The gift of life is to participate in change; the world’s and one’s own. Time stands still for no one, but it can certainly appear to do some things; this Eldorado shot by Mike Hayes looks as if it just rolled out the factory in 1975 or so. It’s as if it were frozen in time. Yet it was not of its time either, at the time.
The new 1971 Eldorado was already out of step with the times when it first appeared; by 1975, and even more so by 1978—the last year of this generation—it was grossly so. This generation of Eldorado was the last of a direct lineage of Eldorados that started in 1953, and it showed, all to obviously. Although it looks frozen in 1975, it was also frozen in 1953-think, at its maker’s peril. GM brain freeze; a dangerous and even deadly malady.
This generation of Eldorado had the misfortune to be born at the cusp of the decade of greatest societal, political, economic, environmental and stylistic change since at least the 1920s. Yes, everyone thinks of the sixties as the decade of greatest change, but it was more of a harbinger of things to come; the actual changes came mostly in the seventies, and the US was profoundly different in 1970—when the new ’71 Eldorado appeared already rather out of date—from 1979, when it was finally replaced.
All of the Big Three’s big cars suffered a somewhat similar fate in the seventies, but at least GM took care of that with its downsized ’77s. And of course there was the Seville, a preview of things to come that arrived in the middle of the decade. But the overstuffed Eldorado had to keep lumbering along, trying to appear less weighty at the rear by having its rear wheels exposed, something that had connoted sportiness back in the 1950s. In this case, it was more like granny putting on a miniskirt.
Might Cadillac have been able to pull off a Seville-based Eldorado coupe?
The simple reality was that the concept of a giant personal coupe was always a stretch. And suddenly in about 1973-1974, it was a stretch too far. The concept had burst. Times, and gas prices, change, inevitably. But it was more than that; even GM knew it had gone too far in 1971, and started work on the downsized ’77s before the energy crisis happened.
Cadillac was utterly stuck in the 1953 mindset that had created the original Eldorado; the 1971 even aped a number of its styling elements, most blatantly the vertical trim piece ahead of the swollen hips and the fender skirts. That of course sums up the essence of GM’s demise: change was not their friend.
By the late 60s, when this generation of Eldorado was being conceived, change was very much in the air, and Mercedes and BMWs were popping up everywhere like dandelions on the Big Three’s well-manicured lawn.
It would have taken real guts and vision, but a radically different Eldorado, perhaps Opel-based like this coupe version of our Alter-Reality 1965 Seville might have changed the trajectory of the Eldorado forever. But that’s just indulging in fantasy.
The reality was quite different. But 1950s thinking was not going to lead GM towards a long and prosperous future, even if they did forestall the inevitable for some time yet.
OK; I’m critiquing, which is not the same as mocking, which I did plenty of in my last CC of one of these. At the time (2010) that one presented itself as a big, fat, bloated blue whale with missing body parts. I didn’t flat out call it a Deadly Sin, but certainly (wink-wink) implied it.
And now? I look at these shots and I see something quite different: a venerable and increasingly rare survivor of another era. No, I don’t want one, and I can still see its faults, but I appreciate it for what it is and the fact that someone has lovingly maintained it in practically showroom condition.
I must be getting old.
And who can fail to be impressed with this ultimate of an automotive proboscis? It’s largely irrelevant as to what it’s hiding under there, even if it did have 500 cubic inches; no one bought an Eldorado of this vintage and drove it with any sporting or performance expectations. The speed limit to the golf course was 45.
Seeing this Eldorado still in the prime of its life makes me feel…older. The first Eldorado and I share the same year of birth. So yes, I respect this one’s ability to seemingly defy entropy. Which is of course explains a key motivation in restoring and maintaining cars: we’re trying to make them immortal; we can’t do that for ourselves, no matter how hard we try. Just as well; I’d hate to be stuck in 1953-think forever.
Related reading:
Curbside Classic: 1978 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Classic Coupe – A Deadly Sin or Just Deadly?
Curbside Classic: 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado Convertible – The End Of An Exceptional Era
Curbside Classic: 1978 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado – The Biggest, Baddest Brougham Of Them All
I would argue that while the later version from your 2010 photo had clearly jumped the shark (with the extra moldings and garish 2 tones) this one was maybe mid-jump. This is actually the nicest of this generation I can recall seeing, with an attractive and subdued color/trim combo.
