On a Monday this past February while on vacation in Las Vegas, I came across these three Cadillacs representing three very different eras. Las Vegas and Cadillacs just seem to me to go naturally hand-in-hand. Rat Pack member Sammy Davis, Jr. name-checked Cadillacs in two recordings I can think of: “Lot Of Livin’ To Do” and “Eee-o-Eleven”.
These three representations of GM’s premium make couldn’t have been more different from one another – as different as the respective decades during which each was manufactured.
The first one I saw that day was this pink 1970 Coupe DeVille convertible that was parked next to the Holiday House Motel and its adjacent wedding chapel. Bruce Springsteen (and the late Natalie Cole) immortalized the “Pink Cadillac” in song. There’s something about this ’70 CDV that is so over-the-top, so immodest, and such a spectacle (in other words, so Las Vegas) that speaks to me.
Both its styling and the bright, rich shade of its custom paint are intended to grab your attention like any number of flashy neon signs lining The Strip. There is not a bashful line in its heavily sculpted, super-sized sheetmetal aft of its wide-mouthed grille. Like the era which produced this car, the remaining emblems of this particular time period in this city (Circus Circus, the Plaza, the 70’s-era remodel of the Golden Gate) are what I find the most enjoyable. This is the Las Vegas I came here to see.
A little further south on Las Vegas Boulevard (in front of the still-unfinished Fontainebleau Resort) and heading toward The Strip, this ’55 Sixty Special passed by in traffic in a more subdued shade of pink. By this time, I was starting to wonder if every wedding chapel in Vegas owned a pink Cadillac from some era, though I didn’t see any decorations or markings on this one. I highly doubt it was just a privately owned automobile. To me, this ’55 represents the beginning of Las Vegas’s “boom” years, with the Riviera Hotel & Casino having opened in that same year as the tallest hotel in the entire state of Nevada. My perception is that like this Cadillac, Las Vegas in the mid-to-late 1950’s seemed to have more of a classic elegance about it (El Rancho, the Moulin Rouge) than what would follow by roughly ten to fifteen years later.
This was an era of fedoras, crisply tailored suits, cigarette holders, cigars, and martinis, Pally. Even leisure seemed to have had more of a straightforward, no-nonsense quality to it. This Cadillac’s shade of pink seems less ostentatious and less deliberately limelight-seeking than that of the ’70, perhaps befitting the 55’s greater aura of exclusivity compared with the ’70. “If I can afford a Cadillac, I’m going to have it painted any color I darned well please.” As well you should.
Closer yet toward the Strip, this c. 1987 Coupe DeVille in a demure shade of icy blue crossed the intersection at Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara. It is perhaps here that my “Cadillac as Vegas symbol” metaphor unravels, but I ask that you bear with me. By the late 1980’s, Steve Wynn’s Mirage had opened – then a $360,000,000 spectacle when new (almost $700M, adjusted), and was widely considered to be the first mega-resort casino property on the Strip. The Mirage started a trend of super-scaled resort casinos that spelled the end of the older, more vintage style of lodging and gambling hall along the Strip, with many such establishments being imploded to make way for newer, bigger, more superlatively constructed places.
While the scale of the new-for-’85 FWD DeVille went the opposite direction of new style of Las Vegas resort, to me it still represents a similar idea – a new way of thinking that worked well and adapted for the times, but signaled the death of what many had come to Cadillac dealerships and Las Vegas to experience. The featured ’55 and ’70 Cadillacs wouldn’t actually need to announce their presence with pink paint to command your attention, much like a place like El Cortez could only exist in a place like downtown Las Vegas.
The ’87 CDV is more like the geometric-looking Wynn Las Vegas that could simply be a nice resort in one of many large cities in the United States. In another seventeen years (the age gap between the ’87 and the ’70), this CDV may still grab your attention, but perhaps only in a way that shows how far Cadillac has progressed since the dismal Roger Smith era at GM. It will likely also never be beloved enough to be custom-painted pink.
Things seem to change with such frequency in Las Vegas. When I’m back there next month, I plan to revisit many of my favorite, classic haunts – particularly in the downtown area. With so many properties either crumbling to dust or being remade into something different (not unlike with an “Art & Science” restyle, like the Lady Luck Hotel & Casino’s 2006 – ’13 transformation into the Downtown Grand), I want to get another fix of the classic sites, sounds and smells and take another round of pictures, if only to document a few fading legacies of American leisure. Perhaps a few more Cadillacs will again make their presence known. (RIP, Riviera Hotel & Casino, 1955 – 2016.)
