Cadillac Classic Cars

1955 CADILLAC COUPE DEVILLE

The 1957-1960 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham has often been compared to the 1956-1957 Continental Mark II. It has even been said that the Brougham was GM's response to Ford's second-generation Continental. Truthfully, about all the two had in common were great styling and poor sales. The Continental Mark II was planned as a reincarnation of the original 1940-1948 Continental, later known as the Mark I. Built by the entirely separate Continental Division of Ford Motor Company, the Mark II was offered only as a two-door hardtop.

The Eldorado Brougham was a four-door hardtop derived from a very different school of styling thought. Ironically, it was first delivered in any numbers in April 1957, just one month before the Continental Mark II was taken out of production. The Mark II had a "Modern Formal" look, the result of many months of styling exercises by Ford and four outside styling consultants. The Eldorado Brougham, on the other hand, was "Modern Baroque," one man's dream intended to play upon the fantasies of the American car-buying public.

That man was GM's autocratic styling boss, Harley J. Earl, who paid a lot more attention to Cecil B. De Mille and Al Jolson than to the great coachbuilders of the Classics of the Thirties. To Earl, showbiz sold cars. The more chrome, the better; the more a car looked like it was ready to blast off for Mars, the more buyer appeal. This isn't to say that Earl encouraged bad design. Many of his Fifties efforts -- including the Eldorado Brougham -- were quite good. But the thinking behind these designs had a lot more to do with playing to an audience than to blending the best elements of the past with the present.

The General Motors Motoramas were extravaganzas conceived by Earl to test public reaction to GM's wildest styling dreams. The Eldorado Brougham slowly evolved through three years of Motoramas, leading Earl to the inevitable conclusion that while the well-heeled public might applaud a dashing open two-seater, it was far more likely to shell out the big bucks for an equally glamorous chariot with four doors and a permanent top.

The origins of the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham can be traced back to the Orleans show car seen at the 1953 Motorama. This was a standard Series Sixty-Two Cadillac made into the decade's first true pillarless four-door hardtop. Also featured on this car was the 1953 Eldorado convertible's wraparound windshield.

While the concept of a four-door hardtop intrigued buyers far more than the racy Le Mans roadster at the same show, the Orleans' stock 1953 lines didn't lend themselves very well to four-door hardtop styling. Still, Earl carefully noted the buyer preference for four seats, four doors, and a metal roof in a GM dreamboat. He particularly observed that this preference came from those who could "back up their approval with a check."

GM's auto designer Harley Earl went to the 1954 Motorama with the El Camino coupe, La Espada roadster, and four-door Park Avenue. The last not only very accurately predicted the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, but the rest of the 1957 Cadillac line, and, to a lesser degree, the 1957 Buick and Oldsmobile.

Though the Park Avenue wasn't a true four-door hardtop, the attractive stainless window frame treatment made it look deceptively like one. The top was brushed aluminum. Again, Earl noted the reaction from those who could really afford such cars, and the overwhelming choice was the Park Avenue sedan.

This was followed up at the 1955 Motorama with a fully operational prototype Cadillac Eldorado Brougham that was close -- but not identical to -- the Park Avenue. The Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was a true four-door hardtop, not a four-door sedan. It was lower than the Park Avenue (and seven inches lower than production Cadillacs) and considerably shorter in the rear. Its roof was brushed stainless steel rather than aluminum, and the wraparound windshield was vertical at the A-pillars rather than swept back into the doors.

By this time, it was crystal clear in Earl's mind what the public wanted in a very high-end GM car -- and it had very little to do with the Continental Mark II, which was officially introduced in late September 1955.

The Brougham wasn't committed to production until about the time of the 1955 Motorama. It was built by the Cadillac Division at the Cadillac plant in Detroit, Michigan, with not nearly the same degree of commitment or necessity to turn a profit as had been the case with the Mark II.

Earl told Motor Trend magazine in 1955: "From the outset it was apparent that we must incorporate certain features known to be acceptable to our customers by virtue of Motorama experience and reception of our regular production cars, such as pillarless body construction, Panoramic windshield, pivoting front seats, and such landmarks as gull-type front bumper, 'egg-crate' grille, rear fender fins, and the projectile shapes on the rear fenders similar to the 1955 Eldorado convertible."

