The 1972 Cadillac Eldorado convertible was a study in excess, with a $7,380 base price for coupes, and $7,681 for convertibles, although a fully loaded version of either could easily top $11,000. The 1972 Chevy Corvette had a base price of $5,296, not that many were cross-shopping those two.
The 1972 Eldorado was powered by the titanic 500 cubic-inch V8 that produced 235 net horsepower, 385 pound-feet of torque, and drove the front wheels by way of a three-speed automatic transmission. The Eldorado managed to get to sixty miles per hour in 10.9 seconds, and glide through the quarter mile in 17.6 ticks at 79.8 miles per hour, which was pretty fair in a car nearly nineteen feet long and north of five thousand pounds wet. Gas mileage was said to have been around 14 mpg.
All the options and features one would expect in GM’s flagship luxury convertible could be had with the 1972 Cadillac Eldorado. Leather interior, front bench seat with folding center armrest, automatic climate control, tilt/telescopic steering column, remote trunk release, AM/FM radio with 8-track, power seat, power door locks, cruise control, steel-belted radial tires, and tinted glass. The convertible top was a powered unit.
Automatic Level Control was available on the 1972 Cadillac Eldorado. It was a pneumatic system that would alter the ride height of the car depending upon cargo and passenger weight. A control valve would detect the change in distance between the axle and body, and after a time delay of four to eighteen seconds, inflate the shock absorbers to the original height.
Another available option that made it to few 1972 Eldorados was the Track Master rear-wheel skid-control braking system, an early rudimentary ABS that would pump the rear drum brakes four times per second in a skid.
Our feature 1972 Cadillac Eldorado convertible is finished in Cotillion White over Oxblood leather with a white vinyl convertible top. This is a massive car, more than a foot-and-a-half longer than a first-generation Cadillac Escalade, with what seems like acres of sheet metal. The Cotillion White finish still shows plenty of shine (no word on if it has been repainted, but it seems likely). The chrome bumpers, modified for the 1972 model year to meet Federal impact standards, are still brilliant. Stainless trim also presents quite well. Steel wheels wear full Caddy wheel covers and thin-stripe whitewall tires. The white vinyl top appears taut, colorfast, and has a clear plastic rear window. The Cadillac crest and wreath ornament still rides proudly at the hood’s leading edge.
Inside the Cadillac Eldorado are yards of deep red Oxblood leather. The Dual Comfort front bench seat appears to have been recovered at some point. The back seat has worn well, with some light creasing present. Plush, deep red carpet looks recent, with no wear of note. The Eldo’s floor is nearly flat, as front-wheel drive virtually eliminates the need for a transmission tunnel. The wide dash is free of cracks. A JVC cassette player has taken the place of the factory head unit, but wears the original’s Caddy knobs.
Beneath the Cadillac Eldorado’s colossal hood, the 500 cubic-inch V8 lurks. A three-speed automatic transmission moves power to the front wheels. The engine bay is reasonably clean, but several of the hoses have been discolored from age or exposure. Most of the componentry appears as it should be.
This Cadillac Eldorado rag top is for sale at Garage Kept Motors for $24,900.
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Comments
With Electric we may see cars this large again.
C8.R,
We shouldn’t. How does a car this size save Mother Earth from doom. Even if it’s electric, it still sucks up more than it’s fair share of electricity that is likely still generated from fossil fuels. A fleet of Bolts is what gm should be doing; a Bolt pickup, Bolt van, Bolt sports car. Nothing more than that…. If Mary really cares about Global Warming.
All automakers are doing electric. Going by your logic, you don’t want anymore Cadillacs and Cadillac will not be a Bolt version of anything in the future.
Vehicles this large mostly likely will come from super ultra luxury makes & models like RR, Bentley and CELESTIQ.
Class.
Unlike most anything offered for sale today where they all lump together for looks and style. I know that I’m more of a unicorn here, but my dream would be to have cars like these today but with the fit, finish, reliability, fuel economy and safety of today’s cars.
Class is an understatement 😍
Dan it’s got the wreath crest to. The only thing it’s missing is a pair of horns on the front lol. Just kidding I love this car to.
Haha. A little Dukes of Hazard style!!