Lincoln figured out buyers of this demographic far better than Cadillac did, as the Eldo trailed the Mark in sales every year of this period, as I recall. I wouldn’t want one of these either, though the idea of 500 cubic inches under the hood excites me a little, I will admit.
Lincoln showed a lot of game against this Eldorado. The Mark III likely influenced the ’71 Eldorado, causing Cadillac to back away from the literally edgy lines of the 1967 Eldorado. The Mark III had no small influence from the 1956 Continental Mark II, and Cadillac suddenly reached back to 1953 for design cues. The direction Cadillac went wasn’t crazy considering what Lincoln was doing successfully.
This Eldorado competed with three generations of Marks, all while putting up just one significant refresh. Lincoln worked hard for incremental sales during this period, with sales about equal in 1971, and the Mark V trouncing the Eldorado 80K to 46K in 1978.
Of course, the Eldorado came back swinging hard in 1979, and it was just about game over for the Mark series in 1980. Opps!
I would say that the convertible was definitely (and in its’ final 1976 run explicitly) a holdover from another time, but the ’70s were the peak era of Personal Luxury and the Eldo along with the Lincoln Mark sat at the top of the heap. Young people were not buying them – few could afford one – but enough aspired to the genre that the Mustang II Ghia and Monza Towne Coupe sold in reasonable numbers.
As it turns out that was not the indicator the Grosse Pointe Myopians thought it was, styles moved on and the entry-level PLCs certainly lacked the top end’s massive flab…
The Seville Coupe looks very regal but.. looks to much like a Grand Prix. Nice concept..
I see a 1964 Cutlass in it.
The condition of that machine is outstanding. That being said, there is enough metal in those front and rear overhangs to make four kei cars! 🙂
Supersizing was really more of a late ’60s trend. As the smaller models became more popular and varied, the “standard” cars grew to maintain their distinction.
Cadillac actually invented the idea of “smaller and more luxurious” in 1938.
“Granny putting on a miniskirt” is an excellent turn of phrase, and describes the rear wheel arches of this car perfectly.
Unlike Cadillacs of the previous two decades, these 70s Cadillacs really do nothing for me. Still, I admire the dedication of whoever it is who owns this one and who is clearly putting in the effort (and garage space) to keep it looking new.
The only thing that’s missing from that front end is a bug screen.
This was the pinnacle of front end design work by the folks at Cadillac. It looks like they were making sure to outdo the guys at Oldsmobile with more bumper guards, ornaments, and unnecessary details as they could conceive. This ain’t no Chevy y’understand!
I don’t know if we ever tracked down what the longest two door car ever built was, but this would certainly be a contender.
This survivor is in great shape and has been well taken care of, which I am happy about. It’s just another example however, of GM’s misdirected efforts at excess of the day.
Yes, we have tracked down the longest two-door, which was the same length as the longest four door:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/history/whos-the-longest-mega-coupe-in-the-land/
It’s the 1973 Imperial, with 235.3″. The Eldo at 224″ is almost a foot shorter.
Cool! The lead in photo in that article includes the white Olds behemoth that I shot. Two door cars in this length just look so unbalanced.
Even though these cars were out of step with their times, I believe they were good sellers. Old habits die hard and many humans are creatures of habit. I have to say I strongly prefer the styling and sizing of the 1979-1985 generation. These were pretty cars.
It is fun to imagine what would have been done with the Eldo for 1979 were it not for the imposition of CAFE. Would the less over the top design have happened anyway as times were changing or would the designers doubled down on big and showy. I would have voted for the later.
As I noted in the post, GM had determined that its 1971 large cars were already too big before the energy crisis came along, and started the downsizing process then. So even if the two energy crises (and CAFE) had never happened, the next gen Eldorado was inevitably going to be significantly smaller.
Fuel prices were inevitably going to go up one way or another, and consumers had increasingly shown their interest in smaller cars. Big car market share had been on a terminal decline for a long time.
Maybe you missed this? You might want to read it, or re-read it:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-who-killed-the-big-american-car/
Thanks for the link. I missed it the first time. As a trad man, it is quite depressing to me, but not wrong in the big picture.
When I was a teenager I was a passenger on a day trip in the back seat of a red Eldorado convertible. Part of me enjoyed it – it was big and comfortable; part of me was embarrassed to be seen in it. Fortunately this was with my grandfather, whose friend owned the car (my grandpa drove a slant six Dart Swinger) and I was 3000 miles from home so there was no chance of anyone I knew seeing me.
