![]() Although the 1971 Eldorado was actually only 0.6 inches (15 mm) longer than the 1970 model, the wheelbase had been stretched 6.3 inches (160 mm), bringing overall length to 221.6 inches (5,629 mm). The term “land yacht” might well have been coined for this last American convertible. ![]() By 1976, the Eldorado was the last survivor, along with a small handful of imports like the Alfa Romeo Spider. Buick, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac fielded their last big convertibles in 1975. GM offered no convertible versions of its redesigned 1970 Camaro and Firebird, nor of the restyled intermediates introduced in 1973. Ford and Chrysler were next, dumping all their ragtops except for the pony car lines after 1969 the droptop Plymouth Barracuda and Dodge Challenger would die after 1971, the Ford Mustang convertible two years later. (Chrysler successfully challenged the latter in federal court.) If Americans weren’t buying them anyway, automakers concluded, why bother?Īmerican Motors dropped out first, offering their last convertible for 1968. Worse, there was a new range of federal safety legislation on the horizon, including a new roof crush standard that would essentially outlaw open cars. #RICH PINK CODE COLOL DRIVERS#Drivers less concerned with racing for pink slips, meanwhile, were increasingly tempted by air conditioning and automated climate control. Drag racers knew a ragtop meant a heavier frame and a willowy body, neither of which was desirable for flat-out running. Postwar GT cars and the rise of the muscle car era had shifted buyer perceptions of speed and sport from roadsters to closed coupes. #RICH PINK CODE COLOL FULL#While the first FWD Eldorados were semi-unitized, this generation had a full perimeter frame.Ĭonvertible sales were evaporating across the industry. The 1976 Cadillac Eldorado was actually about 6 inches shorter than a contemporary full-sized Cadillac, although 224.1 inches (5,692 mm) long on a 126-inch (3,200mm) wheelbase still qualifies as mammoth. ![]() #RICH PINK CODE COLOL SERIES#The cheaper Series 62 convertible had been dropped after 1963 the Calais, which replaced the Series 62 as Cadillac’s entry-level series for 1965, was never offered in convertible form, while the convertible De Ville disappeared after 1970, a victim of fading demand. The ragtop Eldorado was now Cadillac’s only open model. Developed by Wayne Kady’s Cadillac Advanced studio, the new convertible Eldorado had a base price of $7,751, only a dollar more than the original 1953 model, but a significant $368 more than the 1971 Eldorado hardtop. That omission was corrected when the Eldorado’s second generation bowed for 1971. One of the sharpest designs of styling chief Bill Mitchell’s reign at GM, the FWD Eldorado had crisp, knife-edged lines, but it was available only as a two-door hardtop coupe, the first time since 1953 that there had been no Eldorado convertible. Somewhat smaller than a standard Cadillac, the new Eldo shared the E-body shell of the contemporary Buick Riviera and Oldsmobile Toronado and borrowed the Toronado’s unusual front-wheel-drive layout. The 1967 Eldorado was a significant departure in a number of ways. The Eldorado was, naturally, a convertible and although the name subsequently was applied to both hardtop coupes and sedans, the Eldorado convertible remained Cadillac’s most prestigious and expensive model (barring the Series 75 limousines) through 1966. It was essentially a factory custom job with distinctive styling and a sobering $7,750 price tag, nearly twice that of a basic Series 62 sedan. THE CADILLAC ELDORADO CONVERTIBLEĪ case in point was the first Cadillac Eldorado, introduced in 1953. By the end of the 1920s, open cars accounted for barely 10% of the market, but nearly every make offered at least one, frequently as their highest priced image leader. A ragtop Plymouth might be no faster than a club coupe (perhaps even less, thanks to the extra weight of structural reinforcement), but it was sporty in a way no coupe or sedan ever was. The association of open cars with competition and fresh air lent a racy aura to even mundane convertibles. Even after designers became acquainted with the science of streamlining, there were many who insisted any true sports car had to be a roadster, and until well into the 1950s, high-performance cars were more likely to be open than closed. It was not until the 1920s that closed bodies became cheap enough to enable them to surpass the sales of their open counterparts. A full roof, glass windows, and proper weather-sealing were expensive and heavy, making them impractical for all but the stateliest of formal cars. ![]() ![]() In the primordial days of the automobile, few cars offered much protection from the elements. This is the history of the 1971-1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertible. It wasn’t, but it did mark the end of the line for that uniquely American concept: the full-sized open car. Thirty years ago, many believed this car would be the last American convertible. ![]()
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