One of the greatest automotive gifts of the past decade is the democratization of horsepower. We live in a world where a $50,000 pickup truck has 700 horsepower and just about any garden variety EV can produce greater thrust than most people will ever need. Anyone with a decent enough credit rating can throw cash at a family hauler that would leave vintage supercars in their dust. In the 1970s, power was a more grand affair, and engines grew larger and larger to deliver it. In 1970, Cadillac debuted the largest engine it ever lowered into a passenger car. The Eldorado of that year gained a 500 cubic inch V8 rated for an incredible 400 HP and 550 lb-ft torque, turning glorious and luxurious land yachts into stump-pulling power plants.
For many, the mid-1960s through 1970 was the peak of the last muscle car era. In 1964, Pontiac introduced an option package for its Tempest Le Mans. The Gran Turismo Omologato, Italian for Grand Touring Homologated, was a $295 package that dropped a 325 HP 389 cubic inch V8 into a sleek body. The GTO is one of the vehicles that is part of the legend of John DeLorean, and its success helped spark a crazy era of power at General Motors.
Muscle cars weren’t born in the 1960s, but it was a period when gas was cheap and middle-class Americans could tear up their local streets with an array of high-powered models. Many manufacturers had halo cars with bulky engines and ever-increasing gross power numbers. In 1970, the Pontiac GTO advertised 370 HP from its Ram Air IV 400 cubic inch V8, while the Oldsmobile 4-4-2 punched out its own 370 HP from the mighty 455 cubic inch V8. Don’t forget other greats like the 455 cubic-inch Rocket V8-powered Hurst/Olds with its 390 HP and the Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 with its 450 HP Chevrolet LS6 big-block V8. That’s just some of what GM had going on. I didn’t mention the bulging muscle produced by Ford, Chrysler, or AMC, but I think you get the point. Muscle cars haven’t died, either. Only now, the power comes from electric motors or forced induction.
This story takes us right to the end of that muscle car era peak, 1970. It was right before the perfect storm of reduced compression ratios, the onset of emissions regulations, the change to SAE net power ratings, and multiple oil crises that, when put together, turned massive V8 engines into lumps that made less rated power than a basic four-cylinder engine can make today.
But 1970 was right before all of that and Cadillac wasn’t afraid to go big. Cadillac didn’t build its 500 cubic inch V8 to win at the dragstrip but to power its opulent and heavy cruisers that were loaded down with tons of options. After all, Cadillac had to maintain its claim as the builder of the world’s finest cars. The result was the Cadillac Eldorado getting fitted with the largest engine to find itself lowered into an American passenger car. Yes, there have been bigger engines in trucks and sports cars, but the Eldorado wasn’t either of those. Instead, you got stump-pulling power while wrapped in peak 1970 luxury.
The Standard Of The World
For the past couple of decades, Cadillac might be best known for chasing the Germans with its svelte racers in business suits. There’s nothing wrong with that! I’m sure countless readers would do naughty things to get their hands on a Blackwing. There’s also nothing wrong with Cadillac shifting from internal combustion to electric power, though the “-iq” naming scheme can use some work.
Flip your calendars back roughly 70 years and you’ll see a very different Cadillac. The brand didn’t pull luxury car buyers with palatial SUVs with quiet powertrains, but still heavy and land yachts with big, plushy seats, even bigger engines, and hoods long enough to land a Boeing 707 on. These cars weren’t going around the Nürburgring with any alacrity, but they looked at home on Detroit’s Woodward Avenue and in America’s rich postal codes. While Cadillac says “Be Iconic” today, back then, the brand hailed itself as “The Standard Of The World.”
