In today’s Eldorado installment, we reach the end of the seventh generation model. Available only as a convertible from 1965 to 1966, the two-year run was a culmination moment for the Eldorado. It was the only generation that would wear stacked headlamps, it was the last time an Eldorado was rear-wheel drive, and it was the last time (for a while) there was an Eldorado convertible. The model was about to establish its own identity within a hot new segment that began to form around the time: the personal luxury coupe. Let’s find out how this last-of fared in sales.
Cadillac came off the 1964 model year with a record sales figure of 165,959 cars. The brand was the luxury marque in the United States, as the likes of Lincoln and Imperial were minor competitors with their limited model lineup and lesser prestige. At the turn of the decade Lincoln chartered a new course with the Elwood Engel penned Mid-century aesthetic Continental, which managed to compete with several of the upper-end Cadillac models.
Cadillac stayed on course and lightly reworked its lineup. There were no longer six-window sedans, and the base Sixty-Two model was replaced by the Calais. The base model “Cadillac Convertible” was dressed up into the DeVille convertible, lesser sibling to the Eldorado. 1965 also saw the introduction of the first Brougham into the lineup, as a trim package on top of the popular Sixty-Special sedan.
Tail fins were revamped and slimmed, newly integrated into the fender. The more modern aesthetic was a part of general streamlining efforts in automotive design in the mid-Sixties, which saw an end to the gaudy styling popular since the early Fifties. For its efforts, Cadillac was rewarded with an impressive 182,435 sales in 1965.
Splitting those sales between only 11 different models meant a larger share for each, and more profit margin. The most basic car Cadillac sold in 1965 was the Calais coupe, priced at $5,059 ($51,156 adj.). A fairly slow seller with 12,515 sales, upmarket offerings that year were more successful. The Calais hardtop sedan moved 13,975 examples, which was better than the conservative pillared four-window that managed only 7,721 sales. Both of those asked $5,247 ($53,057 adj.).
Stepping up to the DeVille line was a not insignificant cost increase, with the base DeVille coupe at an ask of $5,419 ($54,796 adj.) before any options. The DeVille coupe was an established success by that time, and sold 43,345 examples in 1965. A relative value, the DeVille convertible cost $5,639 ($57,021 adj.) that year, and Cadillac shifted 19,200 cars. Part of its affordability was down to its production at Fisher, where Eldorado was built in a completely separate factory by Fleetwood.
DeVille was also offered in the stylish hardtop (45,535 sales) and the pillared four-window, which managed only 15,000 sales. The two models cost the same, at $5,666 ($57,294 adj.). This sales gulf showed the stark difference in desirability of a more basic pillared sedan from a luxury brand. Thank goodness the six-window was gone!
Stepping up to Fleetwood bodies, the entry point was the Sixty Special pillared sedan. The mainstay model asked $6,479 ($65,515 adj.), and sold 18,100 examples. At over $1,100 ($11,123 adj.) more expensive than its basic DeVille sibling, the Eldorado required $6,738 ($68,134 adj.) before options. In 1965, 2,125 copies of the exclusive convertible were sold.
As mentioned previously, the Seventy-Five cars were not updated in 1965 to match the rest of the lineup. They continued with the old style horizontal headlamp configuration, and free-standing tailfins. Sales dropped appreciably to reflect this, with the Sedan managing only 455 sales at a cost of $9,746 ($98,551 adj.). The Limousine performed better, and managed 795 sales at an eye-watering $9,960 ($100,715 adj.), Cadillac only just managed to keep the price under $10,000.
In 1966 Cadillac’s sales soared to a new record figure of 196,685 cars. The lineup was carried over with minimal styling updates, apart from the Seventy-Five. In its case, it was updated to match the rest of the lineup in a single-year outing before it was updated again with new styling for 1967.
In 1966, the Calais Coupe managed 11,080 sales at a reduced base price of $4,986 ($49,466 adj.). The very unpopular Calais pillared sedan managed only 4,575 sales, while the identically priced hardtop sold 13,025 cars at an ask of $5,171 ($51,302 adj.). Cadillac cut its prices across the board in 1966, apart from the Seventy-Five series which increased in price.
The DeVille coupe of 1966 asked $5,339 ($52,969 adj.), and sold 50,580 examples which marked a record for the model. DeVille convertible asked $5,555 ($55,112 adj.) in the middle of the range, and sold the same 19,200 cars as the prior year. The DeVille hardtop sedan was very popular and set a sales record at 60,550 cars, while the four-window sedan managed 11,860 sales at the same ask of $5,581 ($55,370 adj.).
Fleetwood bodies were further differentiated this year, as the Sixty Special Brougham became a separate model in Cadillac’s eyes (subsequent to its first-year sales success). The base Sixty Special asked $6,378 ($63,227 adj.) and sold 5,445 times. But the elite level Sixty Special Brougham moved 16,630 examples at its increased price of $6,695 ($66,422 adj.). Eldorado was reduced in price to $6,631 ($65,787 adj.) in 1966, and sales improved to 2,250 cars.
The revised Seventy-Five Sedan and Limousine proved their worth in 1966. With increased pricing and sales figures, Cadillac should have updated the models for 1965 and pocketed the cash. The Sedan shifted 980 cars in 1966 at a first-time 5-digit ask, $10,312 ($102,307 adj.). The Limousine proved even more popular again, with 1,037 sales at a cost of $10,521 ($104,380 adj.).
After its great success in 1965 and 1966, Cadillac was about to unveil an all-new Eldorado in 1967. Once again separated from the DeVille, it would be available as a coupe only for the first time in the model’s history. The Eldorado’s original mission established in 1953, “sports convertible,” was about to be wiped away. The Seventies approached, and personal luxury came to the forefront. And the Eldorado was about to become slinky and front-wheel drive.
[Images: GM, seller]
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Source: The Truth About Cars
