RMRCLC Member Finds Rarest of Rare Caddy on Internet

For some people the search for rare automobiles is an ongoing quest. On ocassion, all those hours spend racing to the mail box and combing through a fresh copy of Hemmings or staying up late searching every obscure car classifieds site on the internet actually pays off.

Well pay off it did for our beloved George M. After years of searching for the right early 50's Caddy, George stumbled upon an add for a "One off, removable hardtop" 1951 Cadillac. As you can imagine George contacted the owner imediately and with a little haggling was able to negotiate a price a little under six figures.

George shared pictures of his find at the RMRCLC club meeting and has asked that we publish a picture here to gain additional insight from CLC national club members. There are a few pieces missing from the car so George would appreciate any help locating the following parts: the side window bug screens, correct Cadillac latch handle for the rear hatch.

Eldorado Fins Are Reportedly a Mistake

Leonard, the club expert on Eldorados, says, " Believe it or not, the smaller 'Eldo' fins on the 1957 and 1958 Cadillac Eldorados was actually a mistake." He stated designers were initially intent on producing a finless car.

As the story goes, members of the facilities security staff who saw the clay model being reworked day in and day out, were confounded by the finless design;especially since fins were all the rage at the time.

Late one night, after lots of pizza and illicit drinking on the job, one security gaurd took the leftovers of their thick crust Chicago style pizza and created his own fins for the finless car.

The next morning, designers were so inspired by the simplistic triagular shape of the food scraps they molded clay right around the pieces of Italian pie. The result, the now classic 'Eldo' fin.

Member Almost Buys 1929 Lasalle Thinking It Was A New Car

In this day age most people have learned that when shopping for a car it is alway 'Buyer Beware.' Unfortunately, recently Walt test drove a 1929 Lasalle thinking that the car was new car. Walt's only statement was,"I can't believe I was duped. Look at the car, the paint looks new, it has the new interior smell and there isn't one speck of dust in the engine compartment."

When Rod told Walt," You know Lasalle hasn't made a car since 1940," Walt replied, "I should have known better. My wife showed some concern when she couldn't find the seatbelts during the test drive."

High Number of Enrollments Causes Suspicion

Late this year some members became suspicious when the membership of the RMR-CLC topped that of the national club. George, the vice-president, said," Once we got to the seven thousand mark, some board members started becoming suspicious."

What really raised some eyebrows was that included in the new memberships were registration of over 2,500 1940 Cadillac 6227 Coupes. Leonard brought it to the boards attention saying, "How can we have over 2,500 of these in our club when only 1,322 of this model were built." He added, "Dave wouldn't know this, he's a LaSalle guy."

Dave claims the enrollment of three thousand new members per year under the last two years of his leadership are just, "Indications of what good old fashioned leadership can do for a club." With elections somewhere in the near future, investigations are planned.

Club members have a hard time complaining however, because all suspicious enrollments were paid in full. The club treasurer, Liz, confirmed that much of the enrollments were 'sponsored' and paid for by the current president. She also she believes an upcoming election has nothing to do with it.

Dave claims that the recent photo(at left) of him, at a gathering he supposedly put on for just new members, proves the membership numbers are indeed legitimate.

Kids Won't Share, Walt Says 'Enough'

Parades are always fun. With marching bands and old cars rolling by, kids have learned to wait expectantly for candy to come their way. Unfortunately, this day all the candy was thrown out to spectators and not one piece was left for hungry parade drivers.

At the end of the parade, one paricularly lucky girl (pictured here) was smiling ear to ear and beaming with glee. When asked if she could share some of here sweet catch of the day with parched drivers she inquisitively asked, " Why don't they sit on their parent's shoulders to catch their own?"

Walt, frustrated by this comment, decided to leave and was heard saying on his way out, "Sure the kids are cute, but enough is enough. If they won't share I'm out of here."

Walt's wife Phyllis decided to stay saying," I learned my lesson years ago. I stuff my pockets full of candy before we get rolling."

New Member Proves Caddies Aren't Just for Geezers

There has alway been concern around the halls of GM regarding the rising average age of new Cadillac drivers. To address this last year Cadillac took a critical leap in styling, design and marketing with their Arts and Industry initiative. Already the move has proven worthy by reducing the average buyer age from 107 to 94.

We have seen a similar trend in our little part of the Cadillac world through the enrollment of our newest under 50 member, Grant. Grant joined the RMR-CLC a few months back and to much suprise to the rest of the club both he and his wife are under 30.

Leonard, the membership chairman, said that this enrollment had potential to bring the RMR-CLC average age under 70 but that,"... unfortunately Grant's father signed on board also." He added later," None the less, we'll take new members however we can get them."

President Dave commented that he is excited to see younger, more attractive faces joining the club stating,"The future of the Cadillac-Lasalle Club is literally looking better everyday."

(Editor's note: Grant submitted the photo at left saying," Dude, you got to show this picture. I look soooo cool. My wife doesn't like it, but look at me, don't I look cool?")