In our last entry, Cadillac waved a tearful goodbye to the full-size Eldorado at the conclusion of 1978. The model lasted two additional years after the rest of the Cadillac lineup was downsized for 1977, as GM prepared to modernize the E-body platform that dated to 1966. The ninth generation had a very successful run that began in 1971, and improved its sales figure steadily throughout its tenure. But a new automotive world was dawning at the end of the Seventies, and the Eldorado needed to change to stay competitive. Let’s dive into automotive market context.

Modular watercraft. The Mo-jet is a versatile, jet-powered personal watercraft designed to offer a customizable riding experience.

For three years, NASCAR has come to Chicago in early July and shut down streets in the heart of downtown in order to stage two races on those same streets.

For three years, rain cast a literal and figurative cloud over the event. For three years, I was there to take it all in.

I hope that this was just the third year, and not the final year.

Volkswagen has delivered the ultimate electric wagon, but for now, it’s a European-only treat.

Welcome to the Bozi Breakdown. This week, the talk is all about pit stops.

In our last installment, we wrapped up the ninth generation Eldorado’s run in 1978. With expanded Custom Biarritz and Custom Biarritz Classic trims turning the coupe into a celebration of festoonery, change was in the wind at Cadillac. Let’s take a look at Cadillac’s impressive sales figures and model pricing between 1971 and 1978.

“World’s most powerful tidal turbine.” The Orbital O2 2 MW is an innovative floating tidal turbine platform.

The ninth generation Eldorado was the subject of continual revisions and additional trim during its eight-year tenure from 1971 to 1978. We began with the first edits through 1973 and then explored 1974 through 1976 when the Eldorado shed its round headlamps and its convertible variant. It was the last domestic convertible at a time when consumer interest in them was at a low point, but Cadillac’s marketing people made quite a hubbub about its departure. The following year was a new era across the line at Cadillac, except for the elderly Eldorado.

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s an alien mothership! If you’ve ever spotted a Citroen DS out in the wild you may have asked yourself these questions because the car looks like nothing else on the road today – or even when this groundbreaking car hit the road back in the 1950s… yes, it’s that old.

Michelin's WISAMO (Wing Sail Mobility) is a revolutionary inflatable sail system designed to reduce CO₂ emissions in maritime transport.

If you’ve ever wondered what’s really stopping more people from driving electric, Jan Stanek—better known as Electro Dad—has some answers.

What happens when an engine lets go on a racetrack? You do a redemption build.

We return to Eldorado coverage in the middle of the ninth generation’s eight-year run. The large and boaty iteration of the Eldorado debuted in 1971, and in 1973 its looks and placement within the product lineup were reworked. No longer a Fleetwood designated vehicle, the Eldorado stood on its own as it progressively became heavier, more trimmed, and larger than ever. Warning: This post contains facts that disagree with the rest of the internet.

He's the author of insightful, provocative, impactful Substack publication TaasMaster Newsletter and a long time auto industry pro, including a one-time co-worker of mine during the bad old DCX days. He's  Randall McAdory and he's my guest on the latest episode of Tales From the Beat, where we take on the hot topics roiling the auto biz these days including media coverage. It's a high-energy, entertaining episode.

In 1999 General Motors began its rollout of GMT800 platform vehicles, updated and more rounded designs arrived to replace the square-bodied GMT400 platform that was in production since 1988. The platform’s main family haulers, the light duty (1500) Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, and GMC Yukon made the switch to GMT800 for 2000, while the luxurious Yukon Denali and Cadillac Escalade remained on the GMT400 for one final year. Sending the GMT400 Tahoe out with a bang were two special one-year limited edition models. These special editions made good on the promise of a Nineties concept vehicle, introduced a trim level that would become permanent, and (crucially) used up some excess capacity at one of GM’s most important plants.

In an effort to increase engagement around here - as if you lot in the B&B have ever been shy with nothing to say - our corporate overlords in Downtown Canada have asked us to pen a few articles of this type, ones in which we muse and mull about some sort of topic we think you’ll find interesting. It’s our way of quenching their thirst for infernal lists without completely selling you guys down the river and still providing something about which you can give an opinion.

