For 1979, Cadillac introduced a dramatically downsized Eldorado, and traditional luxury car buyers were receptive to the smaller package.

We can’t think of another car that better exemplifies the glorious automotive excess of the 1970s better than the 1971-78 Cadillac Eldorado. At nearly 19 feet long and 5,000 lbs, it was styled to appear even larger and heavier than it was, while under the hood was a gas-guzzling 500 cubic-inch V8, the biggest in the industry (later reduced to 425 CID). But as the end of the decade approached, the whale-class Eldorado’s days were clearly numbered due to CAFE fuel standards and shifting consumer demand. Cadilllac responded with a new package for 1979 that was downright svelte—by Eldorado standards, anyway.

The Eldorado’s General Motors E-body platform (shared with the Olds Toronado and Buick Riviera) was similar to before but radically shrunken in every dimension. Overall length was slashed by 20 inches and the wheelbase by one foot to 114 inches, while the curb weight was reduced by 1,100 lbs. Arguably, the E-body makeover was the most radical and effective of all the GM platform-downsizing programs of the ’70s.

While the body-on-frame construction was continued, now the E-body was treated to indpendent suspension at the rear. A downsized version of the UPP (Universal Power Package) continued the North-South engine orientation but with a lighter THM 325 automatic transaxle replacing the original THM 425. Two engines were offered for ’79: an Olds-based 350 CID V8 with 170 hp and the troubled 350 CID diesel. Later in the product cycle, a Cadillac 368 CID V8, the HT4100 V8, the notorioius V8-6-4 (see our feature here) and even a V6 would be added to the mix.

Despite the much smaller package, the Eldorado’s cabin was completely familiar, boasting standard power windows, locks, and automatic climate control, along with a host of audio options. The optional Biarritz package (above left; $2,350 in cloth and $2700 in leather over the $14,668 list price) included an even more sumptious interior and a stainless steel roof panel (below).

If traditional Cadillac buyers were the least bit put off by the smaller package, it wasn’t reflected in the sales numbers,. Volume actually increased 29 percent in ’79 over the previous year to more than 67,000 cars. No doubt the elegant exterior design—as clean as any Cadillac in the Irv Rybicki era at GM styling—was a factor. In this form the personal-luxuy coupe sold reasonably well and remained in production through 1985, when it was replaced by an even smaller Eldorado with a transverse front-drive layout.