1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado

The Cadillac Eldorado grew two inches in length and six in wheelbase in 1971, with measurements of 223- and 126.3 inches respectively. In regards to styling, it gained fender skirts, the hardtop rear quarter windows were replaced by a fixed 'opera window' in the widened 'C' pillar, and a stand-up wreath and crest ornament were added to the hood. A convertible body style returned after being absent since 1966.

The Eldorado was part of the Cadillac since the early-1950s and continued through twelve generations of stylings, ending in the early 2000s. The redesign for 1971 is considered its ninth major redesign and lasted through 1978, with major styling updates applied in 1973, 1974, and 1975. The Eldorado was removed from the Fleetwood series in 1973 and became its own series. It gained a large egg-crate grille, and new bumpers in the front and rear. The taillamps, rear fenders, and decklid were also updated. The interiors received new 'soft pillow' door panels with larger pull straps and the list of standard equipment included Automatic Level Control, a 500 cubic-inch V8, and the new energy-absorbing bumper system. The hardtop coupe had a base price of $7,360 and the convertible listed for $7,680. The hardtop coupe was the more popular of the two, with 42,136 examples sold compared to 9,315 of the Convertible. The front-wheel-drive Eldorado was selected as the official pace for the Indianapolis 500 in 1973, and 566 examples were built as special pace car convertibles. Thirty-three were used at the track during the race week, with the remainder sent to U.S. Cadillac dealers one per dealership.

1974 brought another redesigned grille on the Eldorado, with the previous egg-crate design replaced by a finer cross-hatched insert. A wide, brushed aluminum header bar was positioned on the hood, directly above the grille. The grille was flanked by dual round headlights enclosed in square chrome surrounds and parking lamps wrapped around the body corners. A thin rubber molding traversed the bodyside, from behind the forward wheel housing and reached backward, nearing the round, rear side marker lamps. The interior housed a new curved instrument panel and a new quartz-controlled digital clock. An 'information band' of warning lights and the fuel gauge were positioned on the upper tier of the two-tier instrument panel. The sales literature described it as 'space-age,' and was shared with other 1974 Cadillacs.

The 1974 Cadillac Eldorado had a 126-inch wheelbase and measured 224 inches in length. The hardtop coupe had a base price of $9,110 and the convertible listed for $9,440, a rather significant increase from the previous year. The hardtop coupe remained the more popular of the two with 32,812 sales compared to 7,600 for the convertible.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2021