Tag Archives: Cadillac

1930 Cadillac Series 353 Cabriolet at the Elegance at Hershey 2014

June 24, 2014 Albert S. Davis 2 Comments

Anyone who has read up on their European history over time has probably heard of the Rothschild family. They’re known today as being much more low-profile than most would expect for being as wealthy as they are (the family is supposedly worth 500 billion dollars), but their control over the world’s wealth is known as a staggering truth. However, I’m not here today to talk about the entire family’s history. I just want to talk about this absolutely stunning car. This is a Cadillac–but it’s not just any old pre-war Cadillac. This particular French-market Cadillac 353 Cabriolet was owned by Baron Edmund James de Rothschild for a number of years. This custom-bodied behemoth is a four-door cabriolet with a full-folding roof, in separate sections for the chauffeur or the passengers. These versions are known as closed car (both sections closed), sedanca de villa (front section open), or an open tourer (all sections open).

Cadillac sold 14,995 cars in 1930, but less than one percent of them were bodied by custom coach builders (less than 150). This car is an aluminum-bodied, long-wheelbase, three position double cabriolet, a truly unique body style. The bodywork was performed by Georges Kellner et Filis and is the only known Cadillac he penned. Unfortunately, the Baron passed away just four years after the car was ordered, and it was kept thereafter at one of the chateaus owned by the family and used just for special occasions. In 1969, a noted collector named James C. Leake purchased it and had it restored ten years later. The current owner, the Richard Driehaus Collection, has not changed the car since acquiring it in 1998. Despite being an older restoration, this Series 353 looks absolutely stunning on the field at Hershey and I would be overjoyed to see it again soon, whether that be this year or in the future. Enjoy the photos of this legendary automobile. Continue reading 1930 Cadillac Series 353 Cabriolet at the Elegance at Hershey 2014 →

Car Shows

Highlights from The Elegance at Hershey 2014

June 23, 2014 ndubs77 1 Comment

We made it out to The Elegance at Hershey 2014 in Hershey, PA where Hershey’s chocolate is made. It is a great event at a wonderful venue, the five star Hershey Hotel. With beautiful gardens and fountains supplementing all of the stunning cars, it is surely a great place for photos.

There were many rare cars this year, everything from a French-market Cadillac built for the Rothschild family to the best-in-show winning Duesenberg “Mormon Meteor” Speedster. Enjoy the highlight gallery of the event and check back for features on some specific cars.

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Cars We've Driven, Everyday Normal Cars, Exotic Supercars, Luxury Cars

Cadillac ELR Reviewed (6.5/10)

June 13, 2014 ndubs77 5 Comments

The Chevrolet Volt hasn’t sold well, despite its fantastic technological design. The reason Volt hasn’t sold is because it costs around $40,000 when a Toyota Prius costs around $25,000; who would’ve guessed, but most cost-conscious consumers would rather save their extra fifteen grand.

GM knows the Volt is in trouble, so they’ve decided to attack the problem from a different angle — if the Volt is too expensive, then why not make it into a Cadillac, called the ELR, which can command a higher price. On the surface that seems like a good idea: take an over-priced economy car, turn it into a luxury car, and add a couple grand to the price tag.

Here’s the problem, though. GM didn’t just add a couple grand to the Volt’s price tag, they went and doubled it. So now, a way over-priced economy car has become a way over-priced luxury coupe.

Knowing all of this, when given the opportunity to take an ELR for a spin, I decided to put my predispositions aside, and see what the car had to offer. Maybe, just maybe, GM could’ve sprinkled it with some sort of magical pixy dust that would make it worth the $80,000…

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Car Shows

Pre-War Cars at the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance

June 6, 2014 ndubs77 4 Comments

“They don’t make them like this anymore…”

That is a phrase I must have heard uttered over a dozen times during the weekend of the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance by people gazing at the magnificent pre-war automobiles on display. And they definitely don’t make cars like these anymore. In fact, most manufacturers of these majestic machines have long been defunct. The likes of Duesenberg, Packard, Minerva and Delage are all absent from the vocabulary of modern automobillia, and it’s a real shame because the cars they made were nicer (relatively) than even the top-of-the line Rolls Royce today.

