Robadr at the Cohort recently captured this ’68 Eldorado, with the right amount of natural lighting to accentuate those nicely chiseled lines.
Cohort Pic(k) Of The Day: 1968 Cadillac Eldorado – Perfect Lighting
– Posted on May 28, 2023
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Curbside Classics Archives
I’ve always had a tough time choosing between the ’66-’67 Riviera and ’67-’68 Eldorado as peak GM PLC (a la Bill Mitchell). Overall, the Riviera tends to get the nod.
That is, until one gets a gander at the 3/4 rear perspective of the Cadillac. The rear styling of that one is simply mesmerizing and I can easily see that, alone, being a reason to choose it over the Buick.
Why not get both?
The golden hour! How appropriate that Robadr found a golden Cadillac to go with it. This is the exact color of an aunt & uncle’s 1968 Cadillac, though one at the opposite end of the Cadillac-hierarchy: a Calais 4 door hardtop with crank windows.
There are several Cadillac front ends through the years that simply scream “CADILLAC”, and this is one of the best. And what a treat to find one sans vinyl roof!
Yes ;
This angle, color and overall shape of this behemoth all gel perfectly .
For me it’s still too big but it’s glorious in the way that older American cars were .
I’d take the Buick over this but this is still a sweet ride .
-Nate
That is one sweet Cadillac.
It may be one of the most wasteful examples of space utilization ever put on the road, but good grief, that thing has Presence with a capital P.
A waste of space, perhaps… but it seems as space-efficient as a Mini when compared to the 1971 ElDorado monstrosity (in size as well as style).
A well-styled car, and a product of its era.
I think Cadillac El dorado was cool – distracted from the rest of Cadillac’s uninteresting lineup
I see it has B. C. Plates. Is this Vancouver? Those are my favorite of the front drive Eldorados. The styling is just so clean
Yes, it’s in Kitsilano, on one of my regular (bike) commuting routes. I’ve often seen it parked in less accessible locations and in greyer weather, but last Thursday evening around 8pm was the perfect time and location.
When I saw how the pics turned out I wish I’d taken more. But those 3/4 angles definitely show it at its most elegant and dramatic. It really does cast a spell.
While I was shooting it, a young man came up to chat. He was originally from Russia and had been in Vancouver for about 12 years. He hadn’t even been born when this car was made, but he was as much in awe of it as I was. A nice spring evening encounter.
I see this car headed up and down Commercial Drive every now and then. Reminds me of my grandmother’s ’71 Calais painted the same colour.
Happened to be passing by again today (mid-afternoon) and took a profile shot.
but will it load??
nope.. 🙁
Make sure it’s not more than 1,200 pixels wide or tall and have another go.
once more
A golden whale, not many around over here but not totally unknown, i followed one in dark purple one evening through the Manawatu gorge, the speed limit was dropped for safety reasons so I had no difficulty staying with that Cadillac in an International Workstar towing a 46′ quad grossing 44 tonnes, nice looking cars and the only time Ive seen one in the wild the only other times were at shows
Imagine the displeasure for early Eldorado owners, when the 1971 Toronado was launched. Including one of the most garish domestic noses of the 1970s. GM couldn’t leave their best styled cars alone.
Yeah those ’71 Toronados werent very actractive but the ’68s were, not as much as the Eldorado though
I would suggest, the nose on the original Toronado was the most elegant and attractive. The ’68 nose far too heavy-handed, and overstyled. As I’ve compared before, looking like overinflated collagen lips.
Another example of GM ruining an original classic design.
There was one styling cue on Toros of that period, though, that always impressed me, and still does, because it was just done right: The second set of brake/turn lights cast into the body lines at deck-level. People may not think about that detail because they’re used to those ugly tack-on jobs that look like lighted bunions (that’s what I call them), the most uninspired design addition to cars I can think of. Oldsmobile designers and engineers got it exactly right with the early-’70s Toros, designing not one but two eye-level light bars, molding them into the car’s lines instead of just tacking them on at the rear window as an additional obstruction, and wiring them to serve as brake- and turn-signals. Anyone who claimed to “didn’t see” the car brake, doesn’t belong behind a steering wheel in the first place. That was genius and should have been retained and emulated across the industry. The tack-on bunion designs used since ’86 just don’t cut it.
Just blend Art and Science with testosterone, aggression, and privilege. Serve over ice. A masterpiece!
