On this Valentine’s Day, let us celebrate a love that is stronger than that between any man and woman — namely, the love of grown men for proper luxury sedans!
Feb 14, 2023·edited Feb 14, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
Wonderful car, even more wonderful story.
I've owned a 2020 Cadillac CT5-V for almost three years now. Black Raven with a Sedona Savauge (camel) leather interior. It's NOT much like a '75 DeVille, but there's still something special about the brand, no matter how hard GM tried to muck it up over the years. It wasn't even on my radar when I decided I was finally going to pull the trigger on a sports sedan, but when I stumbled onto it after being really underwhelmed by BMW/Audi/Mercedes, I found myself increasingly drawn to it. I even ended up blowing my budget by almost $10k to get the fully loaded model, stickering even more than this '75 in inflation-adjusted terms - but hey, I've got massaging seats and a power-adjustable steering column! As somebody who's typically swapped cars every two years, I still find myself excited to slide behind the wheel, even though I rarely exceed maybe 5/10ths of its abilities.
It also feels appropriate, both for me personally as an enthusiast and the car hobby in general, that this Cadillac is pretty much the end of the line both for Detroit sedans and internal-combustion performance. It's all electric crossover bullshit from here on out. I don't know how long I'll ultimately hold onto it, since life, uh, finds a way, but I'm glad I got to experience the end of an era.
What a wonderful read. I was just old enough to remember when buying a Cadillac meant something. There is no car today that would impress the neighbours the way a Cadillac would back then. You didn't just buy a Cadillac. You worked your way up in life to it. Once you had acquired the proper station in life, the privilege of buying a Cadillac would be yours.
I recall when a dentist friend of the family came over to show us his new 1975 Fleetwood Brougham in dark brown, with matching vinyl roof. He had parked it on the street in our middle class/professional neighbourhood, and of course the neighbours came over to admire it. He had grown up in Australia, and had always dreamed of one day making it, and having a Cadillac of his own.
Interestingly, while it might sound like he came over to show it off, that was really the case. Or at least not fully the case. He came over to show us the car, and we all took part in the celebration that one of our own had "made it". I don't recall any comments of envy or jealousy that followed that visit. Just a longing to share in the success that he had achieved, symbolized by finally being deserving of a Cadillac.
It still angers me that in only a few short years, Cadillac pissed all of that away. And while the mid 70s Caddies were no longer the Standard of the World, they were special in a way that no car is now, or has been in a very long time.
Feb 14, 2023·edited Feb 14, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
Cars have become so anodyne, and "luxury" has become so democratized that I think the time-honored tradition of showing off a new car has lost much of its luster.
A new car used to be the sort of thing that stirred some real excitement on your block. Or at your work. Or at family get-togethers. It was an event and everyone would pop out to get a look. And if somebody got something really nice, that was an impressive feat. I still vividly remember when my aunt came by the house with her new '89 Accord LX-i so three year old me could check out the pop-up headlights and stick my head through the moonroof. She's had nicer vehicles in recent years but...meh.
Now, I see so many Defenders and Macans in a given day driven by desperate status-seekers in my neighborhood that they might as well be in Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosports. Hell, I'd be much more interested if I saw somebody in a Celebrity Eurosport.
Sad, but true. It’s almost like there aren’t any luxury cars anymore. The car magazines ruined everything by creating an artificial demand for every car to be a BMW.
I think the other issue is the destruction of the middle class. Especially the comfortable middle class. Folks who were just happy and content with their lot in life. The full size Ford wagon set. The weren’t always aspiring to get more. So something that was realistically unachievable for them, always drew their interest. Now, every secretary drives a Bimmer on a $299 payment.
Hey Jack, how about this idea for a future article:
Things automotive ruined by car magazines.
Car magazines held a lot of sway in years past, and their tastes had an oversized influence on the market and the car companies. I don’t see anything nefarious in what they did. Just a matter of their tastes and enthusiasms overwhelming things.
If that Caddy was built at the Clark Street Cadillac plant in Detroit, you can see the Body Drop part of the assembly line that it was built on at the Detroit HIstorical Museum.
Ronnie, the car was built at Clark Avenue as I beileve that it was not until 1976 that some production was moved to NJ to meet demand for the final year of production of full sized sedans and coupes.
If any carmaker wants me to pay them silly amounts of money that I can in no way afford, all that maker has to do so is engineer and sell a pillarless hardtop sedan.
This was a total treat to read-- and not just because I've lived within 5 miles of Lindsay Cadillac for the last 30 years. Adding CLC events to my beat for this year, in hope of meeting this lovely in person. (Does she ever waft up to Katie's, or is that place so crowded no-one goes there anymore?)
