Or, why you need to join our newly formed Fleetwood Chapter
By Nick Manole • Fleetwood Chapter Director
photos courtesy of the author
When I was eight years old, there was a family that attended our church and arrived every Sunday in a new 1966 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. I would sit and wait in the parking lot ’til they drove up. Not only was it stunningly beautiful on the outside with its halo vinyl roof and gorgeous cathedral taillights, but the inside was a real sight to see.
As the rear passenger door opened, my heart would skip a beat when I spied the thick, solid walnut on the inside of the door, the shiny chrome and carpet on the airline-style footrests, and, finally, the picnic tables that folded down on both sides with an additional thin layer of wood veneer on the surface. The rear vent windows that were power-operated would scream my name!
I would run up to the car, and my friend who was my age would routinely press the huge chrome button on top of the seat back, and miraculously the picnic table would appear! I dreamed of riding in the back seat some day with a glass of Coke and a burger resting on the table as I was shuttled to Disneyland. I was obsessed with this vehicle and knew that it wasn’t a limo driven by a chauffeur, but a sedan that the father of the family drove himself.
This family always dressed to the nines and reeked of class when they gracefully exited the Fleetwood. I vowed that someday I would own a Cadillac like that one and always coveted only this year of Fleetwood. This particular family would get a new Brougham every year, but I noticed the newer years lacked the real walnut on the doors, and vinyl would replace the real wood.
Fast forward to 1995, my business was doing well, the wife had agreed and now I could search for that 1966 Fleetwood Brougham! Finally, an ad in Hemmings caught my eye. I called the seller, he described the Cadillac and I almost wet my pants when he told me the color and option combination: metallic steel gray, black vinyl top and a stunning red brocade interior. In addition, it had the very rare first-year option of heated seats and all of the other options you could get on a Fleetwood that year.
I flew out to North Carolina with my mom and Aunt Vasso (as they paid for my ticket if I promised to take them to tour the Biltmore estate). When I first spied it from the road, I bought it on sight. When we got back to tour the estate, I drove the ladies to dinner, and they commented on the room and ride and said their biggest complaint with new cars was the lack of legroom and how you had to be a contortionist to get in and out of the back seat.
In 1998, the same recently widowed Aunt Vasso wanted to buy a new car. We visited all the luxury makes that year and she hated all of them. “How am I going to fit all my fat Greek ladyfriends in that back seat?” I had read about a new Cadillac Fleetwood Limited that was custom-built on a commercial limousine chassis by Superior Coach in Lima, Ohio. It had eight extra inches of rear seat legroom, offered solid walnut picnic tables, footrests, rear vanity mirrors, fender skirts, along with an available TV/VCR unit in the back seat.
Had I died and gone to heaven? Was Cadillac bringing back a modern version of my beloved Fleetwood Brougham? On a business trip to Dallas, I went to the local dealer and there was one on the showroom floor in all its glory. I called my aunt right then and there and said I had actually seen a Fleetwood Limited and it was just what she had been looking for; the only thing I didn’t mention was the price!
We went to a local dealer in Albuquerque, N.M., (who didn’t even know what we were talking about) and they stated, yes, we could order one, but they needed a $10,000 nonrefundable deposit and we might change our mind when he told us the cost. I ordered all the options available and wanted the same colors as my 1966 Fleetwood Brougham. You couldn’t get a black vinyl top, but you could order a red interior and metallic silver exterior!
When the price came close to $60,000, my aunt almost had a coronary right then and there. I explained that she wouldn’t be happy with any other vehicle, her late husband had left her plenty of money, and, darn it, she deserved a really nice car that would last her the rest of her life. Finally, she relented, and the Fleetwood Limited was on order. Five months later, it arrived, and, OMG, was it beautiful! My Aunt Vasso loved that car (along with all her fat Greek ladyfriends) and cherished it.
On Feb. 24, 2015, my beloved Aunt Vasso passed away and left me that great Cadillac Fleetwood Limited. It has only 40,000 miles on it and come to find out they made only 314 of these rare Cadillacs for 1998. My color combination is the only one in existence.
Do you own a cherished Fleetwood? Do you have a similar story to mine? Do you admire these classic, owner-driven Cadillacs that had limousine-quality features in an owner-driven car? Do you just admire Fleetwoods?
Please join our newly formed Fleetwood Chapter as we share the love of this truly unique Cadillac! My Aunt Vasso’s spirit compels you…
If you are interested, please call or e-mail Nick at (505) 934-4655; e-mail nmanole@aol.com. Nick Manole of Albuquerque, N.M., is also the director of the New Mexico Region and serves on the CLC board of directors.