As our Rare Rides series on the Cadillac Eldorado continues through the Seventies, we’re on a collision course with a poignant moment in time: the death of the American convertible. The Eldorado convertible ended up the last man standing amongst domestic-branded vehicles when it bowed out in 1976. American-made convertibles would return years later, the first of which were the 1982 Dodge 400 and Chrysler LeBaron. But who was to blame for those years where there were no domestic convertibles at all, and other manufacturers offered far fewer true convertibles? The commonly held belief is that it was intense safety regulation from the US government that caused their demise, but that’s not the case. 

Buying an Italian car isn’t always the most logical of decisions, not when more rational options exist just a pencil's width away. The old Top Gear crowd always used to say that every gearhead needs to own at least one Alfa in their lifetime and, after a week with the Stelvio, I started to get what they were on about - even if this model has one foot in the grave and one on a banana peel.

See? Not exactly rational.

Returning to Cadillac Eldorado coverage today, we find ourselves at the start of the many revisions made to the ninth-generation model. Our previous installments reviewed the boaty corporate-compliance exterior styling compared to the old model, followed by an interior that was in theory “all-new” but looked like a cost-cut version of the eighth generation’s interior treatment. Whether customers would notice or care about these diversions from the Eldorado’s mission and previous greatness remained to be seen. As soon as the ninth-gen went on sale, Cadillac’s designers knew it was time for annual revisions to keep things exciting!

We’re back with a Z4 update today, and it’s an unexpected one. Spring of 2025 saw record rainfall here in southwestern Ohio, and a few weeks ago it rained for five solid days. Factually, the Cincinnati area experienced 7.85 inches of rainfall in April of 2024, compared to its 30-year average of just 4.73 inches. But why should one care about rain if they’ve a watertight hardtop roof?

Aston Martin (and others) will have Apple CarPlay in the dash soon. Is this a good idea?

Delayed QOTD today -- blame travel troubles. Anyway, it's possible automatic start/stop technology could be legislated out of existence.

Would you miss it?

When General Motors introduced the Chevrolet Beretta in 1987, the lukewarm-to-warm economically-minded coupe wore the name of a gun manufacturer. An intentional decision, the Beretta name made the new model sound more exciting. Prior to the launch, the other Beretta (the gun company) warned The General not to use its name. GM’s executives simply ignored the warning. A lawsuit ensued as Beretta of Italy came after General Motors with guns blazing, one might say.

The Fleetwood Eldorado was all new for 1971, as the model stepped away from sporting pretensions and leaned into the burgeoning brougham and luxury tastes of American consumers. As we saw in our last installment, the angular late Sixties look of the Eldorado (lauded by almost everyone) was replaced with a curved and bloated shape which grew in all dimensions over its predecessor. Today we take a look at the lavish interior accommodations of the 1971 model and talk about cost cutting.

It has been over three years in the making, but the documentary The Last Independent Automaker chronicling the life and times of the American Motors Corporation debuts today on PBS. The team behind the documentary secured over 100 hours of footage from the AMC vaults, scoured hundreds of historical photographs, and interviewed more than 35 people from the AMC sphere.

In 1971 the Cadillac product lineup featured all-new styling, as the brand exited its era of clean lines and minimized chrome ornamentation. As we reviewed in our last installment, weight, cubic inches, and length measurements all ballooned over where they were the prior decade. At the same time, emphasis on build quality and brand differentiation within the GM portfolio began to decline. For the Eldorado’s part, it slipped into a new disco suit that lost its sleekness and sporting appeal. Its new looks in 1971 favored styling that was in line with the brand’s other offerings and was more garish and decadent like the competition from Lincoln.

The press days of the 2025 New York International Auto Show are in the books.

The Cadillac lineup was all-new in 1971, as the brand entered what would be seen later as its decline from the Standard of the World status established (partially via marketing) in 1908. Slab-sided looks of the late Sixties were exchanged for bulbous fenders, and front ends became ever heavier and chromed. Headlamps (aside from Eldorado) were spread apart by a brougham logo, and made for an awkward visual approach. Pointed front corners, a Cadillac design cue since the early Sixties were removed for all models save Eldorado, and used by Pontiac. The Eldorado arrived in its ninth generation and pointed the way forward as Cadillac’s aspirational halo personal luxury coupe and convertible.

