Cadillac El Dorado

In 1953, General Motors introduced one of the first convertible Cadillac’s available, the Cadillac El Dorado Convertible, featuring a wrap-a-round wind shield, leather interior, power steering, and even those lovely white-wall tires.

The idea of the El Dorado came from the concept car that was introduced the previous year to celebrate Cadillac’s fiftieth anniversary. Distinguishing features of the El Dorado, like the unique sheet metal, set them apart from other less expensive Cadillac’s, but unfortunately, the El Dorado’s debut was limited, part because of the hefty price tag, a whopping $7,750, needless to say only a little over 500 of these babies were sold that year.

As a result, Cadillac began making the El Dorado in the basic shell similar to other Cadillac’s and lowered the price dramatically, thus allowing the Cadillac El Dorado to remain a marketable car for decades to come.

Throughout the sixties and seventies, El Dorado’s held their ground, and in 1971 the rebirth of the El Dorado Cadillac even made another appearance. And in 1976, Cadillac made headlines again, promoting the final year for “the last American Convertible”. That is the Cadillac in the picture on the left.

Throughout the 1980's and the 1990's, the Cadillac El Dorado went through several exterior, as well as, performance modifications; but never regained its former glory days. In fact, Cadillac found that most buyers were looking for luxury sedans, like the four-door Cadillac Seville. So as the end of the century neared, so did most of the sales for the Cadillac El Dorado.

After fifty years of ups and downs, the Cadillac El Dorado made its last stance. The golden anniversary of the El Dorado ironically marked its end. However, not without malice, the final ETC model of the El Dorado marked the most powerful front wheel drive car ever built, coming in at over 300 hp.

Many car experts and those novice Cadillac junkies marvel in the first era of the Cadillac El Dorado, they were a mark above the rest, offering a driver a feeling of individuality, wealth, and luxury; the true essence of a Cadillac.