Leon Dixon
Leon Dixon has the Allante that he always wanted. It took a bit of patience and work to get it just how he wanted it. The end result was a killer Caddy that looks great and is just how he wanted it.
In the end, cars are meant to be enjoyed by owners, and this one has done its job in spades. It is safe to say, this is a one-of-a-kind Caddy!
“I thought I would share a photo of my Stage II Cadillac Allante. I originally ordered a new 1988 Stage I Allante for my company car. It was a pearlescent white color with a black soft top and tan interior. While I loved that car, the top was a nightmare and leaked like a sieve. I quickly tired of all the problems and turned it in for something else. In the meantime, a friend who lived not far from me ordered a 1991 Stage II Allante in black with a tan interior. The folding top and leakage issues were all resolved for the Stage II and I loved it. I told my friend that if he ever decided to sell it to give me a call.
A short time later, he indeed called and delivered the car to me at home in Newport Beach, California. It came with the original window sticker and all papers. And I still had all of the souvenir items from the 1988. Another friend at Cadillac public relations (I was still on their list) contributed several more items and press kits– all of which I still have.
I’m not a big fan of alterations and customizing, but I did change six things on my Allante:
1.) I quickly tired of replacing the painted-on silver Cadillac wreath and crest on the red CHMSL brake light lens. It wore off after only a few months! After a couple of expensive replacements and the same result, I went to a buddy who worked in the parts department at the local Cadillac dealer. I asked to see a Fleetwood gold-plated roof ornament. It turned out the the gold metal wreath and crest were exactly the same size as the painted-on silver graphic. I bought an ornament set which came with adhesive backing. The Fleetwood roof wreath and crest were expensive, but no more expensive than repeatedly buying new CHMSLs. Problem solved and looks infinitely better. Over the years, people have asked about my CHMSL graphic ornamentation. Sometimes I’ll tease and say, “What? Yours didn’t come that way?” As if they all did.
2.) I was not a big fan of the rather dull-looking factory-installed aluminum wheels. So I specially ordered a set of Masitaly five-spoke aluminum wheels. I had the dealer send them out to be chrome plated. Wow. I have been quite happy with the result and the wheels remained on my Allante to this day. I fabricated small center wheel medallions– again using the same gold-plated Fleetwood wreath-and-crest sets. A lot of people seeing these wheels have asked me why they didn’t see these when they bought their Allante! LOL.
3.) In my OEM automotive work, I assisted Philips Electronics in developing their CARIN GPS navigation system. I installed one in my Allante. Except that mine has a futuristic one-off visored monitor screen I designed back then. The system works perfectly and I installed it in such a way as to look OEM for the car.
4.) I did NOT like the hard-wired-in antiquated, brick-sized Cadillac cell phone offered at the time. I had helped to develop the first hand-held dockable cell phone (it was a Motorola “flip-phone”) for Mazda’s ill-fated Amati division). So no way did I want a hard-wired huge brick. I had a friend who was a V.P. at Audiovox Electronics get me a docking cradle and I wired up a remote antenna and fully hand-held tiny (by the standards of the day) “Minivox” cell phone. That prototype system is still on my Allante and looks OEM. And yes, it worked very, very well– including hands-free capability long before most had such a possibility.
5.) I hated the Allante keylock entry system and thus added a “Key-Smart” keyless remote entry system developed by someone in an Allante group.
6.) I added a full security system with tracking capability that I helped to develop. It had all of the features of what became GM’s “On-Star”… but a lot more. The system was linked to a 24/7 monitor center and even had remote stop and start. It would even call the owner if the vehicle was being stolen and state the exact location– moving or parked. This system, which I called the Mazda Secure & Safe Sentinel was originally intended to go in Mazda vehicles. Unfortunately, it never got approved for production. I made three of these systems– one for a special Mazda 626. Another for a special Mazda 929 driven by the president of Mazda R&D. The third was the only one seen by the general public. It was installed on a concept car shown and demonstrated in New York City. This vehicle was known as the “New Woman Mazda Protege.” Done in cooperation with “New Woman” magazine. When the concept car was eventually brought back to California and scrapped, I saved my system out of the vehicle and installed it in my Allante.
Cadillac division provided me with a new Cadillac XLR to drive when that car debuted. While I liked the looks of the XLR, it was far too cramped and claustrophobic for me at over six feet in height. I would get back into my Allante and it felt room. While I stopped driving the Allante nearly twenty years ago, it remains in dry storage in mint condition.
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