[ben72227]

Step right up folks. Today is (November 22, 2005) and like I promised, we've switched it up this week. As you all know, Cadillac has always had a CHEAP model, which was denoted by the fact that the name started with the letter "C" - whether it be the Cimmarron, the Catera, the CTS or today's "value" model....

The Calais!

In 1965 Cadillac renamed the entry-level Cadillac Series 62 the Calais, after the French resort town of Calais. It was available in 2 and 4-door hardtop versions as well as the "formal-roof" 4-door sedan, which was a hybrid with frameless, hardtop-like windows, but with a post between them. With the exception of having no convertible, the Calais line mirrored the slightly more expensive and well-equipped Cadillac DeVille series.
The primary differences between the Calais and the deVille lines were trim level and standard equipment. While the deVilles were delivered with such amenities as power windows and 2-way power seats as standard equipment, one still hand-cranked the windows of the standard Calais. These items were, of course, optional at extra cost on the Calais; in later years of the model's run, power windows were made standard on the Calais line, although a power seat was still optional even in the later-year models.
Leather seating areas and vinyl roof trim were available on the DeVilles, but not on the lesser model (although a very nice-grade vinyl and cloth, similar to what was seen on top-line Buick Electras, were available). Another item not available on the Cadillac Calais was Cadillac-exclusive Firemist Paint, an extra-cost metalflake type paint. Both the high-end Buick and Oldsmobile shared the C-Body with Cadillac. Cadillac, always General Motors' technology leader, offered all of their famous optional equipment, such as Twilight Sentinel and GuideMatic headlight dimmer, on the Calais. In 1965, the new Turbo-Hydramatic, standard on the 1964 deVille, but not the lower-priced Series 62, became standard throughout the Cadillac range – even the Calais. The 429 cubic inch (7.0 L) V-8 also remained the standard equipment power.
Pricing of the Cadillac Calais started almost even with $5,000 and the line was only a few hundred dollars more than GMs Buick Electra 225 and Oldsmobile's 98.
Like all other Cadillacs, the Calais received the 472 in³ OHV V8 in 1968. The wheelbase was extended to 130 in in 1971, while the big 500 in³ engine arrived in 1975. 1976 was the last year for the Calais, with the similar DeVille continuing.

Not too shabby I say, not too shabby at all... There's nothing like a cheap Cadillac: