When you hear the words “Cadillac Eldorado,” most of us think of some of the biggest luxury cruisers on the road. But for a time, those same words essentially indicated you had just purchased a compact car, albeit one loaded with leather and white-wall tires, that bore the same name of some of the glitziest luxury cars ever built. This 1986 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz is a survivor from an era of luxury car building that brands like Cadillac would likely prefer to forget, but Cadillac fans tend to cherish every model, even the less desirable ones. This 1986 model listed here on craigslist remains in excellent shape with just 32,000 miles and an asking price of $11,900.
The 1986 model was far shorter than most any Cadillac before it, a condition of the malaise era and a general concern among automakers of appearing uninterested in concerns over emissions and fuel economy. The Eldorado was mounted on a shortened version of the E-body platform, meaning in addition to its size reduction, this version of the Cadillac flagship was also front wheel drive. Curiously, even as everything else was seemingly counter to what a emissions-friendly luxury car should be, Cadillac continued to offer the Eldorado with a V8, with 4.1 liters good for 130 hp and 200 lb-ft of torque.
The interior was a fairly staid affair, with typical GM plastic and hard surfaces throughout. There wasn’t even much wood trim in this era of the Eldorado, and I can’t help but wonder if luxury car buyers felt somewhat underwhelmed when sitting in this era of Cadillac’s marquee coupe in the showroom. The steering wheel, console, door panels, and instrument binnacle all scream bargain basement to me, and the leather seats – the one bright spot for those seeking a sign of luxury – are flatter than a pancake, offering zero bolstering support. But, it does feature full power, a moonroof, digital gauge cluster, and a cassette stereo. Note: the moonroof doesn’t work.
The transverse-mounted V8 was far from powerful, but in a sea of six cylinders and turbo fours, I’m sure the Cadillac faithful felt somewhat vindicated to see an eight cylinder under the hood. The seller notes that his car runs well and comes with the added bonuses of the factory gold package, Rolls-Royce style grill, and aftermarket wheels on tires in good shape. I’m not sure I’d call this a great buy at the current price, but slightly less and I’d say it’s a viable option for a cruiser if you’re not into the era of Cadillacs that are longer than your garage. These weren’t great years at Cadillac, but it’s still nice to see someone kept this shorty Eldorado in good shape.
Actually, I don’t mind the yellow paint, but it’s that wheel/whitewall tire combination that is burning the reatnas out of my eyes.
I guess it’s cause I was 14 when this came out and I was car crazed, but I always liked the look of the e bodies, esp the tornado and the caddy. Agreed the rims are terrible, needs wire hubcaps lol
IMHO, nice wheels and tires, but those phony trunk straps and custom grille need to go.
GM committed a cardinal sin when they downsized this line, it cost them a lot of market share. One of my best friends started at Cadillac when these came out, and many of them were fired. There were a lot of puckered rear ends when the lack of sales started to come in. Why buy a Riviera when a Regal was the same size. It was a mistake that took GM a long time to recover from. They ruined the Riviera, Eldorado, and Toronado, and they never recovered.
It didn’t help matters that the much cheaper and not much smaller N-bodies with almost exactly the same styling in Oldsmobuick form had appeared a year *earlier*.
How could Caddy still be around, considering how many mistakes they made – from Cimarron to Catera?!
What mistakes did Pontiac & Olds make?
Just being competitors to Chevy.
I’d say GM recovered nicely. Have you seen their stock price.
32000 miles? Yeah, right. That thing is in way to rough a condition for that kind of mileage. Just look at the seats and the trunk area!
And those crappy aftermarket wheels. What were they thinking?
Back then, anytime Cadillac introduced a revolutionary new engine as the “new standard of the world” buyers shoulda ran, and did…8-6-4, 4100 high tech, 4500 oh we fixed it and it’s bigger, finally got it right just in time, way too late with the 4.9…only cancel that, we got the “Northstar system”, look at our brilliance, it never needs service…don’t worry about those head bolts it’s normal…15 years of garbage engineering (save for the 4.9, I liked that one) that shoulda killed the company then, and deservedly so….and lose those trunk thingies and grille, this ain’t south central….
The 8 6 4 engine was in 1981.
