The fourth (FWD) generation, downsized Cadillac Eldorado has received a lot of attention here at Curbside Classic, mainly because we love to hate it so much. It’s often seen as a distillation of all that GM did wrong in the 80’s into one potent spirit of diminutive luxury. Oblivious to the hate, this one soldiers on and actually looks pretty cool sitting in the Walmart parking lot surrounded by modern rides. I think maybe it’s the light.
I’ve read that professional car photographers call it the “golden hour”, the time just before the sun sets (or just after it rises) when there is still a lot of light, but it has a golden hue that makes cars look their best. Quite a few cars in magazine articles and books are photographed at that time.
I think, too, that life generally seems more special around sunset. Ideas are better, women are more beautiful, friends are more fun, creation is more divine, and downsized old Cadillacs are more likable.
When they were new, I really disliked the baby Eldorados and Sevilles. Maybe it’s the twilight talking, but I have not been holding these cars in nearly as much disdain as I used to. Now I find myself thinking, “they’re really not that bad”. This is about as high praise as these babies ever get!
Sure, they are tiny compared to their predecessors, but a compact luxury car is not a bad thing. The original 1976 Seville was (relatively) compact and it was quite popular. Plenty of European and later Japanese brands have sold premium cars in small sizes. So, you can’t blame Cadillac for wanting to get into that market (at least in a way that wasn’t as embarrassing as the Cimarron), so long as they were willing to lose a certain number of traditional Bigger-Is-Better customers. Transverse-engine, front-wheel-drive chassis seemed like the universal wave of the future at the time, so it’s only natural GM would put that layout under their high-end cars.
The 1986 Eldorados were released with Cadillac’s infamously not-quite-ready-for-prime-time HT4100 V8, a sin that’s hard to forgive but at least at 400lb lighter, they made better use of the 130hp available on tap.
1988 brought both a major facelift and significant improvement in the new 4.5L version of the engine.
Most of the new styling came at the rear, where it was lengthened and gained small fins, losing the stubby butt that was possibly the most egregious element of the original design. The front was altered slightly to give it just a hint of the bladed fenders all FWD Eldorados had through 1985.
From what I have understood, the 4.5L engine shed much of the fragility that the original 4.1L was known for, perhaps evidenced by this car’s continued presence on the road. By 1990, power was up to 180hp, not a bad number in 1990 for a car that had a factory curb weight of 3426lb.
The interior, while not particularly dramatic or distinctive, is a pleasant place even in a well-used example such as this. The standard model seen here had no woodgrain, but the Biarritz and Touring Coupe models had real bird’s eye maple veneer appliques. This was the first year for the driver side airbag. Nine interior color schemes were available, which in most cases meant that everything was the chosen color, from gear shift to steering column to sunvisors. Try finding that level of color choice in any mainstream car line today. There were also 17 exterior colors available!
I don’t think this hood ornament is gold plated, that’s just the setting sun giving it an otherworldly radiance. Its slight patina is well earned as it has been leading out front of this poorly esteemed Eldorado for the last 29 years. My sundown Eldorado encounter left me feeling pretty good about this old Caddy.
photographed July 17, 2019 in Houston, TX
P.S. I borrowed the title from the Kings of Leon album. Like the baby Eldo, it is not highly esteemed. However, it’s my favorite of theirs and I don’t know how much of that is due to the sunset imagery giving an evocative tone to the music in my mind.
related reading:
Curbside Classic: 1986-1991 Seville – GM’s Deadly Sin #21
Curbside Classic: 1991 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe – Tour de Fallacy
Vintage Scoop: 1986 Seville And Eldorado – If You Don’t Have Anything Nice To Say…
My doctor back home in VT purchased one of these “small” Eldorados brand-new in 1990. He was a lifelong Cadillac man, also owning a 1976 Eldorado convertible and a 1977 Seville at the same time.
Somehow, the doctor managed to get 225k miles out of the 1990 before he got rid of it. And on the original engine and transmission.
I used to live in Vermont! Texas now, so big difference. 225k miles is excellent. I’ll bet that car was plenty rusty by that time! Hopefully he drove the 90 in the winter and left the others (especially the 76 convertible) in the garage.
Great photos! I too like to photograph cars at sunset when the opportunity presents itself and I think you’ve actually been able to show this car in dare I say a “beautiful” light.
