Forty-Five Consecutive Years of Cadillac Ownership

[Cadillac Fleetwood]

Although I am new to this forum, I am not new to Cadillacs.  My maternal grandparents owned 1955, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1966, 1968, and 1970 Fleetwoods. On Thursday, November 29, 1973, which was four days prior to my seventeenth birthday, my paternal grandmother gave me her 1968 Coupe deVille as my first car.  It was Silverpine metallic, with black leather, black vinyl roof, and the beautiful Brazilian rosewood veneer on the dash, interior door panels, and rear quarter trim.  Two weeks previous, she had purchased a new 1974 Coupe deVille.  But the first fuel crisis had set in, and had been ongoing for nearly a month, and large used cars were not commanding much trade-in or resale value.

My grandmother had purchased the 1968 on October 24, 1967 from Marvin K. Brown Cadillac in San Diego.  I rode home in it with her on the afternoon she took delivery.  Although she purchased it that morning, it wasn't until late afternoon when it was ready for delivery.  Besides the normal undercoating/sound deadener which was applied, she had Vogue "tyres" installed, as well as two pairs of those ridiculous "curb feelers".  But the piece de resistance was the addition of chrome wreaths and cloisonné crests on each "C" pillar. I later learned these were identical to those found on the '67 Eldorados.

On the day I got my first Cadillac, my father had picked me up from school, in a 1972 model of that other luxury make. Upon arriving at home, I was surprised to see my grandmother's Cadillac parked in our driveway. At that time, my grandmother would help my mom and dad in their business, but always made it a point of leaving by 2-2:30 p.m. to be out of traffic. And now it was 4:00 p.m., and I was somewhat alarmed. Dad, is Grandma OK?, I asked, imagining the worst, that she had suddenly fallen ill and had been rushed to the hospital, and with her dying breath, asking Dad to move her Cadillac from the street to the driveway, where it would be safe.  Dad said, don't worry, she's OK, but I do doubt her sanity sometimes, because she asked me to give you something.

He thereupon handed me a large kraft envelope that had been lying on the front seat. It contained a stack of service and repair records, two sets of Cadillac keys in their dealership leather cases, the paid-up car registration for the following year, 1974, and the signed title to the Cadillac.  I had long admired this car, but never dreamed that one day I would own it.  I had read the brochure cover-to-cover dozens of times since that October day in 1967, and had learned about the various features of the car, including the immense power and torque of the new 472 cid engine, the optional front disc brakes, power vent windows, tilt and telescope wheel, and twilight sentinel, to name a few.  Now I got to experience them first-hand.  On closer inspection, I learned that my grandmother had had the car serviced that very morning, had filled the fuel tank, and had a new set of Kelly Springfield "Cadillac Stripe" fiberglass belted tires installed. Opening the front ashtray compartment, I found both wells to be filled with rolled-up small currency, which amply provided for the next fill-up, and the next, and the next...   Then our adult neighbors and customers began calling me the "Cadillac Kid".

I had always loved Cadillacs, but this car began a greater appreciation for Cadillacs that lasts to this day, even though I learned to drive in a 1972 Lincoln Town Car, and own one of those "other" luxury cars today.  Along the way, there have been several other Cadillacs: 1965 Coupe de Ville, 1966 Coupe deVille, 1969 DeVille Convertible, 1970 Fleetwood Brougham, 1973 Eldorado, and 1989 Fleetwood. It's so hard to believe that, with forty-five years of owning the "Standard of the World",  the 1968 Cadillacs are fifty years old this year! But wasn't there a Cadillac advertisement that said something along the lines of life being just one Cadillac after another?

-Charles Fares

[J. Skelly]

That's a great story, Charles.  Too bad you apparently don't own that '68 Coupe deVille any more.  I ended up with my Grandmother's '71 Eldorado as my first car.  I would have liked to keep it, but it was too far gone to store until I could afford to restore it, and the cost would have far exceeded its value.

Jim

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

Except for the three years I served in Berlin, I too have driven Cadillacs since 1958. Even when I was driving an Olds I still had a couple with my name on the titles. And most have been every thing that a Cadillac is supposed to be. And I see the ones that show up on CL, and the like, and I still, "want all of them..."

A great story. Your grandmother sounds like a great lady that could see into a young boy's dreams, and make them come true. May anyone following your car(s) see nothing but vertical tail lamps and a crest on the back!

[Cape Cod Fleetwood]

My dad (RIP) always had Caddy's. Bought my first one (1976 SDV) when I was 18, had a payment book as thick as War And Peace. Always drove a Caddy since then. Had to buy an Acadia for work 7 years ago, but just bought the 70 FB last Christmas so I'm back in the fold. That was 33 straight years of Caddy ownership. Great story, your grandmother was a fine lady!

