for those not familiar
#1
03-12-2007, 06:33 PM
for those not familiar
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE POSTED ORIGINALLY BY WILD BILL COATES
Trial and error name of game for Cadillac Allante
March 12, 2007
BY DAN JEDLICKA Auto Reporter
The news that Cadillac would build a sports car came as a major surprise in the mid-1980s. Cadillac was known for luxurious, chrome-laden cars, not racy two-seaters.
Cadillac's potent new high-compression V-8 was put in sports cars by racers in the early 1950s. But Cadillac didn't want its name associated with anything but luxury autos because it dominated the luxury car market until challenged decades later by Mercedes-Benz -- and then Lexus.
Cadillac was prompted to build a sports car because highly visible sports cars from archrival Mercedes-Benz and automakers such as Jaguar were highly visible in parking lots in country clubs and such places as exclusive restaurants.
The Cadillac sports car arrived for 1987 and lasted through 1993. It was called the Allante. The name had international flair but didn't translate to anything -- it was one of 1,700 monikers dreamed up by a New York product-name company.
Cadillac bypassed its stylists and hired Italy's famous Pininfarina auto design and coach-building outfit to style the Allante. Pininfarina was best known for styling racy Ferraris, but some remembered that it had styled one-of-a-kind sporty autos for Cadillac in the past, including 1931 and 1951 convertibles and a 1961 auto show concept car.
The Allante wasn't a head-turner, as were many Pininfarina Ferraris, because Cadillac told the Italian outfit to make it look "timeless" and "aristocratic." The car had clean, handsome styling and a Cadillac-style grille.
The car still looks good, but hiring Pininfarina made the Allante operation ridiculously expensive. The Italian firm built and painted Allante bodies in Italy. They then were flown by customized Boeing 747 cargo planes to Detroit, where Caddy finished building the car. It was based on a shortened version of the automaker's front-wheel-drive Eldorado four-seat coupe.
Cadillac called the operation the "world's longest assembly line." It clearly was out to make a world splash with the Allante.
Many had doubts. For one thing, the Allante had front-drive, when all the world's serious luxury sports cars had rear-wheel drive for better roadability.
"The Allante won't succeed because Cadillac knows nothing about building sports cars," European auto marketing whiz Vic Dial told me in France, soon after the Allante was introduced at the Paris Auto Show in the fall of 1986. At the show I noticed that the Allante drew little serious attention.
In fact, nobody in Europe or America ever really accepted the Allante as a serious sports car.
Sergio Pininfarina of the Pininfarina firm told me at the Paris show that Allantes sold in Europe would have analog gauges because "European sports car buyers would never go" for the U.S. version's gimmicky electronic gauges, developed in Japan.
The Allante's first U.S. showing came on television several months after its debut in Paris, with fictional tycoon J.R. Ewing, of the popular "Dallas" television series, presenting the car. Public hands-on U.S. introductions didn't take place until the spring of 1987, when the Allante was introduced at black-tie concerts in expensive homes.
Cadillac encouraged dealers to sell Allantes to high-profile, wealthy community leaders -- the same approach taken by Chevrolet in 1953 with its first Corvette sports car. Potential customers were older, affluent men and women who wanted something sporty.
Allante buyers had to be affluent because the car cost $54,700, about the price of the Mercedes 560SL, which was the most prestigious two-seat luxury car sold in America.
Cadillac planned to produce up to 8,000 Allantes annually. It came with leather-swatched Recaro bucket seats, a manual folding soft top and detachable aluminum hardtop. The only option was a cellular telephone.
But the Allante was too gimmicky for a 1980s sports car, with those electronic gauges and such. Oddly, it lacked a power top -- something Cadillac buyers expected. The dashboard had an array of small look-alike buttons that were hard to use when driving. Auto writers were puzzled when Cadillac personnel kept emphasizing the car's gadgets and comfort items, as if it were a Caddy sedan.
The first Allante was pretty much of a bust. It was too slow for a costly sports car because it weighed nearly 3,500 pounds and had an old-style V-8 with just 170-horsepower. The 0-60 mph run took a leisurely 10 seconds, which let less expensive cars outrun it. Annoying problems included wind and water leaks, squeaks and rattles -- and horns that didn't work.
The Allante used the Eldorado's all-independent suspension, and Goodyear designed special tires for it. But that wasn't enough. The car had a decidedly light-effort U.S. luxury car feel to its steering and handling -- not what you got in, say, the Mercedes two-seater.
Cadillac predicted that Allante sales for the 1987 calendar year would total 4,000 cars, but only 1,651 cars were delivered out of 3,363 built, with big rebates needed to clear inventories. The influential trade publication Automotive News called the Allante its 1987 "Flop of the Year." Depreciation was terrible.
