Weekender - 1975 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

The mid-1970s Eldorado was the apex predator of American luxury — a personal-coupé so large it required two parking spaces, powered by the biggest production V8 ever fitted to a passenger car: the Cadillac 500. It produced 215 horsepower in catalytic-converter trim, but power was never the point. The point was the way it floated.

This was Cadillac's halo coupé in an era when "land yacht" still meant something honourable. Tufted leather, opera windows, a power roof, climate control that worked, an FM radio that received signals through a deeply optimistic antenna mast. The 1976 model year was the last to offer a true convertible — when Cadillac discontinued it, dealers received bidding wars for the final examples. The 1976 Eldorado convertible became the first mass-market collector car the moment it left the factory.

Elvis Presley owned several Eldorados. Cher drove one. Casino (1995) features a long Eldorado tracking shot in its opening minutes. The car came to embody, simultaneously, peak American confidence and the moment the country started doubting whether the empire could still afford itself. By 1979, Cadillac had downsized the Eldorado, and the era ended.