I know I'm not alone in my appreciation for these ridiculously large, over-bearing land yachts. I do find my admiration for them somewhat curious, though, as they play against the types of cars I typically appreciate - that being muscle, pony and sports cars. All I can say is, for some reason, I grew fond of them during my wretched, woe-be-gone wonder years, particularly the stylish two-door variants like this freakishly well-persevered 1971 Cadillac Coupe deVille.
I know, I know. My blog needs another soliloquy about a 1970's Cadillac like Elvis needed another peanut butter and banana sandwich. But, indulge me. When you come across one as nice as this one, you make exceptions to your own rules.
What I euphemistically refer to as the "Great Cadillac Epoch" began in the summer of 1977 when my parents replaced their humble, DI-NOC free 1968 Ford Ranch Wagon with, of all things, a dreary, blue-on-black, 1972 Cadillac Sedan deVille. It took them over a year to find that wretched bomb and along the way through their endless shopping, I came to appreciate the subtle elan of the Coupe deVille over it's far for more formal four-door brethren. The Coupe deVille for the jocular type, that I portend to be, whereas the staid sedan was for the more rigid, uptight and regimented.
GM rebooted their entire full-size line for MY 1971 and the update included some of the largest automobiles ever made. The Cadillac Coupe deVille nearly an inch longer and half-inch wider than a 1970 model - which was by no means a small car. Come the advent of five-mile-per-hour "safety bumpers" in 1973 and 1974, the Coupe deVille would grow to nearly 231-inches long stem to stern.
Sheer bulk for the sake of sheer bulk; these cars were derided by pundits for their space-inefficient interior design. Interior designs, mind you, that didn't look all that much different from the insides of a Buick Electra, Olds Ninety-Eight or, dare I say, a Chevrolet Caprice. In many cases, the "lesser" GM brands interiors looked richer.
Externally, the sheet metal is rather becoming, in my opinion. Much of the design cues harkening back to the glorious Cadillacs of yore that helped make the moniker what it would become in the heady years after World War II. Sumptuous designs complimenting a brace of engineering innovation. Sadly, by the early 1970's, what had made a "Cadillac" a "Cadillac" had fallen drastically by the wayside. The really tangible innovations stopped coming, the designs became less sophisticated, materials used cheaper and were simpler to ease in assembly.
Sure, you got better fit and finish due to the slow-moving Cadillac assembly line, but for all intents and purposes, you weren't getting much for what amounted to a 60-percent tariff to purchase a Cadillac compared to a Caprice. Contemporary road tests actually found the Caprice to be the better car not to mention a better value. Ouch.
My mother literally steered the boat on my parents wretched Cadillac search - my father could have cared less what he drove but my mother was all about making pretense - if we had a Cadillac in front of our house, then our neighbors would think we were doing well. Nothing could have been further from the truth, mind you. And I'll never forget the look of disappointment in my mother's eyes when she realized that "her Cadillac" wasn't anything special at all.
The delightful red hue of the ostrich-leather hides of this car, though, do wonders for cheering up the cabin. This one if for sale not far from my office and is commanding a $33,000 asking price. I know. As if.
It has only 15,000-miles on it and appears to be all but flawless, but I think the only person that would pay that much for this creme-de-la-creme puff is some European magnate with a penchant for American automotive beefcake. That or some die-hard Elvis fan or impersonator.
NADA price guidelines peg one of these "high retail" around $12,000. That seems incredibly low but it's more of an outline than anything. Still, thirty-three-grand for this? Not ten-years ago, one of these in this shape would go for something in the mid- to high-teens.
Elvis has left the building.
No comments:
Post a Comment