Las Vegas, Nevada.
Monday, February 8, 2016.
Interesting write up. But I thought it was Bruce Springsteen and Aretha Franklin that did pink Cadillac
I just got this… I forgot about Aretha’s song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip_pjb5_fgA.
I was thinking of Springsteen’s song … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29_RZ82aZ6A
…that was covered by Natalie Cole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhHLifMnUxw
Great catch.
I didn’t know they did one too. Learn all sorts of stuff on here
https://youtu.be/aLlIv9stBZA
Although the song is aimed at RENO I always liked Southern Pacific “Reno Bound” better.
Fifteen gallon Stetson hat and alligator boots
Redhead riding shotgun, pocket full of loot
Got the radio UP
Top rolled DOWN
Got the cleanest Eldorado around
For me, I think that painting the 87 in Pink would somehow be pathetic. I believe it’s a good sign for Cadillac that the current crop of ‘Art and Science’ styled cars could wear a bold pink without looking absurd.
Yep, it would be sad. Especially if it was starting to rust.
I saw a Fleetwood of that era last night. I used to really not care for this era, but I’ve warmed up to them. I wouldn’t mind picking up one of those Caddies (as long as it had a 4.5 or 4.9) to use it for a classy beater.
Agreed on all counts, Lokki.
That is one beautiful 1955 Sixty Special. Top of the line in every respect. From the scoop vents below the rear window it even has factory A/C. Must have cut a fine figure cruising the strip back in 1955 with the windows up, its smug occupants cool and comfortable in the 100 degree heat.
Also, I’d bet that the paint on the 1955 sedan is original – I’ve seen quite a number of pink 1955 or 1956 Cadillac sedans like it.
Living in Las Vegas, I see way more pink Cadillacs than Cadillac ever built. Many of them are owned/driven by Elvis impersonators.
It’s a very strange place to live.
No wonder, for the city’s history, esp. postwar, is strange too, with Mormon bankers, gangsters, Howard Hughes, et. al.
The posthumous Elvis personality cult (which makes his impersonation profitable) is a bit of pop Americana I’ll never understand.
I once read something that suggested the seemingly never ending Elvis Presley worship (such as the denial of his death nearly forty years later) has all the earmarks and potential for Elvis, sometime in the far-off future (say 2,000 years from now), to eventually become the next Jesus Christ. I wonder if that would make Memphis and Las Vegas holy land, as well, sort of the future Mecca and Medina. I’m sure pink Cadillacs would feature prominently in there somewhere, too.
For anyone interested, there’s a great, cult-classic movie that does a superb job of spoofing the topic called Mystery Train, the high-point (to me) is having Screamin’ Jay Hawkins in a small (but hilarious) role.
A while ago I saw Mystery Train for the second time. You’re absolutely right, it’s great, and a cult-classic indeed.
Here’s Screamin’ Jay.
Not to mention that Screamin’ Jay gets to say the best name I’ve ever heard for a fast-food seafood place: “Jiffy Squid”.
Eggsalad, I was hoping you’d chime in. Strangely enough, I don’t recall seeing one, single Elvis impersonator this past February. Watch there be a delegation next month when I’m there. Not that that would be a bad thing.
Meanwhile, in Phoenix. Vegas was not alone in boldly hued Cadillacs. My 69 CDV conv. In now faded “Chateau Mauve Metallic” with matching interior and white roof.
Jason, That is a beauty. I have a few hours of left seat time in a (then relatively new) 1969 CDV (hardtop rather than convertible) and can attest to the sublime sense of solid, quiet, massive, and powerful motoring.
I’ve driven earlier Cadillacs (1962 convertible and 1964 CDV hardtop) and they were also great rides for their time.
But a 1985 HT-4100 Eldorado made me feel sad for what GM did to their former market leader. I tried hard to keep that car running well for an elderly widow and fellow church member (it was her late husband’s car) but in the end I could not keep up with the “issues”. It had less than 30,000 miles but everything on the bottom of the car turned to rust, including the main brake line connections. It made me suspicious of the benefit of keeping a rarely used car in an unheated garage here in the Northeast.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for not photographing a pink 1959 Cadillac. If I see another one, I don’t know what I’m going to do.
