Bloomberg: Rediscovering the Awesomeness of a 1967 Cadillac Coupe de Ville

[Bruce Nunnally]

This is the signature whip Caddy made from 1946 to 2006, with prime years in the ’60s (older ones look like overstuffed pillows). The line included both convertible and coupe versions, both intended as iterations of the perfect car for cruising around the neighborhood. The name, of course, is French for “of the town.”

I borrowed this particular Coupe de Ville from a man in Detroit who has owned it for decades. Cadillac has worked hard to recapture the allure of its past cars, and I wanted to get a feel firsthand for what exactly made them cool. So after pulling some strings to get the car on location one freezing day in January, I got my chance to see for myself.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-12/rediscovering-the-awesomeness-of-a-1967-cadillac-deville

[rockfangd]

Wow that is beautiful. That color looks just like my D'elegance. Boy they sure knew how to make a classy car back then

[BodybyFisher]

And then came the 1968, 472 ci version, I had one in milk chocolate a convertible. Loved that car. The 65 through 68 styling development was beautiful. I was not crazy about the 69/70 as compared to 67/68.

[KHE]

My opinion was that the '69 and '70 Cadillac's were the best - My grandfather had a '69 Sedan DeVille (purchased new) and my Dad had a '70 Sedan Deville (purchased in '72). I loved those cars. The '71-'72 were Ok but not nearly as good as the '69-'70 in my opinion. The '69 had the horn button integrated with the steering wheel rim - to honk the horn you just need to apply pressure to the inner portion of the steering wheel. That was a one year only feature - the 1970s had the three separate horn buttons on the steering wheel spokes as well as the center portion of the steering wheel.

Those '69 steering wheels in original condition go for BIG BUCKS on the used market.

The '73's were good looking cars but the '74-'76 models took a great deal of getting used to... The '75-'76 Lincolns were MUCH better looking cars in my opinion but I'd have still signed the deal on a '76 Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance over the Town Car in a heartbeat....

[Cadillac Jim]

I always found Lincolns such boring cars compared to Cadillacs. A ride in a Lincoln was nice, but a ride in a Cadillac was memorable. What did you really aspire to?

I had an opportunity to get a three-year-old 1988 Lincoln Town Car, which was Road & Track or somebody's Car of the Year when it came out. I drove the car previously off and on for some time, not a lot of miles but enouh so that I felt accostomed to the car and understood its capabilities. The suspension was great, adapting well to different road surfaces and providing respectable handling, not a lot of dive or squat, and the 302 engine provided adequat power, particulary for takeoff. When it became available, I turned it down, recommending that it be wholesaled, and it was. Never looked back. I NEVER would have done that with *any* Cadillac, even one of the 4.1 liter jobs.

[KHE]

I always found Lincolns such boring cars compared to Cadillacs. A ride in a Lincoln was nice, but a ride in a Cadillac was memorable. What did you really aspire to?

I had an opportunity to get a three-year-old 1988 Lincoln Town Car, which was Road & Track or somebody's Car of the Year when it came out. I drove the car previously off and on for some time, not a lot of miles but enouh so that I felt accostomed to the car and understood its capabilities. The suspension was great, adapting well to different road surfaces and providing respectable handling, not a lot of dive or squat, and the 302 engine provided adequat power, particulary for takeoff. When it became available, I turned it down, recommending that it be wholesaled, and it was. Never looked back. I NEVER would have done that with *any* Cadillac, even one of the 4.1 liter jobs.

The '75-'79 Lincoln Town Cars blew away the Cadillacs of that era except for the Fleetwood Broughams. The Lincoln styling was so much better. That was the ONLY era that Lincoln had the edge on Cadillac in my opinion. There was no comparison between a '77 Town Car and a '77 Sedan DeVille.

[BodybyFisher]

Kevin, i didnt know cadillac had that feature within the wheel rim if I recall ford had that feature also at some point. I had a friend who had a 70 in deep blue, he had 2 beautiful daughters, I cant tell you how many times I waxed his car!!!

[KHE]

Kevin, i didnt know cadillac had that feature within the wheel rim if I recall ford had that feature also at some point. I had a friend who had a 70 in deep blue, he had 2 beautiful daughters, I cant tell you how many times I waxed his car!!!

The horn button was not the inner metal ring of earlier '60 cars but was integrated into the actual steering wheel rim. If the driver wanted to sound the horn, they squeezed the inner portion of the steering wheel. It was really awesome in my opinion but it was only in the 1969 cars. Those steering wheels in original, unmolested condition bring BIG (obscene!) bucks. They were only used for ONE model year.

[JohnnyG]

And I can tell you first hand that it worked very well! I was driving down a fairly "Pittsburgh straight" road when an oncoming coal truck ran me off the road! I was in my Dark Maroon / Black 1969 SDV and in my panic, just held on tight...the horn blowing all the while! Talk about ergonomic design. Worked like a champ, never had to loosen my grip on the wheel. Never got a scratch on that car either.

[BodybyFisher]

I always thought that was a great feature on the Ford, I never knew the 69 had it. Wonder why it was not continued