It was a gutless wonder, but…

...many do, but I have a love/hate relationship with these.   

Yes, yes... I know GM-Cadillac had to start downsizing in the mid-to-late '70's, and Eldorados were the last hold outs, but, but.....  IMO, these "modern versions"  always had a "chopped-hurried-plastic-kee"  look to them, those space-saving "thin"  seats never impressed me - and don't get me started on that "dash wall." 

For me, the last "true"  Cadillac Eldorados will ALWAYS be the 1976 models; the last year for big convertibles.

@chris Sure see what you mean by that 'Dash Wall'. Holy mackerel!!

Still; I see B OTH of these cars as lovely!

Chris, I'm with you 100%. A neighbor had one and the engine lasted 24,000 miles but had a low end knock from new. This series of Cadillacs were big contributors to their fall from grace as a premier builder of quality cars.

@chris It actually made me sad to see how this once iconic car had fallen from grace so badly.  The focal point for me is the stupid plastic inserts place between the bumpers and the body....just horrible looking, but typical malaise era.

I too love the styling of the red Caddy you posted Terry but they were fraught with mechanical issues.  My late brother in law had a beautiful metallic blue one of these.  You could always hear him arriving due to the flexing of those "wire" hubcaps.  Fortunately for him he was a mechanic who had a successful service station, so it helped....Lol.

Posted by: @jack-dodds

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"...those stupid plastic inserts place between the bumpers and the body..."

Correct, no one likes those.  Cadillac thought they were being clever by over designing crash-regulation-standards  filler pieces that would truly save precious (metal ) body panels.  But of course the problem was that those "fillers"  warped & cracked.   Worse still, aftermarket replacement pieces are inferior - they fit poorly and also warp & crack.  😫 😫 

Here in the Netherlands we have many older cars that may be seriously underpowered, but hey, one can have serious fun with cars like that.

How about the 2CV, the original Mini and the Volkswagen Beetle ?

All pretty underpowered, but a fun way to drive these !!!!  

Personally the only Eldos that I like are the '67 - '68. I can't think of a more beautifully styled automobile than the '66 Riviera & Toronado and then their '67 models.

Steve

I never liked the 71-76 Eldorados.  I thought they were totally fugly.

I never liked any of the Eldos after the '70 model year.