In fact, as I’ve said before, Rolls Royce is really the only company from this era that still makes the same type of cars today as it did back then. Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz still exist, but have both moved their base of operation far down market. Yes, the pre-war era was a different time, when the automobile was a blank canvass for craftsmen to as they pleased. There was a lot of art-for-art-sake in these cars, and that’s something that is mostly absent from modern cars now that accountants and health and safety people run the show.

So the relative gray-scale of the cars we know today makes ogling over these pre-war gems an activity to be savored. I am really hoping for a renaissance of creativity in the auto industry, where the artistry will come back and add to all of the modern technology and design. The cookie-cutter designs of modern cars have gotten extremely old, and a design that aims to please anyone is also boring to everyone. So I’ve got my fingers crossed.

For now, though, just enjoy gazing at these incredible pre-war machines. The attention to detail, and the sheer craftsmanship is simply breathtaking to behold. Enjoy the cars!

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Car Shows

Classic American Muscle and Majesty at the Greenwich Concours

June 4, 2014 ndubs77 2 Comments

These are the American classics and muscle cars that stood out for us at last weekend’s Greenwich Concours d’Elegance.

The rumble of many V8 engines ran thickly through the air as the award ceremony began. First the rare Shelby GT350 R came to life, then the furious Roadrunner fired its 440 six pack, all as they prepared to parade in front of excited show-goers. Muscle cars sure have a mighty amount of presence, you can feel it in your bones.

After the Muscles were flexed, we were treated to some 50’s metal in lively colors. Everything from the cliché pink Cadillac to a turquoise Chevy Impala paraded through the show, and I felt a sudden urge for a burger and a nice big milkshake.

Enjoy the photos of all this classic iron!

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Auto Idolatry, Car Shows, Obscure Autos, SHOWCASE

1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance

May 22, 2014 Albert S. Davis Leave a comment

Cadillac was pretty bold back in the 1950s. They started the craze with tail fins in 1947 and didn’t eliminate them until 1964, years after the competition. They had the mainstream luxury car market in the palm of their hands, with only Lincoln as a volume competitor (Imperial was there but sold in far fewer numbers at the time). Even though the glory days were to fade in the future, they were still the “Standard of the World.”

They were also fully intent on capturing the ultra-luxury market in that decade by making an ultra-sumptuous sedan based off of the new Eldorado. The Eldorado Brougham was only produced until 1960 and was a genuinely expensive car when new–in fact, it cost over $13,000, more than twice the price of the Eldorado hardtop coupe and more than the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud at the time. It had a number of never-before-seen features at the time for a General Motors product. They came fully loaded, with superb paint, interior equipment like a full set of shot glasses, tissue and cigarette dispenser (try finding one of those on a Rolls-Royce today), perfume, air conditioning, memory seats (ahead of its time in 1957), a stainless-steel finished roof, a choice of 40-plus interior colors, and a twin-quad V8. These were all hand-built–General Motors, unsurprisingly, lost money on every single one sold.

Despite the fact that it’s a Cadillac, the high price, rarity, and over-the-top equipment standard reminds me of the recently-departed Maybach. Only 400 of these were built in 1957 and they are a very rare sight today. Seeing one is a thrill for a Fifties Cadillac nut like myself and I was not expecting to see one at a Concours, no less Amelia Island. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance →

Car Shows

1954 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible and 1955 Packard Four Hundred Hardtop at the Scarsdale Concours

March 4, 2014 Albert S. Davis 3 Comments

Most cars of the Fifties are celebrated after 1955 or so, with some exceptions. The 1954 Cadillacs, in my opinion, get a bit overlooked by the elegant 1953 models and the ostentatious, outrageous late Fifties cars, because they’re in that bridge year between the introductory Eldorado, and the Fab Fifties era. This black one happens to be a very straight and shined-up Series 62 convertible, and in its tuxedo over red combination, it looks great here on the Scarsdale street corner. Just a few feet away sat this breathtaking soft-yellow 1955 Packard Four Hundred hardtop–a car overlooked because of the famous Packard Caribbean. Well, I decided not to overlook either of the two, and now, nor will any of you. Enjoy the photos.
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Opinions

The ATS-V Is Coming, How Can Cadillac Screw It Up?