Cadillac scrambled to give the 1989 Allante a larger, 200-horsepower V-8, variable-assist power steering, automatically adjustable suspension and larger tires. The 0-60 mph time fell to 8.5 seconds but the V-8 and a performance-oriented final drive ratio caused a gas-guzzler tax and upped the actual delivered price to $57,183.
To prop up sales, Cadillac tied the 1988-91 Allante's resale value to the Mercedes 560SL, but it later was switched to the less prestigious Jaguar XJ-S convertible, angering Allante owners. And it didn't help that Mercedes introduced a considerably better SL two-seater in 1990.
The Allante's steering and suspension were improved, and the car became sort of a technical showcase in 1990, with the first traction control system for a front-drive car and revised "Speed Sensitive Suspension." Still, sales were low.
The 1993 Allante looked the same as the first model but was the best of the lot, mostly because it got Cadillac's sophisticated new 295-horsepower Northstar V-8. It provided the punch the car should have had in 1987, with 0-60 mph taking only 6.9 seconds. The traction control system was improved, and there was an effective new "Road Sensing Suspension." Production rose to 4,670 cars from 1,931 in 1992, although the 1993 model cost $61,675.
Then, just as the Allante finally seemed as if it might be worth the money, it was dropped -- as has been the case with other General Motors cars discontinued too soon.
A 1987 Allante in nearly perfect condition is worth $9,775, while the 1993 model in that shape is valued at $20,575 -- and worth the money.
#2
04-04-2008, 02:28 PM
RE: for those not familiar
ORIGINAL: G.A.R.Y.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE POSTED ORIGINALLY BY WILD BILL COATES
Trial and error name of game for Cadillac Allante
March 12, 2007
BY DAN JEDLICKA Auto Reporter
The news that Cadillac would build a sports car came as a major surprise in the mid-1980s. Cadillac was known for luxurious, chrome-laden cars, not racy two-seaters.
Cadillac's potent new high-compression V-8 was put in sports cars by racers in the early 1950s. But Cadillac didn't want its name associated with anything but luxury autos because it dominated the luxury car market until challenged decades later by Mercedes-Benz -- and then Lexus.
Cadillac was prompted to build a sports car because highly visible sports cars from archrival Mercedes-Benz and automakers such as Jaguar were highly visible in parking lots in country clubs and such places as exclusive restaurants.
The Cadillac sports car arrived for 1987 and lasted through 1993. It was called the Allante. The name had international flair but didn't translate to anything -- it was one of 1,700 monikers dreamed up by a New York product-name company.
Cadillac bypassed its stylists and hired Italy's famous Pininfarina auto design and coach-building outfit to style the Allante. Pininfarina was best known for styling racy Ferraris, but some remembered that it had styled one-of-a-kind sporty autos for Cadillac in the past, including 1931 and 1951 convertibles and a 1961 auto show concept car.
The Allante wasn't a head-turner, as were many Pininfarina Ferraris, because Cadillac told the Italian outfit to make it look "timeless" and "aristocratic." The car had clean, handsome styling and a Cadillac-style grille.
The car still looks good, but hiring Pininfarina made the Allante operation ridiculously expensive. The Italian firm built and painted Allante bodies in Italy. They then were flown by customized Boeing 747 cargo planes to Detroit, where Caddy finished building the car. It was based on a shortened version of the automaker's front-wheel-drive Eldorado four-seat coupe.
Cadillac called the operation the "world's longest assembly line." It clearly was out to make a world splash with the Allante.
Many had doubts. For one thing, the Allante had front-drive, when all the world's serious luxury sports cars had rear-wheel drive for better roadability.
"The Allante won't succeed because Cadillac knows nothing about building sports cars," European auto marketing whiz Vic Dial told me in France, soon after the Allante was introduced at the Paris Auto Show in the fall of 1986. At the show I noticed that the Allante drew little serious attention.
In fact, nobody in Europe or America ever really accepted the Allante as a serious sports car.
Sergio Pininfarina of the Pininfarina firm told me at the Paris show that Allantes sold in Europe would have analog gauges because "European sports car buyers would never go" for the U.S. version's gimmicky electronic gauges, developed in Japan.
The Allante's first U.S. showing came on television several months after its debut in Paris, with fictional tycoon J.R. Ewing, of the popular "Dallas" television series, presenting the car. Public hands-on U.S. introductions didn't take place until the spring of 1987, when the Allante was introduced at black-tie concerts in expensive homes.