In the 1970s my father would lament that GM should just take the German Opel and change what needed to be changed for DOT and EPA requirements and sell it in North America. He was an avid GM fan and knew what an Opel Diplomat of the era was. At the time he was driving a BMW 3.0S (a Bavaria with leather seats and power windows) so I believe he knew the difference between a German luxury car and an American one. His previous ride was a Cadillac sedan. Well, GM did eventually try the Opel-as-Cadillac thing and gave us the Catera. 🙁
I read somewhere that the Opel Diplomat was rejected as a basis for the first Seville because it was built to tighter tolerances than GM’s US factories could handle. A sad commentary, really.
Domestic GMs of the time, though durable and solidly built, had a slapped together look. You could get a whole finger into the hood gap on the ’71 and following cars. It’s unfortunate they didn’t buckle down and use the Opel to learn how to do better build quality.
These FWD cars, a decade later, finally had tight enough tolerances that maybe would have met German standards. They were actually very nicely put together.
There’s a lot GM did wrong during this era, but the issues in this generation of Caddies were, to me, more of execution – build quality and equipment for the price and intended target.
Which is to say that the styling issues of those ’85 DeVilles and ’86 Sevilles/Eldos…especially the Eldorados…were pretty well straightened out by this time. These looked more the part, and the generation of Seville/Eldo that followed looked downright cool to my eyes, a step forward toward the STS/CTS that would follow.
But beginning in ’94, there was that Northstar “system,” systemically self-destructing at 100k miles until the later years of that powerplant. THAT was a true shame; because every Northstar I drove – and there were several – was a hoot.
We’ve had quite a helping of Cadillacs here in the last few weeks!
Whenever I come across one of these late 4th generation Eldorados, I have more than a twinge of sadness. Not just because of the car’s shortcomings, but because by 1990 this really wasn’t a bad car. It wasn’t even a bad Cadillac. But the Eldorado nameplate was so damaged by the awful ’86 model that everything done afterwards was too little too late.
The differences between the ’86 and ’90 Eldorados are pretty minor. A restyled rear end, a more powerful and less fragile engine, and a bunch of more subtle changes. Really, couldn’t these things have been done in the first place? If this was the 1986 Eldorado, I wonder how much damage to the Cadillac brand could have been avoided.
I know this all has been said before, but I just can’t help thinking about that over and over whenever I see these cars.
And really, its squarish, compact lines, look pretty good today. But like you said, maybe it’s just the light…
I’m inclined to agree, Eric. If THESE Caddies – including the DeVilles – had been the 1985/86 downsized models, I think it might have gone better…
But then we’re forgetting Cimarron. And that model did a lot of damage.
These cars needed more than an improved engine and minor facelift to take on the Lincoln Continental Mark VII, let alone the coupes from BMW and Mercedes. The Lexus SC further drove home that point.
Actually, during the late 1980s, the Mark VII and the Eldorado had nearly identical average annual sales (of about 25,000/year if I remember correctly).
Of course, those numbers alone give a skewed perspective because the previous generation Eldorado outsold these 4th gen cars handily.
I think it’s a fascinating comparison… the Mark VII with modern styling and RWD and the Eldorado with more traditional (albeit over-downsized) styling and FWD. I guess both cars left enough customers out in the cold to keep the other one in business.
The problem was that by the end of the 1980s, the competition in this segment had increased. The Eldorado was bought by Cadillac loyalists…the import competition was favored by younger, wealthier and better-educated customers.
In 1992, a law-school classmate of mine (we went to night school, and he had built a successful dental practice before entering law school) bought a brand-new Lexus SC coupe. He was in his early 40s at the time. The Cadillac Eldorado wasn’t even on his radar.
Definitely. The Cadillac/Lincoln and Lexus/BMW/Mercedes were competing in two different worlds. The Eldorado and Mark VII were probably $10-$15,000 less than the Lexus too, but like your classmate, I bet few Lexus customers would ever think about shopping for one.
I remember these cars because our rental lots were filled with them. If they were only a bit beefier feeling. They looked so good sitting still. The moment you started down the road in one of them, you got to feeling like it was a paper version of a real luxury car.
Then there was the feeling of the interior pieces. They were pretty, but they didn’t feel like what you found in Lincolns or Mercedes, or other luxury rides. I don’t want to say cheap – but they felt cheap.
The overall sensation was of mediocrity. It was a Cadillac with Cadillac styling, but it wasn’t the feeling of Cadillac quality. It was a good car, but it wasn’t a Cadillac.
Not at those prices!
Someone I worked with had an Eldo of this vintage I had to drive once. It was admirably smooth, but the interior just screamed cheap and dated, like something from a mid-’80s Chrysler K car derivative, and not all that roomy. So much less elegant than the 1979-85 generation.
