1973 Cadillac Eldorado

Our History
This 1973 Cadillac Eldorado was purchased by Gary Bergenske in Pompano Beach Florida in July of 1991.  This automobile was the classic design and color for that year, white with a red leather interior.  This color combination is the one that was used for the 1973 Indy Pace Car, and in most of Cadillac's advertising this year.

The automobile is a truly a large car, easily accommodating 6 adults for a comfortable ride with the top down.  The car seams to just float down the road, but the large 500 cubic inch engine requires a good supply of fuel to keep her going.  But, oh, what a comfortable ride.  This car was sold in 1996.

1973 Cadillac History
The bigger V-8 of 1970 hinted that a bigger Eldo was on the way. But though the mostly new 1971 edition was 6.3 inches longer between wheel centers, it was just 0.6-inch longer overall and only some 75 pounds heavier. Even so, the more rounded styling made it look far bulkier than its crisply chiseled forebears, and most of the extra wheelbase went ahead of the firewall, not into the cockpit. All of which later moved Automobile Quarterly to lament that "there is absolutely no logical reason for owning [this] Eldorado.... In terms of efficiency it ranks somewhere near zero.... In terms of handling it is a barge compared with the very nice car it was six years ago. It also has the thirstiest engine in production."

But if this Eldorado seemed outsize then, let alone now, it was precisely what the luxury market wanted for most of the self-indulgent Seventies. Sales bear this out. Bolstered by a revived Eldorado convertible (replacing the de Ville ragtop), this series recorded sizeable production gains through 1973, dipped in Energy Crisis '74, recovered in 1975-76, then soared to a record 47,000 in swan-song 1977-78.

The front-wheel-drive Eldorados were restyled stem to stern. A new egg crate grille was seen. The front bumper had an angular, in-and-out look with wide spread vertical guards. Parking lamps wrapped around the body corners. On the sides of the cars, a thin rub molding ran from behind the forward wheel housing and stretched nearly to the round, rear side marker lamps, which had wreath and crest ornamentation. Gone were the vertical rear fender breaks (along with the windsplit trim), but fender skirts and bright underscores were used again. An Eldorado script was seen behind the front wheel opening. The deck lid still bulged up at the top center, but was flatter along its rear face. The rear bumper was flatter and straighter, too. Vertical taillamps looked somewhat like the previous type, but with the heavy chrome housings deleted. They slanted slightly forward at the same angle as the fender line. Standard Eldorado extras included Automatic Level Control, new energy absor! bing bumper system, "coach" windows for coupes and the 500 cubic inch V-8.


This car was the 1973 Indy Pace Car

Specifications