This is my favorite Cadillac of this generation. Cadillac finally woke up to the fact that the 1950’s Eldorado without the fender skirts really distinguished it from its lesser stablemates, but they dropped that tradition in 1959. But for 1964, they tossed them again, and what a difference it makes. It’s so much more distinctive, with a touch of sportiness and continental elegance. I can just see this in Paris. In this case, it was shot by Dean Edwards in Canada, but it doesn’t matter what country it’s in, it’s a classic.
Here’s how it looked in 1963:
The Eldorado kind of bounced all over the place in the years before 1967 when it became a wholly separate vehicle. By 1957 it had truly unique styling. In 1959 it was a regular Cadillac with lots more chrome. By 1963 it was a regular Cadillac with less chrome.
I need time to think about the 64. Yes, I know it has been out for 56 years, but I still have not decided. If I blur my eyes a little on Dean’s shot I see a Buick. And the awkward rear quarter lines under the fins.
I’ve always liked these open wheel wells on the ’64s but I much prefer the overall ’63 styling.
But I don’t think the open wheel wells would work on the ’63 – the design is too formal and upright. the ’64 changes made both the front and rear sportier on all models, and none for better in my opinion. But then ’64 was very weird year across GM design
To me the 1964 Cadillac rear quarters look to have been changed for the sake of change. The angling of the bumper extensions mirrors that of the grille but even that looks like the 1963 was the original, pure design and the 1964 was derivative. I would not say “No” to either, and were I given a choice between two actual cars to own now, the larger 429 engine and Turbo Hydramatic in the 1964 would be a preferred power train over the 390 and four-speed Hydramatic in the 1963. But my Dad’s first Cadillac was a 1963, so…
Wow…what an improvement, it rebalances the entire car and given the rear brightwork something to connect to. I could argue details of ’64 styling, but to my eye the removal of the fender skirts take it from matron to swingin sixties.
The first picture shows a change I hadn’t noticed before. In ’64 the fins were no longer part of the car. You can visually slice them off and leave a ’64 Olds, and maybe it even looks better without them. Before then, the fins weren’t visually removable. Without them the car just looked awful.
I noticed the same thing. Clearly an intentional step towards the next few years of downsizing the fins until they were just a trim detail, then getting rid of them altogether. By the way, is that an Alliance behind the black Cadillac?
It is indeed an Appliance…Probably more rare than the Caddy these days!
Attached is the front shot taken of the car, surrounded by a few other rare sights.
Thanks. Indeed, I see older Cadillacs regularly, but haven’t seen an Alliance let alone and Encore for a very long time.
They did disappear remarkably quickly, along with Premiere/Monaco’s. And that was in the current era of actually rust resistant cars. Probably mostly because as a Magliozzi once said, “the French don’t copy anybody and no one copies the French”.
A ’63 spotted in Paris, Ontario in the late eighties…just another old car.
The DeVille version
I do remember how the fender skirts on the 1963 Cadillac were an annoyance when trying to check tire pressures. The chances that the valve could be reached without moving the car were less than 50/50!
Another nice ’63 spotted back in the nineties.
I wonder if Cadillac felt a bit trapped with the skirted look to keep their cars distinctive compared to the Imperial that traditionally did without skirts and the Lincoln which dropped them for 1961.
Still wearing pointy fins in ’64, the Eldorado is quite elegant, but does share a similarity with the ’63 Imperial….
Although it was a simple change, it imparted a distinction to the Eldorado it had been lacking for a few years. The 1961-’62 models are particularly anonymous.
Largely forgotten is the 1964 Cadillac Florentine coupe show car displayed at the New York World’s Fair:
http://cadillacdb.planeteldorado.com/Dbas_txt/Drm62-64.htm
You joggled a long forgotten memory with that picture. I was at the ’64 Fair, at the age of 11. And I now remember seeing this.
Here is a tiny shot of the rear view.
The Florentine was said to have influenced the roof’s of the ’67-68 coupes, albeit with rear side windows added.
As was I, at the age of eight. We went three times, and I insisted on going on the GM Futurama ride each time. The “City of Light” at the end of that ride is my single most vivid memory of the Fair, although riding in the Mustangs at the Ford pavilion is a a close second.
