Meet the Allante.

I've been writing a lot about the Bricklin lately. I'm balls deep in the restoration, so I guess I'm using this blog to document the process. But this is the car that got me into the world of collector cars:
1988 Cadillac Allante.

<-- I love this photo. Compression has hazed out the details, though.

The Allante was introduced in '87 to be a competitor for the Mecedes SL and Jaguar XJ-S roadsters. Though it's styling was great (Pininfarina designed and built the body) and it received numerous updates throughout its six year run, the Allante never got the prestige or sales of its main rivals, for numerous reasons.

The car's production is interesting. The body was built in Italy, and then flown over the Atlantic Ocean for final assembly in the U.S. It was dubbed "The World's Longest Assembly Line," but it also added to the final cost.

The Allante was based on a shortened Eldorado chassis, making it FWD where the SL was proper RWD. There were many design flaws that made it into production, that were sorted out later. Since this is only the second year of production, a few of those flaws still exist on my car, including its inability to completely be watertight when rain comes.

I saw ad for this car on CraigsList and decided to give the owner a call. It was priced lower than other examples and had more information than other ads (including disclosure of an intermittent error code). When I first saw it, I knew I would buy it. The paint was immaculate, and sparkled in the sun. After a test drive, I told him I'd have to think about it, but to expect a call. I'd basically have first shot (he hadn't had much interest). I called him back the next day and told him I'd take it.

I couldn't pick it up for a few days, as the owner was out of town on business. I spent that time cleaning out the garage to accommodate my latest acquisition. When I went to pick it up, the owner gave me a crash course in the car, going over everything.

Besides a dead battery and the antenna going haywire (all within the first week of ownership, no less), I've had remarkably few problems with the car. It's my main driver when I go to the cruise nights at XXX in Issaquah. It even won first place in its class at the '08 Cadillac LaSalle Club Picnic!

The car is far from perfect, though. There are a few paint chips and covered up body damage on the back bumper. And the intermittent error code E040 (a power steering code) still will occasionally pop up. The leather seats need to be restitched and a little more interior work done. But considering I've only thrown in $100 (new battery) outside of normal maintenance, I feel the car is a perfectly presentable driver.  With a little more would it could be really nice, but right now I'm happy to leave well enough alone.

<-- Taken at XXX Cruise Night





Taken in parking lot; uncropped -->