While we go out of our way to spread the message of financial equality today, we were a different country back in the fifties. You were measured on your success back then for better or worse. One of the easiest ways to determine if someone had arrived was to see what they were driving. A car like this 1957 Cadillac Series 62 convertible for sale on Craigslist in Chino Hills, California was a big, blinking neon sign signaling to everyone around that you were a member of the upper crust. Costing significantly more than your average showroom offering, a car like this was special back then. Is it special enough now to warrant the $85,000 asking price? Does a car like this gorgeous convertible still convey the same message? Thanks to T.J. for this classy convertible tip!
The fifties were a time of excesses in America. America’s postwar economy was screaming ever skyward, rock and roll had arrived and was sweeping the nation, and the American automobile industry was punching out some amazing cars. Perhaps the apogee of that decade was the year 1957. Ike was sworn in for his second term, the US Navy launched its first nuclear submarine, and Elvis Presley was pivoting away from belting out hit after hit to put more emphasis on being an actor in Hollywood. Sadly, that plan went out the window when the King of Rock and Roll was drafted.
That draft notice also changed Elvis’s mode of transportation from Cadillacs to Jeeps. The King was a connoisseur of Cadillacs in a very big way before and after the draft. While he often purchased other makes with his seemingly bottomless supply of money, the sharecropper’s son from Tupelo was partial to Cadillacs. Part of that was that Cadillac was respected worldwide as one of the finest producers of automobiles in the world. The slogan “Standard of the World” was no idle boast. Elvis’s love for Cadillacs was probably also rooted in the subliminal programming that Cadillac advertising put in everyone’s heads at the time. Everyone knew that a Cadillac was a mark of one’s success in life.
Looking at this well-preserved 1957 Cadillac Series 62 convertible, one can see why respect was given for owning such a magnificent automobile. Every picture exudes the luxuriousness and incredible build quality of a fifties Cadillac. The story on this Cadillac is an interesting one. The seller purchased this Dusky Rose painted Cadillac from the Imperial Palace Automobile Collection in 1999. Ralph Engelstad, a Nevada casino magnate, built up one of the largest automobile collections in the world with the profits he made in “The Silver State.” By the end of the nineties, he had decided to thin the herd and several cars were put up for sale. This Cadillac was obviously one of them.
One has to wonder about the back story of this car. Is it a well-preserved original, or a restoration? The problem with restoring a luxury car of this caliber is that the costs of that restoration often far exceed the value of the car. Finding a very good original or an older, high-quality restoration is your best bet. One would assume that someone with Mr. Engelstad’s means would be willing to pay for the best, be it an exceptionally well-restored vehicle or a perfect original. The absence of any AACA award badging leads one to assume that this is an original in stellar shape. It is said to run and drive and has enjoyed the comfort of a garage throughout the seller’s ownership.
So, if you have the means to pick up this amazing convertible, would it still send the slightly politically incorrect message that you are someone who “has arrived?” Is the asking price reflective of just how spectacular this Cadillac is, or have the days of paying such a price for a fifties car of any type passed? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Ralph Engelstadt’s car collection was called the Bill Harrah’s group of LV, in that they bot had excellent taste in cars and didn’t care what it took to get what they wanted.
I don’t know if that warrants an $85K ask but it does give it some interesting “provenience”.
Engelstadt wound up with a bunch of Bill Harrah’s cars when they closed Harrah’s museum. Never got back out there to see Engelstadt’s with the Harrah cars. Bet that’s really something to see.
What!, no autronic eye. That’s a deal breaker for me…all kidding aside it’s a beautiful car. I had a ratty Seville long ago and when the tranny began to slip, it slipped on a boat to Europe. I then slid into a 60 Seville which I drove daily for a decade off and on. That car still runs great and sleeps quietly.A front airbag blew and until recently none were available but this car is not high on my to do list right now. I was amazed how different the 60 drove from the 57.
Nice car, out of my price range. Little nitpick. The first nuclear sub was USS Nautillus, commissioned in 54 and launched in 55. I did a few small jobs on her in the 70s while in port .
Did Elvis drive this one at this price😉
Nice Vert..
Elvis has left the building now …
Gorgeous car–and a meticulous restoration! But I have one nit-pick as well; why did the owner go to the trouble of putting the top down, putting the boot on, yet he left the windows up?! IMHO, a poor move for a photo shoot.