The Cadillac Eldorado Brougham boasted the first four-headlight lighting system in the industry, along with the soon-to-be-extinct Nash. Unlike air suspension, this feature quickly spread to practically every production car in the U.S. It was the norm for nearly three decades (toward the end with rectangular lamps), until new legislation allowed the now-universal aero-headlights to take over.

But in the late Fifties, when the U. S. Interstate Highway system was just beginning to take shape, the dual-beam single headlights of the late Thirties were still the standard. One reason for this was outmoded laws, which in many states didn't permit a true quad-lamp setup. However, the new system, introduced by Cadillac on the 1957 Brougham, was quickly approved by all states and became the industry standard in 1958. It utilized outer lamps with both high and low beams and inner lamps with high beam only.

The outer lamps on low beam were used for city driving and when there was oncoming traffic. Inner lamps and outer lamps on high beam were used for highway/freeway driving. Combined wattage of the four lamps was much greater than two-lamp systems, thus furnishing better illumination. In addition, the light was directed so that a driver got maximum visibility while creating minimal glare for drivers of oncoming cars -- as long as the headlights were in proper alignment.

The first minutes of meetings concerning the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham were recorded on May 4, 1954, shortly after the last stop of the 1954 Motorama. At this first meeting, preliminary specifications and dimensions were laid down. Styling responsibility was turned over to Ed Glowacke, who headed the Cadillac studio. Engineering was handled by Fred Arnold, Cadillac's Chief Engineer.

Unlike so many of the industry's immobile show cars of the period, the first Eldorado Brougham was a fully operational model with an all-steel body, conventional Cadillac engine, and a full complement of working accessories.

While the prototype, first displayed in early 1955, was essentially a 1955 Cadillac from an engineering standpoint (the chassis notwithstanding), the production model had all of the engineering advances of the 1957 models, including a 365-cubic-inch V-8. In the Eldorado Brougham it developed 325 horsepower at 4800 rpm, and featured a 10.0:1 compression ratio and two Carter four-barrel carburetors.

This engine was optional on the Series Sixty-Two Eldorado Specials, the Seville coupe and Biarritz convertible. It was combined with a conventional GM Hydra-Matic four-speed automatic transmission. Power steering, power brakes, and air conditioning were all standard. While fuel injection was seriously considered for the production models, at no time was it ever incorporated.

The Motorama Eldorado Brougham was rushed from preliminary sketches to completion in less than 10 months. Assembly got underway on November 6, 1954. Amazingly, the finished car was previewed by the industry in New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel on January 19, 1955, literally with the paint still drying. Somehow, when the car was being unloaded at 2 a.m. it fell off its jacks, tearing the front fender and gouging the rear bumper. Some pretty frantic scurrying must have followed because the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was revolving sedately on its turntable at 4 p.m. when the cocktail crowd of over 5000 arrived.

GM designer Harley Earl had made an appearance on Arthur Godfrey's TV show the previous morning, where he strongly hinted that the flashy Brougham would be put into limited production. By the time the first of six Motorama stops was over, a week later, it was almost a foregone conclusion that this unique Cadillac creation would in fact be put into limited production.

The prototype stood on a 124-inch wheelbase; the production wheelbase was pegged at 126 inches. The length of both the prototype and production models was 216.3 inches, about the same as the 1957 Series Sixty-Two sedan. But whereas the Sixty-Two stood 59 inches high, the production Brougham was down to 55.5 inches and its 77.5-inch width was 2.5 inches less than the standard production car. Despite the trimmer exterior dimensions, front and rear headroom was actually greater than in the Sixty-Two sedan. Front leg room was about the same, but rear leg room was uncomfortably less.

The prototype's front fenders were one continuous piece, and there was a forward-hinged hood. The centerpost between the doors was cut down to a mere stub with the doors locking against each other. This dictated that the rear doors be hinged at the rear "suicide" style, a feature that never took hold at GM, but was popularized a few years later by the Lincoln Continental. The windshield had the same wraparound treatment as the prototype. Since the car was to offer air conditioning as standard equipment, wind wings were eliminated. Instead, aircraft type air scoops were incorporated in the cowl area, and functional vertical exhaust slots were found on the rear doors.

While the differences between the prototype of the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham and the production model were subtle, the trained eye could easily pick them up.

Side trim on the production model had slightly more chrome and glitz, and small vent windows appeared. The prototype had very restrained fins containing conservative taillights at the top, and the rear deck was sloped. The production Brougham openly conceded to the Cadillac mentality with a tail treatment vacillating between that of the Eldorado Seville/Biarritz and the standard Caddys.

