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

As we’ve learned over the past couple of weeks, the fifth generation Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz really struggled to justify its high price tag. With Chevrolet-adjacent exterior styling and an interior that lacked any upmarket badging whatsoever, the Eldorado had become a shadow of its former glamorous self. Cadillac made some changes to its halo convertible for 1962, the second and final outing of the fifth generation design. To summarize the updates succinctly: Designers removed even more details.

(Note, the powder blue Eldorado is a 1961, while the blue-green and gray-blue examples are from 1962.)

Customers who were fans of the traditionally bold Cadillac prow were not on Cadillac’s mind when the 1962 Eldorado was designed. A revised visage came to a much softer point than before, with a hood line that was rounded and less distinct. The eggcrate grille seen on Cadillacs for so many years was revised and minimized into a more generic, tighter design. The grille could’ve fit onto any GM or Ford product, and didn’t read Cadillac at all.

And that was ironic, since 1963 was a year the Eldorado physically read Cadillac in its grille: A new script badge appeared in the lower right corner in 1962. Headlamps were unchanged from 1962, but lighting fixtures resided above a bumper that was smoothed and softened. The formerly angular bumper was more of a plain horizontal affair in 1962.

Driving lamps were edited for 1962 from their round shape, and became rectangular. It was a styling trick the brand used in previous years, alternating round and square designs for a cheap update. More cost cutting occurred at the front fender, where Biarritz script went missing for 1962. There was no longer a way to tell the difference between the Sixty-Two and Eldorado from a side view. 

Further down the side profile, rear fenders and fins were revised for 1962. The fenders grew two new character lines aft of the door, which worked to square off the fender’s side profile. The sculpting of the fenders was taller and more square than in 1961. Above it all were reduced fins, which were slightly shorter in height and came to a less aggressive point. The same brake lamps were used as in 1961, but they took up almost all of the vertical space on the fin in 1962.

The most notable design changes for 1962’s Eldorado were at the very rear. The trunk lid wore a new raised edge at the rear, which meant there was space for ELDORADO block lettering to migrate northward. The new ridge made the rear deck look a bit shorter than in 1961. Lamp elements below the fins were modernized into upright rectangles instead of ovoid pods. 

The rectangles were encased in squared off chrome that mimicked the more upright shape of the fenders in 1962. A new grille detail spanned between the rear lamps, and was visually similar to the front grille. It made for a sort of Pontiac-Olds like appearance at the rear, and poor trim fitment meant the rear fuel door was very obvious. 

There were no changes to the rear bumper for 1962, as sharp fins still continued to stick out at either side. The Eldorado script on the trunk lid was the only remaining hint the automobile in front of a viewer was the most expensive convertible Cadillac offered. The interior remained unchanged for the fifth-gen’s refresh year, though there were a couple of new standard features on offer.

Said feature upgrades likely went unnoticed by the customer, as they were options that nearly every Eldorado owner or dealer already ordered for every example. A remote control for the passenger side rear view mirror was newly standard in 1962. Elsewhere on the interior, the heater and defroster were standard. It’s difficult to imagine such things as options on a luxury vehicle in 1961.

Front cornering lamps were also standard for 1962, though finding a ‘61 without them would be a tall order. Engineers at Cadillac also did some revision on Eldorado for 1962, and promised a quieter interior and a better ride. The sound reduction was accomplished via additional sound insulation in the floor and at the firewall.

With streamlined styling that stepped away from extremes in 1961, Cadillac’s sales figures saw a decline. In 1961 the company sold 138,379 cars, about 4,000 less than it shifted in 1960. The high-end models in particular from Cadillac had a difficult time against the newly restyled Lincoln Continental, by Elwood Engel. The Continental was available in four-door guise with a four-door convertible option, though a Continental coupe did not arrive until 1966.

Cadillac fared better in 1962, even though its designs looked more like a Chevrolet or Pontiac that year. Sales increased nearly 22,000 units to a total of 160,840. But in both years, respectable sales figures did not flow through to bless the expensive Eldorado. In our next installment we’ll cover Cadillac’s sales and pricing for the 1961 and ‘62 model years, and close out the Eldorado generation that had an emergency refresh for 1963.

[Images: dealer, dealer, BaT]

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