Some folks just love those big old Caddies. Can't say I blame them inasmuch as an ex-policeman friend, John Schilling, drives an early-80's Eldorado coupe in near-perfect shape and when riding as a passenger I certainly enjoy the plush comfort that big old Barge provides. Chasing bad guys while driving Crown Vics for the past few years, John's accustomed to performing in rather large automobiles. The Cadillac in this photo is owned by the brother of a neighbour and has been parked for the last year in our condo garage, accumulating dust and in the process having a few trim parts ripped off by thieves.

This afternoon, with our "Sidney B.C." temperature creeping over 70 degrees for the first time in 2007 (at last!), I spotted the Caddy parked outdoors, all spiffed up and ready to go. Dashed down with camera in hand, took a few shots, got into a conversation with the owner who was so excited that he filled me with too much information and as he was eager to catch the next ferry to the mainland I had no time to run back upstairs and grab pen and paper. Ability to memorise details not being one of my strong points I can only recall a couple of quotes such as, "greatest of the 20th Century" and "same length as the Cadillac hearse" and "Brougham" and something about being "the same vehicle from which stretched limos were made."

My parting words before he dashed off to the ferry docks were "and what year is it?" His answer? "1990." This surprised me because I'd have taken it for a late 70's Cadillac. An Internet search woke me to reality. Yes, Cadillac was still building these ancient Arks even as it produced more modern, FWD, aerodynamic sedans. In the 90's I was creating ads, videos, and catalogs for Cadillac yet I can't recall writing a single word about these massive carryovers from an earlier era. Which hardly explains this sudden affection. Perhaps it's time.