Rare Rides Icons: The Cadillac Eldorado, Distinctly Luxurious (Part LXV)

The sleek and svelte tenth generation Cadillac Eldorado debuted in 1979 with a whole new exterior appearance, which we reviewed in our previous entry. As it happened, the illustrious coupe would end up one of the last nicely styled vehicles to come from GM for quite some time. Before we explore the Eldorado’s interior, we take a quick diversion to GM’s sudden change in design ethos. With new and very different leadership at the helm, it was the dawn of a new stylistic era.

The clean break in Eldorado styling coincided with a leadership change at the GM design office. The Bill Mitchell (1912-1988) era came to a close in 1977, when Mitchell retired after a 42-year career at General Motors. The last car to wear his design input was the bustleback Cadillac Seville of 1980. Mitchell was succeeded by Irv Rybicki (1921-2001), another lifelong GM employee. But the two men were very different in their work methodologies.

(Note: Here we compare a 1978 Eldorado Custom Biarritz Classic in cream/brown to a 1979 Eldorado Biarritz in red/white.)

In contrast to Mitchell’s outspoken personality and his commanding grip on GM’s design studio, Rybicki was easier to get along with and considered more of a team player. After GM’s board dealt with Mitchell from 1958 to 1977, they were keen to appoint a successor who would be more willing to play ball and listen to input from other executives across the company (specifically accountants). Executive VP Howard Kehrl wanted someone who would steer GM’s design staff to work with an eye to business considerations rather than stylistic ones. 

The Art and Color Section design methodology devised by Harley Earl back in 1935 came to a quick conclusion as GM Styling changed direction. Rybicki would oversee a cookie-cutter era of design at GM, which eventually accompanied the disastrous downsizing of most models in 1985. Today it’s known as the era where the difference between a Cadillac and a Buick often amounted to some badges and trim, and a less reliable engine (for the Cadillac). 

The 1979 Eldorado and its good looks managed to slip through the net just prior to GM’s styling decline. It was designed by Wayne Cady (c. 1940-, ret. 1999 ), who started at GM in 1961 and worked at Cadillac and Buick throughout his career. He was Studio Chief at Cadillac from 1974 through 1988. His design sketches were often fanciful, with their cues finding their way into production Cadillac and Buick models. He liked to present concept art as wonderful watercolor scenes. 

Kady also designed the Eldorado’s interior, which was almost equal in its leap forward in modernity to the exterior. The dashboard as a whole was more upright and taller vertically, and now wore a hood over its entire width. The 1979 also presented a dash closer to the occupants, which did not curve toward the front of the car as previously. Cadillac would keep this basic dash style into the 1990s.

The steering wheel, while still a two-spoke design, wore downward angled spokes as it had in past Cadillacs. The horn pad gained a defined ridge in the center, with some chrome trim outlining the spokes. Gone was the wood tone from the wheel, though it would return later on other models. As in the past, the wheel was color matched to the dash and carpets, but often contrasted with the color of the seats.

Behind the wheel lay an instrument cluster that was very different to past Eldorados. The upper strip of warning lights was removed, in favor of two electronic panels below the speedometer marked “INFORMATION CENTER.” The speedometer itself was little changed, wearing the same 85 mile-per-hour end point as previously, with fewer markings between the 5-mph speed intervals.

Simple gauges for fuel and coolant temperature were still near the speedometer, but now beside it rather than beneath. Twilight sentinel and wipers were to the left of the wheel, as was the cruise control switch. For the first time the climate controls were placed in the middle of the dash, and could be reached by the front passenger. Below them were the stereo controls and rear defrost, and above the climate was a new digital electronic clock.

Vents across the dash were still the same design as prior years, surrounded by chrome. However, their orientation flipped to vertical instead of horizontal. Also vertical was the glove box, which was placed prominently in front of the passenger instead of its previous location tucked below the dash. The dash no longer read Biarritz as it did previously for those who selected the top trim. 

Notably, the ‘79 Eldorado had much more wood on its interior than the ‘78, though with its burled look was more artificial in appearance. The wood extended onto the door panels, which were simplified over the prior generation’s design. The old door wore two different large panels of wood, and had wood on the interior door pull as well. 

In 1979, the timber was reduced to one piece that ran in a slim line underneath the top of the door panel. Two more wood rectangles were added at either side of the interior door pull. If you look closely, the door panel and pull has a fluted appearance, so the two wood pieces at the pull are different sizes. Strange. 

Door switches, ashtrays, and handles were all carryover designs from the prior generation, with only minor visual edits (like a flatter ashtray lid). Also carried over was the overall seat design from 1978. Heavily button tufted cushions sat “over top” of the seat bottom, to resemble fine furniture. A notable difference in ‘79 was the greater number of buttons on the seat and seatback, with each one notably smaller than previous.

Seating surfaces were still ruched but slightly less than in 1978, a trend which would wax and wane throughout the Eighties. The narrower dimensions of the new Eldorado meant front occupants shared a single arm rest rather than two. Rear seat occupants shared one armrest as well.

Said rear seat passengers fared much better than the prior Eldorado. Legroom was notably improved, and seatbacks were taller because of the notchback roofline. Additionally, the larger rear side window meant it was easier to see outside. One drawback was the individual seating cushion design for the outboard passengers, which meant the central rear passenger sat with one cheek on either seat, and a chasm in the middle.

Though effectively turned into a five-seat coupe, the Eldorado was more spacious and modern in its interior than ever before. As expected, Cadillac set about reworking the Eldorado annually thereafter. However, the edits reflected a difference in approach from all prior generations: The tweaks were under the skin, and no exterior visual changes occurred. 

Just like the big block V8, “new every year” styling changes went by the wayside at the end of the Seventies. As mentioned earlier, the new and more economically-minded GM Styling department was there to help save bucks. Fiddling with exterior looks every year was not in line with that methodology. Until next time.

[Images: seller, seller, seller]

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