Elvis' 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood Limo....40 coats of paint
#1
Lexus Champion
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Elvis' 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood Limo....40 coats of paint
Below: 1960 Series 75 Fleetwood Limousine
This vehicle is the ultimate in luxury and opulence. Costing $100,000, it was customised by George Barris with gold plated interior gadgets such as a phone, shoe buffer, refrigerator, entertainment console with a ten record automatic changer RCA record player, swivel TV and tape deck. Forty coats of exterior paint made with pearl, diamond dust and oriental fish scales were used on the outside. Hubcaps, wheel covers, headlight rims and the front grille are gold plated in 24kt gold. Gold lame drapes were used to cover the back windows and to separate the front and back seats. Truly a vehicle fit for a King!
Elvis used it occasionally in the early 60's but towards the end of 1966, Colonel Parker talked RCA into buying it for $24,000 as a promotional tool. The car tour (which included Australia in 1968) was a great success. Bob Hayden has been researching the Australian tour, click here for lots more details and pictures. In Houston, 40,000 came to take a look and take home a free `Elvis Presley's Gold Car' postcard. In Atlanta, the car was the guest of honor at a dinner for 250 dignitaries. In the late 70's the car was donated to the Country Music Association Hall of Fame in Nashville. When you press a button, the roof lifts off so you can see inside it.
the dude definitely had some cool cars....
This vehicle is the ultimate in luxury and opulence. Costing $100,000, it was customised by George Barris with gold plated interior gadgets such as a phone, shoe buffer, refrigerator, entertainment console with a ten record automatic changer RCA record player, swivel TV and tape deck. Forty coats of exterior paint made with pearl, diamond dust and oriental fish scales were used on the outside. Hubcaps, wheel covers, headlight rims and the front grille are gold plated in 24kt gold. Gold lame drapes were used to cover the back windows and to separate the front and back seats. Truly a vehicle fit for a King!
Elvis used it occasionally in the early 60's but towards the end of 1966, Colonel Parker talked RCA into buying it for $24,000 as a promotional tool. The car tour (which included Australia in 1968) was a great success. Bob Hayden has been researching the Australian tour, click here for lots more details and pictures. In Houston, 40,000 came to take a look and take home a free `Elvis Presley's Gold Car' postcard. In Atlanta, the car was the guest of honor at a dinner for 250 dignitaries. In the late 70's the car was donated to the Country Music Association Hall of Fame in Nashville. When you press a button, the roof lifts off so you can see inside it.
the dude definitely had some cool cars....
Last edited by bagwell; 04-20-12 at 04:30 PM.
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Elvis also liked pink Caddies...especially the the outlandish '59, which was one of the most ostentatious-looking production cars ever built.
In those days, BTW, pink, especially on cars, was not necessarily considered a gay or female color like it is today. A number of American cars in the mid-late 50s had single, two-tone, or even three-tone pink paint and interiors. Bruce Springsteen sang about pink Caddies as late as the 1980s.
In those days, BTW, pink, especially on cars, was not necessarily considered a gay or female color like it is today. A number of American cars in the mid-late 50s had single, two-tone, or even three-tone pink paint and interiors. Bruce Springsteen sang about pink Caddies as late as the 1980s.
#4
Lexus Fanatic
Those huge pointed fins, though, could be dangerous. A number of cyclists were hurt or impaled on them. The 1960/61/62 fins were almost as high, but toned down a little. Ralph Nader wrote about those Cadillac fin-injuries in his famous book "Unsafe at any Speed"...the same book where he also panned the early-60s Corvairs for their many safety-problems.
#5
Those huge pointed fins, though, could be dangerous. A number of cyclists were hurt or impaled on them. The 1960/61/62 fins were almost as high, but toned down a little. Ralph Nader wrote about those Cadillac fin-injuries in his famous book "Unsafe at any Speed"...the same book where he also panned the early-60s Corvairs for their many safety-problems.
again directed at the picture. that is some mighty fine sheet metal
#7
Lexus Champion
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In early March, 1955 Elvis bought his first Pink Cadillac. It was a pink and white 1954 Cadillac and provided transportation for Elvis and the Blue Moon Boys for about three months. The car went up in smoke when a brake lining caught fire, on the road between Hope and Texarkana, Ark. on June 5, 1955.
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