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

Today marks the 50th installment of our Rare Rides Eldorado coverage, and would you believe this series started a year and a half ago in August 2023? By 1969 the angular Eldorado stepped away from the halo “sports convertible” mission of the original in 1953. Unfortunately, it also stepped away from its 1967 self as changing regulations and annual styling revisions took the eighth Eldorado off course for its final two years.

(Note: The white Eldorado is the 1969, while the gold one is the 1968.)

Covered wipers and a new boat anchor of a V8 were the headline changes for 1968, covered in detail in our last installment. With a longer hood and new reflectors, the updates did little to disturb the overall look of the Eldorado. But it was a true last-of moment, as after the ‘68 debuted a substantive piece of legislation took effect: FMVSS.

The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards were put in place on January 1, 1969, and were the first encompassing piece of federal legislation around automobiles. Design, construction, durability, safety, and performance were all considered. Laws were codified in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, with the development and enforcement of all standards performed by NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The NHTSA was created by the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, as the government layered on additional administration and standards for motor vehicles. 

The impact of FMVSS was immediately apparent in the Eldorado of 1969: It lost its distinctive covered headlamps. While covered headlamps were not banned outright, the law stipulated that the covers for the headlamps operate within a specific period of time in situations where the vehicle entered a tunnel or other darkened area. The Eldorado’s covers couldn’t beat the stop watch.

Other safety changes were less visible, and included new mandatory side impact protection beams in the doors. In automotive times prior to 1969, major injury or death in the event of a side impact was just a given. There were interior changes too, as Cadillac quickly restyled its dashboard across the line.

It’s likely customers of the day focused most on the Eldorado’s front end changes. The egg crate grille was revised with a thinner, tighter pattern to be in line with the rest of the lineup that year. The plastic grilled headlamp doors were removed, and exposed quad headlamps were displayed in a chrome bezel (like the other Cadillacs). The script Cadillac badge previously located on the headlamp door moved to reside on the driver’s side of the grille.

Changes to the side profile were limited, with details remaining in place from 1968 apart from one: the wheel covers. The special raised vented design of 1967-1968 was replaced with a chromed disc cover that was more in line with other Cadillac models. The cover was slightly different to the others with its vaned detailing, which offered the same additional ventilation for the brakes.

At the rear, changes were absolutely for the worse in 1969. The reversing lamps located lower in the bumper were no longer permitted with the new legislation. Both reversing lamps became red reflector housings in 1969, while the reversing lamp was relocated to a most unfortunate position. It lived in the middle of the fuel filler door, protruding like a lighted electrical wart. 

Inside, the driver-focused cockpit look of the dash from 1967 returned for 1969. This time the separation between the driver and passenger areas was more pronounced, with a strong binnacle that angled out towards the passenger seat. The design took up a lot of room on the dash surface, which effectively forced all controls to a smaller space to its left. The steering wheel was also reworked, with a horn pad that featured the Cadillac logo and crest at the top instead of the bottom.

The radio shifted left, as did the clock, and both were newly off limits to the passenger. All passenger dash vents moved lower on the dash, and were contained within the wood trim strip. The Cadillac script detail below the central vents moved, and was relocated further to the right above the glove box.

While the speedometer remained the same size, the fuel gauge moved left of the speedo to reside where the warning lights used to be. The temperature gauge was removed entirely, and became a warning light. All warning lights were relocated to a strip below the speedometer.

Climate controls were still located behind the wheel and to the left with the Twilight Sentinel, but wiper controls were relocated to an awkward position on the door. It was a sort of glued on switch meant to look like it was part of the dashboard. Below it, the switches for mirrors, locks, and windows that were formerly almost vertical became horizontal once more. 

The movement set the stage for a fully redesigned door panel that was a copy of the rest of the Cadillac line, and no longer unique to the Eldorado. The reach-in door pull was removed, and replaced by a standard grab bar within the Rosewood trim panel. The wood itself was a horizontal strip surrounded by a thin bit of chrome.

This was different to the 1968 interior, which featured an L-shaped piece of wood trim that curved and flowed into the rear passenger trim panels. Seats were also redesigned, with headrests arriving atop new seat cushion shapes. The upper and lower seat backs became one piece, separated visually with a horizontal luggage strap piece of upholstery. The seats used thin vertical ribbing, an update to the ‘68s wider ribbing.

It turned out 1969 was the year the eighth Eldorado lost much of the individuality bestowed upon it in 1967. But the model wasn’t up for replacement yet, and there were even more changes on the way for 1970. We’ll pick up there next time, as printing the engine’s displacement on the exterior happened at Cadillac. Shudder.

[Images: GM, seller, seller]

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