The chrome crest in the middle of the horizontal taillight and clear front turnsignal mean it’s a ’75. The ’76 had black paint in the middle of the wheelcovers. The last two years had body-colored centers, I believe.
I remember when the ’71s came out. At 9, I thought the curves and bulges of all the Cadillacs were horrible compared to the chisel tip fenders and crisp lines of the ’70 models. What were they thinking? Grandma had a black ’70 Calais, which looked great, but she couldn’t see over the high-backed seats, so she got a ’72.
It’s a shame it took them so long to remove the fender skirts, and when they did, they should have widened the track as they did for the ’98 Deville. It would have reduced the bloated appearance a bit. A full vinyl roof would also improve things, but they all but disappeared from Cadillac coupes in the mid 70s. Any slick tops now are probably repaints after removal.
Thanks; I’ll change the title.
1975 was the year Cadillac finally made climate control standard on the non-limo models. It was either this year or ’76 that the Eldorado got standard 4 wheel disc brakes, I believe the first at GM after Corvette.
There is a need to create an vehicle’s exterior design to fit the interior design. The Eldorado and other luxury cars of this period have interiors that seem straight out of a dowager’s living room. The entire selling point of the car became the interior design, the materials, the style and feel of the inside of the car. Consequently, there was a need to create an exterior that would match the interior.
The 1970s is the period when air conditioning became a standard feature for most cars. Coupled with the new fabrics being created out of petrol-polyester, there were new materials that didn’t need the same level of durability as found in sedans only a decade before. Interiors went from being dura-vinyl to pillow-tufted velour, thanks to new luxury materials that were inexpensive but extremely profitable.
A curse for Detroit was the profitability of brougham cars. The profit of taking a Falcon, turning it into a Granada and selling millions of Granada, Monarchs and Versailles made many people very happy. How expensive was the first generation NOVA Seville to GM?
Eventually, we’re going to see the exterior of the cars turn into Brougham furniture. Lamps are on the front fenders of this Eldorado. Opera lights are lamps. The vinyl roof became cushioned. Cougars had vinyl cushioned rear decks. The interior of the cars of this era, oozed to the point where it showed up on the outside.
These cars are furniture, as much as they are an automobile.
I read a Car and Driver comparison test of a big Eldorado and a four-door Thunderbird. They noted that it was Ford that held the patent for the Eldorado’s drivetrain. Ford had developed it for the Thunderbird, only to determine that it was too expensive and carried ride and handling penalties.
LOL 🙂 🙂 🙂
A patent on FWD? Really?
Just goes to show you that you shouldn’t believe everything you read in C&D.
Clearly there were no ride and handling penalties, and there was no reason for them to exist. Sounds like Ford didn’t do their homework. Of course it was more expensive, at least initially.
I believe the patent was on the chain-driven transmission under a bank of cylinders configuration specific to the first couple generations of Toronados/GMC Motorhomes, some Eldorados and one Riviera. The Car and Driver story is echoed by the current Wikipedia page on the Toronado and also by AteUpWithMotor:
https://ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/oldsmobile-toronado-1966-1970/2/
No it’s not. The patent is just about the general idea of the transmission being alongside the engine, and the front driveshaft going through the oil sump/engine block, just below the crankshaft.
I read AUWM’s writeup on the Ford patent, and it appears to be incorrect:
Hooven applied for a patent on the layout in 1959. The patent, granted in September 1962, deliberately avoided specifying any particular engine, transmission, or transmission-drive arrangement; Hooven’s claims only the split-transmission concept. The UPP is remarkably similar to Hooven’s conception, with the exception that GM passed one driveshaft beneath a reshaped oil pan rather than through it.
That’s not correct; the Hoven patent has the transfer drive coming directly off the back of the engine to the torque converter and transmission, which are not split, but a single unit. here’s the text from the patent:
Power is transmitted at the rear of the engine through a transfer drive unit to an integral torque converter and transmission unit mounted on the rear end of the transmission differential unit.
The GM unit is specifically different in using a split transmission, as well as running the drive shaft for the front wheels through the engine.
Generally similar in the broad strokes; different in key details.
I’m finding an overall bias on this site towards import brands. This entire article seems to have been written with a disdain for these cars. So I would ask, what makes this beautiful car so different from other brands (import brands) from the 70’s? Yes, the size overall, but that’s about it.
