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ABOUT ME
I always loved the big American cars which I saw in movies and on TV. Living in a small town in Austria, one could not see these cars in real life very often. I always liked the American lifestyle very much as well.
My best friend Richard bought himself a 1965 Chevrolet Impala in 1994 during a visit to California, and after he brought it to Austria, I knew that I wanted an American car for myself as well.
I saved all the money I could and wanted to buy a 1964 convertible. A dealer I knew agreed to import one for me. Back in days, around 1995, it was not that easy for someone in Austria, who had no idea about cars, and years before the Internet made things much easier to find, to import his dream car into Austria… Unfortunately the crooked dealer tried to rip me off, and to make a very long and sad story short, and not to loose all my money, I had to take a 67 DeVille in 1996 instead. I was still a student at the University of Vienna. It took a lot of sacrifices and a lot of work to make this happen. I did work full time besides my studies to make enough money… The 67 was my very first car, until then I rode my bike and used public transport to get around.
I am a professional TV- cameraman and editor for a TV station in Austria, and together with my wife we do run our small film and photography production company. I can´t get rich from doing this , but I would not want to do anything else for a living. I spend 90% of my average income for my cars, therefore having to live a very humble life. I´m lucky that my wife is very supportive to my hobby, otherwise it would not be possible to play with my cars that much ;-)
I do not have a professional car background in any way. I had to learn everything by myself by reading articles, shop manuals, watch videos, ask friends and by just trying… I messed up lots of things and I´m about 10 times slower than any professional mechanic most of the times, but I can´t afford to pay somebody to fix my cars and I want things to be done perfectly. Thats why I am always trying to do everything by myself.
I´m married to my dear wife Afra since 2006 and our son Elliot was born in 2010. So far it looks like that he already has the Cadillac virus in his blood as well ;-)
My lovely little family in 2014 :-)
The Loidl Family in 2015
The Loidl Family in 2018
2019
WHY AM I PUBLISHING THIS WEBSITE?
My website is not meant to show off my cars or to boast about what I have, but to connect with other Cadillac aficionados world wide. I did the first version of my website in 1997 and since then have made many friends through it. I came in contact with so many nice people and this is why I´ll keep doing it. It also serves as a kind of diary for me, to keep track of my car activities and repairs. I´m always happy if my little articles can help others with their own repairs and to solve their car problems.
HOW THINGS DEVELOPED
The picture below shows very well how my addiction developed since 2002 - when the first picture was taken on exactly the same spot as the picture below in 2015 ;-) A lot of things happened in the 13 years in-between…I do own 8 American Cars now and I have no plans, nor the necessary financial means to enlarge my collection even more. Its hard enough to keep all the cars in top notch condition already…
Showreel
This is what I am doing for a living - my company showreel below.