It’s Halloween this week, and the decorations around our neighborhood do not disappoint. There are half a dozen of those twelve-foot-tall skeletons around, including one in our yard. One neighbor opted for the giant Nosferatu instead, and modified it into a truly disturbing killer clown. And another neighbor stuck a convincing Jason Voorhees mannequin in the corner of their yard, so that you just catch it out of the corner of your eye as you drive by. In the spirit of the season, I’m decorating Shitbox Showdown for Halloween this week, starting with two classic black sedans.
Friday’s final was a foregone conclusion; there was no way that Lexus coupe was not going to win. And it won by a lot. I understand why; it’s a really nice car for a good price. But I have to be honest: it bores the hell out of me.
For me, no surprise, it has to be the distant second place: that scruffy little Plymouth Duster. You can’t call it a nice car, but it is entertaining, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be reliable. It’s also half the price of the Lexus, and I’m kind of a cheapskate.
You all know by now that I prefer brightly-colored cars, but if I can’t have some vibrant hue, I prefer black to white or silver. Most cars look good in black, if a bit boring, but certain cars can really pull it off. Big, imposing sedans in particular look great in black. For your consideration today, I’ve got two fifty-year-old luxury liners that wear their black paint well. Here they are.
1975 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special Limo – $4,500
Engine/drivetrain: 500 cubic inch OHV V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Long Beach, CA
Odometer reading: 83,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
It’s hard to imagine, if you only go back as far as the 1980s, that Cadillac’s slogan used to be “The Standard Of The World,” and it wasn’t just marketing hype. There was a reason that calling something “the Cadillac of” its type was high praise. Its technology, quality, and luxury were just about the best you could get, all the way up through the 1960s. The malaise era wasn’t kind to any carmakers, and it marked the beginning of an especially ugly time for Cadillac. But that was all later; in 1975, the Cadillac name still meant something, and if you saw this car go by, you’d have been duly impressed.
Power for this big, heavy car comes from the largest version of Cadillac’s V8 engine of all time: a nice round 500 cubic inches, or 8.2 liters, if you prefer. The transmission was GM’s simple, excellent TH400 automatic; Cadillac was smart enough to know when pulling from the GM parts bin was the wise move. The seller points out that this car is exactly old enough to avoid smog testing in California, which avoids a lot of hassle. It runs well, and is currently registered, but we don’t get much more information than that.
Because it’s a limousine, the original owner of this car probably didn’t spend much time behind the wheel of it. But whoever did the driving for them didn’t exactly suffer; it’s just as cushy in the front as it is in the back. GM’s build quality, including Cadillac’s, was on a not-so-graceful decline in the ’70s, and it shows in how well this car has held up inside. Most of it looks all right, but the passenger’s side door panel is in rough shape, as is the carpet.
Outside, it has faded a bit from its glory days, but you could bring it back. The paint on the horizontal surfaces is sun-scorched, and at least one of the taillight filler panels is broken. I wouldn’t be surprised if the other side looks the same. Reproductions are available for some Cadillac models; hopefully this is one of them. If not, you could always fire up a 3D printer, I suppose.
1975 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL – $6,000
Engine/drivetrain: 4.5-liter OHC V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Henderson, NV
Odometer reading: 107,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
As Cadillac’s star dimmed in the US luxury market, imports from Europe were on the rise, particularly Mercedes-Benz. The W116 series, introduced in 1972, were the first Mercedes sedans to officially receive the designation “S-class,” a name which has since become synonymous with excellent quality and state-of-the-art technology. This 450SEL is the long-wheelbase model, with the second-to-largest engine available in the range.
The US-model 450’s V8 engine didn’t make as much power as its European counterparts due to emissions regulations, only 190 horsepower, but it was still no slouch for the time. The only transmission available was a three-speed automatic, unusual since six-cylinder Mercedes models of the era had four-speed transmissions. The three-speed gearbox was beefed up to deal with the torque from the V8 engines. This one runs and drives well, and has only 107,000 miles on it, which is nothing for a Mercedes-Benz of this era.
“Built to a standard, not to a price” is how you often hear these cars described, and if you sit in one and play with stuff, you understand exactly what that means. Everything just feels solid: switches operate with a satisfying click, the seats are comfortable without being squishy, and it’s eerily quiet inside with the door shut. This one is in very good shape, from the looks of it, and the seller says everything works, including the air conditioning.
The mandatory bumper standards for the US market weren’t kind to the styling of any cars in the ’70s, but they seemed to hit European cars particularly hard. The gigantic rubber battering rams sticking out of both ends of this car aren’t as attractive as the svelte chrome bumpers of other markets, but honestly, I’ve seen how people drive in Las Vegas, and big-ass bumpers aren’t a terrible idea. This car is in great shape outside; the only flaw I see is a bar in the grille that looks like it’s coming loose. Should be easy enough to fix.
Most people would consider these two cars too old to be daily drivers, but I know people who would happily daily them, and either one would suit their styles perfectly. Either one would be a labor of love to keep on the road, but in both cases, you’re starting from a good place. If you were to play the “friendly stranger in the black sedan,” which one is more your style – the flashy American, or the stately German?
We owned 1977 450 SEL for twenty years, and it was one of our best cars ever.
