A white Fleetwood Eldorado convertible, the last American-made soft-top car at the time, rolled off the assembly line at GM's Cadillac assembly plant in Detroit on April 21, 1976, ending a tradition that began in 1916.
The American-built convertible had joined the running board and rumble seat in the auto industry's scrapyard — for a time.
American Motors stopped convertible production in 1968, followed by Chrysler in 1971, Ford in 1973 and most of General Motors in 1975.
The last 200 Fleetwood Eldorado convertibles produced were all the same: white with white tops, white wheel covers, white leather seat trim with red piping, red carpeting and matching instrument panel, and red and blue hood accent stripes to mark America's bicentennial.
Pricing started at $11,049 and options pushed the tab closer to $13,000, though many dealers fetched considerably more for what was billed as a collector's item.