Tom Taylor never thought he’d own a classic back in 1988 because he was just looking for a daily driver when he found this 28,000-mile 1980 Cadillac Biarritz.
He was impressed by the low mileage and the history behind this car.
The thought that he’d still own it over 25 years later was never on the table back in ’88.
Tom explained the history behind his Cadillac: “I bought it in ’88, it came from Ontario and it had 44,000 km on it. The guy who had it before me it was the second owner because it was his mother’s car”.
This Cadillac wasn’t even on Tom’s radar as he confessed: “I was actually looking at a Lincoln at the time but the sales guy said was sold so this car came up for sale and he said why don’t you look at this car. I thought I’d look at it anyhow but I was kind of skeptical because it was dusty and a mess. I thought there was a fire or something”.
Tom admitted: “I didn’t buy it but the sales guy called me and said we’ll guarantee it so I hopped on the bus, grabbed a plate and got the car. It still wasn’t clean so I cleaned it up and started driving it”.
Years later, this car is a survivor in the truest sense of the word, “It’s still got the original tire in the trunk with 1980 air in it”.
This car was a daily driver back in the day so Tom took a few road trips in the Caddy: “We used to take it to Winnipeg, it’s all air ride and the AC still works so it’s pretty comfortable and I’m 78 years old”.
Eventually the car became far less of a daily driver and Tom confesses the car sees a lot of hibernation: “It has sat for five years at a time and there are years I just don’t drive but after five years the CV joints and the sensors were screwed so I took it to Cruisin Auto-they’ve done all the work on it over the years”.
This Cadillac Eldorado is optioned out and it has the stainless steel roof so this was a first class ride back in 1980 when Ronald Reagan took over the keys to the White House.
The key to any car’s collectibility is longevity and this car is 34 years old so it is far removed from the 2014 look in automotive design.
Tom is in the gray area with this Cadillac’s future because he admittedly “doesn’t have to get rid of it” but he’s also concerned about its extended periods of inactivity: “I’ve driven it a bit more in the last few weeks but I’ve owned it for 25 years and I just don’t drive it enough”.
There are some practical and impractical sides to every old car and this Cadillac is no exception: “It still has the factory floor mats, it’s got new belts, it doesn’t get great gas mileage but the insurance is really cheap”.
Tom Taylor never thought he’d still own a daily driver 25 years later but in that time he’s seen his Cadillac status evolve from daily driver to survivor.
Jerry Sutherland
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