In my humble opinion, I feel that GM and Cadillac began their downward descent when they decided to chase after the German brands. They left who they were at the curb and wanted that customer who would seldom cross over to Cadillac. We can thank the Japanese and German brands for the utterly bland and soulless vehicles we have today with the import snobs driving around in their boring with noses turned up high.
This Eldorado was a gorgeous car that showed a proud America that has sadly been lost.
I’m sensitive about this too, but have learned that the focus at CC is not on the native orgins of a brand, but of the product.
The failure here is of the product. What this car offered was available for half the price in another GM line. The Eldorado didn’t sell well. It was a failure in the market and in that particular market niche. There were reasons it didn’t sell. We are identifying it.
Nearly every person at CC loves a domestic brand that is no longer being manufactured, due to market failures. Lots of us pine for a discontinued imported brand as well. We don’t like seeing brands suffer and go out of business, especially those brands that our family has ties with.
So no – there are some that may trumpet an imported brand, but there are some like me who trumpet domestic brands. What we have in common is our love of curbside classic cars.
Ford did file and was granted a patent for a FWD system developed for the ’58 Thunderbird which was copied by GM for the ’66 Toronado and ’67 Eldorado.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US3052313
There some basic similarities in general concept, but they was considerably different in some key respects: the Ford unit had the torque converter mounted on the rest of the transmission; the GM unit had the tc on the back of the engine and then had a chain drive to the rest of the transmission.
The featured car is in amazing condition, very similar to the 1977 Chrysler Newport that Aaron65 wrote about the other day. I believe that baby blue color, which I like, was a one-year offering in the 1975 model year.
Still, these never had much appeal to be, being overly large, bloated and inefficient. I did like the very first 1966-67 Olds Toronados and the 1967-68 Eldorados.
From some of the comments here, it looks like Carmine has resurfaced under different monikers!
210delray: I’d have to go look it up, but the ’77 did offer a very nice light sapphire blue. Although I’ve owned a lot of older Cadillac’s, Lincoln’s and exactly two older Jaguars and two MB, I’ve never owned this vintage Eldo. My favorites are the 1973 with the skirts or the 1977 and I’d love to have one in the light blue or green or the yellow as a runner up.
I think they usually had a metallic light blue choice, and some years an additional non-metallic pale blue which really looked bloated. I had a ’76 convertible in a color similar but probably not identical to this one.
Nice article on the 75 Eldo coupe….I own a 75 Eldo convertible and love it! It is not in as nice of condition as the car featured in the article but is still quite presentable and just nice to cruise around in with the top down…it never fails to get thumbs up from other drivers and folks frequently ask me questions about it or want to look at when I park. Love or hate em these were the last truly large 2 door automobiles made…and to me that is their charm, they made a lot of them and a lot of them survived, they are never going to be worth much or very collectible so might as well drive em and just enjoy it…the world will never see cars this large again.
As I read this piece, I wondered – if GM hadn’t upsized their cars from ’70 to ’71, but kept the package, would the downsized ’77s have had the same impact?
I’ve always wondered what GM was thinking with this Eldorado. Not just the size (a Caddy had the be the biggest, surely?), but the style. It looked awkward, disappointing after the previous model. It lost that aura. that fleet look of motion, and just sat there. I wanted to like it, but, no. Rather than “Wow” it became just a bigger coupe than the rest, as though that along with the Cadillac name was enough to make it better. It never occurred to me they might have been doing a “Suddenly it’s 1953!” with the styling.
And it seemed to get more awkward with each facelift. The ultra-square front and rear just don’t ‘gel’ with the curvy centre section. It looks like they could easily have trimmed eight inches off the nose and a foot off the tail, and still had an impressive looking vehicle.
Amazing to see one in such great condition.
One of the biggest myths that’s widely taken as the truth is that GM’s new 1971 large cars were bigger than the 1970s. They were only minutely longer: the ’71 Cadillac was 0.8″ longer; the ’71 Eldorado was 0.6″ longer, and the ’71 Chevrolet was 0.8″ longer than their corresponding 1970 versions.
And although they may look wider, they weren’t that either: the ’71 Cadillac was 0.2″ wider; the ’71 Eldorado was the same width, and the ’71 Chevrolet was actually 0.6″ narrower!
The miracle of GM’s styling studios was that they may have looked bigger, but weren’t in reality.
Yes, they all did gain some length in ’73-’74 due to the mandated 5 mile bumpers, but that’s not GM’s fault.
Hadn’t realized that; thanks.