Ah, yes, the “magic hour” or “golden hour”, quite well known amongst photographers for the amazing glow it radiates. Sometimes the weather conditions are just so that you get these incredible hues emanating from the sky, as with the photo below I took recently. I just happened to walk out of my house at dusk and I thought someone was shining an orange light at the door, given how the window glowed. Then I opened the door, looked up, and saw this… (and no, I didn’t apply a VSCO filter; this is just an iPhone shot with the default settings).
Oops, here’s the pic:
I was wondering where the pic was! Heck of a sunset.
A teeny-weeny trivial bit: this generation was first Eldorado to have taillamps with amber turn signal indicators fitted to the US model for Touring Coupé version.
The previous generation Eldorado Touring Coupé (1982-1985) had “European-inspired” body-colour bezels and absolutely no padded vinyl roof but didn’t have export taillamps, which would have lent its sporty appearance further.
Sad that Detroit thinks easily distinguishable rear turn signal indicators are just for sportiness…
Blah. Orange turn signals are for Datsuns, not Cadillacs.
It’s like putting reflective tape all over a tuxedo.
Safer, sure, but not better.
Small Cadillacs have a hard enough time being cool without dorking them out on purpose!
I will agree that you may have captured one of these in absolutely optimal conditions – time of day, quality of light, color of car and your well-chosen camera angles make this car look —, well, — almost good.
Really, this car should have been introduced in 1980 or 1981. Those were the conditions these were designed for – one with a pervading fear that fuel would become not just expensive (which Cadillac buyers could handle) but scarce and hard to get (which they could not).
For modern daily-driver duty, I would call it a toss-up between the 80-81 Eldo with the 368 and this with the 4.5. Both would probably provide very good service if they had lived pampered and well-cared-for lives.
Thanks! Like I said, “almost good” is practically effusive praise for these cars.
I would agree, that in a different world this exact 1990 model introduced in 81 or even 83 would have been a stellar car and moved Cadillac’s reputation forward.
A late 4th gen car like this wouldn’t make a bad cheap wheels commuter car, I think. I’d be happy to have it live in my driveway for a little while, at least.
These Cadillacs were so frustrating me as a fan of GM and a childhood Cadillac admirer.
It was so maddening to be able to recognize the talents of the engineers and designers but then to also be able to recognize where broad sweeping design directives from the tower followed by the thousand little cuts of the accountants ruined their efforts.
Huge money was spent on developing the platform, but having spent that much the accountants started complaining. So, while the nose of the car is both handsome and Cadillac (divisions being still allowed to do their own front fenders and grills), but the roofline and tail were ruined by the demand for a corporate level unity of design; in reality a money saving move. The new front-drive system design was excellent, but the new engine was ruined by some accountants position that “we’ve been designing V-8 engines for more than 30 years. Why waste money testing?”
And the interior… The splurge n’ save mentality is nowhere more obvious than in the dash. A very sophisticated digital dash designed at great expense only to be housed in cheap hard plastics for a look ‘straight outta K-Mart’.
Here’s a picture.
Now following will be a picture of the dash of a new competitor – the 1990 Lexus LS400.
It will have to be in a separate post as I can’t figure out how to do two pictures in one post
At a glance that interior looks quite impressive. The outlines are typical US/GM boxiness, but the detailing looks impressive. At a glance.
Although this was a slight improvement, it still looked pretty dumpy from the oh so tired formal roofline to the plastic, boxy dashboard to the tacky interior finishes. Amazing that only 2 years later Cadillac would produce the new Seville which was incredibly elegant. A car that had a style all of its own and not a slave to European fashion or economy sensibilities. Beautiful roofline, great proportions, nice interior and a year later an engine to match its style.
Agreed, the 92 Seville was a real home run for Cadillac, considering how compromised and underwhelming the previous generation was. Somehow, the 92 Eldorado never seemed as attractive to me. The proportions were kind of awkward where the Seville was elegant. Weird.
The second post – the dash of a 1990 Lexus LS400. Which looks more sophisticated and of higher quality?
Great comparison. The sqaurish, plasticky dash was marginally acceptable in 1986 when these cars came out, but by 1990 it was downright antiquated. For the relatively few customers who made it past the exterior, they certainly weren’t rewarded.
The Lexus was certainly well executed. The interior look is more contemporary for 1990. It looks just like you would imagine a Japanese version of a Mercedes interior would look at the time. I have to say that it appears rather plain, seeing it with current eyes.
I don’t think the Cadillac interior picture above looks bad, actually. The styling may have been a bit dated by 1990 and never that inspired to start with, but as far as the quality, that wouldn’t show in the picture. The quality comes in the touch and feel, which if Cadillac had the exact same styling with higher quality plastics and substantial-feeling switches and knobs it would be a different story for them. The Lexus has a lot of plastic, too. It just feels better when you are sitting in the car.