To be a young boy at that Fair, during the early optimistic Space Age when the future held the promise of an unending series of wonders!
The other photos don’t show the standup hood ornament, which didn’t really catch on until the 70’s (something I miss on my DTS). All it needs are opera windows.
I was only 4 at the World’s Fair. All I remember are the hollow plastic molded dinosaurs and It’s a Small World, mostly because of seeing it again at Disneyland in ’68. I must have been overwhelmed.
Class and Elegance personified.
I’m not a fan of fender skirts but I’m not sure how I feel about the open fender Eldorado, it kind of reminds me of the bathtub Nash/Ramblers or whale Caprice when their skirts were removed later in their runs – yeah it looks more conventional, but it looks like *something* is missing. I think the execution would have been better maybe had the lower body chrome trim been removed or toned down as well.
I find the ’63 easier on my eyes. After a somewhat dissociative appearance in 1961-62 with sharper contours, lower-fin “skegs”, and a grille that looked more Chevy than Cadillac, the 1963 model restored continuity with the iconic 1959-60 Caddies, cementing styling themes that would persist into the ’70s if not longer. The grille, headlamp treatment, fender/door contours, and taillights in particular update the 59-60 look for the Sixties. The ’64 comes off as busier and less graceful, and the taillamps have a gaping-maw look.
Leaving off the fender skirt – leaving off anything – is an interesting approach to differentiating a more expensive model, though it’s been done successfully many times.
Matthew Weiner, the creator of “Mad Men” eventually gave Don Draper a ’62 Cadillac (the lower skeg fin model) Coupe de Ville and his former wife Betty’s new older politician husband a ’61 Lincoln Continental. He said this was because he was a big fan of that Cadillac model when he was a kid. This history clearly clouded his judgement. They should have had the opposite cars (although a Fleetwood for the new husband). Later Don was driving a red 1964 Imperial Crown Convertible, not a bad choice for his new California life.
(I watched the series on library DVD’s. Most episodes had one or two commentary tracks. It was a marathon, and highly recommended. I didn’t even notice there was nothing close to realish sex because it was on AMC until I read that.)
I quit watching when Fonzie ran over the guy’s feet with the lawn-mowing shark.
I think the omission of fender skirts was something of an Eldorado tradition, originally intended to show off the “Sabre-spoke” wheels.
One ’64 Eldorado convertible came my way about 1982-’83. At an evening used car auction nearby my friend and I attended frequently as he dealt in them occasionally, one appeared that was clearly a savagely rusted city car. A $25 bid and it was ours. I drove it the eighteen miles home, mostly no exhaust system left and cool autumn air plus fumes arising from everywhere.
In the morning, the Eldorado was a badly rusted as we suspected, road signs in the floor wells, trunk floors gone behind the wheel wells. It ran wonderfully well and all the power equipment worked including the top. Best part was all the Eldorado-specific exterior trim, bucket seats, door panels and dash pad were in good shape.
I proceeded to advertise in Hemmings I was parting it out. Everything ’64 Eldorado-specific sold quickly to other guys restoring those cars. Even things like the air conditioning was bought by a Cadillac owner that wanted it. Eventually the carcass was hauled away by a ’60’s Cadillac collector who wanted the good powertrain. For all I know, the subject car might have parts in it from the one I parted out decades ago!
Great shot Dean and what a gorgeous Caddy. The 63 and 64 Caddies are at the top of my list for 1960s Caddies, right along side the 65 and 66s. When it comes to 63 and 64s, put me firmly in the camp of liking the ’64 Eldo sans skirts far better.
I adore it. The open rear wheels and crisper tail lights/ bumper treatment are great. Forget a ’64 Continental, this the one.
I’ve always liked these open wheel wells on the ’64s but I much prefer the overall ’63 styling.
But I don’t think the open wheel wells would work on the ’63 – the design is too formal and upright. the ’64 changes made both the front and rear sportier on all models, and none for better in my opinion. But then ’64 was very weird year across GM design
Dropping the skirt certainly helped the ’75 Eldorado hide some of its bloat, at least from a distance.