1960 Cadillac Coupe de Ville
One who felt less than satisfied with the overladen, chrome-dripping Cadillacs of the late 1950s was General Motors' recently appointed head of design, Bill Mitchell. Mitchell had been a student of Harley Earl's at GM, and spent his early days in the Cadillac studio. One of the designers responsible for creating the first Cadillac tailfin in 1948, Mitchell's tastes and design ideas had matured by the time he replaced Earl in 1958. It would take a few years for Mitchell's style to fully manifest itself, but the first signs of the cleaner, sharper styling that Mitchell would bring to GM cars could be seen in the 1960 offerings.
For Cadillac, and GM in general, 1960 was something of a bridging year. With most GM divisions having debuted an all-new body style with their 1959 models, major mechanical and specification changes for 1960 were minimal, with most of the focus being directed toward the new Corvair compact. Cadillac's range for 1960 remained unchanged to the point that not even the prices were adjusted, but there were some styling differences of note, with the reduction of those mighty tailfins being the most obvious. The 1959 models had reached their peak - literally - so a form of stylistic downsizing was to be expected for 1960. The trimmed-down look to the tailfins, which was implemented across the whole Cadillac range, was probably greater than many were expecting, but had actually been previewed the year before on the low volume Eldorado Brougham.
On the 1960 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, and the two different Sedan de Ville four door hardtops that comprised the '6300' de Ville sub-series, the tailfins were less than half the height of those of the previous year. The twin bullet-like tailights were gone too, replaced by slim lights in each fin's trailing edge, while the reshaped rear bumper pods housed the reversing lights and additional tailights. Tailfins weren't dead, though, continuing to be used as a styling element on Cadillacs until the middle of the 1960s. At the front end, the "double deck" grille was simplified, with the indicator/parking light pods more integrated into a smoother bumper, and the broad horizontal divider removed. Script badges were retained on the rear guards, while the body length chrome side spear was also left unchanged from 1959.
The general body style around the cabin area was retained, and the Coupe de Ville carried over its pillarless hardtop body style from 1959. Paint options ran to 19 different colours for 1960, including the exotic-sounding 'Siena Rose', 'Persian Sand' and 'Arroyo Turquoise', all bar three of which were metallics. Inside, Coupe de Villes featured two-way power adjustable front bucket seats as standard, as well as power windows, power steering, dual speed wipers, power brakes and full width wheel covers. Buyers could choose interior trimmed in 'Chadwick' metallic-finish cloth or optional 'Cambray' cloth/leather combination to match or contrast the exterior. The dash was redesigned for 1960 models, with the radio available with 'remote control' as a cost option. At $247, this was the most expensive item on the de Ville options list that included things like whitewall tyres, air suspension, electric door locks and the very space-age 'Autronic Eye' headlight dimmer.
All Coupe de Villes for 1960 ran a 390ci V8 rated at 325hp, the same unit that had debuted the year before. This was common across almost all the Cadillac range for that year, with the Eldorado getting a differently-tuned, 345hp version of the same engine. Coupe de Ville buyers could choose the higher horsepower V8 as an option. All de Villes also featured GM's Hydramatic automatic transmission. Production was up across all de Ville variants, albeit by only a small number, which gave some vindication to Miller's new design direction. The 1960 Cadillacs also received Car Life (US) magazine's 'Best Buy in the Luxury Field' award for that year. At US$5,252 when new, the Coupe de Ville was the cheapest of the 6300 series, but not the cheapest Cadillac you could buy that year.
The driving experience of the 1960 Coupe de Ville is what you'd expect of a big, heavy American car of the period. The suspension is soft, the brakes are inadequate, but the Coupe de Ville does cruise along smoothly and the steering is reasonably compliant. With so few changes, there was little to be said about the 1960 model Coupe de Ville, so press reports and test drives of the model are hard to find. That said, there's nothing to suggest the 1960 is any worse than the 1959 Coupe de Ville, and given its mechanical similarities, there's no reason why it should be. That means that the choice comes largely down to personal taste. It's undeniable that 1959 Cadillacs are the "it" cars amongst collectors and enthusiasts. Consequently, they can command big dollars. Those trimmer tailfins may make the 1960 Cadillac less desirable, but they also tend to make it less expensive, too. Made for cruising, the Cadillac Coupe de Ville still scores a lot of style points. If you can live with the thirsty engine and parking dramas owning a car like this brings with it, then a 1960 Caddy Coupe de Ville makes for a very nice weekend cruiser.
SPECIFICATIONS: 1960 Cadillac Coupe de Ville
Engine: 390ci OHV V8
Bore/Stroke: 4.00" x 3.875"
Compression: 10.5:1
Power/torque: 325bhp@4800rpm / 430ft/lb@3100rpm
Fuel system: 1 x Carter 4-barrel carburettor
Cooling system: Liquid
Electrics: 12 Volt
Transmision: 4-speed automatic
Front Suspension: Independent upper & lower control arms/coil springs
Rear Suspension: Coil springs
Front brakes: Power-assisted drums
Rear brakes: Power-assisted drums
Wheels: 15" Fr/Rr
Tyres: 8.00 x 15 Fr/Rr
Wheelbase: 130" (3302mm)
Length: 225" (5715mm)
Width: 79.9" (2030mm)
Weight: 4705 lb (2134kg)
0-100 kph: 10.5 seconds (approx)
Top Speed: 170 kph (approx)
TRIVIA
Cadillac production for 1959 had been compromised by a steel strike that year and affected by 1958's US recession. For 1960, Cadillac made up lost ground and recorded their best sales year to date, shifting 151,954 cars. That eclipsed the previous record set in 1955.