The Cadillac Eldorado, a nameplate that survived 50 years of existence, was one of those vehicles that proved Cadillac wasn’t writing checks it couldn’t cash. It was a vehicle built to celebrate Cadillac’s 50 years of building incredible vehicles and its history is something I’ve touched on before:
As the Automotive Heritage Foundation writes, the story of the Eldorado is rooted in Cadillac’s Golden Anniversary. 1952 marked 50 years of Cadillac excellence and General Motors executives wanted to celebrate with the release of a bombastic new model. Reportedly, the “Eldorado” name comes from an internal naming competition. The winner was merchandising secretary Mary-Ann Marini with the name El Dorado, a reference to the mythical lost city of gold. The name also referred to the subject as being gilded, perfect for a golden anniversary.
As part of Cadillac’s celebration of 50 years, it put show cars on display in venues around the country. One of them was the prototype for the Eldorado, which would enter production for the 1953 model year. The Eldorado wasn’t just a styling exercise for Cadillac to celebrate 50 years on its planet, but a bonafide luxury ride.
The 1957 Eldorado Brougham famously had a stunning design, but enough power features to make a modern car blush. I’m talking about a four-link rear suspension with an industry-first self-leveling air suspension, an early form of a memory driver seat, and so much more. Here, I’ll just fire off some features: The Brougham had automatic power locking, power brakes, power steering, power windows, and a switch to open the trunk from inside of the vehicle. These cars even had vanities in them with metal drink tumblers, a tissue holder, and a cigarette case. You also got your Eldorado with some basic bits to keep your hair looking fine and your lipstick on point. It even had a perfume atomizer. You even got an all-transistor radio and air-conditioning.
This thing was 18 feet long and weighed 5,315 pounds. It was motivated by a 365 cubic inch V8 with two four-barrel carburetors. The 325 HP it made wasn’t for speed and Cadillac made sure the engine under the hood didn’t pierce the expected quiet cabin.
Paying the $13,074-plus price ($147,000 or more today) for an Eldorado Brougham meant you made it and you meant business. To put that price into perspective, a Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was more expensive than a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and buyers were happy to scoop up the exclusive 400 units that were produced that year.
Cadillac never stopped innovating, too. The brand experimented with radar-based collision detection in 1959, automatic climate control in 1964, standard disc brakes in 1968, and a factory alarm system in 1973. That’s just a sliver of Cadillac’s experiments. Some of our readers will remember the infamous Cadillac V-8-6-4 system of the 1980s.
The Eldorado became a star in its own right as the choice of ride for the rich and famous. Here, I’ll let the Automotive Heritage Foundation show you what I mean:
As the crown jewels of motoring, Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, Biarritz, and other models attracted the rich and famous. Wanting the best that money could buy, Bob Hope, Conrad Hilton, Aristotle Onassis, Mohammed Ali, Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Chuck Berry, and John Wayne all owned Eldorados. Frank Sinatra’s 1958 Brougham was Maharani Maroon. Royalty from around the world had to have them, as did movie stars, politicians, mobsters, musicians, corporate executives, public figures, and the fortunately wealthy; everyone wanted to ride in the Standard of the World.
When Elvis Presley spotted a stunning Topaz Gold Firemist Eldorado Coupe parked outside a Memphis dealership he decided on the spot he had to have it, and so he did. A true enthusiast, Elvis is said to have owned 200 Cadillacs during his lifetime (he died at 42 in 1977). He gave away nearly all of them to family and friends.
Over the years Eldorado made numerous film appearances in the U.S. and elsewhere. Movies like Dolomite, Superfly, The Mack, Willie Dynamite, Magnum Force, and Casino all featured the vehicle, sometimes customized to a particular role. The long list of Eldorado TV shows included The Rockford Files, Fantasy Island, Dallas, Seinfeld, Murder, She Wrote, and many more.
Honestly, any vintage surviving Eldorado is probably worthy of being called a grail. Cars like these are just that much of a magical experience. However, for this article, we’re going to look at one variation of the Eldorado.
The Grail
In 1967, the Eldorado went under the knife for a dramatic overhaul. Since the first-generation Eldorado launched for the 1953 model year, the vehicle was a very large front-engine, rear-wheel drive vehicle. New for 1967, the Eldorado retained its girth and 18 feet of length, but its platform became something very different.