Yes I think he was listing them in chronological order- first the 8-6-4, then the ht4100 (like this one), which was later enlarged to a 4.5, and finally enlarged again to a 4.9, just before the entire engine line was replaced by the Northstar
Raymond, I had to laugh. I agree. With as many blunders as GM has made over the years it is a wonder they are still in business. Well we did bail them out.
Now they are attempting to be the leader in electric power when they certainly had a jump on everyone in the world with the EV1 but threw that away.
Only now they are no longer a world leader. The distinction goes to Toyota. They are competing with the world leader in electric. Tesla who got the idea of an electric car from GM’s EV1.
Tesla has been doing the same thing for only 13 years and it only gets better. What makes GM think they can compete with giving us the Volt and um Bolt? A funny sounding SUV looking thing?
I see yet another bailout.
The 4.1 was exempt from the warranty companies. A boat anchor. The 4.5 came out in 88 and was a good engine. 4.9 in 91. Another good engine. The only 2 good engines from Cadillac in a long time.
I love the look of the CTS models. Beautiful cars, with a 3.6 six cylinder engine. With a mile of timing chain. That stretches and breaks the teeth off the timing gear. What a nightmare! Hard to believe that they never recalled them. What a shame…
Raymond, I heard the Northstar engine was great when it first came out.
Four years later, I heard it wasn’t known for its longevity, and you were lucky if it made it to 100,000 miles without major engine repairs. What is the real story?
All you need is a pair of white shoes and a leisure suit.
Here’s one that looks to be in much better shape…..for a grand more.
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/cadillac/eldorado/2493930.html
This would look right at home in Tyler Hoover’s hooptie fleet for Hoovie’s Garage on YouTube
Looks like one of those cars that you need a
white belt & shoes to drive.
“… in addition to its size reduction, this version of the Cadillac flagship was also front wheel drive.” (Psst…All Eldorados were FWD from 1967 on)
Using the words “Cadillac” “Eldorado” or especially “Biarritz” on this vehicle is a travesty!
This is not a Cadillac but a large econobox POS!
Sorry guys, I guess you can tell I really hate the 80s to mid 90s so called Cadillacs. Whoever approved these for production should have been fired, loss of pension and sent to Cuba where American cars LOOK like American cars.
I love your comments. You are always right on point! Ps, im referring to the comments you’ve made on other entries as well. I’m guessing that you were a teen in the 80s too. Your comments are point on!
A.C.D. you are almost correct. ALL Cadillacs from the 80’s on are a disappointment to those of us that loved the huge land yachts of yore. Today, the only way to identify a Cadillac at highway speeds are by the hood/trunk emblem. “Loaded” Chevrolets today have the same luxury appointments as Cadillac, at substantially less cost. I currently drive a Lincoln that looks like a Ford from more than 20 feet away. (Got it cheap as an off-lease.) First luxury Ford product after driving Cadillacs for many, many years.
Ken, it’s not so much that they are smaller and not like the land yachts of yesteryear, but they have NO style, NO class, no separation from the other cars. Of course, the other cars were a mess for the 80s as well which Cadillac missed the boat. It could of out shined everything if they had put their mind to it.
Lincoln did the same thing, but, in their favor they actually had some similence of style.
And as if the 80s and 90s weren’t bad enough, now the 2010s and 2020s all look the same. Literally. You can’t tell a Honda from a Cadillac or a Toyota from a Chevy.
It’s a conspiracy I tell you. LOL
They all get together in a room and decide what all the cars are going to look like. Have you noticed when these “fastback” models came out, every car was a fastback. Japanese, Korean, American, British, every car was a fastback.
No one has an original idea anymore and if they do they are afraid to implement it.
I’m done.
Blake Green,
Are you talking to me? If so, thank you for the compliment.
And no, I wasn’t a teenager in the 80s. Actually, I was in my 30s.
I use a good preservative.
Cadillac Cavalier
Cadillac Mistake , not for me . Only this could be a beauty in the eye of the beholder , a special person would have to like this car
Hey Chris,
The Cavalier was actually the Cadillac Cimmeron. This mess grew out of someone’s demented mind.
Located in Nesconset, NY