It hasn’t been proven, but a computer with a clean keyboard seems to run faster in the same way a freshly washed car feels peppier. No other car offered anything like it, and though not popular at a hefty $2000, Night Vision was the type of technical advance that had served Cadillac so well in the ’50s and ’60s. A string of boldly styled circa-Y2K concepts suggested Cadillac would again reach for luxury-class leadership, but in new ways so as to stand apart from the European and Japanese brands that had stolen its thunder. Wrap your wire or string around the plug end of the light bulb and hang up the ornament. They had all the style of their day, but in the end were made obsolete by tightening federal fuel standards and skyrocketing gas prices. Then too, prices were surprisingly little changed for the three models. If all went well, the resulting new showroom models would have people taking a fresh look at Cadillac, just as the surprise-hit Escalade SUV was doing. Like a Magic Eraser, you’ll also want to be very careful to not overuse pumice stones, as doing so can scratch surfaces like the porcelain of your tub.

With the aid of computers, seismologists can then analyze the information to pinpoint possible traps in the Earth. To get more information about the 1971-1976 Pontiacs, including models, prices, and production, see the next page. Continue to the next page to read about changes made to the Grand Prix for 1976, Pontiac’s 50th-anniversary year. Plus, GM was saddled with a corporate structure that allowed product-line changes only in concert with other divisions. General Motors was forced to sell assets, close plants, and lay off workers while hoping new models sold well enough to prevent the unthinkable. Despite closing plants and cutting jobs since the 1980s, General Motors and other major carmakers lost their once-vaunted competitive edge, burdened by huge fixed costs and continuing losses in sales and market share to import-brand rivals. In an age when fuel economy and low operating costs were becoming more important, GM introduced the largest, costliest, and thirstiest machines in its history. That simplified summary may sound overblown, but the situation could hardly be more critical in the new millennium. Among them were some 1600 Eldorado Collector Series (ECS) specials with the expected badges and specific trim, plus an exhaust system tuned to mimic the sound of the original 1953 Eldo.

Eldorado then exited after 2002 and three years without significant change — unless one counts renaming the base version ESC (Eldorado Sport Coupe) important. Each started at $44,700, the base DeVille at $39,500. Sales started sliding again after 1999, thudding to just over 28,000 units for ’01 and ultimately crashing at just 6,514, this despite modest yearly price hikes and some interesting new features. Overall Value: We then weigh our experience against the price tag to determine the overall value of each machine. It is time to experience an incredibly natural way to clean your hands. While the 1971-1976 full-sized Pontiacs were stylish and luxurious machines, they were really not the right cars for the time. Orders for full-sized Pontiacs, which had fallen off to 126,555 in 1975, bounced back to 137,216 units in 1976. However, that wasn’t enough to keep the B-body cars from being overtaken — easily — by the series of Grand Prix personal coupes.

Sales that final year were only about a third of what they’d been a decade before — fewer than 10,500 units. Total Pontiac output was up by more than 200,000 cars for the model year as the U.S. Powertrain options were essentially the same as the previous year. High-tech options abounded for DHS and DTS, including a touch-screen navigation system and an ultrasonic warning system to signal the presence of obstacles when backing up. D’Elegance was retitled DHS (for “DeVille High-luxury Sedan”), while Concours became the DTS (“DeVille Touring Sedan”). The “entry-level” Series 61 was still around in 1950, but its sedan and De Ville-inspired coupe were demoted to a 122-inch wheelbase (from 126 in the 1940s). Manual transmission remained standard here (and on 75s), but other Caddys now came with Hydra-Matic at no extra cost. Yet such gizmology tended to obscure the virtues of a mighty impressive big luxury sedan. Cadillac disposed of its rear-drive German-built Catera after 2001. Demand for midsize “near luxury” sedans was booming, but this one fizzled, likely because it was a Cadillac. Despite enthusiastic management support, the first of the new fleet couldn’t be ready before model-year 2003, but Cadillac made several sensible moves to prepare for its arrival.