Former top general motors car designer talks about automotive design
Dick Lutzin, former Chevrolet Prime Minister and Cadillac designer of General Motors, shares his thoughts on automotive design.
It was in 1999 that Cynthia Claffham’s boyfriend agreed to sell her 1972 Cadillac for $5,000.
“He had bought a car so I told him if he’d ever decided to sell it. I wanted to buy it,” the Bloomington woman said.
Hugesup drove the classic Cadillac quite frequently after buying in the early 1990s and then towing boats towards eastern Canada.
Clapham was in love with Fleetwood Eldorado and was happy when Jessup decided to sell and buy a convertible for him.
She previously paid $2,500 and signed a memo promising to pay the rest next year.
Then she said, Jessup ended their relationship. She drove on a Cadillac.
“After he broke up with me, I really forgot to pay him. Then when I remembered, I really didn’t care. We didn’t talk for the next three or four years.”
In 2005, he sent her a letter containing a note of the promise she signed when she bought a Cadillac. “He wrote that it didn’t seem like I’d pay it,” she said, “and he allowed the loan.”
Ten years later, they returned together and became life partners.
“Long time since we broke up, I have said the car is the best I’ve ever had out of that relationship,” Claffham said. “But then I had to stop saying that.”
Clapham still had a Cadillac when they reunited. The red upholstery was a little badly worn as there are passengers with 120 pounds of front seats.
“She loved getting into the car. Her ears would just fly in the wind.”
Clapham also said her father, the late Chuck Clapham, also enjoyed being driven around town in her daughter’s majestic car. He was 83 when he passed away in 2003 and is still with her when she was out and in the caddy.
“I had some of my father’s ashes that were scattered around, and there was some leftover at the bottom of the container,” she said. “I put it in the car. I told myself, ‘Hey, daddy. Let’s go for the ride.’ ”
Sure enough, there is a white plastic bowl with a lid on the back seat floor board.
Clapham has done some work in the car over the past year. I replaced the wiring and hose, adjusted the drum brake and stopped faster. She bought new tires on a 4-inch wide whitewall. The old tires have been in the car since 1999.
Driving a Cadillac brings her joy. “I could be in a bad mood or unhappy so I got in that car and put the Oldies in a cassette player,” she said.
“And it puts a smile on my face every time I drive.” Wherever she goes, people ask if she wants to sell it. “Of course the answer is no.”
The elegant car, made from original paint, is a legacy handed over to my daughter.
She scoffs when her 18-year-old grandson says the car is too big. “I grew up driving a Buick Elella. We always had big cars,” Clapham said. “I can park this in parallel. I usually can’t go where I have to, but if that’s the case, I could.”
The car is almost 19 feet long and weighs nearly 5,000 pounds. She is one of the 7,975 Fleetwood Eldorado Convertible Cadillacs made in 1972.
The showroom floor cost 52 years ago at $7,680, which is equivalent to $58,000 in 2024. At the time it was a high-end luxury car.
Not yet.
Clapham teases Jessup about that $2,500 long debt, “And he’ll never see it.”
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in December 2024.
Do you have any stories about cars and trucks? Contact my favorite ride reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
