Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Limousine 1980 - World Of Classic Cars -

Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Limousine 1980

For over 100 years, the name Cadillac has been heralded as the ‘Standard of the World’. From Cadillac’s earliest days its offerings have frequently been rated as the best regular production cars ever seen, not only in their native United States, but around the world, thanks in no small part to the care and quality of workmanship that has been invested in them. From the very beginning, Cadillac, the ‘crown jewel’ of the General Motors empire, has earned the respect of motorists on every inhabited continent, carrying as passengers heads of state, leaders in the business world, and an ever growing list of celebrities.

Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Limousine 1980

Fleetwood was spared the fate of the independents when it was acquired by Cadillac in the early 1930s. Eventually, it came to represent Cadillac’s top of the line, even long after the last truly coachbuilt car was finished – as in the case of the luxurious formal sedan that provided the basis for the limousine offered here.
After the end of World War II, the limousine trade in America, as well as most of the rest of the world, was a fraction of what it had been in pre-war times. Now considered a non-essential luxury, even by the super-wealthy, fewer of these custom appointed vehicles were ordered, and the result sounded the death knell for the traditional independent luxury coachbuilder.

Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Limousine 1980

In an interesting reversal of roles, a small but profitable niche evolved for coachbuilders who could transform the top of the line Fleetwood Cadillacs into a variety of specialized vehicles, ranging from the hearses and flower cars built for the funeral trade to the stretched limousines intended for the livery business. The example offered here is one of the latter, built by Maloney Coachworks of Chicago, Illinois.
Bernie Ecclestone bought this lovely Cadillac many years ago in the late 1980s from Carl Haas, the famous Indy car team owner, who is believed to be the original owner. The big Cadillac was intended to be used for VIP transportation in England for Mr Ecclestone’s friends and clients. Although at one point the car was used nearly weekly, for various reasons it never accumulated much mileage – and consequently is almost certainly the lowest mileage and best preserved example of its kind.

Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Limousine 1980

The paintwork appears largely, if not entirely, original to the car, with no evidence of prior repairs. The finish is very good, and neither the paintwork nor the brightwork shows evidence of ageing. The tyres are as new, and probably original to the car.
The car is a modest stretch with a conventional rear bench seat and two rear-facing silver velour bucket seats on either side of a wooden console that contains accessory heat and rear air-conditioning control, window controls, as well as an AM/FM stereo cassette player. There is a rear sunroof, and a two-canister bar compartment that is outboard of the passenger side rear-facing seat; in addition, there is a glass division window with a digital clock mounted above it. The interior – including the factory Mouton style carpets – appears as new with little or no indication of wear, soiling, or age, again consistent with the mileage.