1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado Bicentennial Edition: Maximum Brougham?

I’ve frequently discussed Peak Brougham in my columns. When pressed, I will usually name the 1974-76 Cadillac Fleetwood Talisman as the Broughamiest Brougham that ever Broughamed. However, the case may be made that the 1976 Eldorado Bicentennial Edition would be a better nominee.

Picture it: 224.1 inches long with a 126.3-inch wheelbase, an unladen weight of 5133 pounds, and a 500-cubic-inch Cadillac V-8 (this was before GM corporate engine-sharing emerged) with 4V “Quadrajet” carburetors, generating 190 horsepower and a majestic 360 lb-ft of torque.

As I’m sure you all know, 1976 was the final year for the Eldorado convertible, and there was a surge of desire among buyers to get one of the “Last Convertibles,” as Cadillac eagerly touted them. Exactly 14,000 were made, largely because when GM took inventory of the remaining convertible-top mechanisms, it discovered 15,000 in various warehouses and decided to retain 1000 for parts inventory.

That is why there were more ’76 Eldorado convertibles made in ’76 than in 1975, when 8950 were built. And I’m sure if GM had had 20,000 tops, it would have sold that many as well.

1976 Eldorados were available as the $10,586 coupe or $11,049 convertible. Curb weights were 5085 and 5153 pounds, respectively. All were front-wheel-drive, an Eldorado tradition since 1967.

As mentioned, 14,000 were made, but the last 200 were Bicentennial Editions, all identically painted and trimmed. Special features included Cotillion White paint with matching, color-keyed wheel cover centers (regular ’76 Eldos had black wheel centers), white Sierra grain leather seats with red piping, red dash, and red carpeting, and special red-and-blue pinstripes.

And since they were the last Eldorado convertibles, the very last one made was a Bicentennial Edition. It came off of the line at the Cadillac Clark Street factory in Detroit on Wednesday morning, April 21, 1976.

It was the end of an era, and the drive away was extensively covered by the press at the time. Lots of folks grabbed one and stashed it away in hopes of selling it for a ton of money in the future.

However, all the speculation was dashed when first, Chrysler Corporation came out with convertible Chrysler LeBarons and Dodge 400s in 1982. Buick brought back the Riviera convertible that same year, and Cadillac followed suit with the Eldorado Biarritz droptop in 1984.

But let’s face it, the point of having such a fine luxury conveyance is to drive and enjoy it, not cover it up with bubble wrap and hope for a huge payday in five, ten, or twenty years. And even though Cadillac did offer convertibles again later on, ’76 was still the end of an era.

Never again would a Cadillac convertible be so uncompromisingly large and opulent. Sure, the 1983–85 Eldorado convertibles were very nice cars, but they were much smaller and didn’t have that magnificent 500-cubic-inch V-8 that burbled like a ’60s Chris-Craft.

Though the Eldorado coupe would continue pretty much the same as the ’76 coupe through the 1978 model year, starting in 1977 all Cadillacs (except for the Seville, which was already rather trim), and indeed, all GM big cars (with the exception of the Eldo and Toronado) were downsized.

Don’t get me wrong, they were exceptionally nice, from the Coupe de Ville to the Fleetwood Brougham, and they still were clearly Cadillacs, but a lot of people were surprised to see Cadillacs so small. Lincoln briefly made hay with its unaltered coupes and sedans through 1979.

But the ’76 Eldorado convertible still stands as a last of its kind, before fuel economy and a couple recessions, plus myriad other events, resulted in Cadillac sedans getting smaller and smaller, becoming front-wheel-drive, and finally, in 2024, being reduced to only two, the CT4 and CT5. I miss those classic ’70s Cadillacs. They had presence.

And they weren’t afraid to be a luxury car. No one wanted a 1976 Cadillac to take to the track. They wanted a rolling living room with style and quietness and smoothness to whisk them to the law firm, supper club, or golf course.

As the 1976 brochure confided, “This is more than one of the finest convertibles ever built. It is now the only convertible now built in America—and it will not be repeated for 1977. You could say that Cadillac saved the best till last … because this is a magnificent automobile.

“With its ingenious inward-folding top that provides full-width seating for rear passengers. With its unique combination of front-wheel drive and four-wheel disc brakes. With a host of standard features that include an AM/FM Signal-Seeking Stereo Radio, Automatic Climate Control and Automatic Level Control.”

As for our gorgeous featured car, I saw it last September when I was in Springfield, Illinois for the Mid-America LCOC meet. Lucky for me, the Illinois Route 66 Mother Road Festival was going on the same weekend, and it was a short drive downtown from the Crowne Plaza to wander and take far too many pictures. I immediately locked on to this beautiful Bicentennial, a local car with only 7000 miles on it. It was the first time I saw a Bicentennial Eldorado in person, and I absolutely loved it!