November 15, 2013 ndubs77 3 Comments

Cadillac ATS-V Rendering, Courtesy Of Motor Trend

We all know the Cadillac ATS-V is coming. The rumors have been swirling for some time now, and many people have taken it upon themselves to photoshop what they hope the car will look like (see above). But the issue for me now is, wondering if, and how, GM may go about screwing up this highly anticipated car.

This is not to say that I don’t have faith in GM’s ability to make great cars, they have a number of great cars out right now. However, there are still enough instances of idiotic, old-school GM rearing its head in our post-economic-crisis world to make me worry that they may find a way to drop the ball here. And if there are any cars that the bean counters need to not screw up even one tiny bit, the ATS-V is certainly among them.

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Opinions

The Cadillac ELR Proves That GM Hasn’t Quite Lost It’s Stupid

October 16, 2013 ndubs77 5 Comments

It’s like that quote from The Godfather, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me right back in!” GM has shown a lot of promise recently, Cadillac in particular with the new CTS and its turbocharged V6. Of course, in true GM fashion, such applaudable brilliance must be subsequently balanced out by some action of unfathomable idiocy. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the $76,000 Chevy Volt, which Cadillac refers to as the ELR.

Lets get this straight, the whole entire reason that the Chevy Volt hasn’t sold well is because it is too damn expensive. Like $40,000 in a world where its competition cost $25,000. So naturally GM’s brilliant marketing people had a meeting and said, “I know what will really sell well. Let’s make a Volt with a Cadillac body on it and make it double the price!”

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Car Shows

Rehoboth Beach Straight-Eights

October 2, 2013 ndubs77 3 Comments

My parents were in attendance for this year’s Straight-Eights car show in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. I had other plans that weekend, but my Dad got some solid photos of the event. Get ready for spiffy cars from the 1950’s galore! Enjoy.

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Car Shows, Opinions

Elmiraj, the Cadillac of Cadillacs

September 16, 2013 ndubs77 4 Comments

We got to see Cadillac’s Elmiraj Concept at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and plainly, this is the sort of thing the Cadillac Brand needs right now. Cadillac has not been “the Cadillac of cars” since the mid 1960s in my opinion, and it’s about time they step up and reclaim their original status in the world.

The Elmiraj looks to be a grand touring car of world class standards. It’s design is unmistakably that of a Cadillac, but it has a nice sleek, modern shape. While I doubt it would make it to production in its current form, the Elmiraj’s interior is breathtakingly gorgeous, with gratuitous amounts of wood, leather and metal used throughout.

As far as what’s under the hood, I’ve heard rumors of a twin turbo 4.5L V8 with more than 500hp. That will most likely put the Elmiraj in competition with the Jaguar XKR, Maserati Granturismo, BMW 650i/M6, etc, in the price range around $100,000. That, of course assumes that Cadillac will ever have the guts to actually produce an ambitious concept car such as this.

I think with proper execution, a production version of the Elmiraj would do a lot to put Cadillac back where they need to be as a brand. The ATS, CTS, and the CTS-V have done a lot to show that Cadillac has potential, but they need a capstone, a mighty flagship to lead their assault. I know Cadillac’s track record with concept cars is awful when it comes to anything making it to production, but I am really holding out hope that the Cadillac Elmiraj is not indeed a mirage.

Enjoy the photos

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Cars We've Seen

Spotted! Cadillac Lasalle Scraper Hot Rod, Carmel, CA

August 28, 2013 ndubs77 3 Comments

We saw this hot rodded Cadillac Lasalle Scraper in Carmel during the Tour d’Elegance. Hoards of people came to see the Concours cars drive into Pebble Beach, and this gem was parked off on one of the side streets. Other than the owner dubbing it “Low Salle”, I don’t know any details on this Lasalle gone Bad (yes, with a capital B). I just love the quality of the workmanship though, and the whole idea of taking a well-mannered luxury car and turning it into a “Bad Mofo” is extremely appealing to me. Enjoy the pics.

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