sorry that’s Inifiniti’s new naming protocol—Cadillac’s new names will be scintillating superstars like CT4, CT5 and the flagship CT6 (thanks Johan de Nysschen!).
Cadillac needs to forget chasing the Germans and focus instead on leading the market with new, bold expressions of luxury. Cadillac needs to ditch “international” alphanumeric gobbledygook and regain its heritage with unforgettable names attached to equally memorable vehicles. Focus groups won’t lead to greatness; only an audacious bet on what will truly tempt status-obsessed luxury buyers. Cadillac needs to return to the City of Gold. Come on Cadillac; it’s not a mirage, it’s an Eldorado! Only then can we once again shout: “long live the King!”
Mark III for me.
Yes returning the names of old might work for Cadillac and forget about making a better BMW nobody cares,
I saw some nice old Caddies on the weekend no shots you guys see plenty without me adding to the count, but these were cars from the 50s and 60s when that crest on the front meant something and the imposing grille didnt hide a Chevy engine all that equity got dumped in the pursuit of volume exactly what a real luxury brand doesnt do,
Those FWD Eldorados are quite a car close up somebody in a nearby city has a purple example I followed it through the famous Manawatu gorge one night, even at the restricted 50mph/80kmh limit the driver was working hard and using lots of road I had no trouble keeping up in a 8wheel Scania pulling an 8 wheel trailer great view from up there too nice car though I think it may have been repainted, oh one photo but I like this one its like the old cover car
As the owner of a 1967 Riviera GS, I’m probably not partial but I tend to prefer this car to the other “E” bodies from that year. In my opinion, it has better looks and I am not a fan of FWD cars.
Here are poor quality scans from the August 1967 issue of Motor Trend.
The Pontiac Grand Prix was probably the cheapest car there and looked distinctly dowdy in this company; where the ’63 GP looked elegantly tailored to be itself and the base Catalina an adaptation of it that basked in its’ glory, here the script is filpped leaving the GP very much a tarted-up Catalina. No wonder division management felt a change of direction was needed.
Page two.
Page 3
Page 4
Too bad they selected “E” bodies without consoles. It was a popular option on the Riviera (the buckets with a storage console was no extra cost but the more popular operating console which I have in my Riviera was a little extra but because of this option, bucket seats were much more popular in the Riviera than they were in the FWD “E” bodies) at least and made the interior look better.
Last page.
Here’s a picture of my car. I like the Eldorado’s styling but I still prefer the Riviera’s style.
Phil, in a previous article on drop dead gorgeous cars from the 60s my vote was for a Riviera like yours. That is one great looking car….and the colors/options? Icing on the cake.
Oddly, while reading the above article, I wondered why Cadillac choose FWD instead of keeping the Eldorado as a RWDer…..but I think it’s been covered before about Buick’s insistence on no direct competitors to the Riviera? Whatever, had they gone RWD I somehow think it would have made the Riv a bit less Special (sorry, bad almost pun).
The 66-67 Riviera is one of the most beautiful cars of all time.
Beats the Eldorado hands down, for me anyway.
Very nice riviera,keep the hobby alive my friend!
While the Toronado also has an interesting dashboard, I do prefer the Riviera’s dashboard to the one of the Eldorado.
I do hope that the first thing Johan de Nysschen does this morning is log onto Curbside Classics and reads this wonderful posting by GN. Maybe he will pack up shop in New York City and bring the headquarters back where they belong, ditch the stupid alpha and alpha numeric model names, forget about chasing after BMW’s, and bring back the style and class that once made a Cadillac a Cadillac.
I guess he doesn’t understand that we do not want cars that all look the same (I still can’t tell the difference between the ATS and the CTS from a distance), or SUV’s which are tarted up Chevys, or electric cars that cost $$$$$$$$ over the better Chevy version.
We may no longer want landau roofs (opps, sorry… cabriolet roofs), or loose pillowed seats, but I don’t think any of us wouldn’t want a car with as much style and class as this generation of Eldorado !!!
