Still sharing the longitudinally-engined General Motors E-body front wheel drive platform with the Olds Toronado and Buick Riviera, the 1979 Eldorado saw the first round of downsizing for Cadillac's swank personal luxury coupe.
What a round of downsizing it was, too! The 1978 Eldo had been among the last of the dinosaurs: 224 inches long and riding on a 126.3" wheelbase, the '78 Eldorado Biarritz hardtop coupe tipped the scales at an earth-crushing 5,048 pounds of curb weight, tanked up and ready to set sail.
The Tenth Generation '79 Eldorado lost almost two feet of overall length, stretching only 204" from nose to tail. The wheelbase took a foot-long chop, too, to 114". The 7.0L Cadillac V-8 was put out to pasture, too, replaced by a fuel-injected version of the Olds Rocket 350. This resulted in a ten horsepower drop, from 180 to 170 SAE net, but that was more than made up for by the half ton of weight pared off the platform.
The 1980 Eldorado in the photos, Colonial Yellow with Yellow vinyl landau top and Saddle leather interior, would be identifiable as a Biarritz by the stainless steel roof panel, even if you couldn't make out the "Biarritz" script on the C-pillar. The lack of amber turn signal lenses on the front mark it as a '79 or '80. The faux-Rolls Parthenon grille was a common aftermarket geegaw, sometimes dealer-installed.
These shots were taken in August of 2020 using a Nikon D7000 and 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR zoom lens.
I remember 60s Cadillacs from my 70s kidhood, and how special they were. During the 70s and into the 80s Cadillacs became less and less special. I remember thinking upon this Eldorado's introduction, what a terrific Buick it would make.
ReplyDeleteWell, it shared a platform with a Buick... and it had an Olds motor. GM spent the Seventies consolidating platforms and engines.
Delete