I’d always heard that for many years the car with the widest interior was the 1957 through ’66 Imperial, until the 1971 model year full-sized GM products came along. But then that is just the interior and not the exterior.
It was the greatly increased tumblehome that made them look wider and bulbous. I remember the first time I sat in one, how the door panels curved outward to the beltline, so different from the vertical door panels and barely-curved windows of our ’68 Electra, yet no wider inside. I’m sure it seemed like the future in the space age mid-late 60s.
Did it save them a few dollars having the frame rails closer together, or were they? Did the curvature require GM’s bigger panel gaps, or were they just allowing for sloppy construction? Why weren’t they called fuselage cars like the Chryslers?
I remember when those were current and it seemed like half of them were convertibles. I hated them, thought they were the absolute worst of conspicuous consumption. They were slow but thirsty. Took up an enormous amount of room on the road and in parking lots. But they were striking and something about them even if it wasn’t to my tastes. I even made a bold prediction (that nobody else actually heard) that those were going to be collectables, and soon. Surprisingly the last I looked they didn’t seem to have any premium for the era.
I was living in South Lake Tahoe in the late 70s, a bi state casino town, perhaps the classiest and most understated of the then Nevada specific casino towns, but still not exactly prone to subtlety. In other words they were popular in that place and time so I saw a lot of them. They don’t seem to my eyes at least have aged significantly better or worse then their contemporaries, in spite of their outlandishness when new.
I believe the body-colored plastic (there’s a lot of it) at the bumper turned brittle and shattered even on garaged examples. Fortunately, someone makes replacements, but they don’t look quite right up close.
My Dad bought this new in 1975. I was 12 and could not wait to get my permit. I took my drivers test with it Loved that car.
What was the concept behind the El Dorado?
In 1953 it, along with the Buick Skylark and Oldsmobile Fiesta, were halo models that had individualized bodywork that differentiated them from their regular line. The Eldo was advertised as a “sports car!” The special body lasted only one year. From ’54 to ’66 it was just a flashier De Ville model. The new ’67 Eldo was the next step up from the ’63-65 Riviera. The El Dorado started out as quite an impressive looking car in 1967. GM lost the thread in 1971.
Up until the 1970’s all Cadillacs had always been roadburners; high speed, long distance touring cars. They were the best cars for covering long distances on American highways. We all know that Caddys were very successful in the Pan American Road Race and even competed at Le Mans. Cadillacs were dynamic cars for the “man” on the move.
Unfortunately during the ’70’s the Eldo became a parody of itself, too big and bloated, too softly sprung to be relaxing to drive at high speeds. They became a squishmobile for the old folks. Sure they were big, but full size Cads had been designed to carry a car full of passengers and luggage comfortably. These 70’s Eldos were grossly big outside and ridiculously small inside. The 1979 redesign put the Eldo back on the right track until it ceased production. Not a lot of love for these cars.
OP has no concept of autos in their place and time. 1970s, I was in my 20s, bought a new 1976 Eldo convertible (white w/.red interior). 1970s larger autos, larger parking spaces, OP no concept of 1970s auto culture.
My new 1976 Eldo Conv. was fast, comfortable. Doubt OP ever drove a new Cadillac back in the day.
Nice car. The color is cool. I have almost the same blue on my 77 Buick lesabre and I love it.
That “1965 Seville” is based on the contemporary Opel Diplomat Coupe, which itself resembles a 7/8 scale 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix with a ’63 Chevy nose grafted on. Definitely not in character with Cadillac at the time, when it was still making distinctive cars worthy of the marque.
Interestingly enough, the Diplomat was originally proposed as the platform for the Seville. Paul tells the story here. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/ebay-find-1973-opel-admiral-this-could-have-been-the-seville-now-someone-should-turn-it-into-one/
“So why not just use the Kapitan-Admiral-Diplomat tooling and add a few American-style luxury touches, to make a very legitimate Mercedes fighter? After bringing one or more over to Detroit and carefully inspecting it, it was deemed that none of GM’s North American plants could build it to the close tolerances it was tooled for. That’s pathetic, but a reflection of the realities of the times, when body gaps were big enough to stick a finger into them.”
The ’71 was a turn in the wrong direction for the front-drive Eldorado, which started out so well. Ironically, the ’71 Toronado it was based on looked more like that Eldorado. Then the bumper regs came into play and it started looking bloated too.
I always wondered what would have happened if they came out with the 1979 E-bodies a few years earlier. All turned out to be huge improvements on their previous models.