As covered in our previous installment, Cadillac unveiled the new and very downsized Eldorado coupe for 1986. Both it and its sibling the Seville received new designs in line with the rest of Cadillac’s offerings (save Fleetwood Brougham) that were previously downsized for the second time in 1985. The lineup was down to when early 80s GM management bet the farm on projected high gasoline prices that did not come to fruition. Today we’ll take a look at what the shrinkage meant for Eldorado’s exterior styling that no longer came with length.
Note: The sage green metallic Eldorado is a 1985 (and surely a special order), while the light pink is a 1986 (also probably a special order). Both are in basic trim specification for the year.
Perhaps the most notable change in 1986 was the undoing of a prominent feature shared by all Cadillacs since the 1930s: chrome bumpers. The heavy and shiny horizontal bar of 1985 was replaced by a plastic bumper cover in 1986 that featured a chrome decor strip. Indicator lamps moved from beneath the headlamp to be inset within the bumper and were amber colored instead of clear.
Bumper guards were no longer chrome extensions but shrank and became plastic and body colored. At that point they were just a design hangover from Seventies legislation and were no longer needed. They became more of a license plate decor feature in this period. Below, a black valence strip made the Eldorado look lower to the ground and also managed air flow underneath the car.
An additional smaller grille appeared below the bumper to aid in engine cooling, as the HT4100 was now crammed into a much smaller space than previously and was transverse rather than longitudinal in orientation. The main grille was smaller than ever, and featured a squarer egg crate pattern than the previous generation. Also reduced was the chrome apex above the grille, as the power bulge of the hood was revised from a point into a rounded curve.
Beside the grille was an exciting new feature, as US lighting regulation finally moved past the 1950s and roughly to where the rest of the world was in the early Seventies: composite lamps replaced sealed beams. Finally, designers could do more with headlamps than plain rectangles or circles in some multiple of two. The flush composite headlamp look was a major step forward in automotive design and was a clean break point between old and new cars.
The chrome of the bumper now extended around the side of the Eldorado in a thick line, which continued around the entire perimeter as it turned into door and body side trim, as well as rear bumper decoration. It was likely an attempt to make the Eldorado look longer than it was. Notably, the Eldorado’s traditional front fender fins were eliminated in 1986, as the front of the Eldorado sloped to a point (and body panels also had to work for the Riviera and Toronado). At the front corners a new Eldorado script badge appeared, to ensure onlookers they were not viewing a Riviera.
At the A-pillar, a more steeply raked windshield replaced the more relaxed angle of 1985 as designers had to make the most of the available interior acreage. Integrated wing mirrors in plastic replaced the standalone chrome versions that accompanied the doors of Cadillacs for decades prior. Around the window there was minimal chrome trim, another notable departure from the prior model.
Also revised were the window frames themselves, as hardtop styling went away in favor of conventional framed doors. Rear side windows were larger than the prior model, as the B-pillar shrunk to make a more modern looking roofline. The high rear deck look traditional to the Eldorado was accomplished via a rear side window that was slightly larger and squarer than the Riviera or Toronado.
Applied to the B-pillar was a simple Cadillac wreath and crest, as there was no longer room for Eldorado script. As time went on more Eldorados would be specified with a plain metal roof; vinyl or canvas of yore fell out of fashion amongst buyers under the age of 65. Popular with most buyers were the faux wire wheel covers, which were selected much more often than the two available turbine design alloys.
At the rear ¾ view there were more design departures, or perhaps travesties. The finned rear, established at Cadillac in 1948 was no more. In its place was a smooth sloped fender line that was completely flush with the trunk lid. Remember, the body panels had to be usable for the near-identical Riviera and Toronado. Because the rear lamps had to be contained within the rear and not venture onto the fender at all, a new red reflector badge aft of the rear wheel was mandatory.
The squared off trunk lid was similar to the previous Eldorado, but much steeper in its rear edge since the Eldorado needed to come to a quick conclusion in length. Tail lamps were a rounded spear shape at either side and wore brougham-style winged crests from the Seventies once more. The required red reflectors at the rear migrated from their previous position in the bumper to the lower edge of the rear trim panel.
Between them the license plate was surrounded by larger reversing lamps. The expected Cadillac wreath and crest concealed the trunk’s lock cylinder, and Eldorado badging remained where it was on the trunk lid. The rear as a whole looked less cohesive than previous designs in part because the trunk lid no longer made up the entire rear fascia: There was a seam in the middle that made for a higher lift over and meant the trunk lid no longer accommodated around the license plate.
Much like the front end, the rear received a plastic body colored bumper cover in 1986, decorated with chrome trim. Bumper guards were reduced to a mere notion, barely noticeable as they were body colored as well. Unlike the front end with its black valence, the rear received no such treatment and looked a bit too high or pinched from a side view. The design was no longer lengthened by chrome lower rocker trim, as that work was delegated to the body side molding.
If the exterior was a departure for the Eldorado customer of 1986, then the interior was doubly so. In our next installment we will take a look at the downmarket trappings Cadillac fitted to its most exclusive coupe in 1986. We hope you enjoy green digital gauges and swaths of tiny, identical buttons.
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