Cadillac saw its sales successes escalate for the entirety of the Sixties, as it absolutely dominated the domestic luxury car market. Faced with lackluster competition from the likes of the conservative and upright Imperial (fuselage design arrived in 1969) or the aging Continental lineup from Lincoln, buyers flocked to Cadillac in droves. Only at the end of the decade did Lincoln get it together when it offered the Mark III as an alternative to the Eldorado and debuted a new (cost-cut) Continental for 1970. For Cadillac, a new era began in 1971 as all its models were replaced and its downhill slide in quality and taste began.

This new third branch of the Rare Rides series will present two competing vehicles from history head-to-head. Each entry will review the two vehicles’ merits in context of the times: historical reviews, model details, pricing, and that ultimate determination of the winner, sales figures. The first Versus subjects were requested by you, the readers. They are the eighth generation Cadillac Eldorado and the Lincoln Continental Mark III, the very first top-tier American personal luxury coupes.

The Eldorado’s new looks for 1967 were received very well, and generated immediate sales success for Cadillac’s halo coupe. Eldorado had continually struggled to find anything but a niche customer base since its inception in 1953, but it seemed its time had finally arrived. As discussed in our last entry, both 1967 and 1968 were banner years for the Cadillac brand and Eldorado, and the company broke its overall sales record on both occasions. 

In 1968 Cadillac sold 230,003 vehicles, and despite a hefty 11 percent price increase 24,528 of those were Fleetwood Eldorados. 1969 brought new styling across the line, and Eldorado strayed away from its sleek origins. But would customers take notice and shop elsewhere?

(Note: The bearded 18th century man glares angrily at the 1969 Eldorado because it is significantly uglier than the previous year.)

Today we reach the proof in the sales pudding for the eighth-generation Eldorado. The model was a highlight of design and a sales success at a time when the Cadillac brand could do almost no wrong. Though compromised in styling by its final year in 1970, the high-priced front-drive personal luxury coupe was still a sales standout.

Ultra-low viscosity oils are becoming the norm for modern engines, especially smaller units prioritizing efficiency. Unfortunately, the trend has resulted in conflicting opinions about the actual usefulness of thinner oils. Manufacturers like them because they help them pass emissions and newer engines have been designed with tighter tolerances. But some enthusiasts and mechanics are skeptical that they’re actually better in terms of protecting an engine over the long haul.

The 1967 Cadillac Eldorado was a styling revelation when it arrived, with front-wheel drive, covered headlamps, and sleek styling devoid of flim-flam. But the original look didn’t last long, as annual styling updates and regulatory changes made their marks immediately. While the 1968 was relatively the same as the ‘67 (with a larger engine), the 1969 version lost its covered headlamps, special ventilated wheel covers, received an ugly reversing lamp, and adopted the corporate dashboard used by the rest of the Cadillac lineup. And there were even more changes on the way for 1970 as the eighth generation prepared to fade away.

You've probably heard a lot of talk about tariffs the past few days.

You might also wonder how tariffs pushed by President Donald Trump will affect the automotive industry -- including the price of cars, both new and used.

Today marks the 50th installment of our Rare Rides Eldorado coverage, and would you believe this series started a year and a half ago in August 2023? By 1969 the angular Eldorado stepped away from the halo “sports convertible” mission of the original in 1953. Unfortunately, it also stepped away from its 1967 self as changing regulations and annual styling revisions took the eighth Eldorado off course for its final two years.

My husband (and fellow TTAC contributor), Andy Lilienthal, and I are avid off-road enthusiasts and have been for over 15 years. We love exploring remote areas to see what there is in the back 40. When the snow flies, we don’t let it stop us. However, wintertime off-road travel, especially in secluded areas in the winter, requires extra preparation and special gear. Anyone who’s lived in the Upper Midwest, Alaska, or other frigid winter climates knows you need to be prepared for winter’s worst if you’re headed out. We’ve logged tens of thousands of miles in Canada and Alaska, and experienced temps of down to -50° F and blinding whiteouts on numerous occasions, including during the Alcan 5000 Rally winter competition. 