I give Cadillac points for at least having genuine wood in the E-cars.
“.It looks just like you would imagine a Japanese version of a Mercedes interior would look at the time…”
This was one of the criticisms of the big Lexus of the time, was that the styling is rather derivative. Not that it deterred Toyota or any one else (Hyundai/Kia) from doing the same 30 years later.
Frankly, the Germans still set the pace on styling. Think about the styling exercises that Nissan (Infiniti) tried on their luxury cars? That changed pretty rapidly. At least with the current effort from H/K, they didn’t even bother NOT trying to emulate the Germans. I’ve only ever seen a few on the roads around here and have honestly mistaken them for Mercs…
I wonder what the reception would have been if GM had spit out a Mercedes-inspired version of the Eldo? Both inside and out? Would it be a Cadillac? Einer Amerikaner-Mercedes? Oder?
This is much more the interior I’d be looking for.
To me, this car wasn’t a Cadillac in 1990 and still isn’t. Time has not dimmed my less than enthusiastic embrace of this car as a true Cadillac.
Times have changed, the world has moved on and Cadillac will never be Cadillac again. I think that’s the problem, Cadillac probably doesn’t really know what it is supposed to be anymore. They were never the Daimler or Lexus competitor they envisioned themselves being and the collapse of demand for traditional sedans has muddied the water even more.
It has got to be tough to be in the car business these days.
As with so many other things, context is key with this car. Alone, it’s handsome, well proportioned, no bad lines, and has a reasonable amount of Cadillac jewelry while dipping its toe into a more minimalist Euro look.
Compared with a 79-85 model, or the ’92, or an N Car, it is dull, small, stubby, and looks cheap and bland. The previous 79-85 model had a lot of presence and very sharp, impressive styling and was unmistakeable for anything other than a Cadillac. This car has a few Cadillac cues halfheartedly slapped on what could be anything. While the 79-85 model was a very successful downsizing of what had become a parody, a ridiculously swollen and bloated bad joke, this car didn’t inspire lust or envy. No one with a 79-85 model would consider this an upgrade. No one with a 98 or Electra would think, wow, I need to make the jump, let me make the stretch to afford this.
There were some good concepts here: EVERYONE thought gas would be $5 a gallon when this car was designed. A smaller, lighter, more nimble and reasonably sized Cadillac made a lot of sense. FWD was the Future, RWD was for stodgy cast iron dinosaur cars. The benefits of RWD handling/power weren’t that important for cars which didn’t even make 150 HP.
When this car was designed, its chief rival was the Lincoln Mark VII, with its then stodgy rwd platform, dated iron v8, Thunderbird underpinnings, and off putting aero looks. This car was the opposite, being modern, lighter fwd technology, a high tech partial aluminum v8, more modern but still formal looks, and its own luxury only platform. GM had no real idea how to compete with Mercedes and BMW and when importing an Opel as a Cadillac was finally tried, it didn’t work either. BMWs of this era were still very spartan cars with crank windows still standard and austere trimmings and there was no way they would have been cross-shopped.
Obviously, GM should have gotten the quality under control before these cars went out the door. C/D gave up testing a first year Riviera; Buick took it back because it broke so much. The styling should have been better, the quality should have been better, and the engine should have been better. Cadillac did get it right with the ’92s, so GM did learn something. Then the N (we don’t say bad words in this house) came along and destroyed that.
No mention was made here of the enormous disaster that was the Hamtramck plant; GM, over tremendous neighbourhood resistance, bought up a Polish neighbourhood in Detroit and flattened it with the blessing of Mayor Coleman Young. GM built a Roger Smith Wowie-zowie 21st century factory with robots galore. The robots painted each other and smashed the windshields they were supposed to install. The factory never came close to reaching GM’s lofty production forecasts.
…and it’s one of the plants GM is now closing
I remember cringing upon seeing pictures of the ’86 Eldorado for the first time. OUCH!!!! Olds also took a hit with its shrunken Toronado and Buick with the Riviera. The Asian brands smelled blood in the water and went for the jugular with Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti.
Cadillac made a partial comeback with the ’91 Seville and ’92 Eldorado, but the brand was under constant bombardment . Then Cadillac went with the alphabet soup process of car naming which alienated still more customers. If not for China customers, Cadillac could have been reduced to a one or two model brand like Chrysler is today.
Sorry, but a view thru rose color glasses cannot hide the calamity of ’86.
