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04/07/2010, 18:16
Story and images by MURRAY HUBBARD
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If you have a quick glimpse at the front of this 1955 Cadillac El Dorado you'll notice twin, chromed domes that add style and curvature to the front bumper. They earned the name `Dagmars' when the first of the El Dorado's was launched two years earlier. On that first model the Dagmar's were even bigger, but for the 1955 model they were toned down.
So, what's a Dagmar? Not so much what, but who. A rather lovely, blonde, richly-endowed actress called Virginia Ruth Egnor. As Virginia Lewis, her married name, she starred in a late night TV show in the early 1950s called `Broadway Open House.' Her role was that of portraying a stereotype dumb blonde, wearing a low cut dress, giving the show's host the idea to caller her Dagmar after another well-endowed show business entity of that era.
She may have played a dumb blonde, but was far from it, and the host who coined her nickname, later left the show after her genuine talents were recognised, with Dagmar taking on the role of host. It's an odd story, but at least this all took place and we know her assets were genuine and not concocted of silicon.
Like Dagmar, this El Dorado is also the real thing. Intelligent and beautiful. In 1955 our Aussie cars were as basic as any in the world. We were still building the basic, six-cylinder FJ Holden and in fact the Special Model even featured added armrests and a cigarette lighter. Items like car radio, heater and indicators were yet to come.
Now to the El Dorado. It boasted a massive V8 with four-barrel carburettor, radio and antenna, heater, power brakes, power seat, power windows, whitewall tyres ... the list goes on with standard fare not available in many cars in Australia until the early 1990s. Also optional was air conditioning, headlight dimmers, and a vertically adjustable power seat for the driver. Let alone, as you can see, an interior straight out of a Maharajah's Palace. We had hotels that were not as luxuriously appointed.
One glance at this example should be enough to see the gulf that existed between 1950s Australian cars and this classic US luxury marque. In this era few luxury cars made it to our shores, so we really did not know what we were missing.
Owned by Neville Talmage, who traded a classic Ford with a retractable roof with the previous owner of this Caddy in Newcastle in early 2010. The El Dorado was brought into Australia from Texas in 2008. Neville is currently `bringing the car up to scratch' by locating a few `bits and pieces' including some badging and door rubbers.
We spotted the car at the Gold Coast Super Swap and Show 'n Shine in May, 2010. You could hardly miss it. The car is quite a stunner, big or perhaps voluptuous - by any standards, an imposing sight. It's a car with genuine style and class. The El Dorado name was a Cadillac fixture between 1953 and 2002, making it a long-running variant during an era of dramatic change.
The El Dorado name first surfaced in 1952 as Cadillac prepared to celebrate the company's Golden Anniversary. At first it was to be a limited-edition convertible, and only 532 units were built. Few things are genuinely `new' and the Dagmar's were borrowed from GM's 1951 Le Sabre. The car was, in essence, a Cadillac Series 62 convertible, but with all the fruit.
There were two important design elements to the first Eldorado: the wrap-around windscreen and the way the door sheetmetal was cut low, below the car's belt line. Our featured car is a second-generation El Dorado that came out in 1955. The El Dorado body was changed slightly by giving the car it's own rear end styling cues: in this case slender, pointed tailfins.
This car is fitted with a standard 331 cubic inch V8 with 200 kW output with power running through a four speed auto transmission. It's a car Neville delights in driving. It's a beautiful old car made for cruising America's new highways of that era, he said. You simply don't feel bumps as the suspension is quite spongy. But, it doesn't handle around corners.
Neville is hoping by replacing the crossply tyres with steel belted radials it will improve the car's handling characteristics. I have previously owned a 1957 Series 2 Cadillac and had the same problem. But after putting on the radials you would swear it was a different car you were driving, he said. Tyres and handling aside the El Dorado is a magnificent reminder of the Golden Age of American personal luxury cars ... and a pretty good set of `Dagmars.'
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