Reportedly, the development of what would become the 1967 Eldorado began in the prior decade. Back then, front-wheel-drive wasn’t a common drivetrain layout, but Oldsmobile’s engineers had been experimenting with it since 1957. Reportedly, the development of the Buick Riviera and the Oldsmobile Toronado convinced GM’s Bill Mitchell that Cadillac needed to get in on the expanding market of personal luxury cars.
Cadillac began working on the XP-727 (above), an experimental project to design a sporty personal luxury Cadillac. The design went through a number of iterations, with the original XP-727, the XP-727-2, and the XP-727-3. Reportedly, while it was unclear how interested Cadillac was in front-wheel-drive, the XP-727 was designed with either rear-wheel-drive or front-wheel-drive in mind. Some early examples of Cadillac’s experimental V12 engine were built for a transverse layout. I love the idea of a V12 FWD car from GM.
While it wasn’t known how much Cadillac cared about FWD in the early stages of eighth-generation development, reportedly, Cadillac lost that choice in 1962 when Ed Cole decided that the E-body platform that would underpin the Oldsmobile Toronado would get more mileage with additional GM brands. Development continued with the XP-820 and XP-825 programs, the latter of which previewed something close to what the production vehicle would look like.
When the new Eldorado hit the road in 1967, it borrowed a lot of what made the Oldsmobile Toronado unique. The Caddy borrowed the former car’s front A-arms, longitudinal torsion bars, and anti-roll bar up front, plus the beam axle and leaf springs in the rear. The biggest innovation with the Toronado was its front-wheel-drive layout, achieved with a three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic mounted longitudinally and driven by a thick chain.
The Cadillac stood out from its platform mates with its own engine and Cadillac touches. It launched with a Cadillac 429 cubic inch V8 rated for 340 HP and 480 lb-ft of torque. The Eldorado achieved a sprint to 60 mph in just over 9 seconds and reached a top speed of 120 mph.
Reportedly, the Eldorado benefited from the good handling of the E-body platform but offered a better ride than its platform mates. That 429 V8 was a single-year only engine and next came a 472 cubic inch V8 that kicked power to 375 HP and 525 lb-ft of torque. A Cadillac-specific feature included self-leveling suspension.
As Hemmings writes, that 472 cubic inch V8 had its own interesting development history. Many automakers were focused on building engines for muscle cars, but Cadillac wanted a new clean sheet engine to handle the growing need for more and more luxury car accessories. This new engine not only had to drive these accessories but do so quietly while still providing the power Cadillac was known for. Cadillac still called itself “The Standard Of The World,” after all.
Development of the 472 cubic inch V8 involved more than just making sure you could mount power accessories to the block; Cadillac also wanted to make sure the engine would keep cool. Efficient cooling jackets, an integral water outlet passage, and even a metal-temperature sensing system that worked as a sort of redundancy for the coolant temperature sensor contributed to cool-running. Engineers also kept future displacement growth in mind, and spec’d five-inch bore spacing.
That brings us to 1970, the final year of the eighth-generation Eldorado. The big news for the year was increased the stroke (4.304 inches versus 4.060 inches) for the 472 V8, creating a 500-cubic-inch V8 monster fed from a Rochester four-barrel carburetor. Output shot up to 400 HP and 550 lb-ft of torque in SAE gross numbers, and while net numbers were not provided, it’s safe to say this was a huge block of power. Not only was Cadillac’s 500-cube V8 the largest passenger car engine on the road at the time, but it was also highly exclusive: You couldn’t get it in anything other than the Eldorado.