Huffy up Johan… Finish that Starbucks coffee and wake up !!!!!
Who says we no longer want loose pillowed seats! I’d stretch my budget to get a new car with this feature, especially in a nice bordello red
Maybe if they had any modicum of lumbar support, tufted velour and loose pillowed seats wouldn’t have gone away.
I think lumbar support (or just support) and loose pillow seats are contradictions.
As much as I love these beautiful Eldorados, I could not disagree more. The luxury car market has changed and BMW and Mercedes have been eating Cadillacs lunch in the US for YEARS, let alone the rest of the world where Cadillac has virtually no presence.
Sure, have a distinctive, inimitable style. But keep chasing BMWs, stay in NYC, keep studying what luxury car buyers want. Cadillac won’t become the best-selling luxury brand overnight but these steps can help rebuild the brand and make it appealing not just to existing Cadillac buyers but also to an entirely new generation/group of buyers who had previously never considered Cadillac.
When Cadillac chases the Germans, they aren’t leading. I think the market is undergoing a shift right now where buyers–at least at the super premium end of the market–are interested in alternatives to the German establishment. Ironically, the two players that have upended the super premium segment are the ones who are offering non-Germanic alternatives: Range Rover and Tesla. Range Rover 2015 sales are up 37% over 2014, and along with Tesla, has grown the most on a percentage basis of any brand. Tesla, with over 26,608 units sold, is now #1 in the premium sedan segment (S-Class is #2 with 21,934), and the Germans are chasing the Model S, not the other way around. Both Range Rover and Tesla are offering buyers what Cadillac used to provide: unique, easily identifiable style, comfort and super luxurious interiors (Range Rover) and all the latest gizmos and gadgets to make life easier/automate driving plus fast, smooth and quiet powertrain (Tesla).
That’s why I want so badly for Cadillac to remember what it was when it was great and recreate that. Not by making throwbacks, because the market has absolutely changed–but by creating modern interpretations of what they were famous for: style, highest quality materials, comfort, convenience, effortless power–along with the swagger that comes from leading trends, not following them.
That’s also why I worry about the choice of NYC for Cadillac’s headquarters–it is a unique place that dominates media and finance, but it is not a great place for cars. It feels like a gimmick, and it is a de Nysschen trademark–he used the same rationale for putting Infiniti in Hong Kong (though at least that makes some sense as a gateway to China). Los Angeles would have been a better choice–entertainment, entrepreneurism and love of cars is what Cadillac needs to lead again.
Bottom line: I am an early Gen Xer and represent Cadillac’s desired bullseye target, but I would never consider getting one. And I won’t as long as they keep pretending to be BMW. I have driven actual BMWs for years, and I love them. If I want another BMW, the real deal is hard to beat (though getting softer…). Mercedes and Audi are excellent variations on a similar theme. Why pick a Cadillac knock off? All the BMW chasing is netting Cadillac nothing: CTS is down 37%, ATS is down 10% in a BOOMING market. The two best selling Cadillacs (60% of sales) are Chevrolets: SRX (Equinox) and Escalade (Suburban), and both are just “nicer” trim versions of GM’s volume cars–that just isn’t true luxury (to me an overpriced Chevy is even worse than a fake BMW). Until Cadillac addresses that and starts building genuine luxury vehicles again, each with distinctive points of differentiation, the brand will not regain any of its luster.
Whatever one can say about the New York metropolitan area, it is one of the largest – if not THE largest – markets for luxury vehicles in the country.
Not everyone in New York rides the subway, and even many who do still have a car at home for weekend use or trips out of town.
I’d almost rather have Cadillac admit it’s a near luxury/livery maker with a glorious past rather than keep up this charade of “chasing” ze Germans. I’m a tail end Gen Xer and to be quite frank, I’d be much more interested in a dedicated throwback that isn’t ashamed to admit it’s gunning for Chrysler 300c’s and Lincoln MKS’s, not E-classes or 5 series that no one probably cross shops with them.