The fins were larger, the taillights were moved down, exhaust pods were tamed, and the deck was less sloped than on the Seville/Biarritz. Even the front-end treatment on the production model moved more closely to the mass-produced 1957 models. Obviously, GM designer Harley Earl was hedging his bets.

Although the prototype's dashboard predicted the panel of the 1957 Cadillac, there were no interchangeable parts. Controls included three knobs in the driver's door to operate the "memory seat," buttons for the electric door locks and power-actuated trunklid, plus a warning light for low air pressure in the suspension system. The car could not be started with either rear door open, and all doors locked automatically when the car was put into gear. Standard equipment included an Autronic-Eye headlight dimmer and virtually every other accessory offered as an option, even on the Fleetwood series.

A fully transistorized radio boasted front and rear speakers and an antenna that popped up and down automatically when the radio was turned on and off. Seats, both front and rear, were contoured to accommodate two passengers. The front seats were separate and independently adjustable -- and they swung out. This resulted in extremely wide and comfortable seating for two across, but made it quite uncomfortable for an uninvited third party.

Upholstery materials ranging from all-leather to sedate and tailored broadcloth could be had in 44 variations. Mouton carpeting was standard, or the buyer could opt for wooly Karakul or lambskin n at no additional cost. As Motor Trend noted in January 1957: "Completely equipped vanity cases, front and rear, even contained a complimentary ounce of Arpège Extrait de Lanvin, a perfume in the Brougham price class."

It should be noted that the Continental Mark II suffered to a degree because it didn't embrace any major innovations that the potential buyer could see or experience. While the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham never did receive fuel injection, it did have two other features with buyer appeal. These were the first air-suspension system on any production car in the world and the industry's first quad headlight setup (along with the 1957 Nash). Less appealing at the time, but new nonetheless, were the industry's first low-profile tires with thin whitewalls.

The Cadillac Eldorado Brougham's air suspension was designed by Lester D. Milliken and Fred H. Cowin, both engineers with the Cadillac Division. Cowin further developed a tubular X-frame to complement this new suspension setup. This type of frame was quickly adopted for all 1957 Cadillacs, which were coil sprung at all four corners. The 126-inch-wheelbase Brougham version was 3.5 inches shorter than the Series Sixty-Two, but the tread front and rear remained the same at 61 inches, making it a very stable compact design.

The feature-laden, super-luxurious Cadillac Eldorado Brougham made its public debut at the National Automobile Show in New York in late January 1957. Public introduction at dealerships was held in key U.S. cities in February. At that time, orders were taken, although very few cars were actually delivered before March.

Surprisingly, the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham received only passing attention in the motoring press, and was given pathetically few drive reports. For reasons never fully explained, the factory public relations effort was practically non-existent compared to the monumental press buildup that had preceded the introduction of the Continental Mark II.

One publication that did road test the Brougham was Motor Trend. But the magazine only checked out the car's new suspension system, not the total performance and personality of this new breed of Cadillac. Reporter Joe Wherry wrote, not altogether enthusiastically, that "A rough, busted-up three miles of ancient concrete road provided a good place to drive both a conventionally suspended Cad 60 Special and the new airborne Brougham.

There is no doubt that the ride is amazingly improved, but riders and driver too (through the entire structure) felt shocks; the edge or sharpness of the bump and rebound is taken away. Cornering under power produces as much heeling over as in a regular line Cadillac and more than in some current domestic cars with suspensions engineered specifically to maintain a level cornering attitude, regardless of the stresses imposed by the centrifugal action of a fast turn. Nose dipping on fast stops is still present."

Without coming right out and saying it, Motor Trend must have concluded that the Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special, reported on separately in another issue, was by far the better value at a base price of $5,614. Praising the Fleetwood for quality, fuel economy, and overall economy, MT said that the riding qualities were "just about the best found on any present day automobile."

It has been contended that one reason the Mark II failed in the marketplace was because it was not offered in a four-door version. If this was the case, then the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham should have fared better. Truthfully, it met a more resistant market than the Mark II. At $10,000, the Mark found only about 1200 buyers.

Discounted to around $8,000, another 1,800 customers were found. The Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was pegged at $13,074! There were no additional accessories needed, and no discount was offered. At this price, only 400 buyers were found in 1957 and 304 in 1958. With the Mark II, price was the entire story. With the Eldorado, price was only a part of it.

