1975 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado

Cadillac celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 1953 with the Eldorado convertible, a production version of the Motorama show car of the previous year. With a base price of $7,750, it was the highest-priced car in America, ensuring its exclusivity. The Eldorado nameplate is a contraction of two Spanish words that translate as 'the gilded (i.e., golden) one' — and also refers to El Dorado, the mythical South American 'Lost City of Gold' that fascinated Spanish explorers.

The 1975 Cadillac Eldorado was part of the seventh generation of the model which had received a substantial redesign in 1971, gaining two inches in length and six in the wheelbase. Its appearance was rounder, the door glass remained frameless, the hardtop rear quarter windows were deleted (replaced by a fixed 'opera window' in the widened 'C' pillar, and highlighted by the return of fender skirts. A convertible body style re-joined the lineup.

This generation of the Eldorado would continue through 1978, receiving facelifts in 1973 and 1975. 1971 set a new record of 27,368 units being produced.

The 1975 Cadillac Eldorado styling was among the most flamboyant and luxurious automobiles built by an American manufacturer of the era. They were devoid of the rear fender skirts and wraparound cornering lamps, had new square headlamps, new cross-hatch grille, and parking lamps and directionals located in the bumper ends. Body styles included a hardtop coupe, priced at $9,935, and a $10,350 convertible. The coupe had larger rear quarter windows and Fleetwood ornaments on the roof 'C' pillar.

The base price of the Cadillac Eldorado increased twice during the year, with the coupe being listed at $9,950 before topping out at $10,365 by year's end. The Convertible increased to $10,370 before its price settled at $10,785.

Powering the front-wheel-drive Eldorado was an overhead valve V8 with hydraulic valve lifters, a four-barrel carburetor, displacing 500 cubic inches, and delivering 190 (SAE) horsepower at 4,000 RPM.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2020