When I was six and my brother was four, we had matching t-shirt shortpant outfits – totally 1970s in elasticity. His outfit was blue, mine was brown. I wanted the blue one.
This time around it’s matching Coupe De Villes. I found the blue one here in Melbourne and he caught the brown one in New York. And now I want the brown one.
Once again we have a Cadillac with a very attractive face.
And some more utterly exquisite vertical slit rear light effect.
The profile works on these really well. So well in fact you can forgive the balding tuft over the rear of the roof.
I rate these Cadillac Cs second only to the base Chev B in this body language. The wheelarches here do a great job against all the rectilinearity. And that origami feeds into the tail so perfectly. The dark blue sits nicely against the tasteful but generous chrome accenting. There’s only one real gripe from me.
The rubstrip.
See what I mean? This shape looks so transformatively cleaner without it.
For that reason, I want the brown one.
My brother and I haven’t lived in the same city since university days, and this is his second Christmas in New York. Despite the distance, I’ve never been so appreciative of having him around as I have this year. When his wife got a great opportunity to work in NYC, they thought it would be a blast for their boys. One has just hit his teens and the other is not far behind. The perfect age for this sort of adventure and they are digging it big time.
So a shoutout to Will and Tom, and their mum and dad. Myrtle the Snow Wookiee says Merry Christmas.
And she wishes season’s greetings to the rest of you.
Due to so many 70s pop culture influences, I’ve always associated this generation Coupe De Ville (and Sedan de Ville) with NYC. The previous generation even more so.
I can see the appeal, without that rub strip and being lowered like that.
The design does look “cleaner” without the rub strip, but the blue Cadillac has clearly been kept up better than the brown one. And doesn’t the brown one seem a little too close to the ground?
Rub strips were done best on cars clearly designed for them from the start like Foxbody Mustangs, but so many others were like these Cadillacs where they were clearly part of an option sheet where the buyer is enticed by the idea of “fully loaded!” Functionally they are quite effective, usually, but they present the same dilemma as the bra – What looks worse? A couple dings or these cluttered accessories?
Yep, I’m not against them per se. Esprit for example, where it worked perfectly with the joining of the two halves. 928 on the other hand works better without. Dings be damned.
The rub strip has never bothered me before on these deVilles, but now that you mention it… yes, I see how the design is improved without it.
And I’ve enjoyed seeing your brother’s car finds from New York!
Not to be contrarian, but I think the rub strip helps break up the “slab sides”. Just my perspective.
I agree w/ you, Frankster! 🙂
Oh, a good old chuckle at the “balding tuft”. The likely buyer of this likely also came equipped thus, and wouldn’t have noticed the subconscious pull. (To be unfair, to be interested in this Springvale Crematorium special in the first place, he’d not likely have noticed anyone but his tasteless self and attendant combover, but enough).
I’m no Freudian analyst, but the word “rub strip” is did you make a booking, sorry, somehow suggestive, but I do understand if you prefer big oldies dancing suggestively, sorry, without one, or naked, even.
It looks like a nice one, but I must confess that the Myrtle dog made me sneeze just upon looking at it. And as for brothers, I have two (and, oh, a bunch of sisters) and we all still live in the same town – in distant suburbs each.
I’ll take the blue one hands down. These cars look silly with no side trim and lowered as that is a look only a modern jelly bean shape seems to pull off! I’d be much more worried about what’s under the hood than a valuable protective side molding.
“I rate these Cadillac Cs second only to the base Chev B in this body language.”
I agree with you on this Don, these Cadillacs were well styled cars. it’s too bad they were saddled with terrible drive trains. I agree that they look better without the rub strip, but I prefer the dark blue colour.