😁 🐮
Dan that red interior is 🤤
This car is junk!
First, the interior is a mashed up mess. The seats and steeing wheel are out of a 1976 Coupe de Ville in a color called “Firerhorn”. It is not Oxblood.
Google it.
It’s been repainted…….badly. “Cotillion White” was not nearly that bright.
The cursive “Eldorado” script (and the small holes drilled to mount them) are missing from the deck lid and the fenders just above the corning lamps.
I know. I had one when I was young. A real one.
Your tripping dude
Danny.
No. I’m not. The example shown above is trash and not worth buying.
……..and don’t call me “dude”.
I can think of several other names to call you then but I bet you won’t like those either. 🙂
DoNt CaLl Me DuDe.
Your comment is trash but yet here we are.
Chill out dude
100% agree that is not a 72 Eldo steering wheel.
Yes, it’s ’74-6, and the Buick Electra Limited used it after that. The plastic “wood” in the rim of all their 70’s wheels tends to crack and fall out. Most people just wrap them.
It’s surprising the rear Coupe de Ville seats fit with the convertible mechanism. As I remember, that 75-6 style wasn’t very comfortable for long legged people in the front or back.
The valve covers are also the wrong color. They are closer to GM Corporate Blue like the later 425 and 368.
You’re right, Megeebee. This El-Dog is indeed missing the script “Eldorado” badges in the appropriate spots. I most definitely agree that the seat covers are NOT “ox blood”, and I will take your word on the paint job not being “cotillion white”. BTW… I assume you realize you set yourself up with flack regarding your “don’t call me dude…” comment. You asked for it…
It says “Gasssss!! I need gassssss!!” While this car is parked like most ’70s American cars did…..
An electric vehicle this size is where Cadillac is going. Can’t wait to see an Celestiq in person..
I remember seeing this car on the road (later versions had square quad headlamps) and I did not care for the styling much. However, my feelings for the Cadillacs of the ’70s were mixed. I favored the early to mid ’70s Cadillacs before they downsized starting 1976 with the Deville and Fleetwood. The first generation Seville was my favorite Cadillac of the ’70s.
The ’70s Cadillacs was one of the worst decades of that era same as for the ’80s which was probably worst than the ’70s decade. The ’90s faired better but not by much but showed massive improvement in spite of the rave reviews of the northstar engine which gave owners headaches with costly repair.
However, the ’70s Eldorado advantage was ride quality, comfort and maybe road presence but not much else as this model represented what was wrong with GM by that time with lack of technology and reliability. Also during the malaise area, the car was underpowered and GM was forced to downsize horsepower and torque. Also, GM start putting fake wood and cheaper quality plastics on Cadillacs in the ’70s.
IMO, todays Cadillacs are far better and come close to the ’60s Cadillacs in terms of engineering prowess, design and technology when you look at current models like the Escalade and CT4/5 models which represent the brand the best. Future models like the LYRIC, Escalade, CELESTIQ & etc will be more reminiscent to the ’50 era Cadillacs and before in terms of image, prowess and grandeur.
Johnls_39: I’m not too sure I am following you on this. Were some of the Cadillac’s of the 70, 80 and early 90’s not the best? Maybe. But if you look at most anything from that era, they all needed a lot of improvements. Most of the Japanese brands back then (speaking mostly of 70’s and 80’s) were so basic with zero frills and very little to go wrong. They were more reliable just by default and got much better MPG’s because they were small and light. However, don’t dare live in the winter/snow states because the salt would literally rot those cars out within two years with holes big enough to put your fist through. Yes, all brands would get rust, but the Japanese brands were the worst.
As for technology: What are you referring to there? I fondly recall my parents 1975 Cadillac DeVille with features that even some luxury brands today would blush at. It had auto on/off headlights, auto high beam, auto climate control, dual power seats, AM/FM 8 track stereo, power everything including a trunk pull down. Although our Cadillac didn’t have it, GM did actually offer drivers airbags and anti-lock brakes back in the 70’s. They even had some of the first cars with fuel injection and 4 wheel disc brakes. I could go on, but my point should be taken. So what are you referring to?