Just think, the total engine capacity of the Singer Chamois (Hillman Imp) in the previous posting is around 90% of the capacity of just a single cylinder in this Cadillac!
Amazing styling – like a ‘concept car’ but actually on the street. That rear end especially is just so clean, almosy too clean to be a Cadillac. Tallight detailing is exquisite.
Does anyone have any early design studies, maybe some studio clays? It’d be terrific to see other design proposals that didn’t make the final cut.
I mean, the one that made it almost looks like a version that went straight from concept to production without any changes.
There are several photos in Cadillac: The Complete 70 year History by Maurice Hendry (updated as Cadillac at 100). One was a plain, early 60s coupe with prominent single headlights where the turnsignals ended up, another somewhat like the first Riviera but even smoother. Another had a chamfered, painted, beaked front with hidden headlights and thin, full-width grille in the bumper.
Designer Wayne Kady has recently shown some of his drawings with a freakishly long hood (one with bustleback) when they were contemplating a V16 or 12.
The first version of the eventual look appears to have an even lower roofline, but a flat backlight and chamfered front matching the rear’s slant (there’s a small photo taken from the rear).
There are photos of different designs here:
https://eldorado-seville.com/mycars/67eldo/67eldohistory/
XP-820
YouTuber Adam W has done a series of interviews with Wayne Kady. Here is one about the Eldorado. There are others on his site, including a walk around of Kady’s own Eldo. Very interesting.
I have an acquaintance who has owned a blue Eldo like this for 30 years. The elegance of its proportions is immutable, but the car itself is a trial in an old NY river town. It needs more space than it can get to breathe freely; too much energy has to be expended on keeping it from scraping its girdle for the driver to relax.
Vinyl top delete. The best !!!
To me the ’67 was a game changer I felt could not be improved upon.
Then cane the ’68 with its subtle differences; re-positioned parking lights up front, hidden wipers, longer hood, new engine, etc.
I’d take either one in a heartbeat.
I love both years as well, but the re-positioning of the parking lights as I see it falls clearly into the planned obsolescence category. Just look at the fender tips on the ’67. Might be a minor detail to some, but for me this is why I much prefer the ’68.
I totally agree with you that the ’68 is better looking at the front end due to the parking lights being mounted up in the fenders. The body color caps they used on the ’67s just don’t look quite as good to me and never have. Also, the ’68s have hidden windshield wipers which I think look much cleaner on this highly sculpted car.
usual shipping address…….
1974 as a senior in high school I was going by a Toyota dealer one afternoon and they had a gold with white vinyl top and saddle leather interior 68 eldorado turns out it was the Toyota dealer owners personal car,he bought it new. My pOP mentioned he was looking for a good used Cadillac CDV that night told him about it. “Let’s go take a look at it”he took his checkbook which always meant he was maybe more serious than just looking. He bought it my Dad loved that car my mother? Hated that car!! She was on the shorter side and I guess seeing over that end of that long I/2 mile Hood when you’re sitting low was difficult.. I liked driving that car as a kid. I beat it up pretty good never broke. liked it better than the Lincoln Mark 3 my pop had. My mom hated that Mark 3 also . It was black on black said ita reminded her of the hearse that came and picked up her father when he passed away when she was a little girl. Either one of those cars would still be nice to have today along with my pops 55 nomads (4) 56 Continental 47 Continental convertible, 56 ca,d eldo,, 57Ford retractable hardtop, Chevy Cameo pickup, 63 Riviera (that was my favorite car my dad owned) triumph TR4,I was lucky my dad was a Motorhead, I inherited the gene and for many years he supplied the cars. I was grown and buying my own cars by the time he moved into Mercedes and later model Cadillacs, got 68 El Dorado was one he kept no plans of selling. All the others were investment and and speculation cars. He used to call it poor Man’s real estate back in the ’60s and 70s when he was buying cars and sitting on them. Oh yeah model A’s and model t’s too 2014 sedan was the first car he bought when I was a kid to sit on wait on the value to come up.I came home from the hospital in my folks1955 nomad,in 1956. So between 1961 and 65, my dad bought two more real nice original 55 nomads and park them in the grand ma’s garage shut the door for 30 years! Sold them both in mid to late 90s. A lot of elbow grease get that Chrome cleaned up after 30 years paint polished out. Pop used to say that storing a car was harder on it than driving it and taking care of it