At least where I am, it seems even CTS-V’s are driven by “heritage” buyers-who probably thinks of it as a modern Eldorado rather than a corner carver.
Go way up market from where you are now-S Class and 7 series territory, and then make flashy and classy turnpike cruisers. I think in a market where everyone wants to think of themselves as sports sedans, going unabashedly American might break them out of their rut. Maybe.
I would hazard to say that’s a greater risk than trying to meet the Germans and play a similar game. And there’s no way of knowing what the reward would be. It is an interesting what-if. We saw how the Chrysler 300 challenged people’s conceptions: a rear-wheel-drive sedan with an optional V8 wrapped in stylish sheetmetal. Could a similar risky, splashy model succeed in the luxury car market? Imagine if Lincoln had released the 2002 Continental concept…
Agree, Dominic. I am also a tail end Gen Xer. Who lives in NYC, among people driving S classes and A8s. Nobody I know who is buying Benzes, Audis and Mercedes is seriously considering these Cadillac imitators. They are the mid 60s AMC Ambassador to its DeVille, and to a lesser degree Continental and Imperial, contemporaries.
The most XTS and CTS cars I see are Uber cars. Because you get a black car look and don’t have to buy an S-class to get it.
I think your proposal is a far better gamble than “we’ll catch up with them at some point”. Funny, when the Germans became popular in the 70s and 80s, they didn’t start out to catch up and imitate and build a better Sedan DeVille. They brought their own flavor to the table. It was a risk for them, too. But a combination of generational change, government regulations, and self-inflicted wounds stateside allowed that flavor to gain traction.
So, American brands should follow the 300C’s lead. It’s not a 1970s boat by any means, but it is not and will never be mistaken for a 7 series wannabe.
The problem with Chrysler is they don’t milk the schtick you can have with something like the 300. They could really play up the big and brash American luxury angle as well as put a little Italian flair in there since American luxury has had connections with the Italians before (i.e. Pininfarina).
Cadillac did try the in your face American thing with that odd commercial for their tarted up Volt. I liked the idea but whoever thought they should run that sort of commercial with a little electric car was obviously high as a kite. They should have introduced the supposed CT8 with that sort of commercial.
The FWD Eldorado’s never seemed to be a car that I would want. At least not until the downsized 1979 models. The RWD Eldorado convertibles were a different matter though. Cadillac is not chasing BMW, but actually has outdone them with the ATS and I think the CTS.
A+. Its all about style , and 99% of today`s cars have none.
Subjectively.
Agree to disagree on that one.
Magazine reviews are not a good fit for Cadillac, even in the heyday of Cadillac style. They thought it was too heavy, too wastefull, and thought it should have things like an independent rear suspension and four wheel disc brakes. When these were added in a sensible size in 1979, the buff books still did not get excited.
Why not? It was just not their type of car. The mags were aiming at kids, truth be told.
Roger Sterling types,( Mad Men), who in real life are not as good looking or as adept at one liners, were the enemy. The mere sight of a car aimed at him was annoying. Nothing Cadillac could do to change that.
Buff mags rarely tested Cadillacs, and it probably would be better if they never did. There critiques were not helpful to Cadillac, and only pointed out the bias.
They had a point about the brakes though. All-drums on what was supposed to be the cutting-edge high tech flagship of THE luxury car line was a sign of incipient cost cutting. Flat-out irresponsible and stupid to build an underbraked car.
And a harbinger of the vicious cost-cutting that was to come. Shame on GM.
Buff books tested Cadillacs regularly. “King Of The Hill”, Continental/Cadillac/Imperial tests, downsized Cadillacs, Eldorados, Diesel Eldorados, Sevilles. Cimmarons, even. V-8-6-4s. Cadillac vs Impala: “The High Priced Spread”.
There was no end of coverage and testing of Cadillacs in the buff books over the years. 4 examples right here.
