Including information on how the tour “downunder” was arranged, the author offers a “day-by-day” account of each town or city the Cadillac was on display around Australia. Promotion for the tour included significant media publicity and competitions in many areas to select “Elvis Presley’s Golden Girls”! It was a fascinating era for "Elvis" tours!
EIN’s Nigel Patterson has taken a ride in the golden chariot’s 3rd edition and was more than impressed with its performance improvements.
Read Nigel’s review
(Book Review, Source:ElvisInformationNetwork)
Book Review
“Elvis Presley’s Gold Cadillac Limousine –
The USA, Australian & New Zealand Tours”
by Peter R. “Bob” Hayden (with Glenn Reimer)
Reviewed by Nigel Patterson, December 2025
Australia’s most prolific Elvis book author, Bob Hayden, has released a deluxe, expanded edition of his critically acclaimed, and retitled, publication about (principally) the tour "downunder" of Elvis' Gold Cadillac limousine!
Pre-Review Note: I previously reviewed both the first and second editions of the book and there is a small amount of repetition across all reviews. Links to the 1st (2010) and 2nd (2011) edition reviews appear below.
Review
After exhaustive research by Bob (and co-researcher) Glenn Reimer, the deluxe edition of Hayden’s record of the Elvis Gold Cadillac Limousine Tour(s) book contains 172 pages (66 pages more than the 2011 2nd edition!), including expanded sections covering the Australian, New Zealand and US legs of the Cadillac tour and new sections with details and photos of Elvis' "Vistaliner" bus and Dodge Motor Home.
About the tour: Following a tour across the US in 1965-66, the Gold Cadillac tour commenced its “downunder” sojourn in Sydney on 17 January 1968 before travelling around Australia. Profits raised from the tour went to charity, with arrangements for the Cadillac’s Australian tour arranged with Benevolent Society of New South Wales.
Throughout 1968 the Cadillac was on display in 40 cities and towns in every State and Territory (except the Northern Territory) including Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Canberra (Australia's national capital, where this reviewer, yet to become an Elvis fan, thought about but didn’t part with the 20 cents entry charge to view the legendary vehicle), Goulburn, Port Augusta, Newcastle, Proserpine, Gympie, Rockhampton, Geelong, Latrobe, Ballarat and Wagga Wagga.
In January 1969 the Cadillac was shipped to New Zealand to finish its Antipodean visit (initially due to close in June but extended to August 1969) when it was shipped home to the US (sans a bag of souvenirs commandeered by an enterprising security guard – this is a great story in the book).
The book: Bob Hayden’s book is the “full” story of the limousine from its origins in a workshop and its various tours to its various owners and where it is today. The breadth of detail included is more than impressive – there is even a listing of the limousine’s different licence plate numbers over the years.
The narrative content includes information on Elvis’ early Cadillacs and across 30 pages is an intriguing account of the Gold Cadillac in the workshop and how it was outfitted, including the its décor, seats, bar, shoe polisher, and electronic equipment such as the 8-track Stereo Tape Cartridge Player and TV set. is a detailed account of and how the tour was arranged.
Following information on how the tour “downunder” was arranged, the author offers a “day-by-day” account of each town or city the Cadillac was on display around Australia. Promotion for the tour included significant media publicity and competitions in many areas to select “Elvis Presley’s Golden Girls”!
As an example of the extent of the research that went into the book, on getting the Cadillac to Australia’s west coast, the author notes:
“Western Australia was problematic due to the logistics and associated costs of transporting Elvis’ Gold Car across the Nullarbor (Desert) to Perth and back, a return journey of 7,400 km (4,600 miles) from Sydney. Despite the hefty expenses that would be incurred, the Committee decided that Elvis’ Gold Car would be displayed in Perth, with other locations added along the way to cover costs. This included Broken Hill, Port Augusta, Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie.
“The Port Augusta display planned for 30 November to 3 December was cancelled due to the local charity failing to find a suitable site in time. So Whyalla was investigated as an alternative but did not go ahead. The displays in Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie, for reasons unknown, also did not occur.”
The involvement of fan clubs and their members is discussed and the impact of the tour on Elvis’ sales noted:
“Wherever the tour went, Elvis’ record sales increased. Mr. Bill Walsh, General Manager for RCA, in the South-west Pacific, said that record sales increased in all areas of the country when compared to the previous year. Singles sales went up by 34.6%, extended plays by 7.6% and long-play album sales increased by 16.2%.”
The full colour image adorning the glossy flexi-cover immediately catches your attention and the text and images similarly resonate on the high-quality gloss paper stock inside. The page design is strong with good use of white space, particularly where several images are featured on the one page.
The visual element is impressive with literally hundreds of color and b&w photos, many very rare and of historic importance. They nicely bring to life the author’s detailed and interesting narrative, providing a wonderful photographic record of the Cadillac and all of its constituent parts, and reflecting the energy and excitement of those who were involved with the tour and the thousands of patrons who came to view Elvis’ iconic vehicle.
Some of the “many” visual highlights include:
Early assembly (p12)
Interior view of Cadillac (p30)
Press ads (pp55-56)
Golden Girl contestants (pp 69-70 and p72)
Tour sign “Elvis Presley Golden Limousine” (p107)
Four-years-old Lonnie Foster at the steering wheel (112)
The “other” Gold Cadillac (p132)
Cadillac at night with glare from headlight (p169)
An extensive range of press reports and ads are an important “value-add” to the book, providing great context and feeling for the subject matter.
Verdict: The author has stated that this third, deluxe, edition, is the last, and in this respect it is a fitting end. Not only is the book enlarged in size and number of pages, but the expansion of sections (Australian Tour, New Zealand Tour, USA Tour, etc) with more information and photos, and the inclusion of new sections (eg. ‘The Other Gold Cadillac’ and ‘Elvis’ Bus and Motor Home’), all come together to provide a thoroughly researched, interesting and visually appealing account of its subject matter. The author(s) are to be congratulated on the exhaustive research they undertook and the countless fascinating pieces of information and rare photos they uncovered. Undoubtedly, this is the definitive account of Elvis’ famous Gold Cadillac.
To purchase a copy of “Elvis Presley’s Gold Cadillac Limousine - The USA, Australian & New Zealand Tours” contact the author, Bob Hayden: elvis2594@gmail.com
For more information about, and to view more images from the book, see my reviews of the first two editions:
Second edition Review: https://www.elvisinfonet.com/bookreview ... dition.htm
First edition Review: https://www.elvisinfonet.com/bookreview_goldcaddy.htm