Here’s how Cadillac described the 1970 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado:
Purposefully built to be the world’s finest personal car, the Fleetwood Eldorado is that unique automotive creation: One designed for the motorist who desires unusually spirited performance, individual styling and all the elegance and comfort for which Cadillac is renowned. Eldorado’s exclusive, new 8.2 litre V-8 engine (500 cubic inches of displacement) is by far the largest engine to power a production passenger car and makes the spirit of the seventies come alive with rare excitement. Performing in concert with steady-traction front-wheel drive, precise variable-ratio power steering and Automatic Level Control, Eldorado will captivate you with a kind of driving pleasure unmatched anywhere in the world. Its boldly sculptured beauty gives it a poise and distinction that mark it for greatness. The luxury of its interior appointments tells you that Eldorado is unmistakably Cadillac in every detail. Truly, to drive the 1970 Eldorado is to enjoy a brilliant new dimension in personal motoring.
According to Hagerty, magazine tests from 1970 revealed that the bigger, badder 500 V8 produced similar drag strip performance as its predecessor. The Eldorado raced to 60 mph in 8.8 seconds and completed the quarter mile in 16.37 seconds at 85.5 mph. Really, the big news here is the mountain of torque from the engine, not how fast the Eldorado could go.
The Eldorado started at $6,903 in 1970 ($56,671 today) but options quickly ramped up your final price. Leather bucket seats were an option, as was a bench seat with an armrest. Other goodies included air conditioning, Cadillac’s new power sunroof, a remote trunk release, a carpet package, AM/FM radio, vinyl roof, power driver seat, power door locks, cruise control, heated front seats, and automatic headlights. Tinted windows were another option.
Cadillac built 23,842 Eldorados in that year. The Eldorado was redesigned for 1971, entering into its ninth generation. The FWD layout remained, as did the 500 cubic inch V8. However, a lowered compression ratio meant a power reduction with 400 HP dropping to 365 HP, and 550 lb-ft of torque down to 535 lb-ft of twist. In 1972, GM moved to SAE net ratings, which saw the 500 V8 producing 235 HP and 385 lb-ft of torque. Emissions controls arrived in 1975, hobbling the engine to 190 HP and 360 lb-ft. By 1977, the engine was discontinued.
The amazing thing about this engine to me is it still made 360 lb-ft of torque in its final form despite the lower compression ratio, and restrictive emissions equipment – not to mention the move to SAE net numbers instead of more impressive gross figures. So, the engine wasn’t fast, but it made a lot of twist for its application in luxury land yachts. Tuners have also found the 500 cubic inch V8 is receptive to bolt-ons, making it a possible choice for performance applications like drag cars.
On paper, 23,842 units don’t make for much of a Holy Grail, but who knows how many of those cars have survived 54 years on this planet. The good news is that the collector market hasn’t really gone gaga for these cars. You can find good examples for sale for between $20,000 and $30,000.
As the world adopts more alternative fuel vehicles, it’s fun to look back at how automakers used to make power. Electric motors and turbos do a lot of heavy lifting today, but several decades ago, you got more power simply by making larger and larger engines. The 1970 Cadillac Eldorado is a relic even by today’s standards, but it’s a wild example of the old horsepower wars. Go ahead, hop in your old 1970s coupe and go for a cruise – that’s what these cars were meant for.
Do you know of or own a car, bus, motorcycle, or something else worthy of being called a ‘holy grail’? Send me an email at mercedes@theautopian.com or drop it down in the comments!
(Images: GM, unless otherwise noted.)
They made some INTERESTING choices with that motor. The pushrods are a pressurized part of the oil system, for example, there are kits to replace the entirety of the valve rocker arm system, and for good reason.
The “Standard of the World” wasn’t just a tag line or marketing slogan, it was an earned title. In 1908 Cadillac won the Dewar trophy by taking 3 cars apart, mixing up the parts and then building 3 running cars. In essence, they were the first automaker to have standardized parts.
https://www.michiganais.com/single-post/cadillac-and-the-1908-dewar-trophy
Great write up. One note.
