Dick Birdsall believes that his father's design for the Elegante dates back to 1951. The resemblance to the La Espada seems undeniable. I recently photographed Dick Birdsall's 1953 Cadillac Elegante, which was originally built by his father, Harry Birdsall. We may never know with certainty the fate of the La Espada or other such cars. The first Cadillac Le Mans was consumed by fire in 1985. Even if the La Espada did not get scrapped, that does not mean it exists today. At least in the case of the Corvair, some people saw it at Warhoops Used Auto & Truck Parts up until the late 1970s. However, the 1954 Nomad has not surfaced in 50 years yet is rumored to have been sold a couple of years ago to someone who already owned the red 1954 Corvair. Are there any witnesses left alive? The next best indicator is if none of the missing cars surface within the ten years or so. The only proof of just about any Motorama cars destruction is someone who actually witnessed the destruction saying so. For example, the 1953 Skylark two-door HARDTOP prototype was not destroyed as paperwork in GMs files indicated. Any paperwork related to the scrap orders which may be buried in GMs files for these two cars proves absolutely nothing. However, its companion, the El Camino, has been reported to have been crushed. To my knowledge there is no proof the La Espada was scrapped.
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