The Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was seen as the most
prestigious Cadillac produced since the V16 in 1940.
It started life in 1954 at the Motorama as a Park Avenue,
a four door sedan, which looked like, but wasn't, a hardtop.
It was a minor success but in May 1954 the GM design supremo,
Harley Earl, began designing the Eldorado, a production
version of the Park Avenue. 1955 produced the prototype
Eldorado Brougham.
It was curvy with pillarless doors and knife-edged fins
with a 90 degree wraparound on the front screen.
Its roof was built from stainless steel and with its narrow white
sidewalls and twin headlights it was seen as an industry
first.
Its air suspended chassis sat on an X-frame. Its
6.3 liter V8 engine was standard, as was GM's Hydramatic transmission.
It had power steering, brakes and windows and loads of
electric-operated devices - automatic headlamp dipper,
cruise control, radio, aerial, door locks, clock and automatic
boot opener.
It also housed polarised sun visors, magnetised
drink tumblers, tissue dispenser, special lipstick and
cologne, ladies powder puff and compact with matching
notebook and comb and an Arpegé atomiser.
Purchasers could select 44 different trim combinations and between karakul
and sheepskin carpets. The life of the Brougham was a mere two years as it was
sold for a fraction of its building cost.