\m/
Laurie

[Glen]

When I got out of the Navy in 1968 I bought my first car, a 1961 Coupe DeVille.  In 1973 I replaced it with the 1968 Eldorado I still have today. 

[P W Allen CLC# 20193]

Charles, great story. You mentioned the Marvin K. Brown dealership in San Diego. My 53 was purchased there also. I think they are still in business but in a different location. I have the original sales receipt.

[76eldo]

Great story!  Welcome to the CLC forum.

[Bill Young]

Charles,
My first car was a 1961 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible in Code 48 Fontana Rose with white top and black and white interior for $49.00 in 1970. I fell in Love with Cadillac's in 1961 when I was 7. I discovered that my Grandparents National Geographic's had Cadillac ad's I cut them out and scotch taped them all around my room. The ad you mentioned was 1964. I know most of them by heart. I have owned 2,55's 6,61's 1,62 1,63 1,'64 5,67's 8,'68's 1,'69 1,'72 1,'77 1,'78 3,1990 Brougham's. My Mother bought a silver with black interior 1966 Calais 4 door hardtop in 1967 , a Silverpine Green 1968 DeVille Convertible with sandalwood top and interior in 1969 and finally a 1971 Sable Black Eldorado Convertible with black top and Red Leather Interior . I now reside in Lake Wales Florida and welcome anyone who wishes to get together.

[David Greenburg]

I too wallpapered my room with those NG Cadillac ads.  I think I had pretty much every one from about ‘55-‘70.  Still have one, framed; the ‘64 “Life is just one Cadillac after another.” For anyone into those ads, they are available on CD.

[Jeepers Creepers]

The 1st owner of our 64 Fleetwood owned it 45 years. (sold to second owner in 2009 and to us in 2016)

Tells me two things, he really liked his 64 and he got his moneys worth out of it.

[Cadillac Fleetwood]

Charles, great story. You mentioned the Marvin K. Brown dealership in San Diego. My 53 was purchased there also. I think they are still in business but in a different location. I have the original sales receipt.

Marvin K. Brown Cadillac was established in 1951, and its original location was the address shown on your car's invoice, 1302 First Avenue. That is at the northwest corner of First Avenue at "A" Street, so they were very centrally located downtown at the time.  At this location, they eventually occupied all four corners of that intersection.  In the fall of 1966, when the 1967 models were introduced, they moved to all new (and much larger) facilities in Mission Valley, at 1441 Camino del Rio South, and remain there to this day.  In the 1960's and 1970's (through two area code changes) their telephone number was 291-2040.  Because they have so many "old" customers, they still use this number today, even though their telephone exchange has been different for nearly 20 years.  During the late '50s through the mid '60's, they had a small showroom and service facility in downtown La Jolla, on Pearl Street, to accommodate their well-heeled customers in that area.

Somewhere along the line, they must have dropped Oldsmobile, since throughout most of the '60s and into the '70's, they sold Cadillacs exclusively. They then took on GMC trucks, then Buicks, then Avanti II's, and later, Hummers. They presently sell Cadillacs, GMC trucks, and Buicks.

-Charles Fares

[cadillacmike68]

You guys are ancient.  I haven't even had a drivers license for 45 years yet. 

[P W Allen CLC# 20193]

Charles, thank you for that.

[Cadillac Fleetwood]

Charles, great story. You mentioned the Marvin K. Brown dealership in San Diego. My 53 was purchased there also. I think they are still in business but in a different location. I have the original sales receipt.

Paul, I see by the very late date (December 3, 1953) on your car's invoice, and by your forum "signature", that yours was one of the few '53 Cadillacs equipped with the Buick Twin Turbine Dynaflow transmission, after the Hydramatic plant in Livonia, Michigan, burned down in August, 1953. 
Your car's  invoice is also instructive on three other points:  There was no such thing as the federally-mandated window sticker until 1958, so the dealers were free to lump the options together and name their price, so to speak, leaving lots of room to pad the bill; The trade-in allowance for the 1949 Lincoln seems particularly liberal (and the discount on the new car, if any, commensurately slim owing to Cadillac's backlog of unfilled orders during that time), in light of the fact that the seller's market was over, and the bathtub design was already passé; and the late sale date demonstrates how back then, cars of a given model year were "current" right up to the end of the calendar year - Cadillac did not debut its '54 cars until sometime in January, 1954. By the way, December 3 is my birthdate, just not in 1953.

-Charles Fares

[stzomah]

Fell in love with a powder blue 55 SDV sitting at dealership near my home when I was 15 in 1975.  Jersey has a 17 driver's age.  My mom saw my white 56 Cadillac driving near a local mall with a sale sign in it.  I bought in in September 1975 and worked on it for 8 months till i got my license in July of 1976.  I'm still working on it!  I'll be 60 next year!