A stripped-down Cadillac seems like a contradiction in terms, but from 1965 through 1976, GM’s premium brand offered a cut-rate base model—sort of.
1965 Cadillac Calais Sedan
When production of the 1965 Cadillacs began on August 24, 1964 at the old Clark Street plant in Detroit, there was a new model in the lineup: the Calais, replacing the venerable Series 62 as the lowest-price car in the luxury brand’s lineup. Priced at $5,059 to $5,247, the Calais came in at around $400 less than the Coupe de Ville and Sedan de Ville, Cadillac’s perennial best sellers.
Actually, the Calais and de Ville were remarkably similar: same 129.5-in wheelbase, same 429 cubic-inch V8, same exterior styling and basic trim. Power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission, and other goodies were standard on both. While a convertible was offered in the de Ville line, Calais body styles were limited to a two-door coupe, a four-door hardtop, and a four-door post sedan.
1965 Cadillac Calais Coupe, Hardtop Sedan, and Sedan
Where the ’65 Calais differed was mainly in its exterior badges, some minor trim variations, and in its slightly less opulent interior fabrics—more top-of-the-line Buick than Cadillac, some would say. Also, no vinyl top option was offered on the Calais, and it was the only Cadillac in the lineup without power windows. (Imagine that: a Cadillac with hand cranks.) However, for another $112 the electric window option could be easily added, and it usually was. In fact, by checking the right boxes on the order form, Calais buyers could have a de Ville in pretty much everything but name.
1970 Cadillac Calais Hardtop Sedan
When Cadillac discontinued the post Sedan for 1969, Calais body style choices shrank to two, and the Calais and de Ville maintained their close proximity in price and available features. Sales were fairly respectable at first at around 34,000 cars in ’65 and almost 29,000 in ’66, but then began a steady decline, and by 1970 shrank to less than 10,000 units. The de Ville, which sold for only a few hundred dollars more but enjoyed a far more familiar and distinguished model name, outperformed the Calais by as much as 25:1, accounting for the bulk of Cadillac division’s annual volume.
For its final two years, the Calais received quad-rectangular headlamps along with the rest of the Cadillac line, and a lively available interior theme that Cadillac called Morgan Plaid and offered in four color combinations. In May of 1975, Cadillac introduced a new small car, the Seville, but it didn’t undercut the Calais at all—in fact, the Seville was the most expensive Cadillac in the lineup. When the C-body Cadillac platform was reesigned for 1977, the slow-selling Calais was discontinued. The name would make its next appearance at General Motors on an Oldsmobile.
1976 Cadillac Calais Coupe and Hardtop Sedan
My recollection is that Seville was targeting Mercedes, Jaguar and BMW buyers, particularly in Southern California, where Cadillac was steadily losing market share. Women like my mother, by then in her 40’s, wanted nothing to do with full-size station wagons or sedans. Instead they were flocking to the W108/109 and W116 MBZ sedans, which were much easier to maneuver and park and more reliable and better built than the luxo-barges from Ford, GM and Chrysler.
The Seville was a huge hit with that SoCal demographic. The fuel injected Olds 350 V8 has plenty of acceleration, it turned and stopped on a dime and it was stylish.
When Dad came home with a new 1979 Seville, Mom laid claim to it effective 1981, when he’d be switching to his next car. She got it when he moved into an ’81 Eldorado Biarritz with the problematic V8-6-4 engine. She kept the ’79 Seville when he switched to an ’84 “bustle-back” Seville with it’s worthless 4.1L V8 and crappy brakes
no vinyl top sounds like a win to me
No chrome moldings on the rocker panels either, a win-win in the road salt states.
My grandmother ordered her Coupe DeVilles with leather interior and no vinyl top, 67&71.
In 77 she wasn’t getting help at the Cadillac dealership so she bought a Buick Electra, her last car
When I was a kid in the early 70s, someone in the neighborhood had a 65 Calais. I was shocked that it had crank windows. Surely, I thought, all Cadillacs had electric windows.
The Calais was sort of a rare sight but I saw a few in the day. As far as I know, every one I saw had the optional power windows. But to be honest I wasn’t paying close attention as it wasn’t that important to me at the time. I would get a kick out of seeing one with cranks in person today.
My father was an Oldsmobile man for most of the ‘60s and ‘70s, and he aspired to Cadillac ownership, which he eventually achieved. Some time in the mid’70s I recall showing him a newspaper ad for a new Cadillac at what seemed like a reasonable price, to which he grumbled, “That’s a Calais. Stripped down. Only people trying to look rich would drive one of those! Might as well drive a nicer Ninety-Eight!”
Maybe that’s why, to this day, I’ve never owned plenty of optioned-up volume make vehicles, but never a lowest tier model of a luxury make. Nor have I owned any luxury make, for that matter.
Indeed, great observation. Really, that was one more nail in the coffin of the traditional luxury class cars. Eventually, buyers could get all the luxury and comfort features of a Cadillac or a Lincoln in a Ford or a Chevy, and at least as much hp too. All the luxury cars had left was styling and name prestige, and it wasn’t enough. We have a feature coming out soon on the 1965 Ford LTD where we explore all that.
Oh I always like cars without the vinyl roofs. Especially the sporty cars like Mustangs, Camaro and Chargers/ Challenger.
I worked for a Buick and Cadillac dealer while going to college 1971-73. We had a 1968 Coupe deVille traded in that had manual roll up windows, but otherwise was loaded
We also had a 1972 Coupe deVille traded in that was purchased in Alaska and it did not have a/c ! The 1971-73 Cadillacs were not fully loaded cars like today, a lot of features were optional such as: cruise control, tilt and telescoping steering wheel, automatic headlight dinners, Twilight Sentinel, vinyl tops, white wall tires, power trunk release snd power pull down, radios, tinted glass. You could pick and choose individual options when you ordered a car. There were no packages like today
1968 was the first year for power windows as standard. You must have seen a ‘67.
My Dad was a Buick Electra man while our neighbor favored the Calais.. Dad would often remark about the Electra’s especially the Limited’s more luxurious interior. And he was right. Yet the Caddy got more attention… ultimately Dad stepped up to a Cadillac.. a Fleetwood Brougham.
I remember going to the shore with my parents and we rented a trailer in a small park. The people renting the trailer next door pulled in with a Calais and it had hand crank windows. I was shocked since I thought all Caddy’s had electric windows. I now own a 1967 Cadillac Calais and it has Climate Control and Power windows. I always have to explain what it is when people look at it at car shows. But it drives just like any other Cadillac.
Thanks, as always, for the informative article! One minor correction if I may. The three Cadillacs in the artwork are 1966 models. I find it interesting and a little jarring) how the artist stuffed the whitewalls up behind the fender to make the cars look lower.
The cars had fender skirts
The main differences between the ’71-’76 Calais and DeVille were that seats were upholstered in a less expensive fabric (with all vinyl as an option), door trim was less elaborate and depending on the year there was less or no “wood” trim on the dash and doors. Also the Calais did not have:
rocker molding
door courtesy lights
chrome trim on the brake and gas peddles
door ashtray lighters
Wow! Such a response to an article as this?!! However,.. since I was a teenager installing the pressure hoses on the Clark Street assembly line, reading your story left me wondering why it wasn’t mentioned the Calais was also available without Air Conditioning! Veteran assembly operators actually chuckled whenever one of those “D. Lund Chevrolacs” travelled down the line!
I inquired about the Calais and had been told Lund had formerly managed Chevrolet and had believed the Calais would find it’s place offering the car as an “Entry-Level Cadillac” and expected to increase sales! Nope!
(Please correctly update: karlburnett50@gmail.com