The imposing presence of a Fleetwood 75 appears on our pages again, courtesy of nifticus392 at the Cohort. In this occasion our Cadillac has enough nicks and bits of rust to give it that proper CC-look.
Curbside Classic: 1973 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 – The Longest Standard Production Car Ever
As I’d mentioned in the ’73 discussion, the Series 75 served as both a halo car over the entire Cadillac lineup and a vocational model. All but a statistically insignificant number of sales were to car services and the funeral trade, but memories of the prewar, custom, privately-owned limos are why the limo rated a two-page, full color spread in the main Cadillac full line brochure rather than being banished to a single-page B&W sell sheet like the professional-car chassis.
The author doesn’t know that this is a 1967 75 series cadillac!!
It’s a 1966. The 1967 grille did not have the horizontal bar in the middle.
Please get some Cadillac wheel covers for this gracious lady.
Yes, it’s as if we’re seeing her without her shimmy.
At least there are proper whitewalls on it!
Very nice car. In good condition for its years too. I hate to think what kind of gas mileage it gets, though. And I agree Phil, it would look great in some nice wheel covers.
I had a 76 Coup de Ville, a much shorter car, with just 2 doors, around town, about 8 MPG, on highway 13,was a very comfortable ride
I love the Caddy Fleetwood 75 models from 1957-1980. But I have to admit that the mid to late 1960s and onward models look better with a black vinyl top to me. Just a more formal and elegant appearance to me on this type of limousine.
I had a friend who owned a 66 Sedan de Ville (4 door). It was magnificent. I asked repeatedly for him to let me drive it, but I had just gotten my license in the past year or two and there was no way he was handing me the keys.
You missed a good drive. They were great floaters aa illed with comfort. Besides, who would not want an ashtray in the center of the dash with two lighters and perhaps an overall width of a foot?
That may be the longest rear quarter panel and rear overhang in the history of the world
Bet one of the “rear doors” weighs more then a “Miata”.
What a beautiful, majestic car. It must have been a true pleasure to have been driven around in this. The stretch limos of Today are horrendous and are only a testament to bad taste. The models between 1965 to 1970 are some of my favorite Cadillacs. I have admired these factory limos for years, but they are too big for me to accommodate, besides I’d look silly driving myself around. Instead I would go for the Fleetwood Sixty Special, Cadillac’s finest “owner driven model.”
I’m waiting to see Rick W’s comments. This is the kind of car that he clearly loves. Me too.
Raise your hand who else is thinking of the TV series, “American Gods” right now.
Looks like Banacek has hit some hard times….
My college room-mate’s family had a ’66 Fleetwood 60S. Imo one of the last truly great Cadillacs: real wood, fine upholstery, capacious back-seat room, amazing a/c, the world’s best automatic transmission, velvety smooth yet potent power from it’s 429 V8 with 480 ft/lbs of torque, and as mentioned, an incredible floaty ride. Wafting along at 60, crossing railroad tracks at grade had about as much affect as a bug hitting the windshield. They were still The Standard of the World in many respects, unfortunately among the last to be so.
A little over 30 years ago, I happened to own 3 very different division-window limousines at the same time: An almost exact duplicate of the car featured here, a 1965 Lincoln Lehmann-Peterson stretch, and a 1965 Imperial LeBaron with a Ghia limo body [#9 of 10 built]. Basically one each from the “Big 3”.
I’ve also owned many other limousines over the years [can you tell I like limousines?], from Rolls-Royces and Daimlers, to Packards and older Cadillacs and Lincolns. But these 3 cars were so similar it gave me the opportunity to compare them.
The Cadillac 75 had been owned privately by a wealthy Washington DC Family, and had about 50,000 miles, always garaged. It was quiet inside and everything worked as it should. Handling however, was like a boat in a storm. Those riding in the jump seats complained because everyone faced forward, One even said it was like a Checker’s folding seat. The rear compartment seats were a woven grey synthetic fabric, not wool broadcloth or leather. Compared to the other 2 limos, the interior just felt like it was from a mid-priced Olds or Buick.
The Lincoln, with about 35,000 miles showing, was always a challenge. Not in driving it, but because it would almost always cause more problems, especially with electrical and cooling system issues. It left me stranded so many times I lost count. While the back seat was comfy, the rear-facing jump seats were tiny, and 1 rider commented on having to be shoehorned into the jump seat. The seats in the Lincoln were all black leather.
