#LuxuryCars

We return to Eldorado coverage with the “all-new” claim applied to the Eldorado of 1963. It was misleading, as the luxury convertible embarked on a new generation while the rest of the lineup was considered a refresh. The Cadillac marketing people justified their grandiose claims because in addition to a visual rework, the Eldorado changed its manufacturing location. It moved upmarket (shedding the two-year DeVille association) and joined the exclusive Fleetwood assembly line with the Sixty Special and Seventy-Five models. And part of its new upper-crust lifestyle meant a reduction in chrome trappings in addition to its refreshed corporate appearance.

As we covered in our last installment, the Cadillac Eldorado was “all-new” for 1963 as GM repositioned its flailing flagship convertible. While the rest of the lineup existed as a refresh of the 1961-1962 generation, Eldorado was set apart. Not that it looked different to the rest of the model range, as it received the same visual updates. Eldorado was considered new, special, because of its change in construction: It ascended the ranks in 1963 to the Fleetwood assembly line. And there were a few new details under the skin to draw in the consumer.

In 1961 Cadillac lowered the status of the Eldorado for its fifth generation, after the fourth-gen received lackluster sales. Eldorado transitioned from a pair of body styles (coupe and convertible) sitting atop the company’s standard car range to a weird cousin within the DeVille line, offered only as the convertible Biarritz. Customers saw little to no reason to spend 16 percent more for an Eldorado Biarritz than they would for the nearly identical Sixty-Two convertible, and sales remained poor at 1,450 per year in 1961 and 1962. Eldorado needed a change, a clean break.

In our last Eldorado installment, we reviewed the styling revisions that arrived for the fifth generation Eldorado’s second and final year in 1962. Styling was smoothed, fins were made less aggressive, and the look headed toward a more familial and generalized GM appearance as distinguishing Eldorado details went by the wayside. As it turned out, this less-for-more approach did not work particularly well with regard to the appeal of the top-tier Eldorado Biarritz.

As we’ve learned over the past couple of weeks, the fifth generation Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz really struggled to justify its high price tag. With Chevrolet-adjacent exterior styling and an interior that lacked any upmarket badging whatsoever, the Eldorado had become a shadow of its former glamorous self. Cadillac made some changes to its halo convertible for 1962, the second and final outing of the fifth generation design. To summarize the updates succinctly: Designers removed even more details.

Among the myriad of alterations made to the Cadillac lineup for 1961 was a change in approach for the Eldorado. As we learned in our last installment, poor sales successively after 1958 led to a de-emphasized Eldorado model in 1961. GM realized no amount of largesse, pink paint, or fins could save its sales figures. And so for 1961 the model was relegated to a part of the much more popular DeVille line of cars, and was available only in convertible Biarritz format. The model’s toned down 1961 looks were accompanied by modest engineering changes.

Expectations were admittedly fairly low when the dealer relayed an X3 was the only loaner vehicle available at my service visit. “Oh, that’s fine,” I said. The visit cropped up suddenly, when the VANOS recall fix for the Z4 was finally ready. The next few days changed your author’s mind about the X3.

After a delayed and limited roll-out of the new Northstar engine (in two power configurations) for the 1993 and 1994 model year, Cadillac enjoyed a wave of positive press. With an entirely new product portfolio in place by 1994, the Northstar-filled (except Fleetwood Brougham) Cadillac lineup was ready to roll through the remainder of the Nineties. Cadillac immediately set about tweaking their V8 for 1995, and it was around that time some issues began to poke holes in the Northstar’s trophy collection.

After an extensive five-plus year development period fraught with engineering adversity, unfortunate focus group decisions, and delays via magnesium material mishaps, the Northstar V8 was ready for production. Paired with it were new associated systems and technology which the marketing team at GM trademarked as the Northstar System. Prior to the Northstar’s debut in the model year 1993 Allanté, it was time for a big marketing push. The Northstar System was all-encompassing!

In our last installment of the Cadillac Northstar story, we reviewed the engineering decisions made early in the engine’s development. From the sensible choice of 4.5 liters of displacement (4.6 in production) to the hubris of consumer focus groups filled with aging current owners, the project rolled forward but faced many engineering challenges. The development was daunting as Cadillac’s first dual overhead cam V8 engine after decades of overhead valve power plants. The difficulty of pairing a cast aluminum block to iron cylinder liners was complete, but engineers opened up a new can of worms with the induction system.

We return to Abandoned History’s coverage of the Cadillac Northstar engine this week, at a pivotal moment in the engine’s development. Stiff competition from luxury cars of domestic, European, and Japanese origin put big pressure on Cadillac. The era of the dual overhead cam engine was on the horizon, and it looked as though Cadillac was about to be left in the dust with its High Technology 4.5-liter. After hemming and hawing about an update to the 4.5 rather than the development of a new engine, GM brass decided a new power plant was in fact necessary. However, aside from the necessity of DOHC technology, the rest of the engine was just a word cloud of ideas that needed to be nailed down quickly.

Back in 2022 Abandoned History covered the development and usage of Cadillac’s all-star engine for the Eighties, the High Technology V8. As the 4.1-liter pile showed promptly that it was terrible, General Motors massaged, improved, and enlarged it into the HT4500 and finally the (not HT) 4.9-liter. But by the time the 4.9 arrived, the engine was already at the end of its service life. The General had an all-new, much better V8 that would trounce the 4.9 and bring Cadillac back into the luxury fray: Northstar.

We concluded our coverage of the fourth-generation Eldorado last week, as the 1959 to 1960 run resulted in very mediocre sales. The Eldorado Seville and Biarritz sold poorly compared to the rest of the Cadillac line, and the Eldorado Brougham was the slowest selling model the brand had on offer. While low sales of the Brougham were more understandable given its huge asking price, the regular Eldorados seemed to have lost their mid-Fifties appeal. Cadillac needed to take action and rework its lineup, particularly where Eldorado was concerned.

We close out the fourth generation Cadillac Eldorado and second (and final) Eldorado Brougham sedan with a discussion on sales figures and pricing. The figures set the stage for a time of decline in the Eldorado’s fortunes, while the pricing (particularly of the Brougham) meant General Motors would never attempt a halo Eldorado ever again. Adding insult to injury, it was the last time Eldorado was an independent model for some time.

In our last Eldorado episode, we reviewed the interior changes made to the high-line Eldorado Brougham in its new-for-1959 guise. In the transition to more uniform product alignment with its Biarritz and Seville siblings, the Brougham lost almost all unique interior features. Its more formal pillarless hardtop roofline and smaller wings (a preview of 1960 Cadillacs) and a couple pieces of interior trim were what set the Brougham apart from other Cadillac sedans. However, the Brougham did have one new claim to fame: exotic Italian construction!