1958 CADILLAC
ELDORADO

For 1958, Cadillac stood more or less pat on a winning hand. Styling changes involved minor sheetmetal reshaping and ornamentation shuffling, and all models acquired the new four-headlamp system, first seen at Cadillac on the Brougham, in line with an industry trend. Eldorado performance was substantially improved with the adoption of three two-barrel carburetors, which boosted output to 335 bhp, 25 bhp up on the single-four-barrel engine used where in the line. The Brougham's astronomical price was unchanged, but the Seville 40 and Biarritz, which consistently bore identical price tags, rose a startling $762. The timing of such a substantial increase proved to be ill-advised in this deep recession year and sales fell by more than half. The Brougham fared little better, production stopping at a mere 304 units.

The major change for the Eldorado Brougham was seen inside the car. The interior upper door panels were now finished in leather instead of the metal finish used in 1957. New wheel covers also appeared. Forty-four trim combinations were available, along with fifteen special monotone paint colors. This was the last year for domestic production of the handbuilt Brougham at Cadillac's Detroit factory, as future manufacturing of the special bodies was to be done by Pininfarina of Turin, Italy.