On This Day

Tuesday 4th May 1954

66 years ago

The General Motors Board of Directors authorised the development of an ultra-luxury car, the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, under the direction of stylist Ed Glowacke and engineer Fred Arnold. The Eldorado Brougham was a hand-built, limited car derived from the Park Avenue and Orleans show cars of 1953-54. It featured the first appearance of quad headlights and totally unique trim. The exterior ornamentation included wide, ribbed lower rear quarter beauty panels extending along the rocker sills and rectangularly sculptured side body "cove" highlighted with five horizontal windsplits on the rear doors. Tail styling treatments followed the Eldorado pattern. This four-door hardtop with rear-hinged rear doors was an ultra-luxury car that cost an astonishing $13,074 — twice the price of any other 1957 Eldorado and more than the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud of the same year. It featured a stainless steel roof, self leveling air suspension, the first automatic two-position "memory" power seats, a dual four-barrel V-8, low-profile tires with thin white-walls, automatic trunk opener, cruise control, high-pressure cooling system, polarized sun visors, electric antenna, automatic-release parking brake, electric door locks, dual heating system, silver magnetized glovebox, drink tumblers, cigarette and tissue dispensers, lipstick and cologne, ladies' compact with powder puff, mirror and matching leather notebook, comb and mirror, Arpège atomizer with Lanvin perfume, automatic starter with restart function, Autronic Eye, drum-type electric clock, power windows, forged aluminum wheels and air conditioning.[8] Buyers of Broughams had a choice of 44 full-leather interior and trim combinations and could select such items as Mouton, Karakul or lambskin carpeting. There were serious difficulties with the air suspension, which proved troublesome in practice. Some owners found it cheaper to have it and replaced with conventional coil springs. The 1957 Eldorado Brougham joined the Sixty Special and the Series 75 as the only Cadillac models with Fleetwood bodies although Fleetwood script or crests did not appear anywhere on the exterior of the car,[12][13] and so this would also mark the first time in 20 years that that a Fleetwood-bodied car was paired with the Brougham name.[1][2][14] The 1957-58 Eldorado Brougham also marked the return of the Cadillac Series 70, if only briefly. Only 400 Eldorado Broughams were sold in 1957.