“Magazine reviews are not a good fit for Cadillac”
Because they called them out for what they really were? A Chevy with fins and an extra half-ton of weight, with crappy brakes and mushy handling, but for a whopper of a price? Gee, why weren’t they falling all over themselves? 🙂
Seriously, it depended on the magazine and the reviewer, as well as their POV on any given day. Let’s face it; a Cadillac was never much of a logical proposition. It was mostly about the image and prestige, and not about world-class dynamics.
Might have worked better if they had a sports car guy do sports cars, and a luxury car guy do luxuries.
I had a 68 Riviera GS in Medium Teal Blue Mist disc brakes rally wheels. It was a great vehicle and turned heads. Probably one of the best looking vehicles that I have owned.
We had a ’68 Electra in the same color. Buick had 5 different shades of blue, plus one more for the Riviera. Now you’re lucky to find one.
Yes if each GM division (the surviving ones) still had a clear idea of exactly who their customer was and had the guts to not go chasing each other’s customers.
Drum brakes? How ridiculous!
I have to say, I like the look of these first Eldorados, especially as compared to their mid-’70s descendants. It’s hard for me to imagine a time when Cadillacs were well and truly the best cars in the world. A friend of ours, who makes way more money than we do and got into collecting big American cars after riding in our ’78 Continental, now has three Lincolns and a ’75 Eldorado convertible. Having ridden in the Eldorado, it is absolutely shocking to me how badly made that car is! Cheap molded plastic “wood,” vinyl on the doors that delaminated, “leather” seats that feel worse than a “leather” couch from Big Lots… It’s a terrible car, really, except for the style and fun of riding around in a giant Cadillac convertible. His Lincolns, and our Lincoln, are all much better cars; much better assembled, much better materials, much more attractively designed.
But, these articles also hit on something that’s always confused me, namely how my farmer penny-pinching great-grandparents that lived in a 1,000 square foot ranch could afford Cadillacs. And yet, they could and they did. My ’77 Thunderbird Town Landau was originally a cast-off from my great-grandparents. They ordered it brand new, and great-grandma hated it once they got it! So, within about two weeks, they sold it to their daughter because great-grandma made great-grandpa go get her another Cadillac. Apparently that high residual value did them good!
Much truth to what you say. Cadillacs of the 1960s and Cadillacs of the 1970s are two wholly different things. Whatever the combination of cost cutting and safety engineering the 1970s interiors involved, Ford navigated these waters better than the others did and GM arguably did it worst of all.
I remember sitting in mid-1970s Cadillacs at the Harrisburg Auto Show, and looking at the interior upper door panels, which were covered with artificial “wood” instead of vinyl. Not only did the “wood” look obviously fake, but the application was surprisingly sloppy (lots of “wrinkles” at the corners).
Lincoln interiors were miles ahead of Cadillac interiors during the 1970s. For that matter, Ford interiors were far ahead of Chevrolet and Pontiac interiors, too.
Other than the seats with negative lumbar support that forced you to slouch whether you wanted to or not. Those came in with the Edsel (!) and infected almost every Ford product up to the turn of the millennium (the first one without them I ever experience was an early Focus).
I dunno, we have two late ’70s FoMoCo big cars, a ’78 Continental and a ’77 Thunderbird Town Landau, and I love the chairs in both (especially the pillowtop velour in the Conti). We’ve taken the Continental on road trips, and it’s a very pleasant long-haul car.
I always loved the first generation FWD Eldos.Possibly the most beautiful cars on the road of that era.This is probably the finest CC article I`ve seen in quite a while. Has just about everything you need to know about this ca and its development..I remember the Motor Trend review of the `67 Eldo. I was about14 years old when it came out. Thought I`d never see it again, so it was really fine to see it this morning over that first cup of coffee. I`ll take a `67 in light yellow with a white vinyl top and white leather, thank you.
An excellent analysis coupled with a great time capsule (or three). First, I find it amazing that in 1967 a Ford could be tested straight-up with a Cadillac with a straight face, which shows how far Ford had advanced in its ability to build a high quality car. In another year or so with a proper luxury name, the Mark III would start to eat the Eldo’s lunch in the showrooms.