My mother was too gullible to believe those sleazoids that our 450 SEL wasn’t worth fixing. She gave it away after my father passed away without the testament. That car showed up in the classified list two years later for €6,400.
As for Cadillac, I am not too sure how practical that car given its excessive length. So pass…
Well, here is the difficult part.
For the Cadillac, parts sourcing will NOT be easy. The 500 V8, as durable as it is, had some issues with the blocks or the heads (cannot remember) for some years.
The quality is pretty horrid on the driver’s side as well. I am not that impressed. But I am a cheap person…so….
The Mercedes looks to be in better shape. But intimidation and presence-wise, the Cadillac fits the bill. All villains seem to drive Black Cadillacs (although a very select few would go with a late model Lexus LS too).
Verdict: If I had the money, I would get both. Or else skip and look elsewhere.
I want both, but I voted for the Benz because I think he is asking 1/2 of what he should be asking for a car in that apparent condition.
There are few situations where the W116 isn’t the better option.
Today would be a good day to have a both option. Both of these are among my favorite cars from the 70s
However, I voted for the W116
Had the Cadillac in question been a “regular” Fleetwood, I would have been unable to resist it … but against the limo, the W116 wins.
Give me the Cadillac. Starting with the ’59 Eldorado, the big Caddys were just the very best of American automobiles. If you needed a car in the ’70’s, a Fleetwood was as good as it got.
I know the technocrats will argue that the Benz is superior, but my father had a client who had that very same car that the dealership could never get right.
Today, I’ll take an hour and a half to rebuild the Quadrajet while you’re studying a PDF of a Bosch Service Manual for the third time.
Plus, I can source parts and you can’t.
I could dig a big, last-of-the-line Caddy, but not this one over that shockingly clean Benz. Maybe if the price gap were bigger, but it’s not as if $4500 gets you a car you want as-is.
This one was close for me because I love both, but I’m just baaaaarely leaning Cadillac because I love old American land yachts.
Sorry if you are in a big prestige limo you need to cruise not race. So Mercedes it is
The Caddy would be the easy choice but not as a limo.I’ll take the Mercedes and see what it felt like to be dripping in cash back in 1975.
Sure, the Benz is arguably the “better” choice here, but in the spirit of Halloween, I voted Caddy!
The deep burble of the 500ci V8 is almost as menacing as the vehicle’s likely provenance. The driver’s carpet has what looks like soil from a freshly dug grave and the upholstery, if illuminated with a black light, will tell horrifying tales this Hallows Eve.
For this you need the hearse
While any triple-black car is my least preferred color combo, I’ll take the Mercedes-Benz all day long and twice on Sundays.
The Benz, I could see driving from A to B. The Caddy, not so much.
Neither would be much fun. I drove big ol’ boats back in the learner’s permit days and don’t miss them a bit.
I don’t want to deal with either but at least the Merc I could see as usable probably with a lot of fighting and an engine swap. A 25ft 70s Cadillac belongs shoved in the ground or shipped to Sweden.
A reasonable mechanic can rebuild the carb and fix other stuff on the Cadillac so it drives well and all the doodads work. You’ll be good to go in less than six months. The Benz will need to have the D-Jet fuel system gone through from the tank to the injectors by a very old man who went to the special Bosch fuel injection school in 1973 to attempt to understand how to service this infernal contraption. Most of your time will be spent trying to find this fellow who will purposefully avoid you. In the meantime, you can get the A/C to work at its optimal capacity, which will then release air with the force and temperature of a baby’s breath.
That bit about the A/C is entirely too real.
That Benz, definitely. My main concern would be finding out whether things like the power windows, locks, etc… were still operated via vacuum lines as late as 1975. If not, and it’s just wiring, then $6K seems like an OK price for such a nice car. Not fast of course, but so what? Stylishly understated, surely comfortable, and as safe as anything else built in ’75 that you’re likely to see on the roads, so why not? It’s even got those chromed and painted wheel covers that I like so much. 🙂
Vacuum locks were still in use as late as 1988, if not 1989.
Really? That’s so recent! 😮
Does this apply to ALL Mercedes Benz vehicles? Like any random C or E class from the 80s is going to have vacuum-operated stuff? I really
thoughtimagined that those would have been electric by then, like most other manufacturers.That I don’t know, but my ’88 R107 most definitely has vacuum central locks.
Speaking of electric, my favourite piece of German practicality in this car: it was a luxury-adjacent car in its day, pretty pricey, and naturally it had power windows and power rearview mirrors. But only the passenger side mirror. The driver side? You can reach it with your hand, can’t you? No power for you.
I find this extra amusing because it means they had to have two different button placements and door assemblies for LHD and RHD markets just for this.
LOL! Another thing I didn’t know. Thanks Harvey!
It sort of makes sense I guess. My ’89 Volvo has those little manual joystick thingies just inside the window for each mirror (it’s a DL trim) but TBH, I don’t mind when in a car where you have to open the window and push on the mirror itself to adjust it due to something not working or the car being really old. I guess it’s good that I don’t live someplace really cold or wet, or that might become a drag, not that you have to adjust the mirrors that often.
Wow… vacuum into the late 80s. That really is a surprise to me.
The Mercedes is my vehicle, Baby. It will take you anyplace you want to go and look good doing it.
Jetronic Injection from 50 years ago is a little scary, but I think the Merc is still the better choice here.