Cadillac encouraged dealers to sell Allantes to high-profile, wealthy community leaders -- the same approach taken by Chevrolet in 1953 with its first Corvette sports car. Potential customers were older, affluent men and women who wanted something sporty.
Allante buyers had to be affluent because the car cost $54,700, about the price of the Mercedes 560SL, which was the most prestigious two-seat luxury car sold in America.
Cadillac planned to produce up to 8,000 Allantes annually. It came with leather-swatched Recaro bucket seats, a manual folding soft top and detachable aluminum hardtop. The only option was a cellular telephone.
But the Allante was too gimmicky for a 1980s sports car, with those electronic gauges and such. Oddly, it lacked a power top -- something Cadillac buyers expected. The dashboard had an array of small look-alike buttons that were hard to use when driving. Auto writers were puzzled when Cadillac personnel kept emphasizing the car's gadgets and comfort items, as if it were a Caddy sedan.
The first Allante was pretty much of a bust. It was too slow for a costly sports car because it weighed nearly 3,500 pounds and had an old-style V-8 with just 170-horsepower. The 0-60 mph run took a leisurely 10 seconds, which let less expensive cars outrun it. Annoying problems included wind and water leaks, squeaks and rattles -- and horns that didn't work.
The Allante used the Eldorado's all-independent suspension, and Goodyear designed special tires for it. But that wasn't enough. The car had a decidedly light-effort U.S. luxury car feel to its steering and handling -- not what you got in, say, the Mercedes two-seater.
Cadillac predicted that Allante sales for the 1987 calendar year would total 4,000 cars, but only 1,651 cars were delivered out of 3,363 built, with big rebates needed to clear inventories. The influential trade publication Automotive News called the Allante its 1987 "Flop of the Year." Depreciation was terrible.
Cadillac scrambled to give the 1989 Allante a larger, 200-horsepower V-8, variable-assist power steering, automatically adjustable suspension and larger tires. The 0-60 mph time fell to 8.5 seconds but the V-8 and a performance-oriented final drive ratio caused a gas-guzzler tax and upped the actual delivered price to $57,183.
To prop up sales, Cadillac tied the 1988-91 Allante's resale value to the Mercedes 560SL, but it later was switched to the less prestigious Jaguar XJ-S convertible, angering Allante owners. And it didn't help that Mercedes introduced a considerably better SL two-seater in 1990.
The Allante's steering and suspension were improved, and the car became sort of a technical showcase in 1990, with the first traction control system for a front-drive car and revised "Speed Sensitive Suspension." Still, sales were low.
The 1993 Allante looked the same as the first model but was the best of the lot, mostly because it got Cadillac's sophisticated new 295-horsepower Northstar V-8. It provided the punch the car should have had in 1987, with 0-60 mph taking only 6.9 seconds. The traction control system was improved, and there was an effective new "Road Sensing Suspension." Production rose to 4,670 cars from 1,931 in 1992, although the 1993 model cost $61,675.
Then, just as the Allante finally seemed as if it might be worth the money, it was dropped -- as has been the case with other General Motors cars discontinued too soon.
A 1987 Allante in nearly perfect condition is worth $9,775, while the 1993 model in that shape is valued at $20,575 -- and worth the money.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE POSTED ORIGINALLY BY WILD BILL COATES
Trial and error name of game for Cadillac Allante
March 12, 2007
BY DAN JEDLICKA Auto Reporter
The news that Cadillac would build a sports car came as a major surprise in the mid-1980s. Cadillac was known for luxurious, chrome-laden cars, not racy two-seaters.
Cadillac's potent new high-compression V-8 was put in sports cars by racers in the early 1950s. But Cadillac didn't want its name associated with anything but luxury autos because it dominated the luxury car market until challenged decades later by Mercedes-Benz -- and then Lexus.
Cadillac was prompted to build a sports car because highly visible sports cars from archrival Mercedes-Benz and automakers such as Jaguar were highly visible in parking lots in country clubs and such places as exclusive restaurants.
The Cadillac sports car arrived for 1987 and lasted through 1993. It was called the Allante. The name had international flair but didn't translate to anything -- it was one of 1,700 monikers dreamed up by a New York product-name company.
Cadillac bypassed its stylists and hired Italy's famous Pininfarina auto design and coach-building outfit to style the Allante. Pininfarina was best known for styling racy Ferraris, but some remembered that it had styled one-of-a-kind sporty autos for Cadillac in the past, including 1931 and 1951 convertibles and a 1961 auto show concept car.
The Allante wasn't a head-turner, as were many Pininfarina Ferraris, because Cadillac told the Italian outfit to make it look "timeless" and "aristocratic." The car had clean, handsome styling and a Cadillac-style grille.