Years ago I was looking for land to set up a therapeutic wilderness camp as a community-based alternative for troubled youth. I was put onto a guy (who’s place happens to be close to where I live now) and he showed me his land. In his back 40 (or whatever) Rusty Acres (as Derek Bieri calls his field of dreams), he had a 57 Eldorado sitting out there with no top and clearly just rotting in the field. Always wanted to go back but never did. Interesting guy…gone now (somewhat tragically…another story).
“While we go out of our way to spread the message of financial equality today, we were a different country back in the fifties.”
We were indeed. Income distribution was far, far more balanced than it is today. The CEO made about 50 x what a factory worker made. Today, it’s more like 400 times what the factory worker makes.
Not only that, the progressive income tax could be up to 90% on high incomes, although there was a forrest of deductions too adjust that significantly.
Detroit’s luxury cars were developed in a period of more equitable income distribution, and that is part of their beauty.
Tax law is the most important designer of automobiles, more than Ferry Porsche or Sergio Pininfarina.
Yeah it was different time. A ho hum sedan didn’t cost as much as two basic homes and when these were 3 to 5 years old almost any shlub could move from his three on the tree bathroom green Plymouth into this and we weren’t taxed to death for everything we buy or use to support a runaway bureaucracy.
Not sure why there are 2 pedals of different height & size next to each other for the emergency brake!
& odd the primary brake pedal has 2 support struts behind it!
Younger potential buyers will go nuts trying to find the a/c controls.
& will be confused that there are power window switches AND hand cranks. lol
The small peddle on the ‘E’ brake is the manual release. The main brake peddle is a ‘treadle vac’, I believe. Id remember if the ’57 had vacuum release.
Yes, a difficult time to find the AC controls since it doesn’t have AC. I don’t see how the small cranks for the vent windows would be confusing to anyone who saw the window move when the crank was turned. E-brake ON, larger pedal, E-brake OFF, smaller pedal. Sounds like you are unfamiliar with cars of this period as well.
The handcranks are for the vent windows, something cars haven’t had since 1968.
The small pedal to the left of the brake pedal is the emergency brake. Step on it to set. Put the car in R or D to automatically release.
Yes. A little odd having a/c in a convertible in 1957 since most hardtops didn’t even have a/c back then.
Had an aunt and uncle who had a ’57 Caddy convertible in bronze. Beautiful car.
Aunt and uncle next door had a ’56 Coupe de Ville, completely different car.
Beautiful Caddy. The most shiny and ornate dash Cadillac made. Much better than the Eldorado. I grew up with my grandfather and used Caddy’s. I first steered his Black 55 Sedan at age 5. Later he bought a pink 57. We took it to Ocean City and half way there the freeze plug fell out. He nursed it down the highway at speeds around 80 then turned the engine off and coasted many miles. Finally made it to a service station but their mechanic had been fired. He convinced(and paid) them to let him and I do the work. We were on the road in a few hours. Kept that car for over 12 years. Then he bought a pink 1960 which I took my drivers test in. My grandmother insisted on pink.
57 is my favorite year Cadillac. Dad was an insurance agent and picked me up from school in a black Coupe Deville with a white top that belonged to the owner of a body shop that he sent business to. He didn’t buy it because it was a small town and did not want to appear wealthy. Years later (1973) while working for a Volvo dealer the company got a white 57 Coup Deville with green interior and Hudnut clear plastic seat covers. Other than 3rd gear being out it was perfect. The used car manager said they were going to enter it in the demolition derby the next Saturday night. The parts manager and I bought it for $400 to save it. We drove it around town but it was the start of the gas issue. One night three couples piled in and went to The Blue Grass Palace to see the Fields Brothers and when we got a parking place right in front of the open front door (no AC in the car or the club) the owner got chairs right up front of the band. And we did name the car. Mabeline
I can live without the a/c most of the time but I’m not seeing any heater hoses to stay warm. Have my old eyes finally given way?
Long time ago, when I was in high school, a friends mom had this same car. At the time, Goodyear made colored tires that matched the car color. Think they were called Vogue
I don’t see any heater hoses either, I can remember listening to used car adds on the radio in the fifties. Back than not all cars were made with heaters. Back than the adds were simple, number of cylinders, transmission, number of doors and whether it had heater and maybe a radio.I asked my dad why some cars had heaters and some didn’t, he said they used to ship cars made without heaters to warm States and the ones made with heaters to cold states.