Photos from the Cohort by Eric Clem.
It’s always enjoyable to see some classic Cadillacs away from their natural American environment. This time in Lithuania, a more interesting location considering the nation’s history as part of the Soviet Union in those not-quite-fondly remembered Cold War years.
Not that Cadillacs or American cars were completely absent in 1950s-1960s Europe, as they still enjoyed an exotic air on the old Continent at the time. This 1968 one certainly looks quite unique in this setting.
Now, the history of Cadillacs/American cars in the Soviet Union may be a bit harder to track, but it would certainly make an interesting post if we get those details at some point. Here are some making quite a sight near the Moscow State University on an unspecified date. An Imperial, a Mercury, and a Cadillac Limo.
I can’t quite make out if these Cadillacs made their way into Lithuania before or after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Whatever the case may be, they certainly make for an eye-catching sight, particularly this 1959 one.
Along the pair of 1970s/80s Mercedes next to them, this gathering looks like a short history lesson in Western Hemisphere luxury through the decades. I know a few brands are missing, but maybe they hadn’t reached the gathering by the time this photo was taken.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1959 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – False Prophet Of A New Era
Curbside Classic: 1968 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham – Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
Curbside Classic: 1959 Cadillac Sedan DeVille – All Of The Things
A lot of Cadillac limos were used as US embassy cars, usually in black, perhaps the B&W photo could be an embassy lineup ? I remember loving the look of the mid ’50s ones in London when I was a teenager.
That was my initial thought too, though I think that 1960s-era Soviet diplomatic license plates were white, so this wouldn’t match. It’s too bad we can’t read the letter code above the numbers to see if that would give us any indication.
Or maybe they were imported by ZIL for purposes of copying American cars’ design features!
That “tudor, Imperial” is one rare car!
Great pictures! I love seeing these cars in such a setting.
Looks like the ’68 Cadillac shown here is owned by a company that has several vintage Cadillacs used as rentals (for weddings, etc.). A link to the company’s webpage featuring this car is here:
http://cadillacnuoma.lt/cadillac-de-ville-1968/
In 1958, syndicated columnist Art Buchwald borrowed a brand-new Imperial from Chrysler Corp. and set off on a trip from Paris, across Austria and Czechoslovakia, to Moscow. (He said he wanted to show communists what a real American imperialist looked like, so naturally he chose an Imperial.)
The columns he wrote are collected in a book called “More Caviar,” if you can find it. The car apparently drew crowds everywhere they went, to the point of Soviet police having to keep people away.
“A new American car is probably one of the best mediums of propaganda the United States could ever send to the Soviet Union,” Buchwald wrote. “The questions more or less followed a pattern: What kind of car? How much horsepower, how many miles to the gallon, how much did it cost? Why didn’t America sell such cars to the Russian people? … The customs inspectors insisted the first thing we do was open the hood. Not because they suspected we were smuggling anything, but because they were just curious to see the motor. We found the same thing happening all along the way: Police and customs officials always made us open the hood to check the motor of the Imperial.”
I recall reading about an American journalist who visited the USSR in 1973 or so in a then new Ford Galaxie (not even an LTD). By then the Galaxie was a rather mediocre car from a peak malaise year. Even so, the Soviets were impressed by the Galaxie and its sheer size. Supposedly, as was the case with Buchwald, the Soviets all wanted to look at the engine. The author said that, in particular, Soviet truck drivers gazed on the engine longingly and he imagined they wished that they could have such engines in their trucks. I’m thinking the car probably had a 351, or maybe a 400 cubic inch V-8.
That’s a rare pillared ’68 Sedan de Ville, which has about 2″ more rear legroom than the hardtop. The greenhouse is better proportioned, too, but because it’s shared with the curvier Electra and 98, it lacks the crisp edges of the hardtop’s.
Wow, thanks for the heads up!! I looked right over that. Yep, was probably some type of embassy or diplomatic vehicle.
Very Capitalist!!
Love the ’68 Caddy ! .
Looked good then, looks great now .
-Nate
“I can’t quite make out if these Cadillacs made their way into Lithuania before or after the fall of the Iron Curtain.”
I’m from Lithuania, these Cadillacs were imported to the country after the fall of the Iron Curtain. In Soviet times it was almost impossible to import anything from the West, only the lucky few had some sort of VW, Ford or Opel being imported through DDR. 99.9% of the population drove Ladas and similar cars from the Socialist block.
The Cadillacs in these photos were most likely imported by enthusiasts from the USA and restored. Overall I see that popularity of American cars in Lithuania is growing every year, even the rarities like Edsel are now present.
I have decided that the non-metallic beige paint on the 68 is the most forgotten part of the 1960s. You could buy virtually any make or model in that color for pretty much the entire decade. Then, at some point, it went away.
There is picture of one 1959 Imperial in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Like others noted, they got there via embassy or left by tourist after the crash, repaired by skilled locals. That picture in Moscow, is outstanding.