The brake thing on the Eldorado is (at least to me) a leading-edge example of the GM mindset that would eventually sink the company. Unlike the 66 Toro, Cadillac HAD good brakes for the car. They just made them extra cost, figuring what . . . buyers might want to save a couple of bucks on decent brakes? “We are Cadillac, shouldn’t that be enough?” would become a way of life within a few years.
Finally, I really miss the days of Divisional powertrains. But I fear that those are a relic of the pre-EPA days, before there was a need to certify an engine for emissions and for fuel mileage, a process that is expensive and makes overlapping engines prohibitively expensive for even a big company. The “Ford way” of sticking to a single engine family for its entire line would be the way of the future.
I wouldn’t let Oldsmobile off the hook for using standard drum brakes on the first Toronado.
GM offered four-wheel-disc brakes as standard on the 1965 Chevrolet Corvette, and Ford equipped the 1965 Thunderbird and Lincoln Continental with standard front disc brakes. The 1966 Ford Galaxie 7-Litre had standard front disc brakes, and the inexpensive Mustang offered them as an option beginning in 1965.
Moribund Studebaker featured disc brakes as standard on the Avanti, and optional on the rest of the line. Even lowly Rambler offered disc brakes as an option on the Classic and Ambassador in 1965!
It’s not as though disc brakes were an unknown feature in Detroit in the early and mid-1960s. When the Toronado was introduced, Oldsmobile offered a variety of reasons – or, more accurately, excuses – for why discs weren’t even offered. The reviewers at Car Life, in particular, were quite critical of the Toronado’s braking abilities. I can only imagine what Consumer Reports said (if it did test a 1966 Toronado).
Oldsmobile wanted to re-establish its reputation as the “innovation division” at GM, and the Toronado was supposed to be the leader in that regard. Given the car’s price, and overall character as a slightly “sporting” machine, disc brakes should have been standard from day one.
Agreed. An unforgivable shame. A deadly sin, in other words.
Is it possible for a car to be both a Greatest Hit and a Deadly Sin? The Eldorado has the potential to be both. The last truly beautiful Cadillac, yet GM cheaps-out by using woefully inadequate, dangerous drum brakes. Hardly the stuff of ‘The Standard of the World’.
Not only were the drum brakes inadequate, but they used the same trick holes in the hub cap that Cord used 30 years earlier to ventilate their overheated drums. It looks like a styling feature but it is an admission that the top brass knew that there was a problem. Boo!
I suspect that there were no standards to meet regarding braking. So both the Toronado and Eldorado brakes were not upgraded. The 67 Riviera offered disk brakes as an option too. Government standards can be useful.
But I think all of GM’s full sized cars could have done with front disk brakes in the mid to late 60’s. GM was always slow to implement anything new. Fuel injection in the 80’s should have been the standard, but GM could make the carbs work, so they did.
Government-mandated brake standards sometimes aren’t that great, either. A case in point is how the pressure to depress the brake pedal has a specific rating.
Unfortunately, in order to achieve it, brake pads end up being made of a rather soft compound, resulting in lots of brake dust on the front wheels (I always thought it was overzealous braking on those German cars causing the front wheels to be virtually black) and lots of disc brake pad replacement.
Metrecal for lunch = today’s Buckhead Bettys or Real Housewives of Wherever. This implies that this is a car primarily concerned with style and designed for the spoilt housewife of a successful businessman. The housewife cares more about image than performance, and looks faintly ludicrous in a 5,000 lb conveyance which comfortably seats 2. There’s a reason beyond eye candy for the pictures shown.
Wow, do I remember Metrical. My parents and their friends were drinking that stuff in the 60s, and I had completely forgotten about it. They’re drinking it again, but are calling it Ensure now. 🙂
After treatment for cancer it can be helpful.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrecal
“Stating that “most users agree that the stuff is vile-tasting”, Time reported that many dieters would add liquor to make it more palatable.”
