Cadillac

Serving as a three-row crossover with an all-electriq, er, electric powertrain, the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq seeks to deliver 615 horsepower and up to 300 miles in range on a single charge of it 102-kWh battery.

As we learned in our previous installment, 1965 saw a revamp in Cadillac’s lineup: The “Series” naming scheme that began in the Thirties ended as Calais became the entry-level model, all models (excepting Seventy-Five) received stacked quad headlamps for a new visage, and the Eldorado was elevated to Fleetwood Eldorado status. Cadillac also made some engineering changes, in hopes to quiet some pesky customers and lawyers who kept bringing up safety.

GM has announced it will end production of the Cadillac XT4 early next year in a shift towards EVs, namely the next-gen Chevy Bolt, at its Fairfax plant in Kansas.

Cadillac implemented a shakeup for the 1965 model year in its lineup, styling, and approach to the market in general. The two-year modernization effort of the sixth-generation Eldorado was immediately cast aside as Cadillac surged forward into modernity with a new stylish prow, new model names, and further shrinkage of the iconic tailfin.

Cadillac’s V brand has given us some of the most exciting General Motors vehicles in decades, and it’s not slowing down as the automaker heads into the electric age. Cadillac recently announced the 2026 Lyriq-V, a hotted-up version of its Ultium-based electric crossover.

Today we wrap up coverage of the sixth generation Eldorado. Last time, we saw the 1964 edition of the sixth-gen revised inside and out. Subtle editing everywhere added up to a more modern looking vehicle, particularly where the interior was concerned. Time marched forward underneath the Eldorado as well, and there were some mechanical improvements for its second year as Cadillac continued its stellar sales.

This isn't the first XLR we've featured here, but we haven't featured many. This particular 2004 Cadillac XLR comes in a lovely shade of blue.

In our last Eldorado episode, we reviewed the interior changes made to Cadillac’s flagship convertible as it was refreshed for 1963. In its move upmarket, the Eldorado joined the Fleetwood assembly line with the Sixty Special and Seventy-Five. It received wood trim for the first time in 1963, alongside a modernized and more cockpit-style dashboard. Outside, it adopted the subtle de-chromed look present on other contemporary Fleetwood models. In 1964 for the sixth generation’s second and final year, Eldorado was refreshed yet again.

In our last Eldorado installment, a reworked and Fleetwood-bodied 1963 Eldorado’s exterior styling was a bit of a surprise. It stepped away from the dowdy and Chevrolet adjacent styling it carried in 1961 and 1962 and became more slab-sided and refined looking. And even though it was not an entirely new car (as claimed by GM), the styling revisions were enough to set the sixth generation car apart from its predecessor. This week we open the long, heavy doors and see what interior updates were made for ‘63.

Today the UCOTD is a 2014 Cadillac ELR. I don't think we've had one of these before.

We return to Eldorado coverage with the “all-new” claim applied to the Eldorado of 1963. It was misleading, as the luxury convertible embarked on a new generation while the rest of the lineup was considered a refresh. The Cadillac marketing people justified their grandiose claims because in addition to a visual rework, the Eldorado changed its manufacturing location. It moved upmarket (shedding the two-year DeVille association) and joined the exclusive Fleetwood assembly line with the Sixty Special and Seventy-Five models. And part of its new upper-crust lifestyle meant a reduction in chrome trappings in addition to its refreshed corporate appearance.

As we covered in our last installment, the Cadillac Eldorado was “all-new” for 1963 as GM repositioned its flailing flagship convertible. While the rest of the lineup existed as a refresh of the 1961-1962 generation, Eldorado was set apart. Not that it looked different to the rest of the model range, as it received the same visual updates. Eldorado was considered new, special, because of its change in construction: It ascended the ranks in 1963 to the Fleetwood assembly line. And there were a few new details under the skin to draw in the consumer.

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.

Let's say you traveled back in time to 1987 with enough money to buy a brand-new Mercedes-Benz 420 SEL, which was $54,440 (about $153,989 in 2024 dollars). But wait! The General would sell you a sleek new Pininfarina-styled roadster built in both Turin and Hamtramck, for just $54,700. What do you do?

In our last Eldorado installment, we reviewed the styling revisions that arrived for the fifth generation Eldorado’s second and final year in 1962. Styling was smoothed, fins were made less aggressive, and the look headed toward a more familial and generalized GM appearance as distinguishing Eldorado details went by the wayside. As it turned out, this less-for-more approach did not work particularly well with regard to the appeal of the top-tier Eldorado Biarritz.

Cadillac debuted its first EV, the Lyriq, for 2023, and its second model is due to hit the streets for 2025. The Optiq will be here soon, and the automaker recently released pricing for the new model.

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.

