Drove this today

"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg) 09/26/2015 at 19:46 • Filed to: None

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1987 Cadillac Allanté. 62k miles, phenomenal shape, $5975. Very gold. My thoughts on it are as follows:

-Brake and gas pedal are both very stiff and allow little travel.

-Steering has far less play than you’d expect from a 1987 Cadillac, which is still a ton.

-Every last button, display, and gadget on the digital future dash worked, and it was cool as shit.

-V8 made a great noise, but did little to actually move the car.

-It drove better than I expected, but everything from the brakes to the gas to the steering to the shifter put up a fight.

At $56,000, or $113,000 in today’s money, this car really should’ve been RWD and/or had some back seats.

- This car is very cool. I’d never buy one, but I would take it over a period SL or XJS. It’s an incredibly cool car, and that really trumps most of the complaints I had.

Feel free to ask me any questions.

RazoE > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/26/2015 at 20:25

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Was it the NNEEEWWWWW ALLANTE! ?

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/26/2015 at 20:25

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Are you Adam Ferrara?

not for canada - australian in disguise > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/26/2015 at 20:27

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Feel free to ask me any questions.

Why is a pickle called a pickle, and not a pickled cucumber, when there are other pickled foods?

jariten1781 > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/26/2015 at 20:31

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“V8 made a great noise, but did little to actually move the car.”

Didn’t it only make like 175 HP in 87?

I always thought it would have survive if it had a drastic exterior makeover when it got the Northstar a few years later. An ‘all new’ Allante could have been a contender.

whoarder is tellurium > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/26/2015 at 20:35

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Dag gum that thing is beautiful for an 87. I love Allantes... even if they have the 4.1 or slightly better 4.5. Obviously, the Northstar verison was best.

pip bip - choose Corrour > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/26/2015 at 20:47

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when do you take delivery?

8)

JeepJeremy > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/26/2015 at 21:02

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That’s a seriously cool car! I’ve never seen one in person, in that color.

My dad’s buddy has a red one with chrome spoke wheels and it’s a beautiful car.

I'd drive the hell outta one!

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Van Man, rocks the Man Van 09/26/2015 at 21:35

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Jewish, not Italian. Close enough though.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/26/2015 at 21:36

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Because pickled cucumber sounds like a euphemism.

not for canada - australian in disguise > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/26/2015 at 21:36

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Good point.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > pip bip - choose Corrour 09/26/2015 at 21:39

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As soon as you send me a check for six grand.

El Rivinado > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/26/2015 at 21:49

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Is it as comfortable as I would expect from a Cadillac?

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > El Rivinado 09/26/2015 at 21:52

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By no means is it uncomfortable, but it’s not as cushy as you’d expect.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/26/2015 at 21:52

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I was just basing that off the Cadillac...

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Van Man, rocks the Man Van 09/26/2015 at 21:53

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I know

ranwhenparked > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/26/2015 at 22:01

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I would say the exterior styling held up pretty well over the years, very clean looking - even a decade later, it would have still been pretty contemporary.

These cars are just too fussy for me to ever want to own one though, between all the roof leaks and electrical glitches and the temperamental ABS, it just seems like there are better options out there that also do a better job of backing their looks up with something substantial.

Round headlight enthusiast > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/26/2015 at 22:56

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Holy cow, I never realized just how expensive those were. Like, I knew they were a lot of money, but not $113K. You have to wonder who, back in the day, was willing to bypass the Germans and drop that kind of money on a FWD Caddy

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Round headlight enthusiast 09/27/2015 at 00:14

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With a manual roof.

Your boy, BJR > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/27/2015 at 17:07

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“I would take it over a period SL or XJS”

FINALLY! Talkin’ some sense

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Your boy, BJR 09/27/2015 at 17:51

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But I’d still take a W126 Coupe or 6-Series over this, just for you.

TotallyThatStupid > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 09/28/2015 at 15:37

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There’s a local guy with a pearlescent Allante I see most mornings. He drives by the park-and-ride where I catch my downtown bus. You can tell when Spring is approaching here in Minnesota; he takes the hardtop off. That Cadi rolls year-’round.

He may have another one, too. Sometimes I see a different Allante coming from the same direction. It’s far enough away from where I’m generally standing such that my old-ass eyes can’t make out if it’s the same driver. Probably, though.