The Eldorado and Toronado shared a unique 3/4 frame with leaf springs in the rear, however, the rear wheel drive Riviera had a full frame with coil springs all around and consequently had a better ride and handling than its stablemates. Their competitor in this personal luxury class, the Lincoln Mark III, had an even better ride than all three of the GM cars. All of this information gleaned from the Rare Cars and Automotive History channel. The host of the channel owns all four of these models and goes into detail on the differences between them.
Imagine the FEATS OF ENGINEERING it took to squeeze 190 hp out of 8.2 L of big block v8.
I’ve heard many traditional Cadillac owners say that 1970 was peak Cadillac and it was all down hill from there – cheaper interiors, non-color matched steering wheels, etc. Plus other GM products like the Caprice were offering nearly all the do-dads that made Cadillac unique. For example auto climate control, plush interiors, hidden headlights, fiber optic light sentinels (Caprice), etc. I inherited my father’s 56 Sixty Special, and its quality continues to amaze me to this day. Power antenna, power seats, power windows that are faster than modern ones and all still work, vault-like doors and a feeling of quality on every surface. On an early morning trip to the Gilmore, I found WBZ Boston on the AM radio dial – when I was just north of Kalamazoo! It helps that the power antenna is so tall when extended it almost needs an aircraft beacon.
It’s also the perfect car for going to Reseda to make love to a model from Ohio whose real name you do not know.
This has been a bucket list car for me, although I’d get the 1968 version with the hidden headlights.
As much as I despise GM, this car has always been on my bucket list. When I was a wee youngin, I had a neighbor who had one of these in baby blue and he had thrown a giant supercharger on it as well as a few other go-fast mods. When I asked him how fuel efficient it was, i was told that it didn’t get MPGs, but rather it got about 3 GPMs. Holy cats that is nuts.
If we’re going with low-numbers but still production cars, I nominate the Mercedes 450SEL 6.9 as a future holy grail.
Mercedes kills it yet again.
A high school friend’s Dad had an all-black ’70 Eldo that I got to drive a couple of times back in the day. My family always had big barges, but that Caddy was the top of the tree. They also had a Cadillac limo that we got chauffeured in time to time. Fun times for a kid that grew up on the “other side of the tracks.”
You missed the grail 500 that is the 76 fuel injected engine. That bumped the hp to 215 net but took the tq to 400 all on 87 octane gas. I also have gotten as good as 18.5 mpg on mine after getting the computer rebuilt. Also for the fan of VW GM/Bendix sold the fuel injection system off of that Cadillac to Bosch and it is the basis of a jetronic line in 80s VWs
I was going to say the EFI version is the true Holy Grail 500.
The EFI models are not as popular as the carb models due to the carbs being more reliable.
Which of course is why the EFI version is the real holy grail. Many other early fuel injection systems weren’t as reliable or widely understood as the then “good ole” Carburetor. So it wasn’t that uncommon for people to convert them to carbs or went to the junkyard when people couldn’t find anyone to fix them.
In my eyes the 1959 Eldorado Biarritz Convertible is peak American luxury car. It’s just so perfect from front to rear.
I drove a ’69 from early summer to late fall one year. It actually wasn’t a bad handling car at all. Buttery smooth acceleration with a lush ride. It didn’t corner well, but who expects an Eldorado to corner well?
Eventually, the owner came back from overseas and I had to give the car (and his house) back. Life hasn’t ever been quite as nice as it was the summer I turned 21.
Having owned a ’98 and a ’75 Eldorado, I can confirm – they are powerfully fun cruisers. The ’98 was a nice car for what it was, but the ’75 was just magical to float around town in. If you think they look large sitting in a driveway, it’s nothing compared to the how ridiculous it feels to pilot one around the neighborhood. Several people I gave rides to in that thing just laughed the first time they sat in it.
Of course by ’75 the cost cutting was becoming quite evident. Mine didn’t have a center arm rest per-se, but instead came with a cylindrical pillow that approximated an armrest. The plastic fake-wood inserts on the doors were almost beyond kitschy. Still a blast to cruise around in though!