When Cadillac had introduced the Eldorado convertible in 1953, the division was satisfied to sell only 533 examples. Even at this level, there were a lot of quality complaints coming back from the dealers, particularly with regard to the air suspension. While Cadillac has never offered any explanation for the low production numbers, it seems that the Eldorado Brougham was more of a token promotion effort than anything else -- a token to Harley Earl's ego and to the intensive Mark II exercise over in Dearborn. And the bottom line was that the Brougham effort seemed to do a good job of selling the upmarket Sixty Specials, which hit a production record of 24,000 in 1957 -- 7000 units more than in 1956.

***Article courtesy of : Auto Editors of Consumer Guide and How Stuff Works



In the postwar era, Cadillac was a dominant force in the world of luxury automobile, outpacing its previous rival, Packard, with styling innovations such as the famous tail fins, as well as myriad luxury options. Cadillac in the 1950s proudly proclaimed its "Standard of the World" slogan. In order to truly own that idea though, Cadillac needed to build something with unsurpassed luxury, besting even its peers from across the pond.

Originally shown as a concept at the 1955 L.A. Auto Show, the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was put into production in 1957 and was at the time the pinnacle of luxury and innovation. It featured numerous options, some of which are still not available today. The engine was a 365 cubic-inch V8, breathing though twin four-barrel carburetors and running through a 4-speed automatic transmission. The body was long, low and extravagant, with a pillarless four-door design and the rear doors opening suicide style (and you know how much we love suicide doors). At the behest of GM styling guru Harley Earl, the car recived a slick stainless-steel roof and road-adjusting quad headlights for better illumination. The suspension was as advanced as anything GM had in it's arsenal at the time: a centrally controlled, self-leveling and auto-adjusting air suspension which provided an uncompromisingly smooth ride.

Where the Caddy really shimmered was in the amenities. Independent of each other, they seem underwhelming, but that all of the features lived in one car in 1957 is incredible. On the inside, drivers were greeted with power seats that included memory settings, remote-adjustable side mirrors and an auto-adjusting rear-view mirror, an all-transistor automatic-station-seeking radio with twin speakers, all-electric windows, a power locking system, and a power open AND close trunk lid. Now that's just the normal stuff. Here's where things get crazy. The designers also saw fit to throw in a stainless steel drinking set for the glove box, a cigarette dispenser, various vanity elements for the ladies, and a perfume dispenser filled with Arpege Extrait de Lanvin perfume. Are you kidding?!

Of course, anything can be built when money is not option, and here's where the Eldorado Brougham took no prisoners. The base retail price in 1957 was $13,074, exceeding even the most pricey Rolls of the time. Toss that number into the Federal Reserve consumer price index calculator and that tally in 2008 dollars rings the bell at $100,311. Only the Cadillac XLR-V has ever commanded a sum so high, and that Caddy merely goes fast and has a lovely Eucalyptus wood interior. The Brougham was offered for only two years; total production of the princely luxo-yachts was 704 vehicles. After the initial run, production was farmed out to Pininfarina, where a redesign was executed, but the quality in craftsmanship just wasn't the same.

The '57 Eldorado Brougham was probably the finest post-war Cadillac produced to date. Peerless in its design and attention to detail, it was the pinnacle of what an American boulevardier could ever be. Smooth, technically savvy, staggeringly handsome and cranking out as much power as the average Eisenhower Era captain of industry would ever need. It's not difficult to imagine driving this car on a lazy, cross-country summer roadtrip, dusk creeping across the sky, the calm glow of an old dashboard and a crackly radio serving as background noise. Not all of the best driving is done at the limit of grip.

***Artcle Courtesy of: Ben Wojdyla on Jalopnik, Jalopnik Fantasy Garage

The Eldorado Brougham -- designed in 1954 as Cadillac's dream car for the General Motors Motorama of 1955. From the beginning, the Brougham was a pace-setting vehicle with styling and engineering features destined to be incorporated into lesser cars in future years. Two years of concentrated testing and development went into the Brougham helping designers in their continuous search for a better way to build the best automobile.

Cadillac engineers came up with a special body for the Brougham alone. It was built by Fisher Body's Fleetwood plant, builders of all Cadillac bodies.

Among the outstanding engineering features which exemplify the extensive study that went into the makeup of the Brougham are air suspension, a four headlamp system and a tubular center X-frame.

