1953 Cadillac Eldorado convertible

The Cadillac Series 62 Eldorado joined the Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta and Buick Roadmaster Skylark as the pinnacle of limited-production special convertibles introduced in 1953 by General Motors to support its design leadership. The low-production special convertible (532 total) was a production version of the 1952 El Dorado "Golden Anniversary" concept car. Along with borrowing bumper bullets from the 1951 GM Le Saber show car, it featured a full range of luxury accessories and introduced a wraparound windshield and a shortened Cadillac standard production belt. The sweeping windshield and prominent sheet metal dip at the bottom of the side windows (on one or both of GM's other special 1953 convertibles) were a particular favorite of General Motors design chief Harley Earl, and subsequently widely copied by other brands. Available in four unique colors; Aztec Red, Alpine White, Azure Blue, and Craft Ocher. Convertibles were available in Orlon black or white. AC was an option for $620 ($6,781 in 2022 [10]),[11] as were wire wheels for $325 ($3,555 in 2022 [10]). The car carried no special markings except for a gold "Eldorado" decal in the center of the dashboard. A solid tonneau cover, flush with the rear deck, hid the top of the convertible when in storage. Although technically a Cadillac Series 62 subseries based on the regular Series 62 convertible and sharing its engine, it was almost twice as expensive at $7,750 ($84,768 in 2022 dollars [10]) as the all-new Packard Caribbean convertible. Measuring 220.8 inches (5,610 mm) long and 80.1 inches (2,030 mm) wide, the vehicle was equipped with such standard features as windshield washers, a radio seeker, power windows, and heating. [9] Only 532 were produced, representing only 0.5% of Cadillac sales in 1953.