I have actually never been to Vegas, so I appreciate your perspective on its changes.
“The Circus-Circus is what the whole hep world would be doing Saturday night if the Nazis had won the war. This is the sixth Reich. The ground floor is full of gambling tables, like all the other casinos… but the place is about four stories high, in the style of a circus tent, and all manner of strange County-Fair/Polish Carnival madness is going on up in this space.”
Thanks for the article, Joseph. Never been to Vegas myself so it’s nice to see the perspective.
Used to go there for broadcasting conventions. Hated every minute of it. Not my kind of place.
But then I didn’t get downtown to explore the older places. I should have, and then maybe I’d have something nice to say about it.
Hard to say if you’d like downtown better today. It has been extensively remodeled and is marketed as the Fremont Street experience. Like the Strip, lots of places that want you to drop dollars.
In reading about Bugsy Siegel, I came upon how old-time gangsters Moe Sedway and Gus Greenbaum (the names of which were combined to come up with the famous The Godfather character of Moe Green) ran the Fremont Street El Cortez Hotel, which is apparently still in operation today. Because it’s much smaller than the huge places, it’s known as a ‘starter’ casino where dealers begin their careers before moving on to more lucrative establishments. I think it would be a place worth seeking out for anyone interested in more of an ‘old school’ Vegas experience.
El Cortez is, indeed, one of my favorite spots.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/curbside-classics-on-holiday-cars-of-my-las-vegas-adventures/
Thanks for the link. Very good article and should be required reading for a car enthusiast (well, anyone, really) thinking about taking a trip to Vegas which, frankly, everyone should do once in their lifetime. As Nate commented earlier, Vegas is so much more than the strip, bums, and call girls. With a little research, someone who has never been there can have a great time without spending huge amounts of cash in the process. I particularly like the idea of driving down one of the older sections of town (like Fremont Street) late at night, especially if it’s in a convertible.
I was there last spring and I must agree. The best part for me was walking with my wife from downtown to the strip along the same stretch where Joseph took these photos. I’m sure I saw that same ’70 Caddy. Lots of cool antique shops and car lots with interesting iron. A bit of a marginalized area but nice to see the surviving original roadside motels. I also got the authentic experience of being yelled at by a homeless fellow who accused me of trying to steal his cheeseburger.
“I also got the authentic experience of being yelled at by a homeless fellow who accused me of trying to steal his cheeseburger.”
QOTD. I suspect that a trip to Vegas isn’t really considered complete until you have this particular experience.
Paul, Same here. I had to go there in the late 1970s for a Mark IV – IV League meeting and felt overwhelmed by the whole thing. I once walked to the edge of town where the sidewalk ended and the desert began. Literally.
I assume it is different now size-wise, but not other-wise.
My partners dragged me to a back street strip show and tipped a dancer to give me a difficult time.
One bright spot. Many restaurants there served breakfast all day long.
Couldn’t wait to get back to NJ.
“…new-for-’84 FWD DeVille …”
Just being picky, but the new ones were ’85 models, introduced in spring ’84. Same with Electra/Park Ave and 98.
Leading to the famous Lincoln valet ad, “That’s my Cadillac!” “No, it’s my Buick, wait no”
Noted – thanks, Tom. (I should have caught that before this went live.)
I have family in Vegas, so I get there every other year at minimum. The gambling, shows, and crowds (62,000 hotel rooms on the Strip alone!) don’t appeal much to me. Due to the health of some family members, we sometimes stay in business hotels. The best was a Marriott a block over from the Strip, behind the Riviera. On a couple of evenings, my wife and I sat by the rooftop pool, and shared a bottle of wine while looking at the lights – one of my best Vegas experiences and since the hotel was free on points, the evening cost us all of $10.00 for the wine. High Rollers we ain’t!
But, we do have fun their our own way. Take a slow drive down the Strip at night and look at the lights, hang at the pool at friend’s homes, and use Vegas as a base to get to Southern CA. After spending the holidays with family, we usually drive to SoCal and can find a lot to do and see.
Vegas did lose a sort of fun bit of Cadillac trivia. Cadillacs were sold there at Cashman Cadillac located on Sahara Street. Does that sound like Vegas, or what? Unfortunately, the Cashman family sold the dealership to a mega chain, and it’s now simply Cadillac of Las Vegas
Me ;
I love the early 1950’s Caddies best .
