1976 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible

The Cadillac Eldorado is a luxury car manufactured and marketed by Cadillac from 1952 to 2002 over twelve generations - this being a ninth-generation car (1971-1978). Throughout its production, the Eldorado was at or near the top of the Cadillac line. The original 1953 Eldorado convertible and the Eldorado Brougham models of 1957-1960 had distinct bodyshells and were the most expensive models that Cadillac offered those years. 1976 was to be the final year for the Eldorado convertible and the car was heavily promoted by General Motors as "the last American convertible". Some 14,000 would be sold, many purchased as investments. The final 200 were designated as "Bicentennial Edition" commemorating America's 200th birthday.

These cars were white with a dual-color red/blue pinstripe along the upper bodyside. When GM reintroduced Eldorado convertibles for the 1984 model year, owners of 1976 Eldorados felt they had been deceived and launched an unsuccessful class action lawsuit. Having received a major facelift the previous year, the 1976 Eldorado received only minor styling changes, including a new grille and revised taillamp lenses. In 2002, GM announced the end of the Eldorado line. 1596 red or white convertibles were produced in three batches of 532.

The Cadillac Eldorado is a luxury car manufactured and marketed by Cadillac from 1952 until 2002 over twelve generations.

The Eldorado was at or near the top of the Cadillac line. The original 1953 Eldorado convertible and the Eldorado Brougham models of 1957–1960 had distinct bodyshells and were the most expensive models that Cadillac offered those years. The Eldorado was never less than second in price after the Cadillac Series 75 limousine until 1966.  Starting in 1967 the Eldorado retained its premium position in the Cadillac price structure, but was manufactured in high volumes on a unique, two-door personal luxury car platform.

The Eldorado carried the Fleetwood designation from 1965 through 1972, and was a modern revival of the pre-war Cadillac V-12 and Cadillac V-16 roadsters and convertibles.

The nameplate Eldorado is a contraction of two Spanish words that translate as "the gilded (i.e., golden) one" — and also refers to El Dorado, the mythical Colombian "Lost City of Gold" that fascinated Spanish explorers.

Chosen in an internal competition for a 1952 concept vehicle celebrating Cadillac's golden anniversary, the name Eldorado was subsequently adopted for a limited-edition convertible for model year 1953.

Cadillac began using the nameplates "Eldorado Seville", after the city in southern Spain, and "Eldorado Biarritz" after the luxury seaside resort in southern France, to distinguish between the hardtop and convertible models (respectively) while both were offered, from 1956 through 1960 inclusively. The "Seville" name was dropped when the hardtop was initially discontinued (1961), but the Biarritz name continued through 1964. Beginning in 1965, the Eldorado became the 'Fleetwood Eldorado'. 'Biarritz' returned as an up-level trim package for the Eldorado for 1976 until 1991.

1976 was to be the final year for the Eldorado convertible and the car was heavily promoted by General Motors as "the last American convertible". Some 14,000 would be sold, many purchased as investments. The final 200 convertibles were designated as "Bicentennial Edition" commemorating America's 200th birthday. All 200 of these cars were identical, painted white with a dual red/blue pinstripe along the upper bodyside and inside, a commemorative plaque was mounted on the dashboard. When Cadillac reintroduced the Eldorado convertible for the 1984 model year, several customers who had purchased 1976 Eldorado convertibles as investments, felt they had been deceived and launched an unsuccessful class action lawsuit against General Motors. Having received a major facelift the previous year, the Eldorado for 1976 received only minor styling changes, including a new grille, a small Cadillac script on the hood face, revised taillamp lenses and new black painted wheel covers.

For 1977, the Eldorado again received a new grille with a finer crosshatch pattern. New vertical taillamps were relocated to the chrome bumper-fender extensions. New 'Eldorado' block-lettering appeared on the hood face and new rectangular side marker lights with 'Eldorado' block-lettering replaced the 'Eldorado' script on the rear fenders. The convertible was dropped (although Custom Coach of Lima, Ohio converted a few 1977 and 1978 Eldorados into convertibles using salvaged parts from earlier models). The mammoth 500 cu in. (8.2L) V8 of 1970–76 was replaced by a new 425 cu in. (7L) V8 with 180 bhp (134 kW) available in all 1977 Cadillacs, except the Seville.

500 cubic-inch V-8 engine

215 horsepower

3-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic transmission

126.3-inch wheelbase