The eighth generation Eldorado was a more than pleasant surprise to the public when it arrived in showrooms for the 1967 model year. As we covered previously, its fresh and angular exterior styling was quite unexpected from Cadillac. Especially so when one considered how staid and barge-like the Eldorado had become as it was reduced over generations into a trim rework of the DeVille (even if it was built by Fleetwood). Interior styling received a considerable update too, with minimal chrome, no wood paneling whatsoever, and a driver-focused cockpit which would become the hallmark of the personal luxury car. But as was de rigueur, General Motors set about messing with the Eldorado via various annual changes.

The new exterior of the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado was simultaneously striking, edgy, modern, and a welcome change from the ho-hum upmarket DeVille the model had become over the years. With a burgeoning market segment to chase - the personal luxury coupe - the front-drive Eldorado made an instant splash when it arrived. Its exterior looks set high expectations for a new and exciting interior as well. But did Cadillac’s designers deliver?

After reporting on the Canoo bankruptcy announcement, several readers reached out to ask what had happened to the assets of other defunct EV startups — particularly those that went public via controversial special purpose and acquisition companies (SPACs). Who bought up their assets after bankruptcy and do any of them have any hope of still putting those original vehicle designs into production?

We return to our Eldorado coverage today, in what may be the most interesting segment in this series for some of you: A review of the exterior styling on the all-new 1967 Fleetwood Eldorado. We covered the model’s dimensional changes and feature set in the last installment. Those newfangled seat belts were still optional, and so were disc brakes for the front wheels. Thankfully, the incredible looks of the Eldorado were standard.

After veering briefly to Abandoned History in a controlled and front-wheel drive way to discuss the Unitized Power Package found in the new 1967 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado (and the Oldsmobile Toronado that debuted a year prior), we return to Rare Rides Eldorado coverage this week. As the Eldorado embraced the American personal luxury segment that was in its infancy, its jump to the E-body platform meant most everything about it was different to the 1966 model. For the first time in a long while, Eldorado broke free of the DeVille plus more trim standard.

As we learned in our last installment, 1965 and 1966 were both banner years for Cadillac in terms of sales, as customers just loved stacked headlamps and luxury. A record 182,435 Cadillacs were sold in 1965, a figure which increased to 196,685 in 1966. For comparison, Cadillac’s nearest luxury competitor Lincoln managed 54,755 sales in 1966, largely due to their popular Continental line of cars. For 1967 it was time for a revised lineup, and the Eldorado in particular branched off in a new direction.

In today’s Eldorado installment, we reach the end of the seventh generation model. Available only as a convertible from 1965 to 1966, the two-year run was a culmination moment for the Eldorado. It was the only generation that would wear stacked headlamps, it was the last time an Eldorado was rear-wheel drive, and it was the last time (for a while) there was an Eldorado convertible. The model was about to establish its own identity within a hot new segment that began to form around the time: the personal luxury coupe. Let’s find out how this last-of fared in sales. 

The interior revisions for the seventh generation Cadillac Eldorado were a case of one step forward, two steps back. For whatever reason (perhaps competition from Lincoln) the Eldorado simply gave up on differentiation and the sporty personality the model reflected in 1963 and 1964. But it would seem the ‘65 was just a plain Jane year, as Cadillac layered on additional effort via brougham and features in 1966.

In our last Eldorado installment, we reviewed the exterior changes that accompanied the all-new Fleetwood Eldorado for 1965. With its stacked headlamps and modernized perimeter frame underneath, things were looking forward for the Eldorado. However, the interior fared a bit worse and seemed to step back in time with the seventh generation.

Many of the updates Cadillac made to its line for 1965 were under the skin. There was a new perimeter frame that became the de facto underpinning of the traditional domestic sedan, placement of the engine was farther forward than ever before (for more passenger space), and a modern automatic transmission arrived via the THM400. But there were changes on the exterior too. Cadillac shrugged off the protruding tail fins it wore since 1948 in exchange for sleeker integrated ones, and newly stacked headlamps gave the brand’s lineup an all-new look. Today we check out the exterior updates as applied to the new 1965 Fleetwood Eldorado.