Jalopnik: 1957 Cadillac Eldorado

Raymond Loewy Designed 1959 Cadillac Eldorado For Sale

Ben Wojdyla — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:45:00 EDT

Raymond Loewy is one of those industrial design legends who has no problem maintaining a spot in the pantheon of automotive history. The design lead for Studebaker during the post war years, Loewy and Virgil Exner, another luminary, were responsible for some of the most forward thinking and trend setting designs of the time. Loewy didn't just do work for a broad range of customers, including NASA, he also did stuff for himself. This self-commissioned 1959 Cadillac Eldorado was designed with nobody but himself in mind, and it's now on the world's largest auction block.

Here's what the seller has to say about this unique automobile:

Purchased new in 1959 by design and styling legend Raymond Loewy and shipped to his coachbuilder, Pichon-Parat of France. After it's transformation, it was painted in light blue/green metallic paint with a white roof and used by Loewy and his family forEuropean trips. It returned to New York, thereafter, to Loewy's principal residence and eventually was relocated to his Palm Springs, California residence. After clocking up approximately 41,000 kilometers, it was sold to his next door neighbor in January of 1971, and was stored until approximately 1989 when it was sold to it's third owner-a European collector. It has just been released from this collection and is now available for sale. Raymond Loewy last drove this vehicle, with the original mileage of approximately 41,000 kilometers still unchanged.

Quite a find and even though it's in a bit of rough shape, it looks to be very complete. Check out how the grille is perforated into the front of the hood — never saw that trick before. While its styling is certainly not for everyone, this Caddy is pretty damned unique. Then again, it better be. The "buy it now" price on this little slice of history is $650,000. Don't all rush the stage at once folks. (Is anyone surprised Junkman sent this tip in?) [eBay Listing]

Bay Area Train Commuters Prefer Vintage Iron

Murilee Martin — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EDT

When you're having a quinto-Belvedere tailgate party at the Oakland Coliseum, you pay to park in the official stadium lot, but when you're swilling cheap beer and wolfing chile verde burritos prior to ~~sneaking into the good seats with your bleacher tickets~~ watching a ballgame from the bleachers, you don't want to pay to park your car. That's why me and my cheapskate friends park in the free Coliseum BART station parking lot for most games, where we often have the opportunity to admire vintage machinery driven by commuters. Some of you may remember the Menacing Bee Van from last year, and here we have a quintet of other interesting rides spotted in the same lot. Apologies for crappy phone-camera image quality.

No Room For The Cadillac Engine? Get The Emblem!

Murilee Martin — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EDT

When I saw the junked '71 Eldorado last weekend, I said the same thing to its engine-displacement emblems that (ex-schoolteacher) Chaim Witz said to 16-year-old Christine when he saw her walking home from school: I got to have you! Of course, I didn't mean quite the same thing by my statement (you hope), but the upshot is that I've got a companion for the Super-Malaise Cadillac V8-6-4 emblem now stuck on my office bulletin board. Apparently The General's marketing types felt that the British "Litre" spelling would give the Eldo added style; we can also see this philosophy on the '73 Grand Am.

Shopping For An 8.2 Liter Engine?

Murilee Martin — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT

There was a time, maybe a decade ago, when Cadillac Eldorados with high-compression 500-cubic-inch engines were plentiful in self-service junkyards. These days, months can go by between sightings of non-Malaise 500s. As I learned when I helped a friend pull a 500 one sweltering, bloody-knuckled day, the Eldo's front-wheel-drive setup makes engine removal approximately 50 times harder than your typical Detroit rear-driver, but so what? Five hundred cubic inches! Power was a little down in '71, but this car's engine was still rated at 365 horses... and an 18-wheeler-esque 535 foot-pounds of torque.

Cadillac Eldorado Brougham

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:40:00 EDT

Well, you've done it again - voted into the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage another glass-and-steel piece of history which some, but not all, agree would make for a great addition: the Lotus Eleven. Last week saw no progress towards filling the garage due to Geneva Motor Show shenanigans, but that just gave us some extra time to think about what to offer up this week. Sometimes it's hard to be objective when selecting nominees, this week's pick is a personal favorite from a bygone era of high rollers, big egos, and uncompromising style - the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham.

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. Say what?!

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. [image credits to Eldorado Brougham]

1980 Cadillac Eldamino: For When Your Brat Just Isn't Classy Enough

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:40:00 EDT

We've got the deal of the century for you, assuming you are in the market for a car-truck based on a FWD, V8-powered luxury car of the 80's. It's the Cadillac Eldamino and it's got everything an up-and-coming dealer needs: mag wheels, tonneau truck cover, fake Q-beams, 350 c.i. Olds V8 and XM Radio (unless that interferes with your pager). Warranty? It's only got 35,000 miles, you won't need one. Just look at the possibly non-funtioning lake pipes. This is a quality automobile for under $10K. (Thanks to UDMAN) [American Dream Cars]

Hoon of the Day: Eldorado Versus Camper

Murilee Martin — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:15:59 EDT

Mid-70s Eldorado with missing door. Group of young men with beer. Rural setting. Snow. Barking dogs. A fifth-wheel travel trailer. You can probably see where this is going. But where's the meth lab gonna go now? – Murilee Martin

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