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What could have been: 1970’s Cadillac Eldorado

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As you can see on these pictures, the Eldorado came close to be even more extroverted than what it ended up being in the 70’s.
The black and whit sketch from Chuck Jordan himself (2nd from top) looks pretty crazy, almost like something out of a science fiction movie.
And it looks like, at least at some point, they got pretty serious about offering a wagon version.

This is what the Eldorado ended up looking like in most of the 70’s.
Still a pretty decadent design. Especially by current standards.
But nothing like what could have been.

Not even a wagon….

Conversation 12 comments

  2. Whoa, the first pic is so futuristic (for the '70s). Imagine where the Eldo would/could have gone from there …

    The Eldo "hearse" pics are just fugly. The Jordan image is just otherworldly! Thank you for the "What Ifs" Vince!

  5. The mid-70's Eldorado was pretty awful. Especially considering how beautiful the Eldo was from 67-69. But it really was no worse than most of the 70's offerings with the obligatory opera windows, half vinyl top and brocade interiors. I only hope that retro styling never brings us back there.

  7. The '76 Eldo Convertable was always my favorite. From the quad rectangular headlights to the horizontal-slits for tailights; this was one gorgeous machine inside and out. The 8.3 Litre V8 was just frosting on the cake. Took off like a jet (for the time) and rode much smoother than a jet. Plenty of R-O-O-M for (6) SIX big Americans–EVEN IN THE CONVERTABLE–AND six sets of clubs in the trunk with room to spare (even top down!!!). The last 4" of the fenders that blended into integrated chrome-steel bumpers were actually vinyl. It allowed the shock-absorber-mounted bumpers to retract a few inches on impact and pop out again upon the recoil. So you could hit a truck (or cement wall) at 5mph with absolute no damage. TRY THAT WITH LEXUS!

  9. All very interesting but also very sad. We'll never have the opportunity again to be this brazen…..thankfully.

  10. Cadillac misread the market.
    They thought that rich guys wanted big gaudi cars, but what they really wanted ( in general ) was performance,innovation, refinement and quality.

    Cadillac used to have innovation, refinement and quality but somewhere during the 70's they lost the plot.

  11. Cadillac used to have innovation, refinement and quality but somewhere during the 70's they lost the plot.

    ACTUALLY they owned the lux market in the USA untill their second round of down-sizing. They tried to appeal to foreign car buyers (by making the Eldo super-small) in the 1980's; but also tried to appeal to lovers of true luxury by keeping all the chrome, padded vinyl roof, hood orniment, etc. The result was a mess that appealed to NEITHER: Too small for traditionalists; too gaudy for minimalist pretenders.

    And THAT'S what turned the tides against Cadillac–trying to be everything to everybody all at once.

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