What could have been: 1971 Cadillac Shooting Break

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Remember the Eldorado?
The big Cadillac coupe.

Seems that GM, at one point, thought it was a good idea to turn that car into a 2 door wagon.

Here are pictures of the prototype . I don’t think the idea went any further than this clay model.
Too bad. I think it looks great.

Conversation 22 comments

  1. its look as oversized, and rediculous as most of the cars during that time. and i agree it looks like a 2 door hearse

  2. Those were the days when GM was King of the Hill.

    How times have changed!

    Now GM is a money-losing mess with a bland, redundant line of cars and UAW’s choke hold.

    Who’d a thunk it?

  3. “Those were the days when GM was King of the Hill.

    How times have changed!

    Now GM is a money-losing mess with a bland, redundant line of cars and UAW’s choke hold.

    Who’d a thunk it?”

    The UAW also produced the 1971 Eldorado. Respectfully, what’s the point of your comment?

  4. Small 2-door wagon – good idea.
    LARGE 2-door wagon – bad idea.
    Would of made more sense to do a 4-door Seville wagon in 1975.

  5. Anytime a wagon gets too Formal, too sophisticated, too comfortable, too Quality — its a hearse. Remember the days when car companies didn’t pretend that a jittery stiff ride was necessary for handeling? When they didn’t pretend that all customers had some insane need to corner FLAT at 125mph? I put 30,000++ miles a year on one car alone (of the 4 I drive) and would give up everything (MPG, handeling, reasonable price) for something as S M O O T H , and QUIET as a 1970’s Cad/Lincoln/Imperial. And no, the wallowy lexus 400 (450?) sedan doesn’t cut it. It may corner like a ’75 Fleetwood; but its not that smooth.

  6. TO: VINCE; Thanks for these “retrospective interludes” It helps fill the time between the ever-increasingly-long space between “model freshings” I miss the days when minor style changes occured yearly. Nowdays a car can be out for half a decade with little or no change — and it gets pretty boring looking at the same old Ford or Honda year after year. I often find myself shopping for a new car out of BORDOM, rather than because the old Cad or Acura has any real problems.

  7. Now’s the time to build that hearse to carry the bodies of the brainless GM brass and the attorneys who negotiated the gravy-train contract for the UAW workers. Personally, I’d like to see the company tank and the Federal Government NOT BAIL IT OUT.

  8. I was thinking the same.
    Sometimes I hang out at some old car meetings. And even the 70’s stuff looks cool.

    Sometimes I wonder if it’s not better to get a “perfect condition” 70’s huge Cadillac for around $10 000 than spending twice or 3 times as much on a new “boring” car….

  9. how crazy to actually hate a company, gm is running a sweat shop, of killing people, i agree this car is hideous but that comment was stupid. the cadillacs today are much better than those of old, and have been for quite some time, and cadillac and gm in general have a came a long way, instead of looking at gm (hey this just cars, come off the crazy.)why not look at some your own problems (mental)

  10. yes.. GM cars are Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t.

  11. Each issue of “Collectible Automobile” has photos like these, both of concepts that didn’t make production as well as proposed syling variations on the way to a final production model. I’d never seen this Caddy shot before and it’s very interesting because although no “utility” versions of luxury cars -per se- have made production, the idea certainly has come to fruition in the Caddy line of Escalades. Once the craze with SUV’s dies out (as it certainly will), I bet you’ll see more actual car-based rather than truck-based vehicles like this proposal.

  12. “The UAW also produced the 1971 Eldorado. Respectfully, what’s the point of your comment?”

    The point is that GM could afford the UAW then. More likely, GM yielded to UAW’s past demands for fear of strikes with the expectation that GM’s market share would continue to remain dominant.

    But GM’s market share in the U.S. now is half of what it was and the company can’t afford the giveaways it promised during better days.

    Yes, GM made a deal with the UAW. But the UAW had a gun to GM’s head.
    Now look at the mess.

    Unions are parasites that ultimately kill their hosts.

  13. You said’ “Unions are parasites that ultimately kill their hosts.” I say you are very profound — Seriously! Succent, yet accurate.

  14. No matter which of the last four decades, GM has always had a hankering to bring back the Nomad. I’m sure all along that there were marketing types prjecting a need for a “sporty” car that could carry stuff for people with “active lifestyles”.

    Over the years we’ve seen these photos for Nomad concept Camaros, Firebirds, GTOs, and even Corvettes. The Vega “Wagon” even made production. Who whould have thought that the concept would hit paydirt not with a derivative not of a coupe, but of a compact pickup truck, the S-10 Blazer!

    You gotta give someone at GM credit for that one. For better (profits) or worse (resource usage, US buyer common sense) they started the whole SUV craze with that vehicle.

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