Rusty Draper recorded ‘ Pink Cadillac ‘ in……?1957? .
I dunno , I still have the original 45 RPM record .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsHsZVCO6Gw
Vegas is so much more than the strip , bums and call girls .
-Nate
I’ve been to Vegas a couple of times, and these pictures aren’t exactly the full picture of how many Cadillacs are actually floating around there. Cadillacs are alive and well in Vegas, from the normal daily drivers or garage queens you see in traffic, to stretched XTS’ and brand new Escalade ESVs being used as high end limos and chauffeur cars, to yes, pink Cadillacs. Although, the pink ones are usually driven as part of tourist traps and services that are part of the feverish cult of Elvis and usually the models in question are all 59s (Which is both horribly cliché and disgustingly repulsive).
I have yet to figure out why, maybe it’s because Cadillacs are still unironically seen as status symbols of power, maybe it’s because some of the old school mafia influences still have some form there (BTW, if you’re ever interested, check out the Mob Museum that’s off the strip, it’s a really great place to visit), or maybe Vegas really likes their Cadillacs. Either way, it’s probably one of the few places I can think of where the crest and wreath manages to thrive alive and well.
The Mob Museum? Gotta go to that one the next time we’re in Vegas. Sadly, the Liberace Museum is no more.
BTW, although close, this post is about ten days late. Elvis died on August 16, 1977.
FWIW, Elvis nuts consider that date mystical because, when the numbers (08/16/1977) are added together, they equal 2001, which is the movie that Elvis borrowed the famous music for his entrance when performing in Vegas.
You know out of all three of those Cadillacs, I would rather have the 1987. As a child of the 1980’s that watched a lot of TV shows, this car(and the previous generation Deville and later Fleetwood) seemed to embody the 1980’s Las Vegas/ SoCal/Miami scenes. I can just picture Crockett and Tubbs chasing a baddie in a Benz and passing 3 of these Devilles in doing so. Or perhaps seeing a bad guy driving one around in the season of Knight Rider (1986) or A-Team (1986-1987)
I know a lot of folks think that the 1985-1988 deville was a deadly sin but there were a lot of them out there and though GM did not sell as many as in the past, they did sell plenty of them. In a typical late 1980’s store parking lot, you could count on seeing several of them.
Now the thing about Las Vegas is that even though the lights may be LED and the cars modern, if you squint you could swear it was still the 1980’s there.
I went to Vegas for 4 days in July 1997. It was fun, but I didn’t do any of the driving. It would have been fun motoring around in my ’64 Falcon, but since I lived in West Palm Beach, FL, that would have been quite a drive to LV and back. I enjoyed going down the Luxor Hotel’s ‘inclinator’ to play the slot machines at 2:30 AM.
I do miss the 1980s. Sometimes I’ll watch an ’80s movie for no other reason then to wax nostalgic. SHAMELESS MOVIE PLUG: Check out the ’80s-vibe in the 1985 film ‘CLUB LIFE’ with Tom Parsekian (who’s now a lawyer, I believe) and Tony Curtis. Directed by Norman Thaddeus Vane (1928-2015) and released on PRISM Entertainment.
You can always go check out Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. But from what I heard it can be a disappointment.
Having been inside, it pretty much is. It’s the ultimate example of a cheap, disappointing, over hyped tourist trap. It’s pretty much the one place in Vegas were you pretty much want to avoid at all costs. (Being located in the really seedy part of the town doesn’t help either.)
Where else besides “the seedy part of town” would a pawn shop be??
Las Vegas and Cadillacs. There are so many preconceptions based upon our fantasies of both. I was in Vegas a few years back to take my wife to a convention. I didn’t do much exploring, but now I think that I would go see the Imperial Palace car collection and the Fremont St. Experience. About twenty five years ago a buddy and I stopped there and stayed at the old Riviera while on a motorcycle trip. We caught a show featuring Frank Gorshin and Lola Falana. I had a ’70 Coupe de Ville back in the late 70s and it was great running road car. I especially liked the high back front seats. I had a ’56 SDV back in the ’90s and those old Caddies really had a cool vibe but weren’t much fun to drive. That pink ’55 is like the one that Elvis bought for his mother. Late model Caddies don’t do much for me but that new CT6 might make a good used car buy in a few years.
I was lucky to catch Elvis on his last tour at the Cow Palace. It was worth catching a piece of history, he didn’t even forget the words to most of his songs.