Nice Day For A Drive Yesterday

[James Landi]

Clay, Laurie,
Perhaps a new topic is in order, "How did your car get its name? " Could be a repeat, but at my advanced age, memory fades, and old stuff can create the illusion of new. So,  CLay,  yes, regarding my cars' names, I am more likely to provide anthropological character to my Cadillacs after I've owned them for (too) many years.  This occurs when, in spite of logic, I've managed to keep my daily driver Cadillacs on life support well beyond anyone's expectations.  I've been confronted by Cadillac service managers with comments such as the following:  Mr. Landi, I have good news and bad news regarding your car... the good news is that we were able to repair it; the bad news is that you're likely to keep driving it."   So, there was Old Red, '83 Eldo with 315,000 miles with the dreaded 4100 engine that refused to die,  There was Great White, an 85 Eldo Convertible that provided 200,000 miles (and an Olds engine transplant), named "Great White," until GLenn Brown purchased it, and gave it a name change... and although the XLR has only 32,000 miles, it is likely my last Cadillac, so I've been toying with a name that is not so sexual as to be offensive, but, the fact is, it is a sex object more than a car by design, and in red, it screams, "what is that old man thinking."  Happy day, James

[Cadman-iac]

Further to my above posts on those odd gauges as seen in the overall dash photo, close up & the yellow tag, as seen above. Has anyone seen a Cadillac tag like that? Any guess as to what year of crest is pictured? Also, I finally got Lexi fired up and took her out for her first 2021 road trip, this past afternoon. Clay/Lexi

That looks like the crest used for 56 to me Clay. It looks exactly like the ones in the hubcap medallions on all of mine.

Rick/Norma Jean

No, not a cross dresser either,  lol!!

[D. Mailan]

Although Lexi's cowl tag lacks the usual "SO" imprint, it has the heavy duty staples at the bottom which may indicate it was a Special Order vehicle.... So Lexi may have been a Special Order vehicle. Perhaps that explains the presence of the non-standard gages.

Clay,

I would have to side with your car being a Special Order car. My dad and I are second owners of an SO '59 Cadillac Series 62. It was ordered with a special interior and color combination with several accessories. The trim tag has the 3 staples and says SO but, it does not show many of the other factory options that the car came with aside from (E,H,Y) E-Z eye glass, Heater, and 6-way seat. The car is all original with factory air suspension (converted to springs), cruise control, and power trunk. But none of these options show up on the tag but only on the original car invoice.

Though I am no specialist, from what I see with our car, it is very much possible that yours is a Special Order too. Since it seems that your car wasn't ordered with any special trim, color combination, or interior design, the car did not need an SO tag, rather the three staples with the paper to indicate the extra gauges that were added to a standard, factory built car.

That is my 2 cents.

Derick

[Lexi]

Derrick much thanks for the post. So your metal cowl tag says "SO", and you also have the 3 staples. Lexi's tag only has the 3 staples, but SO not imprinted in the metal cowl tag. And yes, it seems that there is no special trim added. There are Landau irons which are exceedingly rare, but these are period aftermarket and not Cadillac, (Landau packages not offered by Cadillac until 1964 if memory serves). So maybe it was just for the gages? Did you also get a build sheet for your '59, and if so, were the SO changes noted there & in agreement with your original invoice? Is your paper/cardboard tag still there, or just the 3 staples remain?

Reason I ask is that this matter has come up before and there seemed to be no consensus on this paper tag thing and the 3 staples-and that was from CLC members with far more knowledge than myself. I have seen one Cadillac, think it was a '61, with the paper tag still intact and stapled to the metal cowl tag.

And James, your're not old, you're just classic! Trying to decide whether to change my sign off, but as my Dad used to say, people can call me anything but long distance collect or late for supper! Clay/Lexi

P.S. Was going to take Lexi out today but old man winter has returned.

[Cape Cod Fleetwood]

Clay, Laurie,
Perhaps a new topic is in order, "How did your car get its name? " Could be a repeat, but at my advanced age, memory fades, and old stuff can create the illusion of new. So,  CLay,  yes, regarding my cars' names, I am more likely to provide anthropological character to my Cadillacs after I've owned them for (too) many years.  This occurs when, in spite of logic, I've managed to keep my daily driver Cadillacs on life support well beyond anyone's expectations.  I've been confronted by Cadillac service managers with comments such as the following:  Mr. Landi, I have good news and bad news regarding your car... the good news is that we were able to repair it; the bad news is that you're likely to keep driving it."   So, there was Old Red, '83 Eldo with 315,000 miles with the dreaded 4100 engine that refused to die,  There was Great White, an 85 Eldo Convertible that provided 200,000 miles (and an Olds engine transplant), named "Great White," until GLenn Brown purchased it, and gave it a name change... and although the XLR has only 32,000 miles, it is likely my last Cadillac, so I've been toying with a name that is not so sexual as to be offensive, but, the fact is, it is a sex object more than a car by design, and in red, it screams, "what is that old man thinking."  Happy day, James

James, the last time I checked, none of us hoomans have an expiration date tattoo'd to our bodies or a UPC code stating the same somewhere in our records. Ergo, you don't know if that XLR is your last car. Always leave the door open for Life to surprise you. Send me a pic of it, I'll give it a name that will surely get the pilgrims of purity to ban you and the car. As far as The Ark's name, I don't remember. I may have made a comment to someone about "Noah's Ark" in regard to its size, or someone made that comment to me. People obviously laughed, and "The Ark" was born.

[scotth3886]

That looks like the crest used for 56 to me Clay. It looks exactly like the ones in the hubcap medallions on all of mine.

Rick/Norma Jean

No, not a cross dresser either,  lol!!

What then if it takes its skirts off?

[Cadillac Jack 82]

Evelyn is my '55s name.  The previous owner called her Ethel which no offense to the previous owner was an awful name.

[Lexi]

Makes sense Derick. I don't have the build sheet but plan on ordering it. I am told that there is a 50/50 chance that the SO particulars will be there. I think this is interesting stuff for many of us, but kinda wish now it was in a separate thread as James noted. Did not want to hijack Jon's original intent here.

That said, his photographic exposure of his dash from inside the car was great. Always tough when you are photographing a darker subject and the background is so well lit. I have found that despite their simplicity, I have got quite good photos with my phone, even when compared to my entry level pro camera kit. Great shot Jon!

While we went a little off topic, we did fulfil one of the fundamental precepts of the CLC, and that is to build camaraderie among members. That we did. This post of Jon's perhaps should continue where we can comment on how our car's drove on any particular day, perhaps with a photo showing them out in the wild. How often do we see those kind of shots? Rarely. What we normally see are parked, posed shots. I think in part that is why I liked Jon's dash shot so much. He was out and about, and pulled off a great photograph of his car out on the street (at least from the cockpit!). It was something different.

So here is a shot of "Lexi" while out in the wild, following my buddy's '57 Cadillac. Both are Series 75 Imperial Limousines, so it is an extra odd photo, rarely to be repeated. Enjoy, and thanks to Jon for this thread.

Clay/Lexi/Lexasaurus/Whatever!

Edit: That Cadillac crest on the yellow tag, (earlier post previous page), to me looks to pre-date 1956. It has that more slender, "tallish" look from the early '50s even the '40s. As it is a stamped imprint I realize that it may not be to scale, but it looks quite old and may have been attached behind the dash for a very long time.

[Jon S]

Thank you for your kind comments Clay.

[Lexi]

Jon you're welcome. Thank you for starting this thread. Clay/Lexi

[Cadman-iac]

What then if it takes its skirts off?

Exhibitionist?  Lol !!