Pick of the Day: 1968 Cadillac Coupe DeVille in preserved condition

The 1960s were a great time for American cars, in many ways the last great era for classic US-made automobiles, especially in the luxury car segment. A highlight of that segment was the personal luxury car, designed for driving to work as easily as crossing the country in supreme comfort. Among the very best of these luxurious personal land yachts was the Cadillac Coupe DeVille.

The Pick of the Day is a 1968 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, a true preservation car with low mileage and the dealer’s window sticker still affixed to the window.  Located in Williams, Arizona, the Caddy is finished in gleaming Arctic Blue paint with a Medium Blue Domino cloth-and-leather interior.

The private seller advertising the Coupe DeVille on ClassicCars.com states that this Cadillac has been in his family since his grandfather bought it new on January 18, 1968.

“The car lived in Michigan until January of 1977, when my grandparents moved to Alabama,” the seller says in the ad. “In 1991, the ‘Caddy’ was passed down to my dad. He drove the car to Arizona, where it has resided since.”

 His dad drove it periodically up until 2006, at which time it was put into storage. In 2008, this family-heirloom Cadillac was passed down to the current owner, although he says has never driven it.

“My grandfather never removed the original price sticker from the rear driver-side window,” the seller notes.  

If anything, the story gets better. This Coupe DeVille has covered only 55,829 original miles since new and is powered by its original 472cid, 375-horsepower engine. The seller says the Cadillac is solid mechanically; his dad has been the only mechanic since he got the car from his own father, and he has kept a maintenance journal since 1990.

Recent service items include new tires; new bushings in the front suspension; new brake parts including a brake booster, master cylinder and brake shoes; a new battery and new wiper blades. The paint is original and in decent shape with a few imperfections, the seller adds, and the chrome, glass and interior are all in great shape. The car includes its original protecto plate, purchase order and owner’s manual.

This car’s story is simply amazing as most of these Cadillacs were basically driven into the ground by an endless series of owners, all of whom traded them in for new models a few years after buying them. Finding an example this original with an unbroken single-family ownership history is a bit like finding buried treasure.

The perfect car to drive literally anywhere, especially with regular gas at less than $2 per gallon in most states, this looks like a fantastic car to use, show and enjoy all year round.

The asking price is $25,500, which is considerably less that it would cost to get a similar driver-level car and restore it. Even then, it would not be an all-original Cadillac. They are only original once.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.