When the 1961 Cadillac Eldorado debuted in its newly diminished state, it wore the company’s more restrained and less finned new styling, and fewer exterior indicators of its special top-of-the-line nature than any previous Eldorado. In our last installment we reviewed the ‘61’s exterior styling, and noted there were only a couple of indicators (badges) that a customer sprung for the Eldorado Biarritz over a standard Sixty-Two. Today we’ll swing open a huge door and see how the Biarritz interior was modernized for the model’s fifth generation. 

General Motors is recalling 21,469 electric SUVs in the U.S. due to concerns about the unexpected activation of the anti-lock brake system, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Tuesday.

Among the myriad of alterations made to the Cadillac lineup for 1961 was a change in approach for the Eldorado. As we learned in our last installment, poor sales successively after 1958 led to a de-emphasized Eldorado model in 1961. GM realized no amount of largesse, pink paint, or fins could save its sales figures. And so for 1961 the model was relegated to a part of the much more popular DeVille line of cars, and was available only in convertible Biarritz format. The model’s toned down 1961 looks were accompanied by modest engineering changes.

Not that long ago, and definitely in this author's lifetime, who’da thunk Cadillac would be one of the last vanguards of devastatingly powerful sports sedans which can also handle a corner? Enter the Precision Package for the 2025 CT5-V Blackwing, described as chassis fettling designed for felling lap records.

When I asked you guys how'd you fix Cadillac, a couple of themes emerged.

Cadillacs used to produce dramatic, over-the-top luxury vehicles with traffic-stopping style, but the automaker’s designs have become far more mundane in recent times. Even so, the recent Sollei Concept shows that Cadillac still has some tricks up its sleeve, as the open-top car is one of the most stunning cars to wear the iconic badge in decades.

After a delayed and limited roll-out of the new Northstar engine (in two power configurations) for the 1993 and 1994 model year, Cadillac enjoyed a wave of positive press. With an entirely new product portfolio in place by 1994, the Northstar-filled (except Fleetwood Brougham) Cadillac lineup was ready to roll through the remainder of the Nineties. Cadillac immediately set about tweaking their V8 for 1995, and it was around that time some issues began to poke holes in the Northstar’s trophy collection.

Cadillac has updated the Escalade for the 2025 model year and the end result is a vehicle that has tilted to embrace the design of its battery electric siblings. While the Escalade has retained most of its combustion engine options, its styling now resembles what we’ve seen from the forthcoming IQ variant — including an interior touchscreen that spans the entire dashboard.

After an extensive five-plus year development period fraught with engineering adversity, unfortunate focus group decisions, and delays via magnesium material mishaps, the Northstar V8 was ready for production. Paired with it were new associated systems and technology which the marketing team at GM trademarked as the Northstar System. Prior to the Northstar’s debut in the model year 1993 Allanté, it was time for a big marketing push. The Northstar System was all-encompassing!

Here at TTAC, we ask you a question of the day just about every day. Sometimes, we go back and look up the answers you provided.

In our last installment of the Cadillac Northstar story, we reviewed the engineering decisions made early in the engine’s development. From the sensible choice of 4.5 liters of displacement (4.6 in production) to the hubris of consumer focus groups filled with aging current owners, the project rolled forward but faced many engineering challenges. The development was daunting as Cadillac’s first dual overhead cam V8 engine after decades of overhead valve power plants. The difficulty of pairing a cast aluminum block to iron cylinder liners was complete, but engineers opened up a new can of worms with the induction system.

We return to Abandoned History’s coverage of the Cadillac Northstar engine this week, at a pivotal moment in the engine’s development. Stiff competition from luxury cars of domestic, European, and Japanese origin put big pressure on Cadillac. The era of the dual overhead cam engine was on the horizon, and it looked as though Cadillac was about to be left in the dust with its High Technology 4.5-liter. After hemming and hawing about an update to the 4.5 rather than the development of a new engine, GM brass decided a new power plant was in fact necessary. However, aside from the necessity of DOHC technology, the rest of the engine was just a word cloud of ideas that needed to be nailed down quickly.

Back in 2022 Abandoned History covered the development and usage of Cadillac’s all-star engine for the Eighties, the High Technology V8. As the 4.1-liter pile showed promptly that it was terrible, General Motors massaged, improved, and enlarged it into the HT4500 and finally the (not HT) 4.9-liter. But by the time the 4.9 arrived, the engine was already at the end of its service life. The General had an all-new, much better V8 that would trounce the 4.9 and bring Cadillac back into the luxury fray: Northstar.

We concluded our coverage of the fourth-generation Eldorado last week, as the 1959 to 1960 run resulted in very mediocre sales. The Eldorado Seville and Biarritz sold poorly compared to the rest of the Cadillac line, and the Eldorado Brougham was the slowest selling model the brand had on offer. While low sales of the Brougham were more understandable given its huge asking price, the regular Eldorados seemed to have lost their mid-Fifties appeal. Cadillac needed to take action and rework its lineup, particularly where Eldorado was concerned.