The Imperial, with only 5,700 miles showing, was basically a new car, maintained at all times for an original owner who rarely used it. With the big 413 Police engine, it had vastly more power to the road, and could actually chirp the tires on hard acceleration. The rear compartment seating material was a high quality English wool broadcloth, and the carpets were sheared mouton [Lambs fur]. The A/C system could keep 8 people cool even in 95f weather. The one thing I ended up doing was to take the original M78X15 tires off and replace them with radials. I used to take my cars to car shows, and my friends preferred driving the Imperial over the other 2 [especially the Lincoln, because the A/C would stop working almost every time].
I regret selling the Imperial to this day, not so for the other 2. I sold the Lincoln to Sweden, the Caddy to a local guy in Baltimore, and the Imperial went to a major car collection in Chicago.
Your experience with the Lincoln mirrors our ’64 Continental. Something was always going wrong. While the best looking car dad ever owned, it was by far the least reliable.
I’ve got a 94 Fleetwood – it has basically that year’s Chevy police interceptor drive train & chasis. Last years for Fleetwoods 93 – 96. Almost 20 feet long – talk about long fenders! Rust free with 116,000 miles. Love this car – seats are mor comfortable than our home furniture. Great ride & plenty of power with 5.7 liter, rear wheel drive , & dual exhaust. Read somewhere described as “a hot rod in a tux”. I’m probably biased but last great American automobile in my book. Yes, I recommend them. & definitely get the wheel covers . That car is sweet! They truly don’t make them like that anymore.
Happy you had good lucky with your 94. Sounds like it was RWD Brougham. I had an 89 Brougham deElegance which I loved. Unfortunately my 93 Brougham developed numerous problems. Top layer of bonded 🤔 leather drivers seat peeled, CD player stopped working, carpet and trim were cheap, worst of all rear wheel openings developed early rust though allowed moisture to get into trunk and rear seats. The 89 was total Cadillac CLASS. After the 93 issues, went to Lincoln Town Cars and have been very happy. Currently have beautiful low mileage Town Car Signature Limited and will never let it go.
My Dad bought a 1966 Cadillac to succeed his 1963. It rode like the proverbial cloud and handled well for its size, amazingly nimble. The enlarged engine and Turbo Hydramatic 400 gave it a real boost in power. But build quality looked to have slipped in three years, although the “Big Chevy” feeling did not come until his 1971.
From when a Cadillac wasnt a gussied up Chevrolet.
We don’t even have decent Chevrolets any more. Every thing is a small sedan or damned SUV. How the mighty have fallen!
Too bad it’s a 75 limousine and not a 60 Special Fleetwood Brougham
It is interesting to think that there were only two versions of the 75 built through the decade of the 1960s. The previous one (1959-65) and this one (1966-70). This was a really stately design.
I occasionally got to drive a 1971 version (the generation after this). It was probably about 8 years old by then and showing its age, and was far more impressive outside than it was inside. I think that one was the sedan without the divider window, so maybe those were trimmed less opulently.
’65-’66 different? Regular Cadillac was all new for ’65. Was the ’65 limo based on the ’64? I’m confused.
The ’65 Fleetwood 75 limo was a carryover from 1964.
Which in turn was the ’59 body (roof, greenhouse, and doors) with ’64 front and rear clips. That was how the Fleetwood 75 was styled from 1960 through 1965.
It is interesting that the ’65 commercial chassis (ambulances and hearses) featured the new styling complete with stacked headlight and “conventional” A-pillar including triangular vent windows, while the Fleetwood 75 was still lost in the ’50s. 1960-1964 commercial chassis used the 1959 body and greenhouse elements like the Fleetwood 75s.
If I recall correctly, the ’65 Fleetwood 75 was originally slated to get the new body but there were issues with getting the tooling ready for such a low-production vehicle so Cadillac decided to carry over the ’64.
My late brother bought a 1978 Series 75 Limo (and had a driver) thinking he could work while going from one location to another. That car was like a living room on wheels. Black with beautiful blue brocade interior. Was used numerous times for family events. Felt like royalty riding in it. But he accomplished little work and numerous so called friends told him he was putting on airs. SO he sold the 75 and bought a car he could drive himself, a ROLLS-ROYCE Silver Shadow. The ROLLS-ROYCE was a beautiful car, but to me it didn’t measure up to the 75. Several years later, the wife of a local funeral director, used a 75 as a daily driver when the funeral home bought a newer Series 75. So sad 😞 to see what is now considered a luxury vehicle (especially Limos).Glorified TRUCKS! 🤮