For me, an attainable holy-grail Eldorado would be from ’68. That’s the only year that included the great-looking hideaway headlights from the original design, but pairs them with the 472 engine. Having owned both a ’67 Sedan deVille with the outgoing 429 and a ’68 Coupe deVille with the 472, I feel comfortable saying the difference is noticeable.
That said, there is a true one-of-one Holy Grail of Grails when it comes to the Eldorado. That’s the 1953 factory supercharged Cadillac Eldorado. Hagerty has a nice little summary of that car here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6AUatsoEi8
I like the cut of your jib, Sir.
My Dad had a 76 Eldo convertible. It was just like piloting a boat that you could fit 8 people in. I remember I had to re-glue the fake wood trim back on the dashboard. It was such a fun cruiser.
Now THAT is a truly great American car. She is a beaut, Clark. I don’t think it would fit in my parking spot, but I digress…
I’ve ridden in one, the doors are so long they have two interior door handles, one for the front and one in the trailing edge for back seat passengers. I also read about the engines in a hot rod magazine. By the late 80s there was a tuner community and some swaps into lesser cars. These engines could make a lot of power if you sacrificed refinement and despite the boat anchor nickname weighed slightly less than a Chevy 454
I’m guessing that could be the Hot Rod magazine article from 1989 I also remember. Amazingly, Motortrend has it on their website – Anchors Aweigh!
The “tech” article is neat, but the real gem was the February 1987 article that taught 15 year old me of the existence of the 472/500 Cadillac, with an extreme application of the Lotus concept of “add lightness and simplify.” They began with a 472-equipped 1970 Coupe DeVille… and a saw. Over three thousand pounds’ worth of lightness and simplicity later, they had reduced the car to nothing but a frame, a drivetrain, a firewall, a steering column, a fiberglass seat, and a rollbar (because safety), and what was left was running in the 13s – without doing anything at all to the engine.
“Caddy Hack: The Amazing Palmdale Carbide Saw Massacre”
https://www.motortrend.com/features/caddy-hack-february-1987-982-1348-26-1/amp/
Was it Carrol Shelby or someone else involved with the Shelby Cobra racing cars who, when asked about the handling impact of moving from the 289 to the 427, said something along the lines of “There’s no weight penalty, we’re making the engine lighter by putting bigger holes in it.”
I think you’re right. On that note, the BMC Special Tuning aluminum cylinder head for the Austin-Healey 3000 was developed to improve handling and made the same horsepower.
I learned to drive on a 1975 Coupe DeVille that had the absolutely emasculated 500 cubic inch engine. Even then, it seemed to have a fair amount of pull.
At one point during my youth, My Father, horse trader that he was, swapped out his 82 FLH Electra Glide for a ’55 Eldorado. We only had it for a couple of years, and I was between 7 and 9 at the time but there are a few things I remember:
Eventually, it was traded as well (for a 27′ Tartan sailboat). But it sticks with me all these years later
Oh so it was traded in for a smaller craft?
You don’t mention that the 9th gen monster motor Eldo was also available as a convertible. When I was in HS, the local wrestling kingpin had an Eldo convertible, powder blue (IIRC) and his daughter used to drive it to school from time to time. Nobody would mess with her or the car…
I have to object a tiny bit here, despite your next sentence.
On two counts – one of them being 1/5 litre.
Because on the modern assembly line, engines are brought up into the engine bay from below along with the suspensions, fuel & exhaust systems, etc –
– not lowered from above.
I wrote about the GM Heritage Collection’s 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham 14 years ago for a B2B publication. It’s a spectacular vehicle, and of course that example is showroom pristine. The article is still up https://www.qualitymag.com/articles/87039-case-studies-gm-s-garage-of-dreams-captured-in-3-d
I am absolutely fascinated by three Eldorado Broughams. Thanks for sharing the link!
