The Cadillac lineup was all-new in 1971, as the brand entered what would be seen later as its decline from the Standard of the World status established (partially via marketing) in 1908. Slab-sided looks of the late Sixties were exchanged for bulbous fenders, and front ends became ever heavier and chromed. Headlamps (aside from Eldorado) were spread apart by a brougham logo, and made for an awkward visual approach. Pointed front corners, a Cadillac design cue since the early Sixties were removed for all models save Eldorado, and used by Pontiac. The Eldorado arrived in its ninth generation and pointed the way forward as Cadillac’s aspirational halo personal luxury coupe and convertible.
The new Fleetwood Eldorado for 1971 continued on the same front-drive version of the E-body platform of 1967 with some notable revisions. Its stablemates in the Buick Riviera and Oldsmobile Toronado also received platform modifications. The most notable changes were dimensional, as wheelbases grew on all models.
In their prior generations of 1966, the Riviera and Toronado shared a 119-inch wheelbase. Their overall lengths were very similar too, as the Riviera measured 211.2 inches, and the Toronado was a minutely tidier 211”. In 1971 the models diverged, as the Riviera took a sportier lean with its rear-drive layout, and the Toronado leaned heavily into disco brougham styling.
Both models saw their wheelbases stretch to 122 inches. The Riviera’s length expanded to 217.4 inches, the shortest it would be for this entire generation as all models experienced bloat. The Toronado was now notably longer than the Riviera, and lost all the sporting pretensions of the stylish initial generation. It measured a quite long 219.9 inches.
Both models also gained about 400 pounds in weight with their growth. Riviera weighed in at 4,247 pounds, while Toronado was 4,841. A modern and luxurious 7-passenger Buick Enclave weighs about 300 pounds less than the Toronado, at 4,537 pounds.
The 1971 Eldorado received the greatest stretch in its dimensions to become the largest of the three by several inches. The wheelbase increased from 120 inches in 1970 to 126 inches in 1971. Overall length increased from 221 inches to 224 inches. Like the others, this exterior measurement would prove the shortest for the entire ninth generation.
Width for Eldorado was shaved off by a 10th of an inch, to 79.8 inches overall. Height increased by a couple of inches as the body grew taller, to 54.2 inches overall. Because the Eldorado already had a huge engine for its 1970 model year, its weight did not increase as much as its siblings: from 4,696 pounds to 4,828 in 1971.
That large 500 cubic inch (8.2L) remained top of the pile in terms of displacement on any production car of the day (or since), and was unchanged. Also unchanged was the three-speed THM-400 HydraMatic used across the GM portfolio of passenger cars. Atop the huge hood was a new feature indicating the car’s luxury status: an upright hood ornament, which replaced the prior flush hood ornamentation. The hood ornament was an Eldorado exclusive in 1971, but would spread to the rest of the line and persist at Cadillac through 2005 and the conclusion of the final Deville DHS.
A hood ornament was an appropriate choice as the Eldorado leaned into brougham features and luxury and lost its original “sport coupe” mission once again. With fender skirts, a longer wheelbase, and more weight in trim and body panels, the Eldorado was much less focused on performance. However, it offered more comfort and space for people inside and could now seat six adults instead of four! Bucket seats? I think not.
Customers also appreciated the return of the convertible Eldorado, as once more they could buy a top-tier cabriolet from Cadillac and not settle for the DeVille. Though it was part of the original Eldorado’s mission statement back in 1953, a convertible version went missing after 1966 as the model sought to differentiate itself from its close DeVille association. Cadillac figured out around 1971 that DeVille differentiation didn’t matter to the customer all that much.
On the tech advancement front, there was a new monitoring system on the Eldorado which would become a customer favorite, and continue through 1993 and the end of the C-body DeVille. Fiber-optic notifications! At either end of the hood were small pods that contained three indicators each, with another in the rear parcel shelf.
The front pods served to mark the corners of the hood, and also conveyed important information to the driver, lighted via fiber-optic cables. The headlamps, tail lamps, parking lamps, turn signals, and brake lights were all indicated via the pods. Appropriately, the brake lamps and rear turn signals indicators were in the pod on the parcel shelf inside the car.
Worth noting, the notification pods were an optional extra on models aside from Eldorado, but were available all the way down to the Calais coupe and sedan (where they were Photoshopped on in the brochure). Today we can make an interesting historical observation about this feature: Wealthy buyers often skipped it on the Fleetwood Seventy-Five. Presumably because their driver should be in charge of the vehicle and ensure its functions are working properly as part of their job. Do take care of the car, Robert.
The ninth generation Eldorado would become the longest model generation to date, a full eight years. During that time, it would be reshuffled, expanded, renamed, facelifted, retrimmed, emissions strangled, and saw its large engine reduced in displacement. In our next installment we’ll see where it all began and check out the exterior styling of the 1971 model.
[Images: General Motors/Cadillac]
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