The use of air springs marks the first time that such a system had been used on an automobile. The system provides an individual air spring unit at each wheel. Air is supplied to the spring units through leveling valves so that the car remains level with varying loads and road conditions, thus contributing to the Brougham's appearance as well as assuring consistently easy handling and smooth riding quality.

The interior of the Brougham is luxurious to a high degree with some 45 choices of trim and color combinations available during ordering. Carpeting was available in either mouton, a specially processed lamb skin, or high-pile nylon Karakul.

There is a special heating system with both front and rear compartment outlets. The under-seat heaters for the rear can be operated individually by the passengers. To complete the year-round comfort, each Brougham contains a front-mounted Cadillac air conditioner.

Steering, braking and window controls (including vent panes) are power operated on the Brougham.

Each feature of the Brougham -- as the car itself -- was designed to improve comfort, safety and convenience for the driver and passengers. The inquiring minds of Cadillac engineers and designers came up with the finest car possible in 1957.

l'eldorado brougham, le top du top          

1946 Cadillac Series 62 Club Coupe Fastback

1941 CADILLAC FLEETWOOOD


1941 Cadillac Fleetwood was the last year of the styling cycle for the Cadillac Sixty Special. The final version of Bill Mitchell design theme started in 1938. 1941 differed in may ways, New front egg crate grille, which became a styling trend in Cadillacs for over 20 years. Headlights fared into the fenders as opposed to riding atop them set the trend. Those dramatic, larger rounded fenders flowed back into the front doors, highlighting a sleek, profile, devoid of running boards or chrome strips. Under the hood, a higher compression ratio for the 346 c.i.d V-8 boosted horsepower from another 15 hp, which compensated for the 41's modest (230 lb.) weight gain. Enhancing the Fleetwood's drivability was a newly available automatic transmission and the introduction of the Hydra-Matic transmission in 1941 made Cadillac the first luxury marque to offer its owners the option to become shiftless.

'59 Cadillac Custom. Built in the early 70's.

TWO DOOR COUPE. ORIGINAL MILEAGE UNKNOWN. IN 1956, ONLY 3,900 OF THESE WERE BUILT. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY LIMITED PRODUCTION RUN FOR ANY VEHICLE. IT IS UNKNOWN HOW MANY HAVE SURVIVED.

There is also an interesting back story to this car. This historical account  has been passed from the second owner, has been consistent over the years, and has remained with the car today. Fans know that Elvis Presley loved Cadillacs, and he really loved flashy Cadillacs. He also made sure they were modified to his taste. Everyone has heard the true story of Elvis and June Juanico flying to a Houston, TX. Cadillac dealer June 12, 1956,  and buying a white 1956 Eldorado Biarritz convertible with black interior. He immediately turned it over to his customizer, Jimmy Sanders, of Memphis. He squashed a handful of grapes on the fender and told Jimmy that was the color he wanted. Hence, his purple convertible came to be. He also changed the interior to white roll and pleated leather.



The coupe in this ad, according to verbal history, was purchased and given by Presley to his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. The car was an unimpressive green and white with green and white interior. Presley bought the car, then stipulated that it be repainted red and white and a red and white interior installed. Later, Elvis also gave Parker a 1975 Blue Cadillac Seville, that displayed the TN. license plate “ADMIRAL”. This Caddy sold at Guernsey’s Las Vegas Auction in 1999 for $93,750.

Clean southern body. Paint is good driver quality, some older and some newer blend work on the quarters. Mandan red and alpine white two tone. Dual rear antennas. EZ Eye safety glass is in good condition. White sidewall tires and Eldorado saber spoked wheel covers. Chrome and stainless is in good condition. Tasteful pin striping on hood and deck lid. Fit and gapping is all good.




Red and white leather interior. Seats and cushions in good condition. Door panels in good condition. Interior chrome trim is in good condition. Would clean up more with a little work. Original steering wheel is in good condition, with a few cracks. Power windows. Air conditioning. Signal seeking radio. Autronic  Eye headlamp dimmer. Aftermarket tachometer mounted on the eye. Overall nice interior, comfortable, good looking, and well appointed.



365 Cu. In. Cadillac engine. Engine and engine bay are primarily in stock configuration. The exceptions- the Carter WCFB carburetor has been replaced with an Edelbrock Competition Series four barrel. The bat wing air cleaner has been replaced with a chrome pie pan type. Upgraded to electronic ignition. Dual exhaust. Hydra-Matic automatic transmission.