The Cadillac Calais is an automobile produced by Cadillac from 1965 to 1976. The Division renamed its entry-level Series 62 as the “Calais” in 1965, after the French port city, derived from Calais in Greek mythology, one of two winged sons of Boreas, god of the North Wind, and Oreithyea. The Calais was identical in styling and mechanics to the better-equipped, more expensive Cadillac de Ville. No convertible model was offered in the Calais line.
In 1965, Calais tailfins were canted slightly downward, and sharp, distinct body lines were featured. The rear bumper was straight and the rear lamp clusters were vertical. The headlight pairs were vertical, permitting a wide grille. Side windows were curved and frameless. Perimeter frame construction allowed positioning of the engine forward in the frame, thus lowering the transmission hump and increasing interior room. Like the De Ville, the Calais was available as a 2- or 4-door hardtop as well as a “formal-roof” 4-door sedan, which was a hybrid with frameless, hardtop-like windows, but with a pillar between them.
Unlike the De Ville, the Calais did not offer leather seating areas and vinyl roof trim was not offered initially. A high-grade cloth and vinyl, similar to what was seen on top-line GM C platform-based Buick Electras and Oldsmobile 98s, was standard. Another item not initially available on the Calais was the Cadillac-exclusive “firemist” paint, an extra-cost high gloss metallic paint.
Cadillac, always General Motors’ technology leader, offered most De Ville options on the Calais, such as Twilight Sentinel and the GuideMatic headlight dimmer. In 1965, the new Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission, standard on the 1964 De Ville, but not the lower-priced Series 62, became standard throughout the Cadillac line, including the Calais. The 340 hp (254 kW) 429 cu in (7.0 L) V8 also remained the standard engine.[5]
Pricing of the Cadillac Calais started at just under US$5,000 ($48,342 in 2023 dollars), almost US$1,000 ($9,668 in 2023 dollars) (or about 25%) more than the Electra 225 and Oldsmobile 98,[6] and about US$500 ($4,834 in 2023 dollars more than the top-line Buick Riviera.