Sorry to be that guy but it's Fauquier County, pronounced more than a little like someone from Boston dissing your town and all those around it..
Redlineblue, auto spell check got me on Fauquier County..... sorry about that :-) :-) Never been to the Saturday Cars and Coffee at Katie's in Great Falls. That is place is to rich for me. It is more for the Ferrari, Lamborghini, Cullen, Macan McLaren kind of get together. Lots of new money in Great Falls.....
Thank you for the story, Mr. Gardner. While much classier, your car reminds me of the '73 Buick LeSabre 4-door sedan that glided me around as a small child. I have a soft spot for those large GM vehicles.
Keep up the good work! I look forward to future submissions.
This is edited version, was working do whipped thru and posted without checking
Jack, excellent guest post and Mr G, excellent history/story! I think my sickness/addiction with cars has to do more with the chase and the story behind them than actual ownership. I was just at the Beller Museum last week and Tim, my guide, knew all the history/stories of the cars and trucks going back to 30s. The vehicle's themselves were outstanding but knowing the who, what and where blew me away. To know the history of a couple of my toys going back to 1976, 1977 or 1974 as with Mr G's Cadillac is impressive. Didn't meet Mr. Beller, but it was obvious the history/story of his cars are are almost more important then the car itself.
That is a beautiful automobile. There is a Coupe DeVille of similar vintage parked on the street around the corner from my house, and I eye it with more than a little lust in my heart each time I walk by it. It was at one time a golden color but that has been oxidized and faded, but the car appears straight and the interior is clean.
There are undoubtedly finer examples to be had, so I don't feel the need to pursue this one. But given my Italian heritage, I believe it is almost a birthright that I should, as my grandfather did, own a Cadillac at some point.
Wonderful car, even more wonderful story.
I've owned a 2020 Cadillac CT5-V for almost three years now. Black Raven with a Sedona Savauge (camel) leather interior. It's NOT much like a '75 DeVille, but there's still something special about the brand, no matter how hard GM tried to muck it up over the years. It wasn't even on my radar when I decided I was finally going to pull the trigger on a sports sedan, but when I stumbled onto it after being really underwhelmed by BMW/Audi/Mercedes, I found myself increasingly drawn to it. I even ended up blowing my budget by almost $10k to get the fully loaded model, stickering even more than this '75 in inflation-adjusted terms - but hey, I've got massaging seats and a power-adjustable steering column! As somebody who's typically swapped cars every two years, I still find myself excited to slide behind the wheel, even though I rarely exceed maybe 5/10ths of its abilities.
It also feels appropriate, both for me personally as an enthusiast and the car hobby in general, that this Cadillac is pretty much the end of the line both for Detroit sedans and internal-combustion performance. It's all electric crossover bullshit from here on out. I don't know how long I'll ultimately hold onto it, since life, uh, finds a way, but I'm glad I got to experience the end of an era.
What a wonderful read. I was just old enough to remember when buying a Cadillac meant something. There is no car today that would impress the neighbours the way a Cadillac would back then. You didn't just buy a Cadillac. You worked your way up in life to it. Once you had acquired the proper station in life, the privilege of buying a Cadillac would be yours.
I recall when a dentist friend of the family came over to show us his new 1975 Fleetwood Brougham in dark brown, with matching vinyl roof. He had parked it on the street in our middle class/professional neighbourhood, and of course the neighbours came over to admire it. He had grown up in Australia, and had always dreamed of one day making it, and having a Cadillac of his own.
Interestingly, while it might sound like he came over to show it off, that was really the case. Or at least not fully the case. He came over to show us the car, and we all took part in the celebration that one of our own had "made it". I don't recall any comments of envy or jealousy that followed that visit. Just a longing to share in the success that he had achieved, symbolized by finally being deserving of a Cadillac.
It still angers me that in only a few short years, Cadillac pissed all of that away. And while the mid 70s Caddies were no longer the Standard of the World, they were special in a way that no car is now, or has been in a very long time.
Cars have become so anodyne, and "luxury" has become so democratized that I think the time-honored tradition of showing off a new car has lost much of its luster.
A new car used to be the sort of thing that stirred some real excitement on your block. Or at your work. Or at family get-togethers. It was an event and everyone would pop out to get a look. And if somebody got something really nice, that was an impressive feat. I still vividly remember when my aunt came by the house with her new '89 Accord LX-i so three year old me could check out the pop-up headlights and stick my head through the moonroof. She's had nicer vehicles in recent years but...meh.
Now, I see so many Defenders and Macans in a given day driven by desperate status-seekers in my neighborhood that they might as well be in Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosports. Hell, I'd be much more interested if I saw somebody in a Celebrity Eurosport.
