I wish this 1990 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe was closer to my home here on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio. It's up in Romulus, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit and it's a good 2 1/2 drive for me one way, Just as well as i might fall in love with it. Just 88K on its 33-year-old digital ticker, Facebook Marketplace asking price is $3,000.
Oh, how us Cadillac cognoscenti hated disliked these cars when they first stabbed our collective eyeballs when GM rolled these out for MY 1986. Sharing much DNA with the Buick Riviera and Oldsmobile Toronado, these starved to death little cars went a long way to tank any prestige the models had. Sales crated by some 60-percent 1985 to 1986 and they never recovered. Despite, in the end, some pretty gallant efforts on behalf of GM.
A grafting of additional sheet metal fore and aft for 1988 improved aesthetics somewhat but there was only so much that could be done with a woefully compromised design. Cadillac redesigned their exclusive V-8 engine for 1987 increasing displacement to 4.5-liters, horsepower ticked up to 155 from 130-140. Port-fuel injection replaced the throttle-body set up for 1990 bumping bhp to 180. For 1990, the 4.5 was enlarged to 4.9-liters and horsepower rose to a nice round 200.
That said, my 269-horsepower, 3,500-pound 2009 Toyota RAV4 V-6 will smoke this similarly weighty ETC. And it runs on regular unleaded too. What's more, I can't beat my RAV's build quaility, reliability and serviceability. Etcetera, etcetera.
These cars were still too small and stubby but the "Touring Coupe" package, new for 1990. which included larger wheels, tires, thicker anti-roll bars, an electronically controlled suspension, and a quicker steering ratio than non-ETC's, dressed things up probably best they could be.
In a vacuum, these were not bad looking cars and could perform like no other Cadillac's prior; save for the much pricier and even more gimmicky "Allante" that was nothing more than a two-passenger Eldorado on a shorter wheelbase. With an insanely expensive to build body.
But they were a flop. Problem was, well-heeled yupsters wouldn't be caught dead in them and they still weren't "Cadillac-enough" for their traditional clientele.
Still, as far as cheap cars go, you could do a lot worse. Keep in mind, though, parts could be difficult to come by. Remember, this is a, he swallows hard, now a thirty-three gong on thirty-four-year-old car.
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