So it did sorta overlap with the three-martini lunch…
Wanna bet that any Eldos driven by the wives of GM execs damn well had the disc-brake option!
Supposedly the actor Joseph Kearns (probably best known as Mr. Wilson on the Dennis the Menace show) passed away after being on Metrecal for 6 weeks, so it might be more serious than having questionable taste.
Yes..my Dad owned the Renault 10 with disc brakes that the Eldorado lacked..he bought it new in 1968 (not that he was in the market for a car like the Eldorado). That was probably the most unusual car he ever bought, he also bought a new Subaru DL 8 years later in 1976..not that Subarus are unusual now, but they weren’t too common when he bought his in 1976, and also not AWD, as his was FWD…though I recall they offered one model with AWD, a wagon, back then. Most of his other car purchases were more conventional, he did own one Oldsmobile (an F85 wagon); he bought several Mercuries, Fords, and Chevrolets in his day, he actually bought more imports back in the day, as he got older went back to buying domestic cars.
Been thinking about what William said above re: competing with BMW. Logic says yes, but realpolitik says no way will this goal be reached. Maybe they should be focusing on the small volume Rolls-Royce gargantuan prestige category and leave the smaller stuff to the junior brands.
Was 1967 the the last golden year for GM? I don’t think they ever had platform mates with such different styling as the ’67 E bodies.
To me the eonly vehicle today that comes close to offering what the Cadillacs of these years did is the Chrysler 300C Platinum with the V8.
GN, you have expressed exactly how I feel about Tesla drivers so concisely. Cheers.
wasnt aware thta the horsepower was higher in the Toro
I dislike these Eldorados- I find the interiors cheap looking compared to their counterparts (that steering wheel + speedometer) + the lower HP engine…..give me the Toro or Rivi
I think the Road Test article is missing the Next fo last page.
You’re correct.
I think the Road Test article is omitting any information as to actually driving the car meaning no actual “road test” in this particular Road Test …
I was surprised the correct name “Fleetwood Eldorado” wasn’t used, at least in the introduction. Like it matters?
The car made a statement about its owner.
Speed? Performance? GM had plenty of other offerings to fit the bill.
I thought these had the halo vinyl roof in ’67, but apparently not.
The ’68 was the first year for GM’s hidden wipers, which made the hood even bigger.
That top speed in 3rd in the MT review spec sheet shows how afraid they were of angering their largest advertiser.
“3rd…not max 72”
It’s easy to calculate tho. 24 mph per 1,000 rpm = 108 mph at 4500 rpm. From a vehicle with a three speed auto and 380hp??? I’d have been happier with a ’67 Caprice with the 4bbl 396 or 427, and just as comfortable. And faster!
How about the way Car and Driver just ignored that both the Eldorado and the Thunderbird were completely flaccid performers? They legitimately criticized GM’s position that brakes weren’t an important part of an automobile, but they just glossed over that both of these luxobarges performed like economical intermediates with 2-barrel carbureted small-block V8s. The Cadillac’s maximum engine speeds in gears fell magnitudes short of the car’s rated power peak. The return was 10 to 14 miles per gallon, while a similar-displacement ‘super car’ in the form of the Torino Cobra 429 returned 7 to 10 miles per gallon in testing.
C&D has the Eldo with front coil springs, when it really had torsion bars.
Everyone keeps harping on the drum brakes. They were 12X2.5. That’s pretty big. Make the 12X3 with good friction material and a proportioning valve and I bet they would have been just fine, if not pretty good for the era. They had those things then, they just didn’t use them. Saving pennies, chasing dollars they more than likely in reality lost very few as the car magazines weren’t read by typical Caddy buyers.
I’m struck by how much they influenced the 80’s Caddys with the fins and sharp folded lines. Talk about seeing the heritage. On the other hand, I’m struck at how much better the Toronado looked with it’s nice smooth lines. Never a fan of either, but a Toronado would be cool in the driveway today, the Cad, no so much.