Sad, but true. It’s almost like there aren’t any luxury cars anymore. The car magazines ruined everything by creating an artificial demand for every car to be a BMW.
I think the other issue is the destruction of the middle class. Especially the comfortable middle class. Folks who were just happy and content with their lot in life. The full size Ford wagon set. The weren’t always aspiring to get more. So something that was realistically unachievable for them, always drew their interest. Now, every secretary drives a Bimmer on a $299 payment.
You're not far off, particularly in California where entry-level Benzes are simply omnipresent.
Hey Jack, how about this idea for a future article:
Things automotive ruined by car magazines.
Car magazines held a lot of sway in years past, and their tastes had an oversized influence on the market and the car companies. I don’t see anything nefarious in what they did. Just a matter of their tastes and enthusiasms overwhelming things.
That's my Rich Corinthian Swaybars article which could use an update.
Where do we find that?
My only other critique of the article, aside from mis-naming the county, is that the author never tells us what the Nürburgring time is.
Easily under thirty minutes, assuming the brakes are in good shape when you start!
Back in the 70’s and before, you had to be able to actually buy the car vs. be able to make the monthly lease payment.
If that Caddy was built at the Clark Street Cadillac plant in Detroit, you can see the Body Drop part of the assembly line that it was built on at the Detroit HIstorical Museum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmjs6cfiwoc
Ronnie, the car was built at Clark Avenue as I beileve that it was not until 1976 that some production was moved to NJ to meet demand for the final year of production of full sized sedans and coupes.
If any carmaker wants me to pay them silly amounts of money that I can in no way afford, all that maker has to do so is engineer and sell a pillarless hardtop sedan.
This was a total treat to read-- and not just because I've lived within 5 miles of Lindsay Cadillac for the last 30 years. Adding CLC events to my beat for this year, in hope of meeting this lovely in person. (Does she ever waft up to Katie's, or is that place so crowded no-one goes there anymore?)
Sorry to be that guy but it's Fauquier County, pronounced more than a little like someone from Boston dissing your town and all those around it..
Redlineblue, auto spell check got me on Fauquier County..... sorry about that :-) :-) Never been to the Saturday Cars and Coffee at Katie's in Great Falls. That is place is to rich for me. It is more for the Ferrari, Lamborghini, Cullen, Macan McLaren kind of get together. Lots of new money in Great Falls.....
That yacht would outclass all that eurotrash. Just get some longshoremen to help you dock, I mean park it.
Great story! Thanks for sharing.
That's a beaut. Damn, but I miss cars in actual colors. What is the origin of the 'Jennifer' moniker, I wonder?
Lovely, what a wonderful piece of Americana.
Some things really aren't as good as they used to be and Cadillac is one of them.
Thanks for sharing a great story!
Bravo! Love the story. We need more of this kind of stuff on ACF!
Thank you for the story, Mr. Gardner. While much classier, your car reminds me of the '73 Buick LeSabre 4-door sedan that glided me around as a small child. I have a soft spot for those large GM vehicles.
Keep up the good work! I look forward to future submissions.
Yes, a very well written and interesting story indeed .
All through the 1990's lovely Caddies like this landed unwanted at my favorite local Pick-A-Part junkyard .
I ove these land yachts but don't like driving them .
So sad that today's new drivers will never had the opportunity to experience them .
-Nate
Absolute beauty and love your writing style. Both formal and intimate at the same time.
This is edited version, was working do whipped thru and posted without checking
Jack, excellent guest post and Mr G, excellent history/story! I think my sickness/addiction with cars has to do more with the chase and the story behind them than actual ownership. I was just at the Beller Museum last week and Tim, my guide, knew all the history/stories of the cars and trucks going back to 30s. The vehicle's themselves were outstanding but knowing the who, what and where blew me away. To know the history of a couple of my toys going back to 1976, 1977 or 1974 as with Mr G's Cadillac is impressive. Didn't meet Mr. Beller, but it was obvious the history/story of his cars are are almost more important then the car itself.
P.S. Did I use history/story too much?
I don't think you did!
Paging Thomas Klockau..! 😁
Is he a member of this august commentariat, Jack?
Of course he is!
I figured! 👍
That is a beautiful automobile. There is a Coupe DeVille of similar vintage parked on the street around the corner from my house, and I eye it with more than a little lust in my heart each time I walk by it. It was at one time a golden color but that has been oxidized and faded, but the car appears straight and the interior is clean.
There are undoubtedly finer examples to be had, so I don't feel the need to pursue this one. But given my Italian heritage, I believe it is almost a birthright that I should, as my grandfather did, own a Cadillac at some point.