IMO I think Cadillac marketing wise got it right in the late ’80s early ’90s. The Cimarron was entry-level until it died then Deville/Fleetwood for volume. The premium vehicles were Eldorado, Seville and Alante while Fleetwood Brougham was fleet/limo service.
Behemoth, colossal, gargantuan, presence, mammoth, cosmic, gotta love ’em. But I also love my ’13 XTS platinum in white diamond tri-coat and would not trade for this ’72 money pit.
Originally this car probably had pin strips. Most upscale cars did during this era.
Johnls_39,
I was being sarcastic. Mary Barra waltzes out and speaks of her commitment to a “sustainable future”, pledges to make gm all electric and carbon neutral. Folks like her proclaim, the sky is failing and we’re out of time to save the planet. If all that’s true, why has she built gm’s profit model around just six gigantic, body-on-frame, 6.2 L V8 models? Everyone knows the money makers at gm are Silverado, Sierra, Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, and Escalade. If she really cared about the environment and believed her own words, she’d put her money where her mouth is and ditch gm’s worst offenders. Of course that would bankrupt the company and she knows it but the reason it would bankrupt gm is because they’ve refused to develop competitive smaller products that they can sell at a sufficient profit.
it’s just very off-putting to me to be lectured to about climate change by a company that makes all their money contributing to it and took away so many of the greener options from American consumers. Further, there’s no evidence they’ve changed their ways. They plan a new generation of gigantic EV vehicles like the 8,000 pound Hummer EV. Honestly, who actually needs that? Nobody. It’s gargantuan and it’s irresponsible and all it’ll be is a menace on the roads for people driving smaller vehicles that are actually efficient. We’ve seen Hummers before. They were driven by little women to ferry kids to school and were overkill.
The American power grid is not being upgraded. There is finite capacity so why build something that sucks so much energy from the tap to charge its battery? The things gm is planning like the aforementioned Hummer and their phantom Cellistiq are misguided endeavors as I see it. While I was joking about an all Bolt lineup, I do think they need to apply a measure of sensibility to their future product plans with reasonably sized and weight vehicles. Instead it seems they are using EVs as an excuse to still rely on massive vehicles to make all their money, and they’re likely going even bigger.
I see what you are saying. Some of the points I agree that GM is doing one thing but doing different things not energy efficient. But GM have to listen to their market and demand is still high for large trucks and SUVs for them.
However, it would be interesting to hear from Hummer EV buyers and their experience. IMO, the Hummer is a cool vehicle people got to have and don’t necessarily need. The money heeled buyers till flock to this vehicle just like they will to the EQG and Escalade EV where these buyers are not too concerned about going green but will buy it because the it factor.
Always liked these in convertibles, it looks much better than the coupe even with the top up, the soft top has better lines than the coupe. Would like to find one like this
When a Cadillac was a Cadillac!
My folks had a 1970 Eldorado coup (no convertible that year) when I was in high school. That was a very memorable car. It would smoke its tires for nearly a block. Amazing I survived it! I wish I could find one that my son could drive.
Yes, Cadillacs of the past were wonderful automobiles. Our family started with a used 1956 Sedan deVille purchased in 1969 for $1,100, and it was PINK (Laurentian?). It was driven that first summer from California to Minnesota and back, with no problems. In the early 1970s my parents bought two more Sedan deVilles, a 1967 and a 1968, a time when you could buy a five year old Cadillac for $700! I still have my 1985 Eldorado in storage; it has a 4100 V8 “Target” engine installed at Renick Cadillac in Fullerton, California. The repair bill was $4,400. The original “HT4100” blew up at 93,000 miles.
I miss the 1983 Coupe deVille I bought on eBay in 2002. I had agreed with my wife that I would let it go when we bought the new 2005 Dodge Magnum SXT.
Today we have a 2021 CT5 in Wave Blue and it is a fantastic car. It has style reminiscent of the 1961 to 1969 era.
While I appreciate all of the comments both positive and negative, I recently bought this Cadillac for only one reason…she made my heart stop when I first saw her. Now that my heart is working again, we’re going to have fun pulling the engine, transmission, and installing new seals and electronic parts throughout the car. Then we’ll upgrade the interior where needed. After that, we’re going to the local car shows and enjoy the reaction when people see that a beautiful car from their past still lives.