DETROIT - For nearly half-a-century, the exclusive attributes of the Cadillac Eldorado have helped distinguish GM's luxury division from its competition. Long considered to be the ultimate in prestige, the Eldorado nameplate has also served as GM's technological showcase, consistently debuting groundbreaking innovations and designs. Here is a look at some of the most significant Cadillac Eldorado models ever produced:

1953 Cadillac Eldorado
With styling themes mirrored in the Le Mans and Orleans show cars from the 1953 GM Motorama, the first production Eldorado was a limited-edition, hand-crafted convertible designed for the ultra-luxury segment. Most Americans got their first glimpse of it in January 1953, carrying President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his first Inaugural Parade. Boasting a 210-horsepower V8, Hydra-Matic automatic transmission, chrome wire wheels and a luxurious leather interior as standard equipment, the Eldorado featured low-cut doors and the industry's first wraparound windshield. At $7,500 apiece, only 532 were built and sold.

1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz
After expanding the line the previous year to include a two-door hardtop, Cadillac gave the 1957 Eldorado a fresh design borrowed from a myriad of Motorama dream cars. The move to an X-frame supported a lower and larger car with more distinctive tail fins, a new ball-joint front suspension and a 300-horsepower V8 standard. A 325-hp version was optional. As in '56, Cadillac's "special convertible" was called the Eldorado Biarritz and its "special coupe" designation went to the Eldorado Seville. While these "regular" Eldorados amassed 3,900 sales (with the Seville coupe outpacing the ragtop 2,100 units to 1,800, respectively), many designers and collectors consider the '57 Eldorado Biarritz to be a high point for Cadillac styling and elegance.

1957 Eldorado Brougham
Inspired by the 1953 Orleans and the 1954 Park Avenue show cars, GM dreamed up no less than two "super" Eldorado concepts, shown in 1955 (Eldorado Brougham) and again in the 1956 Motorama (Eldorado Brougham Towncar). Intended to be a response to rival Lincoln's revival of the Continental model, production of the 1957 Eldorado Brougham was announced in December of '56, thus becoming America's first truly pillarless four-door sedan. The Brougham carried a "Modern Technological" theme and touted a list of industry firsts, including an air-suspension system, "memory" front seats and quadruple headlights. Its record price tag of $13,074 was the most ever for a postwar car, eclipsing even the Continental Mark II's $10,000 sticker. Set apart by its brushed stainless-steel roof, the '57 Eldorado Brougham is recognized as a milestone car, with a mere 400 hand-built units leaving the factory.

1959 Cadillac Eldorado
It's likely that no other car more perfectly embodies the state of futuristic automotive styling during America's fabulous fifties than the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado. Inspired by the jet planes and rockets of the new space age, the visually impressive '59 Eldorado commanded a road presence unlike any other vehicle on the planet. Thanks to its long, low, sleek body culminating in huge tail fins, a cavernous trunk and interior, a pavement-taming 345-horsepower V8 and a litany of luxury features, the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado forever remains an American cultural icon.

1965-66 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado Convertible
For 1965, the Eldorado was totally new from the ground up and featured fresh "finless" styling. A new, fully boxed perimeter frame allowed for a wider track and smoother suspensions (including automatic leveling and variable-ratio steering standard), making them lower and quieter than ever before. With the Biarritz name dropped in '64 in favor of Fleetwood, then the tail fins eliminated in '65, the Eldorado received an extensive freshening for 1966. The 1965-66 models are notable not only because they marked the beginning of a five-year hiatus for Eldorado convertibles (which returned in 1971), but also because they're the last of the rear-wheel-drive Eldos.

1967 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado Coupe
Marking a return to its roots of having a distinctly separate body, the all-new 1967 Eldorado gained fame and prominence for being the first front-wheel-drive Cadillac. Designed as a true personal luxury car and a direct successor to the '60 Brougham, the '67 Eldorado Coupe shared GM's "E" body with the Oldsmobile Toronado and Buick Riviera - but was visually distinct from both. Because Cadillac engineers had more time to refine systems and components designed for the Olds that was launched the previous year, the Eldorado was quieter and softer riding than its front-drive GM counterparts. With a Cadillac V8 sending 340 horsepower to the front wheels via a chain-driven, side-mounted transmission, the 1967 Eldorado Coupe won the Engineering and Design Excellence Award for 1967, as well as 17,930 buyers.

1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado Convertible
Although Cadillac returned to building Eldorado convertibles in 1971 after delegating them only to the De Ville series from 1967-70, little news was made of them, save for the naming of the 1973 Fleetwood Eldorado as the Official Pace Car of the 57th Indianapolis 500. That all changed in the fall of 1975, when Cadillac announced that it would be the last American automaker to offer a convertible model. American Motors ended ragtop production in 1963, Chrysler in '71 and Ford in '73. Faced with growing use of auto air conditioning, the popularity of hardtops and vinyl roofs and new federal rollover standards, GM built 14,000 Eldorado droptops for 1976 before pulling the plug on the American convertible. A mad rush to buy the last of its kind sparked a decision to build 200 Bicentennial-commemorating "last" Eldorado convertibles. They were special editions of the all-white with red and blue pinstripes on the hood - final model that rolled off the Detroit assembly line at 10:12 a.m. on April 21, 1976, and was kept by GM for historical purposes.

1979 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Coupe
In the wake of the much-heralded launch of the "international size" 1975 Cadillac Seville and subsequent downsized 1977 Cadillac lineup, a completely new, slimmer Eldorado coupe was introduced in 1979. Based on GM's trim new "E" body, the '79 Eldorado rode on a wheelbase a full foot shorter than the previous model, yet actually offered more interior and luggage room. This lighter, more nimble Eldo featured four-wheel independent suspension, disc brakes and a choice of 5.7-liter gasoline or diesel V8 engines. The top-line Biarritz package added an exclusive stainless-steel front roof cap with a rear cabriolet-style padded roof treatment, special trim and wheels and a tufted-pillow-style leather interior (for an additional $2,700). The 1979-85 generation Eldo even spawned a factory-sanctioned limited-production convertible produced through American Sunroof Corporation in 1984 and '85 that totaled 5,600 sales.

1990 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe (ETC)
As a follow-up to the enthusiast-focused 1983 Eldorado Touring Coupe, Cadillac updated its luxury touring package for the next-generation Eldo and introduced a sporty ETC model for 1990. The limited-edition five-passenger Touring Coupe's exclusive 4.5-liter V8 sent 180 horses through a four-speed automatic transaxle, with 16-inch performance tires providing the grip. An upgraded suspension, special bolstered seats and four-wheel disc brakes with ABS stirred driving passion, while monochrome body treatments, bright dual exhaust outlets and "export"-style taillamps offered the enthusiast eye a hint at the ETC's sporting nature.

2002 Cadillac Eldorado
A recent move to the Seville's advanced "G" body platform and the sharing of the world-renowned Northstar system have combined to keep the Eldorado firmly atop the luxury coupe segment in the United States. Riding a wave of refinements and adding such technologically advanced systems as StabiliTrak, Magnasteer and Cadillac's new continuously variable road-sensing suspension, the 2002 Eldorado has earned its place among the world's finest midsize offerings. True to its heritage, today's Eldorado offers abundant luxury thanks to a long list of standard features, as well as uncompromised power from either a 275- (Eldorado) or 300-horsepower (ETC) 4.6-liter Northstar V8. With the added safety, security and convenience of GM's OnStar communications services, the 2002 Cadillac Eldorado is a worthy successor to a proud and illustrious American nameplate.