@ rpol: I saw a Navigator at the most recent Auto Show and it was super plush. Lincoln took the Navigator and swathed it in leather and woodgrain and pillows and expensive looking and feeling materials. It made sense. I thought, if’ i’m ever going to spend $90K for a new car (never) this will be a possibility. Chrysler still has something going with the 300. Cadillac has a place, but it’s got to go for what made it successful in the first place; ostentatious, sybaritic, over the top, in your face luxury. Their cars are technically competent now but not very interesting or lustworthy.
The 1988 refresh was a huge improvement over the 1986-87 debacle that greeted Eldorado buyers in the fall of 1985. I’m sure many current owners of the beautiful 1985 model held onto them for a few more years. Still, even with the enhancements, it was not very Cadillac-like and still looked stunted. Lincoln’s Mark VII looked positively stately next to one of these urchins. I’ve owned a 1991 Deville with a seldom seen cloth interior in a most pleasing shade of blue, and it had the excellent 4.9 liter V-8, but I would never have considered owning one of these puny Eldorados or its equally stumpy sister, the Seville.
Once it got the 4.5L, it was a solid driving car to me. It may not have had the style of the previous model, but I think it was a better handling and performing car. GM got it right just as it was about to be replaced just like every other model they did.
GM dashes were always hopelessly cheap compared to almost everything else, even basic Fords. Cadillac did squared-shouldered styling better than anyone else. You had to take the good with the bad.
Lexus was of course better than Cadillac. Better than everything. Hell, those LS400s are still driving around NOW! If you just want to go with dry numbers, Toyotas and Hondas are the best cars. Have been forever. But it would be a boring website to just contain Camrys, Corollas, and Accords.
I, for one, miss seeing these on the road. Today I saw a new Camry, looked at it’s grille that looked like a big, gray, soggy, wet phone book, and sighed. I hope this Eldorado lasts forever, proudly showing it’s strong and simple lines.
Good points! Those new Camry front ends are hideous, aren’t they?
This car reminds me of Elvis Presley in 1976. He looked familiar but everything about him just seemed so wrong.
+1
I used to own a well optioned ’89 Olds Calais coupe back in the early 90’s where I removed all of its emblems and replaced them with gold anodized Cadillac emblems, including Eldorado nameplates, and a standup Cadillac crest hood ornament.
I used to get an occasional compliment about my pseudo-caddy mostly from old men and middle-aged women, thinking it was a real Eldorado! What’s funny is that nobody ever batted an eye at my car when it had its Oldsmobile and Calais emblems attached to it.
I think back at how watered down Cadillac had become back then, trying to stay afloat, while sinking faster than a safe pushed overboard from a cargo ship, while the foreign competition devoured them at lightning speed.
I think by the 86 model year the 4100’s were fixed. Actually I think the fix came for the 85 model year engines. I remember reading about the problem in the SAE journal at the time. The ht4100 went into production for the 82 model year. I don’t think it was rushed into production, but rather had been plan B for the replacement of the 6 liter V8 that was a bit too thirsty. Eaton Corporation’s variable displacement (8-6-4) engine did not produce the EPA numbers (EPA was suspicious) Cadillac wanted.
The 4100 did not fail immediately, but slowly, after many cold starts. So the failures begin to show up sometime during the 83 model year (I think), but why the engines start leaking is not clear, and so how to fix the problem requires a lot more time than one would have liked.
The 4100’s came with an overdrive transmission, while the 6 liter V8 (a downsized 500) used a 3 speed turbohydramatic. Cadillac did offer the Buick 4.1 liter V6 (a big 3.8), which also came with an overdrive automatic before the Ht4100 was available.
The HT4100 was never meant to go into production as early as 1982. It was being designed for the new 1984 downsized Cadillac Deville and Fleetwood that were actually delayed to 1985 with issues relating to the trans axles. As mentioned the failure of the 8-6-4 to produce favorable MPG improvements in addition to it’s drive-ability issues pretty much sealed it’s fate after 1981. At the time Cadillac had a policy to not pass on any guzzler charges to customers and management believed that only a Cadillac V8 would do as a Chevy or even Olds V8 was seen as inferior. Thus the 4100 was rushed into production for the 1982 model year with numerous problems that crept up as early as 30K miles in many examples. The Cadillac dealers were at one point swapping engines out at a feverish rate which prompted several updates starting in 1983 with a power/torque bump of 10 and several updates to the torque to yield bolts and updated intake gasket design.
The 1985-87 FWD 4100 actually used an upgraded ribbed block but it wasn’t until the 4.5 liter engine in 1988 that these were really well sorted out. The only way to really keep a 4100 alive is bi-yearly coolant changes with pellets and religious maintenance, especially not letting it overheat.