Bonhams’ listing of Sinatra’s 58:
“FootnotesPlease note this lot is accompanied by a life-sized wax representation of Frank Sinatra.”
I’m assuming it’s a ’58 Sinatra – Not an ’98 Sinatra?
Do we know why Cadillac never went back to a V-12 again? Because if they wanted smooth, that seems like the next step.
Supposedly, the program died in the ’60s because the V12s didn’t have that significant of a performance advantage over the larger V8s, but with considerably worse fuel economy (to the point that driving range on a full tank would have been an annoyance), and the performance gain was easily matched by enlarging the V8 for less cost
The V12s they toyed with in the ’80s and ’00s were dropped mainly on cost grounds
Strange then that Mercedes and BMW went with V12s in their flagships. Jaguar too but that might have been because their other option was the I6.
Jaguar had a policy of only using naturally balanced engines, so only I6s and V12s for maximum smoothness, they resisted pressure from BL upper management who suggested adopting Rover V8s at different points, and didn’t abandon their principles until after Ford took over.
BMW and Mercedes didn’t come out with theirs until the late ’80s/early ’90s, by that point, Cadillac had lost most of its former cachet and was no longer taken seriously as a real competitor to each of them. Their flagship was still the Brougham, which was over a decade old, Caddy was subsisting off Korean War and WWII veterans buying their last new car before moving to a condo in Florida, the Germans were busy securing a new generation of Baby Boomer yuppies, whom Cadillac really, desperately, wanted to sell to, but just couldn’t wrap their collective heads around how to do it (or just ineffectively half-assed every attempt).
So so big, so pillowy, These things were soft with torque but they handled like a grain barge. I have no interest in driving something like that again. A 2 door car the size of a modern 3/4 ton truck.
I suspect that most people who say things like this have never actually driven agricultural equipment, which is in no way similar to any Cadillac.
Between having driven allis chalmers and old ass cars, a caddy of this era would plow in hard turns like a drunken sail boat, but by god they float like a cruise liner.
Hard stops were hilarious as whole nose would dive opposite of a submarine blasting out of the water.
Yeah, you might be driving across a decommissioned bombing range pockmarked with craters, but you’d never feel it. Whatever was happening down there on the ground was of no concern to you and wasn’t going to be allowed to affect your driving experience.
Absolutely, have hit some gnarly potholes and the car merely dipped some, other than the interior trim telling me it was a crater.
Wow a giant grain barge floating down the river that is hard to steer and stop is considered agricultural equipment? Ok, the tractors I drove in my youth did steer and stop so much better than the crap 60-70 cars I also drove back then.
Also, no torque steer, because Unitized Power Package
I can remember all the wringing of hands over the coming of front-wheel drive to so many cars, and complaints about torque steer, auto manufacturers constantly trying to tame torque steer, and reviewers always having to comment on how significant the torque steer was on any particular car being tested. And yet, GM’s engineers had largely tamed the beast a decade or two before in cars with stump-pulling V8s.
Longitudinal engines and equal length drive shafts, not as easy to package in smaller cars built to a price
Except Subaru I guess
The pancake form factor of Subaru’s boxer engine helps a bit with packaging.
But torque steer can be a fickle thing. Equal-length drive shafts has a lot to do with it, but even so, it’s not the only thing engineers have to deal with. Even when GM switched to transverse engines in smaller cars, they still managed to keep the worst of torque steer out of their designs. Basically yet another case of GM managing to turn out both brilliant engineering and questionable business and marketing choices simultaneously. They were well on their way to defining FWD as the way forward all through the late 80s and the 90s thanks to tech based on the UPP. Changing GM management and turmoil in the business side put an end to it.
While equal length drive shafts are important, the key to killing torque steer is getting the center line of the steering axis as close the the center of the tire contact patch as possible. Several car makers have used trick suspension geometry to achieve this, but the only one I can think of off hand is the current Honda Civic Type-R.
Heavy cars are also less susceptible to torque steer because they have more mass to upset.