As this year winds to an end, I marvel at how Twenty-Seventeen seems to have passed with unusual speed. It seems like only a few months ago, I was putting together a playlist for a party-favor mix-CD for the New Year’s Eve bash I was co-hosting. To me, 2016 seemed like one of the most manic-depressive years of extreme highs and lows that I remembered experiencing in a long time, with the elation of the Chicago Cubs (finally) winning the World Series title, a rapid-fire slew of celebrity deaths, and myriad other political and cultural occurrences, both good and bad. I ended last year in a very dark place for a variety of reasons, but held out hope that 2017 would somehow be better… because it couldn’t not be better, just by default. Much of 2017 was, indeed, an improvement over the year before it.
I’m not actually sure what model year of eight-generation (1979 – ’85) Cadillac Eldorado the above car was, as I was scrambling to get my lens cap off before it disappeared. If this Eldo was a ’79 or an ’80, I’m sure that at the time it was new, many Americans might have viewed the upcoming, new decade of the 1980s with more than a bit of uncertainty. The necessities of downsizing cars had already been the reality for several years, and bigger was no longer seen as better. There was a new United States president, new wave music, a new economic recession – lots of change occurred at that time. Also in 1980, my family’s plans to relocate overseas were thwarted by a military coup that had occurred in the country to which we had planned to move.
Coincidentally, “change” ended up being my buzzword for this year. For as many things that seemed murky as I faced the new year, I learned more about my own capacity to meld and adapt, and that I had more ability for it than I had previously believed. By necessity, I learned and have now nearly mastered a whole, new set of systems at work. I became and felt even more empowered to make my voice heard when it truly mattered, with judicious use of what I felt was good discretion.
I conquered a certain fear of overseas travel with as many senseless, unsavory acts going on in the world that seem to be reported almost daily. My weeklong, November trip to Italy, which included Rome, the site of the classic Mini above, was not just a welcome change of environment, but a reminder that the world is such a bigger place than the handful of states and zip codes in which I spend the bulk of my time throughout the year.
I acclimated to a new personal computer after my old one died. I made and retained friendships with people whose opinions on certain things important to me couldn’t differ more from my own. I learned to become a better, more objective listener. Of even more significance, I found the courage to let some friendships and other things go, with the continued understanding that being respected is always more important than being liked. To me, all of these accomplishments were noteworthy. What do all of these things have to do with two pictures of two cars on two different continents, speeding down two main thoroughfares?
My premise is this, and as the late, great, Detroit-born trumpeter Donald Byrd sang on the Mizell Brothers-produced classic above, “Change makes you want to hustle.” Just like the drivers of these two cars appeared to be making haste to get to their respective destinations, sometimes one simply has to continue to move steadily forward, even if armed with little else but blunt determination. Twenty-Seventeen turned out more than alright. I am confident that 2018, though it will inevitably differ from this year, will bring even more change, but with the new things I’ve learned about myself over the course of the past 356 days, I’m pretty sure I’ll be alright, no matter what. Onward march.
Eldorado as seen in Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday, September 2, 2017.
Mini as seen in Rome, Italy on Saturday, November 11, 2017.
I don’t care what other people say, I love this generation of the Eldorado, even if it really is just the 1st generation car “modernized” . To me, this Eldorado stands with the downsized B bodies, especially the coupes, as a highpoint in GM styling.
I may be biased, but I am tempted to buy a Navy blue 80 Eldorado I recently found on Craigslist. It even had a near new set of Vogue-type whitewalls.
My grandparents had a ’79 Eldorado, it was a nice car. Bit of torque steer but otherwise quite fun to drive.
Roger Penske modified an Eldo in this bodystyle with fat Goodyear Wingfoot tires and aftermarket wheels, there was an article in one of the car mags…this Eldo reminds me of the Penske car.