We close out the fourth generation Cadillac Eldorado and second (and final) Eldorado Brougham sedan with a discussion on sales figures and pricing. The figures set the stage for a time of decline in the Eldorado’s fortunes, while the pricing (particularly of the Brougham) meant General Motors would never attempt a halo Eldorado ever again. Adding insult to injury, it was the last time Eldorado was an independent model for some time.

General Motors’ luxury arm has just previewed the Cadillac Optic — which looks to be offering a tad more utility than the brand’s larger Lyriq EV. While it debuted in Paris, the model is to become a global model and suit the taste of luxury-minded consumers the world over.

In our last Eldorado episode, we reviewed the interior changes made to the high-line Eldorado Brougham in its new-for-1959 guise. In the transition to more uniform product alignment with its Biarritz and Seville siblings, the Brougham lost almost all unique interior features. Its more formal pillarless hardtop roofline and smaller wings (a preview of 1960 Cadillacs) and a couple pieces of interior trim were what set the Brougham apart from other Cadillac sedans. However, the Brougham did have one new claim to fame: exotic Italian construction!

In last week’s Eldorado installment, we reviewed the interior updates made to the Eldorado Seville and Biarritz. Their revised interiors added additional chrome, modernized gauges, and ditched the wrap-around look of the 1958 model. Across the showroom (probably behind velvet ropes) was the 1959 Eldorado Biarritz with its new interior. But were the changes made to the halo sedan a good thing?

In 1959, Bill Mitchell was newly in charge of Cadillac’s design department. Keen to shrug off his predecessor’s gaudy choices, Mitchell made sweeping exterior changes for a single all-out year full of sweeping body lines and excessive fins. Alongside the exterior design changes on the new Eldorado Seville, Biarritz, and four-door Eldorado Brougham of 1959 were interior advancements and upgrades.

Today has become, completely unplanned, Cadillac day around here. Sometimes one story about a brand begets another one or two. That's been the case this afternoon.

Cadillac once said it would be all-electric by 2030, but like other automakers, it has appeared to soften that commitment.

Nearly all of the top automakers selling vehicles in the U.S. have announced aggressive electrification plans that include shifting a majority of their production and sales efforts to EVs over the next decade. Such long-term plans are difficult on their own, but adding Americans’ polarized politics and unique driving culture to the mix has proven exceptionally challenging, even for companies with deep pockets and the most talented engineers. General Motors recently softened its stance, opting to produce more hybrids to fill the EV demand gap, and Cadillac now seems to be following its parent company’s lead.

Last week we reviewed the dramatic and super finned exterior design of the 1959 Eldorado, in its two-door Seville hardtop coupe format. While its less popular convertible sibling Biarritz received matching styling in all ways except its roof, there was exclusive and different styling reserved for the third type of Eldorado: the four-door Brougham. Assembled by hand in Italy at Pininfarina, the large sedan was very rare, a last-of-type, and was a sneak peek of future Cadillacs.

It was time for a new styling theme at Cadillac in 1959, when lead designer Harley Earl reached mandatory retirement age. Bill Mitchell, longtime right hand man and team succeeded Earl and implemented immediate styling changes. Some of those - like huge fins - were to compete with Chrysler and Imperial designs, but others were an effort at streamlining and modernization; moving away from post-War looks. Today we’ll take a look at the changes underneath these grandiose and (often) pink metallic bodies.

We’re back with more Cadillac Eldorado today, in our final entry on the third generation models. We spent our last installment reviewing the special and sometimes troublesome engineering that was standard on the Brougham. Since then, I discovered this April 1957 edition of The Cadillac Serviceman, GM’s in-house magazine publication for its dealer service centers. Twelve clearly scanned pages of technical and service detail await you! After reading, return here and learn about the changes made to the Eldorado line in 1958.

We’re back with more Cadillac Eldorado coverage this week. In our last installment (over a month ago) we reviewed the interior accouterments of the Eldorado Brougham that were far beyond the standard Eldorado. Aside from its coach door hardtop body style, the other area where the Brougham went its own way was in engineering. And some of that engineering was of the experimental variety. What could go wrong?

It was easy to make fun of Dodge and the “fake” exhaust it chose to employ on the new Charger EV, but it’s no longer the only one trying to capture the thrill of a performance gas engine with a silent electric powertrain underneath. We’ve seen “exhaust” systems for the Mustang Mach-E that mimic a V8 sound, and now, Cadillac’s getting in the game with a new concept car. While we haven’t seen a complete picture of the new electric Opulent Velocity concept, the automaker’s short teaser film let us hear the car, which sounds somewhere between a spaceship and an eight-cylinder’s roar.

