1970's styling ! what were they thinking?

[Glaswegian]

Came across a car for sale with an interior I've never seen the like of ! Reminds me of clothing folk wore and the colour schemes in homes of the era I grew up in.

It had an orange vinyl roof too

[James Landi]

Some dare call it garish, reflecting a cultural inflection point following Vietnam, Watergate, and the cultural revolution that was occurring during that decade.  The restrained styling of the post war II era, the "men in gray flannel suits" the "Mad Men Era" was fast fading, as the youth culture and sexual revolution pushed all of our societal boundaries.   I think the Cadillac designers were attempting to provide their loyal customers with visual cues that reflected, in effect, that they were "with it."  Another point: Cadillac provided customers with so many choices for interior soft goods--- it was extraordinary. 

[rwchatham CLC 21892]

It’s so wild it’s beautiful , maybe I’m just tired of cookie cutter interiors of modern cars , I’ll buy it !!

[35-709]

A few more examples of the wild and crazy and wonderful interiors Cadillac offered back in the '70s ---

[INTMD8]

I love all these interiors! 

Don't get me wrong, I love classic/basic combinations but oddball stuff is really neat too.

Link to car in original post please.

[David Greenburg]

Don’t forget the “Medici Velour” and the “Minosa Cloth” which seems like a euphemism for “Grandma’s Couch.” Unfortunately I don’t have time to pull up pictures at the moment, but will later unless Dave Smith beats me to it.

[V63]

I have the orange plaid version! When I first saw one in about 1975...I thought it was the ugliest car I had ever seen🤢.

Now, I think it’s absolutely great! I actually sought one! Mine had factory S bars installed on the top and those had to come off.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

We once had a 1976 CdV in orange metallic, white roof and interior in orange/black/gray plaid pattern on white background.

[Cadillac Nut]

Enough time has gone by that these combinations are so wild and over the top, they are cool now.  I agree with what James says.  I tried to buy a '75 or 76 with that orange color combination interior, it's just crazy, it's fun.  I think the red one is the wildest of all though, geez! 

[Scot Minesinger]

I'm in!, these interiors are really cool and I like them

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

My wife brought this 75 home about 12 years ago. It sort of has to grow on you.
Greg Surfas

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

The 70's were "different".  You had to be there to fully
appreciate them.  Remember the clothing styles for
men? The polyester "look" in suits, pants, everything!
The haircuts with hair over the ears, long sideburns?

The upholstery and styling of the cars all kind of blend
together nicely in memory -- hard to believe that's 50
years ago.

When I was driving my then brand new '73 Eldo to work
that's the way it was!

Mike

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

Mike
I used to drive my new 72 Eldo up to Jay Sebrings and get my hair cut. No longer have the Eldo but still get the “Sebrings” hair cut. Yes I do still have hair
Greg Surfas

[Rich S]

The first picture posted by Mr. Newcombe is of the Montecello Velour in a '75 Fleetwood Brougham. My friend's (we were both eleven years old then) father was an executive and CEO of an international company, and his Dad bought his first Cadillac (after a series of Olds 98's), and claimed to have gotten a "great year-end deal" because of the interior--the car was a '75 Fleetwood Brougham in Commodore Blue, and a White Vinyl Top, and the Montecello Velour interior in Dark Blue/Light Blue--and he had the vinyl top changed to Dark Blue to match the exterior. At that time, my parents had a '74 Fleetwood Brougham with leather interior, and although I liked the new for '75 rectangular headlamps, 500 cubic inch V-8 and the wider WSW tires, I thought the Montecello velour interior was atrocious! Now,  it seems a bit more acceptable, but I think I would still prefer our previous year model with its leather seats. Such frivolous differences, compared to today's new cars!

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

You guys should have seen some of the Leisure Suits I sold in the 1970s. I am eternally grateful that Richman Brothers discouraged managers from wearing them at all. (And I forgot about the shirts with the layover collars!)

I brought home the "extra" Data Books from the Museum to sell and there is a 1972 one. In it, they state that 90% of Cadillac buyers opted for the vinyl roofs. So it really was a "sign of the times."

[David Greenburg]

The interiors really were a reflection of the times; not only the clothes and hair, but other design features, like appliance colors, shag carpeting etc. we’re pretty hideous. And don’t get me started on the musical equivalent- disco.  I’ll pass on all that other stuff, but I’d love  a nice Talisman in velour.

[James Landi]

There are two interesting "themes" that float to the top of this wonderfully animated discussion, as follows:  We all agree that we were initially appalled by the garishness of some of the interiors, and now,  we find them refreshingly appealing.   Someone mentioned at the beginning of this thread the "cookie cutter" lack of distinctiveness that is characteristic of today's car interiors.  Am I on safe ground to state that this "practical, no nonsense interior" is a foreign car trend that eventually became the norm, just as "road feel," no chrome, and black walls are now entirely au courant?   

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

I doubt foreign influence has much to do with it as simply the cyclical nature of styling trends.

Arguably the first "over the top" Cadillac styling began in the late '20s and continued throughout the early '30s when the Great Depression changed the public attitude towards conspicuous consumption. Within a few years came WWII which further pushed styling towards utility and practicality.

After the war and the prosperity it brought, we began to see a return to more flamboyant styling and a wider array of colors, many of them bright pastels throughout the '50s, reflecting the collective optimism of the time.

Then in the 1960s, styling and colors again became more conservative as the public had their fill of big tailfins and bright pastels. There was a lot of civil unrest in the '60s too and the brightly colored "dinosaurs" of the previous decade were decidedly passe' and out of date.

By the 1970s, the standards of dress and decor had become more relaxed and less formal than it had been and the plaid interiors of the '70s were an extension of that trend. However, plaid interiors were never overly popular even in the '70s; the majority of Cadillacs of the era were furnished with more traditional cloths and leathers as even then, many buyers probably felt plaid patterns might become a bit tiresome on the eyes over time and/or may be harmful to resale value. In the case of the latter, they'd be correct as the trend was short lived and with the onset of economic uncertainty that began to appear in the late '70s/early '80s, we saw a return to more conservative attitudes towards styling/colors and a plaid interior Cadillac was decidedly outdated just as the finned behemoths of the '50s had been before. 

As they say, everything old becomes new again and rarity coupled with distinction usually bode well for most things in the collector arena. Regardless of how one feels towards plaid interiors, there's little doubt about what period of time they represent, and at that, they represent it in spades!

[Cape Cod Fleetwood]

My 75 had the orange plaid interior, I thought it looked like a picnic table.
Little did I know....

\m/
Laurie

[BJM]

I definitely still see these interiors in my searches.  For me, they are fine because I would only be purchasing a 70's Cadillac for collection or as a relic of their time and it may be more interesting to show one of the wilder interiors over straight leather. 

But I would be careful on some of those plaid interiors, for purchase.  They seem "thin" and not as robust as some of the brocades or leather.  Other than that, bring em' on!