When did Cadillac lose it's prestige?

audiman08 · 12-09-2010, 07:58 AM

I was looking at this beautiful '66 Fleetwood on Ebay, to me it's one the classiest Cadillacs ever made. In the 70s, they started looking bloated and cheaper...especially the Eldorado IMHO. I think they started chrome plating plastic during the early 70s. Today, Cadillac is just a shadow of what it used to be and aside from the CTS-V, they don't get much attention. I imagine the first owner of this car was pretty well-to-do, but today driving a Caddy doesn't mean much. My grandparents were so proud of their Caddies back in the day. I'm guessing the 80s downsized models signaled the end...What happened?

Cadillac : Fleetwood - eBay (item 260702179451 end time Dec-09-10 12:57:37 PST)

VINMAN · 12-09-2010, 08:02 AM

One word. Cimmaron......

widebody911 · widebody911's Garage

I suspect this has something to do with it...

jcommin · jcommin's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by VINMAN

One word. Cimmaron......

Yep and the bland downsizing in the 80's.

jcommin · jcommin's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by widebody911

I suspect this has something to do with it...

That is a Chevy Impala/Caprice.

vash · vash's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcommin

Yep and the bland downsizing in the 80's.

..............and OPEC.

you guys dont like the CTS-V? i love that car.

Eric 951 · 12-09-2010, 08:11 AM

4-6-8 crap motors

crap deisels--my grandfather always had (2) vehicles--a GM pick-up and a cadillac sedan. I remember his sweet 70 fleetwood which was a m ist blue with a black vinyl roof and the brocade interior. Had 472 power--that was luxury. later I remember his brand-new 1979 deisel seville --that car sucked--GM actually replaced the motor with a gas engine under warranty.

Then he had one of those front wheel drive fleetwoods from the early 90's--what a pile.

So, my guess would be early 80's.

audiman08 · 12-09-2010, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vash

..............and OPEC.

you guys dont like the CTS-V? i love that car.

I like the CTS-V, but to me it's not a traditional Caddy...it's a disguised Corvette. Cadillacs were about class and luxury, not tire shredding

VINMAN · 12-09-2010, 08:16 AM

My old man always had Caddys all through the '60s and 70's. Those cars were massive and all about comfort. They virtually hovered down the road. Nice soft leather or velour seats. Fit eight people with no problem.

I remember always sleeping up on the real shelf on long trips.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

It was when they strangled the motors with smog stuff, that 472 was a stout motor. Mom raced some guy in one of those smokey and the bandit trans ams in our 72 Fleetwood and ran away from him, with 8 people in the car. Carb looked almost big enough to stick your head in it.

widgeon13 · 12-09-2010, 08:27 AM

I think when they started to make SUV's. It's no longer an elegant car, just another gangstamobile.

I still have my parent's 89 De ville, rides like a boat and gets 20 MPG. I use it as an airport car, if somebody bangs a door into it it's no big deal and it's a safer than riding in an armored car. Also quite fast for such a heavy vehicle.

speeder · speeder's Garage

That eBay car is in stunning condition. Too bad about the interior color, it should be black leather on that car. '65/'66 Cadillacs are among my favorites, I had a beautiful '66 convertible in gold w/ cream interior. Wish I still had it.

Cadillacs from the era when they had prestige are beautiful cars, for the most part. I love them as much as I love Porsches, albeit for completely different reasons. The Harley Earl years at GM were the height of mid-century modernism design and many of his creations are masterpieces.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by VINMAN

One word. Cimmaron......

+1

I was thinking the exact same thing. But the issue started earlier.

McLovin · 12-09-2010, 08:50 AM

The answer is actually 2 parts.

For some people, it never lost its prestige. Those are the people who grew up and were "car imprinted" in a long gone era. These people are now in their late 70s and up.

For people younger than that, I'd say during the mid 70s. Because, really, all through the 70s 80s and 90s, the cars were pure crap. No offense to that white '89 pictured above, but c'mon. White vinyl roof? Whitewall tires? 70's bumpers and interior? In 1989? When you compare it to the serious competition in the luxury class in 89/90, it is a joke. A car like that really could only be sold at the time to someone quite advanced in age, who remembered the "Cadillac" name and perceived prestige from a bygone era.

pwd72s · 12-09-2010, 08:55 AM

Back in the good ol' days...

You're right...Caddy did lose it's prestige factor...but damned if I can pick a time period.

Rot 911 · 12-09-2010, 09:14 AM

I'd say they lost their prestige in the 70's, in no small part to the lack of care in assembly. Remember the clear coat coming off in sheets? A 70's Caddy paint job was lucky to last 3-4 years.

pwd72s · 12-09-2010, 09:21 AM

Like I said...dunno when Caddy "lost it"...but if I could have any Caddy made?
This one. Definitely made when Caddy was it! The '57 Eldorado....just WOW!

oldE · 12-09-2010, 09:25 AM

I would have to say early 70s.

Prior to that the engineering that went into the cars was unique within GM. They had their own motors, chassis and drive train.
If you had to travel long distances and could afford it, you got a Caddy. No question.

One of my brothers worked in the DEW Line in the 60s and 70s. Through the years he had iirc a '58 (green, two tone, auto dimming lights), a '63, a '66 (bronze with leather) and a 68. Those cars would cover an amazing distance with a family in comfort, even over winding two lane roads.

When GM changed the bodies to meet the bumper laws in '72 and '73, I suspect the engineering was done for most large models across the board. The cars started to go downhill then: rattles, loose pieces cheaper interiors. By the time the cars were 'downsized' they were squeezing every $ out of the car they could. It ceased to be the "standard of the World" and became a travesty.

The Eldorado was a re-skinned Toronado, the Seville somebody's idea of a joke and the Cimmaron an insult.

I have been pleased to see CTS and STS sedans (plus the V versions of both) and the XLR. On one hand, they are based upon chassis which originated within other GM divisions (Opel and Corvette), but they seem to be trying to give the cars their own identity.

Too bad there was 30 years of neglect.

Les

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

70s/80s like everything else GM. Their quality was utter schit. Cadillac was supposedly the "top tier" vehicles that GM produced but I remember vinyl tops that would peel and crack, rust everywhere, sidemarkers and plastic bits that would craze/fade within a year, chrome that would blister or peel or get rust pockmarks/pinholes after literally months, you name it. I worked at a dealership in H.S. that sold Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Caddy. This was in the 80s and they were all total crap. The only thing that I found remotely intriguing from that era was the Quad-4 Olds drivetrain and they managed to screw that one up too. The Buick Grand National wasn't bad, but handled like a greased pig on a frozen linoleum floor.

audiman08 · 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldE

I have been pleased to see CTS and STS sedans (plus the V versions of both) and the XLR. On one hand, they are based upon chassis which originated within other GM divisions (Opel and Corvette), but they seem to be trying to give the cars their own identity.

I agree they are doing better; certainly better than Lincoln... I wouldn't mind having an STS-V... luxurious, roomy and a 469 h.p. supercharged V-8

They seem to hold their value pretty well too.