The car still looks good, but hiring Pininfarina made the Allante operation ridiculously expensive. The Italian firm built and painted Allante bodies in Italy. They then were flown by customized Boeing 747 cargo planes to Detroit, where Caddy finished building the car. It was based on a shortened version of the automaker's front-wheel-drive Eldorado four-seat coupe.
Cadillac called the operation the "world's longest assembly line." It clearly was out to make a world splash with the Allante.
Many had doubts. For one thing, the Allante had front-drive, when all the world's serious luxury sports cars had rear-wheel drive for better roadability.
"The Allante won't succeed because Cadillac knows nothing about building sports cars," European auto marketing whiz Vic Dial told me in France, soon after the Allante was introduced at the Paris Auto Show in the fall of 1986. At the show I noticed that the Allante drew little serious attention.
In fact, nobody in Europe or America ever really accepted the Allante as a serious sports car.
Sergio Pininfarina of the Pininfarina firm told me at the Paris show that Allantes sold in Europe would have analog gauges because "European sports car buyers would never go" for the U.S. version's gimmicky electronic gauges, developed in Japan.
The Allante's first U.S. showing came on television several months after its debut in Paris, with fictional tycoon J.R. Ewing, of the popular "Dallas" television series, presenting the car. Public hands-on U.S. introductions didn't take place until the spring of 1987, when the Allante was introduced at black-tie concerts in expensive homes.
Cadillac encouraged dealers to sell Allantes to high-profile, wealthy community leaders -- the same approach taken by Chevrolet in 1953 with its first Corvette sports car. Potential customers were older, affluent men and women who wanted something sporty.
Allante buyers had to be affluent because the car cost $54,700, about the price of the Mercedes 560SL, which was the most prestigious two-seat luxury car sold in America.
Cadillac planned to produce up to 8,000 Allantes annually. It came with leather-swatched Recaro bucket seats, a manual folding soft top and detachable aluminum hardtop. The only option was a cellular telephone.
But the Allante was too gimmicky for a 1980s sports car, with those electronic gauges and such. Oddly, it lacked a power top -- something Cadillac buyers expected. The dashboard had an array of small look-alike buttons that were hard to use when driving. Auto writers were puzzled when Cadillac personnel kept emphasizing the car's gadgets and comfort items, as if it were a Caddy sedan.
The first Allante was pretty much of a bust. It was too slow for a costly sports car because it weighed nearly 3,500 pounds and had an old-style V-8 with just 170-horsepower. The 0-60 mph run took a leisurely 10 seconds, which let less expensive cars outrun it. Annoying problems included wind and water leaks, squeaks and rattles -- and horns that didn't work.
The Allante used the Eldorado's all-independent suspension, and Goodyear designed special tires for it. But that wasn't enough. The car had a decidedly light-effort U.S. luxury car feel to its steering and handling -- not what you got in, say, the Mercedes two-seater.
Cadillac predicted that Allante sales for the 1987 calendar year would total 4,000 cars, but only 1,651 cars were delivered out of 3,363 built, with big rebates needed to clear inventories. The influential trade publication Automotive News called the Allante its 1987 "Flop of the Year." Depreciation was terrible.
Cadillac scrambled to give the 1989 Allante a larger, 200-horsepower V-8, variable-assist power steering, automatically adjustable suspension and larger tires. The 0-60 mph time fell to 8.5 seconds but the V-8 and a performance-oriented final drive ratio caused a gas-guzzler tax and upped the actual delivered price to $57,183.
To prop up sales, Cadillac tied the 1988-91 Allante's resale value to the Mercedes 560SL, but it later was switched to the less prestigious Jaguar XJ-S convertible, angering Allante owners. And it didn't help that Mercedes introduced a considerably better SL two-seater in 1990.
The Allante's steering and suspension were improved, and the car became sort of a technical showcase in 1990, with the first traction control system for a front-drive car and revised "Speed Sensitive Suspension." Still, sales were low.
The 1993 Allante looked the same as the first model but was the best of the lot, mostly because it got Cadillac's sophisticated new 295-horsepower Northstar V-8. It provided the punch the car should have had in 1987, with 0-60 mph taking only 6.9 seconds. The traction control system was improved, and there was an effective new "Road Sensing Suspension." Production rose to 4,670 cars from 1,931 in 1992, although the 1993 model cost $61,675.
Then, just as the Allante finally seemed as if it might be worth the money, it was dropped -- as has been the case with other General Motors cars discontinued too soon.
A 1987 Allante in nearly perfect condition is worth $9,775, while the 1993 model in that shape is valued at $20,575 -- and worth the money.
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