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

In 1961 Cadillac lowered the status of the Eldorado for its fifth generation, after the fourth-gen received lackluster sales. Eldorado transitioned from a pair of body styles (coupe and convertible) sitting atop the company’s standard car range to a weird cousin within the DeVille line, offered only as the convertible Biarritz. Customers saw little to no reason to spend 16 percent more for an Eldorado Biarritz than they would for the nearly identical Sixty-Two convertible, and sales remained poor at 1,450 per year in 1961 and 1962. Eldorado needed a change, a clean break.

The rest of the Cadillac lineup needed some reworking as well, though not to the same extent as the flailing Eldorado. After the excessive looking 1959 and 1960 model years, Cadillac’s image was distilled for 1961. The same basic model lineup existed as previous, though more emphasis was put on the successful money making trim exercise that was the DeVille lineup.

It could be argued the 1961 and 1962 Cadillacs were a bit too distilled, too plain. Grilles looked little different to Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, or Pontiac counterparts. The main differentiator at Cadillac these years was a slightly more upscale looking grille (with or without Cadillac script badge) and the tail fins for which the brand had become famous in the Fifties. 

That isn’t to say Cadillac of the early Sixties experienced any sales issues, it didn’t. The most popular luxury car brand in the nation by far, Cadillac outsold all competition handily. Cadillac’s 1962 sales figure of 160,840 trounced the likes of Lincoln (31,061) and Imperial (14,337). Packard was already dead, and European imports were a blip on the radar. To keep the juggernaut going, 1963 brought in styling modernizations that would mark the final appearance of the separate and distinct tail fin. 

Grilles grew larger and more Cadillac-like for 1963, regardless of model. Headlamps moved further upward on the body, and a concerted effort was made to make designs look more slabsided. The curved A-pillar of the fifties was on its last legs, much like the aforementioned distinct tail fin application. Longer, lower, and wider enhanced their influence at GM in 1963. The Rocket Age faded from view, replaced with the jet airliner as aeronautical design inspiration.

Cadillac’s overall design theme became bolder and more distinguished in 1963, as the brand separated itself from GM’s more plebeian offerings. For 1963 the Cadillac DeVille sedan and the Oldsmobile 98 had decidedly different front ends. A nice nod to the visual disparity a grille, bumpers, and headlamp placement can provide.

The series Sixty-Two continued in its seventh generation guise for 1963, sans the unsuccessful shortened Town Sedan experiment. Both four- and six-window designs were available. Body styles also included a two-door hardtop, and the successful two-door convertible. Notably, the convertible was advertised simply “Cadillac Convertible,” and did not mention its Sixty-Two lineage.

In 1963 overall length increased from 222 inches to 223 inches on all Sixty-Two models. Width decreased slightly to 79.7” from 79.9” the prior year, down to more upright body panels. Ride height increased from 56.3” to 56.6” in the styling revision.

DeVille’s second generation continued with the same dimensional changes as the Sixty-Two. Standing alone was the DeVille Park Avenue four-window sedan, in its second and final year in 1963. The shortened model was the only “short deck” option at Cadillac that year, at 215 inches long over the standard length of 223 inches. This was the final year where the DeVille line would lack a convertible to match the Sixty-Two: Product differentiation between Sixty-Two and Eldorado was already too thin, as sales showed. 

The Sixty Special returned in its single six-window sedan format in 1963, and wore new metal. Though its wheelbase was unchanged, overall length increased from 222 to 223 inches like the lesser brand offerings. Width shrank to 79.7”, and height increased from 56.3” to 56.6” as well. 

However, Sixty Special veered into more demure territory this year. Body side trim disappeared, and small C-pillar details remained to indicate the model’s high status. At the rear of the tall fender was a new wreath and crest, a detail shared only with Eldorado. More on that in a moment. 

Seventy-Five Sedan and Limousine received the most notable visual changes of the line in 1963, as overall length increased 1.1 inches to a total of 243.3”. Like other models, fenders pushed forward over 4.6 inches further than the prior year, while the fins at the rear were trimmed and lowered. Overall width decreased from 80.6 inches to 79.9 inches. Height remained a tall 59 inches throughout the run, given the formal roofline which was not subject to any edits.

The big story in ‘63 was Eldorado. Freed from the constraints of DeVille in body, mind, and soul, the Biarritz considered itself in a new generation in 1963. It was no longer assembled with the Sixty-Two and DeVille, but instead moved to the Fleetwood line with the Sixty Special and Series 75. 

The 1963 Biarritz was the first Fleetwood bodied convertible since the V16 Series 90 ended production at the start of WWII in 1941. Like the Sixty Special, Eldorado went without body detailing and chrome. It was decorated only with chrome Fleetwood block lettering on the fender, and the wreath and crest which tied it to the Sixty Special. 

Cadillac hoped this “new generation” car on the Fleetwood body would revitalize the value proposition of the Eldorado, and mean something to the Cadillac convertible intender. There were also some engineering changes under the skin at Cadillac in 1963. We’ll get into those next time.

[Images: GM, dealer]

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