Vogue Tyres used to be built on a contract basis by Goodyear, but GY phased-out their contract production and as far as I’m aware the Vogues are now built in China, for better or worse. The sidewall shape of the “old” Vogues reminded me of the 80s era Goodyear Tiempo and G-Metric…pronounced ridge around the sidewall, not a smooth curve.
Supposedly that Penske Eldorado was examined by Cadillac executives, and served as the inspiration for the production Touring Coupe.
Apparently it was called a Penske/RS
I like this a lot – I don’t think I had heard of this before today.
I’m not actually sure what model year of eight-generation (1979 – ’85) Cadillac Eldorado the above car was…
That’s unfortunate, a true 1979 model would be a rare bird at this point. I’d love to find a mint condition 1979 Toronado with the Olds 350 (only year it was offered in that generation) and three speed auto. That would be a fairly stout combo for the late 70s.
I used to work on one for a guy, it had some sort of fuel injection on it, I’m pretty sure it was a 79 Eldo with a olds 350..
A great pair of compare/contrast photos of cars on two continents.
It is good to hear that 2017 worked out better for you than you thought it would. I hope that one constant in your life for 2018 will be many more CC pieces for the rest of us to enjoy. 🙂
Joseph, Thank you for a year of great car reporting. The human story behind any particular car, that’s the whole soul of Curbside Classics. I thank Paul for starting and hosting this party. Moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other, that’s all we can do. Even the Winter Warlock learned how to do it!
Man those “Rankin & Bass” productions were soooooooo campy. (But I still quote Yukon Cornelius”.)
Yukon: “This fog’s thicker than peanut butter.”
Herbie the Elf: “Don’t you mean pea soup?”
Yukon: “You eat what YOU like to eat, and I’ll eat what I LIKE to eat.”
Thanks, Jose. I also like the Rankin & Bass specials! I was in a diner last fall when this one was being played on TV… I didn’t seem to be the only one transfixed!
To quote Principal Dan below, some of the dialogue was, indeed, campy, but that’s just part of it’s charm for me. 🙂
Awesome, and “one foot in front of the other” is exactly how it’s going to be.
I doubt I’m the only one, I think any Eldorado of the 79-85 vintage without a vinyl roof (with the exception of convertibles) just doesn’t look quite right.
The lack of a vinyl toupee coupled with the black walltires give this Eldorado a very different personality from the normal geriatric versions. It looks like a much younger man’s car, as the Mercury ads used to proclaim, Man’s car.
I think vinyl roofs were the worst possible option ever.
Well done – the last place I’d expect to see a nod to the late, great Donald Byrd …
Places and spaces, Dominoes et al. A greater era for music than cars, I think.
The Mini might not be all that old square rear lights are MK2 or 3 and production only stopped late last century.
Hard to tell, but looks like those are 12 inch minilites, and with the stripe and crest it looks like a mid 90s Cooper, but a lot of base model 1980s Minis were tarted up to look like them.
Guys, thanks for chiming in with those details. Details of the car were a bit blurry in my photo (kiwibryce, thanks for pointing out the size / shape of the taillamps as an identifier), but otherwise, I was at kind of loss to even identify whether it was an earlier BMC model or a later BL.
If it’s stock it’s 1990s, so made by Rover Group, owned at the time by British Aerospace. They were sold through a Rover branded dealer network and often referred to as ‘Rover Mini’ but never badged that way.
Hey Joe…have a great 2018. Freedom to adapt, think and live as you see fit as long as nobody else’s rights are challenged is a basis for a good life. Oh, and keep that keyboard busy!
Amen, and amen. Thanks, Friend, and same to you (and everyone).
I have no clue where I heard this many,many moons ago, but it’s a saying I’ve followed through some of the tough times..
Put your head down and swim like hell til you pop up on the other side!
Keep on swimming Joseph!
Or as Churchill put it: “When you’re going through hell, keep going!”
Thanks Joseph.
Grandma had an ’85 Buick Riviera, and it was one of my favorite cars.