The Cadillac Store

The Eldorado was part of the Cadillac line for an incredible 50 years, from 1953 to 2002. The 50 year production run gave the Eldorado the title of the longest running American personal luxury car. Its main competitors included the Lincoln Mark Series and the lower-priced Buick Riviera.

Although cars bearing the Cadillac Eldorado name varied considerably in body style and mechanical layout during this long period, the Eldorado models were always near the top of the Cadillac line. Nevertheless, and except for the Eldorado Brougham models of 1957–1960, the most expensive models were always the opulent, long wheel-based Series 75 sedans and limousines, not the Eldorado.

The name Eldorado comes from a legendary city of fabulous riches, somewhere in South America, that inspired many European expeditions, including one to the Orinoco by England's Sir Walter Raleigh.

Eldorado was proposed as the name for a special show car built in 1952 to mark Cadillac's Golden Anniversary and was the result of an in-house competition, won by a secretary in Cadillac's merchandising department.