In our last installment of Rare Rides, we checked out the interior changes Cadillac’s engineers and designers made for the new and improved third generation Eldorado in 1957. And while the interior of the standard Eldorados that year was largely shared with the rest of the Cadillac lineup, there was an exception: Eldorado Brougham. Like we saw previously with the Brougham’s mix-and-match approach in use of old and new exterior styling cues, the interior went its own direction as well.

We spent our last installment reviewing the more modern exterior styling of the 1957 Eldorado Seville, and new-yet-dated looking Eldorado Brougham. Those two followed our coverage of the Eldorado Biarritz, which was unable to adopt Cadilac’s 1957 roof and pillars design because of its canvas roof. This week we step inside the Eldorado, and see how removed it was from the 1956 models.

Special editions! Who doesn't love big Detroit sleds with exclusive badging, say a numbers-matching Phoenix Open Cutlass Supreme or a genuine Frank Sinatra Imperial? Those special editions are even more exclusive when created by a dealership, and that's what we've got for today's Colorado Junkyard Find.

Last week in our Cadillac Eldorado saga, we covered the visual updates in the new-for-’57 Eldorado Biarritz. Part of a styling revision across the line at Cadillac that year, the Eldorado in particular drifted away from the bulbous fenders and tall hood shapes that were a hallmark of post-WWII American car design. But there were two more Eldorados in 1957! One of them looked more daring than the Biarritz, and the other looked almost like it was from the past.

As we learned in our previous installment, the third generation Eldorado debuted in 1957 with a daring new X-frame chassis design. Launched across the entire Cadillac lineup that year, the X-frame would become controversial in short order due to safety concerns in side-impact crashes. Up top, Cadillac decided to make less controversial styling changes on the 1957 Eldorados. Designers advanced a styling theme that would reach its fin-happy and chrome bedazzled crescendo a couple of years later.

Cadillac will soon be an electric automaker, but before it’s got some tricks left before it makes the leap completely. The company recently revealed the 2025 CT5-V and CT5-V Blackwing with refreshed exterior styling, an updated interior and new features.

As we learned in our last installment, the Cadillac lineup was revised visually for 1957, and would be revised again in 1958 once quad headlamps became legal. Fins grew, hoods smoothed, roofs leaned backward, and there were more Eldorado variants than ever before. But styling and lineup changes weren’t the only new features in 1957: Cadillac was also eager to tout its Standard of the World engineering, safety, and engine advancements!

The second generation Cadillac Eldorado was met with immediate sales success after its repositioning from a halo vehicle to a more affordable upmarket trim package in 1954. Expanding upon the success in its third and final model year, the second-gen Eldorado sprouted a new body style (a hardtop coupe) called Seville in addition to the mainstay convertible sibling christened Biarritz. In 1958 it was time for all-new Eldorado(s), in a moment that would see the nameplate expand into a small lineup in two very distinct price brackets. Time for model range detail!

The product people at Cadillac made a crucial decision early in the Fifties with regard to the positioning of the second generation Eldorado: It would be less expensive, and less special. The unique content of the exclusive limited-run 1953 Eldorado meant it had a stratospheric price that put it out of reach for the vast majority of consumers. The subsequent 1954 Eldorado appeared with a more reasonable price, and was a fancy trim package atop the new Series 62 convertible. Sales skyrocketed, and the trajectory for the remainder of the second generation was set!

The onslaught of all-electric vehicles into the Cadillac lineup continues unabated with the introduction of this, the three-row Vistiq.

When it debuted in its second generation guise for the 1954 model year, the Cadillac Eldorado changed its approach from low-production halo car to expensive trim package. The new take and lower price resonated with consumers and sales jumped immediately. Boldened, in 1955 a refreshed Eldorado appeared with a new rear end treatment that featured large fins not found on other Cadillac models. Upon the Eldorado’s return to (partially) unique styling, sales nearly doubled. Cadillac wanted more, and so for its final second generation outing in 1956 Eldorado was expanded into a new body style and two luxurious new trim names. 

We return to our Rare Rides Eldorado coverage this week, after a thorough review of the exterior and interior of the new-for-’54 Eldorado. The new model was meant to continue the excitement of the limited-run, very expensive 1953 Eldorado at a price that was notably more affordable to the American luxury car buyer. A more cynical take on a halo convertible, the 1954 went without any unique styling and instead focused on trim and badges to differentiate it from the garden variety Series 62 convertible upon which it was based. Normally this is the point where we’d talk about trims, but there weren’t any at the second Eldorado’s debut. It was not until after the model became a sales success that Cadillac debuted more variants.

Thanks to GM’s investments in electrification, Cadillac is accelerating its EV development and has confirmed another new gas-free model coming in 2025. The Optiq will enter the automaker’s lineup as a compact electric SUV, slotting in beneath the Lyriq and flagship Escalade IQ.