It’s 21:30 and I’m on my own, so I can do a bit of secretive Carchive raiding. This time I’ll need breathing apparatus and a flashlight, because I’m going deep down into the chasm that is my “American” section.
In fact, what I brought back to the surface is one of my favourite brochure acquisitions. It may be relatively light on data, but it’s heavy on style. Set your original Star-Trek series one phasers to Shock and Awe, as we explore the 1967 Cadillac full-line brochure.
“The 1967 standard of the world”
“The name Fleetwood has, for years, earned the total respect and admiration of the luxury car world”.
The toppermost leviathan in the GM portfolio for this year was the Fleetwood Seventy-Five sedan, and the limousine version thereof. This Nimitz sized vessel shared many of the facilities of the already impressive Fleetwood Brougham:
“…power operated vent widows front and rear, automatic level control and many other convenience features are provided as standard equipment”
But what we really came to see in ’67 was the:
“Eldorado…. dramatic blend of the best of two motoring worlds.”
In fact, I’m just going to type out the whole passage verbatim.
“This brilliant new Cadillac combines the spirit and action of a true performance car with the comfort and five-passenger spaciousness of a true luxury car. It represents a whole new luxury car concept- yet its Cadillac identity is dramatically evident in a grille of striking simplicity and in its overall look of dignity and distinction”.
Pause for breath, sip of coffee, keep typing.
“Eldorado seems poised and ready to go, with its long spectacular hood, its daring roof lines and its sweeping rear deck styling. Eldorado is the first motor car in the world to combine the precision of front-wheel drive with the manoeuvrability of variable ratio power steering and the balance of automatic level control. Eldorado interiors are especially luxurious. Unobstructed floors permit unusual room for all passengers; a unique ventilation system provides a draft-free flow of air throughout the car; and its quietness and smoothness assure a wonderful measure of Cadillac motoring pleasure. The Fleetwood Eldorado… the one car that must be seen to believed, driven to be appreciated and owned to be fully enjoyed.“
It’s still a very cool car. I mean, there was Dalmation Cloth (so Cruella might want to upgrade from her DeVille…), there was a Strato Bench seat (B52’s and B47s were still hellacool), and there were those retractable headlamp covers. Like on Muscle Cars. Yeah, this was a muscle car wearing full dress regalia. A cloak, perhaps. Good grief this is a cool car.
Anyway, we must go on towards those Cadillacs that less monetarily gifted members of society could aim for, those who’s belts were that tight that the Champagne Man would leave only TWO magnums of MOET on a Wednesday. Tough times. As it happens:
“The Cadillac DeVille series for 1967 has a spirit unique among luxury cars.”
And, they were, of course:
“…powered, as are all Cadillacs for 1967, by a highly refined and improved 340-hp V8 engine”.
“great new beauty and graciousness will make it even more a favourite of Cadillac enthusiasts”
“Graciousness“? Is that even a word? I don’t think even Rolls-Royce would have used that word at any point after the Edwardian era. Yet here it seems strangely appropriate.
“It’s quiet dignity and its alert action are constant reminders that you are in possession of a truly remarkable type of motoring that only the Cadillac owner can really enjoy.”
And then we have the Calais, priced so that the absolute scum of the earth, vagrants and transients could afford them. You know, the kind of folk who I aspire to be:
“priced favourably with many cars of lesser stature”
Cadillac had the following modest prose to spurt about the Calais series.
“..(they) represent a remarkable investment in Cadillac craftsmanship, engineering leadership, luxury and safety. These majestic motor cars are beautiful examples of why Cadillac owners are the most loyal in the world.”
So there we are. Essentially, what Cadillac seemed to be saying was that none of us filthy, disgusting low-life ratbags would have been seen as fit to take possession of one of their gilt-edged dreamboats. Seriously, a Cadillac would be so far out of my league I may have well looked at space rockets and submarines instead.
“You’ll surely agree that the Standard of the World has never before been so surprisingly new, or so superbly Cadillac”
Is Cadillac today as “superbly Cadillac” as it was in 1967?
(Disclaimer: All images are of manufacturers original publicity materials, photographed by me. Copyright of the original material belongs to GM, who build a range of fine cars to suit all budgets. Even Cadillacs can be had on agreeable finance plans these days. Scumbags of the world rejoice)
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