1979 Cadillac Le Cabriolet - THE Convertible

With sales slumping and automakers worried that increasingly stringent federal safety regulations—particularly proposed rollover standards—might spell the end of the convertible, the Big Three dropped factory convertibles after the 1976 model year. Those feared regulations never materialized, however, and between 1978 and 1980 well-heeled buyers could still order a "Le Cabriolet"—French for "the convertible"—through authorized Cadillac dealers. They just had to be prepared to pay dearly for the privilege.

Our stunningly badass deVille here cost more than twice as much as a regular Coupe de Ville when new in 1979. Suffice it to say, Cadillac didn't sell many of them.

Which is a shame because these are incredibly handsome automobiles. I'm generally not much of a convertible guy, but I've always had a soft spot for these. Even if they probably handle like a broken-up tin can. My dad owned a 1979 Sedan deVille years ago and, while it was worlds better than the shuddering mess his '72 deVille had been, it still wasn't exactly the most buttoned-down automobile on the road. I can only imagine how much this thing shimmies and shakes.

All 1978-1980 Le Cabriolets were built by Hess & Eisenhardt of Cincinnati, Ohio, the famed coachbuilder best known for professional cars, presidential limousines, and other specialty vehicles. They did a mighty fine job, too.

As with most engineering projects, what we see is only the literal tip of the technical iceberg. There was far more involved than simply sawing off the roof and bolting on a folding canvas top. Because these cars began life as pillared coupes with fixed rear quarter windows, Hess & Eisenhardt had to completely re-engineer the side glass so the rear windows would roll up and down with the top. That couldn't have been easy, and it undoubtedly required a host of custom-made parts. It's easy to see why these cars cost what they did.

Did the Big Three jump the gun by abandoning convertibles? You could certainly make that argument. Sales of the 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertible surged after Cadillac announced it would supposedly be the last American convertible. Then, just a few years later, Chrysler proved there was still a healthy market for open-air motoring with the success of its LeBaron convertibles.

The biggest problem with the Le Cabriolet wasn't a lack of interest—it was the price. A 1976 Eldorado convertible cost only about 10 percent more than an Eldorado coupe. By comparison, a Hess & Eisenhardt Le Cabriolet cost well over twice as much as a standard Coupe de Ville. Even affluent Cadillac buyers had their limits.