In the mid '70s the Seville was such a head turner. It had a unique presence like absolutely no other car! And my favorite version was the two-tone Seville Elegante'. Wow! That was one gorgeous vehicle!
I agree wholeheartedly. I was a young man when these were first sold, and they were stunning in person back then. Very different and modern looking compared to previous Cadillac designs. I really enjoy the first generation Seville, the bustleback was more awkward than a Mirada, and the third generation started to look like GM was getting serious again.
Around the same time, Citroen had released the CX. Sure, It had a small engine and none of Seville's glitz, but it looked as futuristic then as it does now. The same cannot be said about the Seville, even though it still looks nice and elegant today. The two cars could not have been more different, even though Cadillac was trying to go "international."
I would agree that it probably was a head-turner the first model year because it was the only thing like it on the road. But in the next couple of years in the mid-70s it looked 90% like everything else GM was producing from discount Cars to this most expensive model. I never quite understood the appeal of this car, a car completely devoid of styling actually, looking just like the box it came in or if a child was told to draw a car or build one out of Legos I don't think it was a bad car I just think it was an inappropriate car for Cadillac, lacking all of the legacy style comfort, room and ride that was associated with the brand and would have been better as a new sub-brand like in LaSalle or possibly better suited to Oldsmobile or Buick or even sporty upscale Pontiac. And to price this car, made up of fewer materials and cheaper inferior materials/lower quality mechanicals so much more expensive than a regular DeVille really seems like an insult to a luxury car buyer of the era. Frankly it seems like a rather cynically designed car that seemed to resent its intended customer base. I would even go so far as to calling it generic, except for the two tone paint scheme you mentioned. The next-generation truly did have style, although controversial, at least it took styling cues from very expensive British Cars and other cars from the thirties and forties to give it some panache that this car sorely lacks in my opinion. The first generation Seville has zero luxury styling ques. It has zero styling. I think a much better idea would have been to use the Chevrolet Impala platform, reworked with different doors with the Cadillac door handles, different front clip of course and revised rear clip with the traditional Cadillac fenders and styling queues and then you get the best of both worlds, a significantly smaller car that was still a largish car that would be roomy and have the soft ride and at least reasonably luxurious interior room and comfort that should have been the minimum for Cadillacs, and still offering a quite large trunk and having the same savings of using many out-of-sight Chevrolet parts while loading on the icing on the parts you could see and stuffing the interior with luxury features. And you still could have claimed it was more internationally sized compared to the other GM large cars, and retained the more linear look. And it still would have seen the shockingly new at the time without sacrificing core values of comfort and styling. (Similarly, the Eldorado could have been moved to the 75 Monte Carlo platform/engines which while much smaller and cheaper to build didn't look much smaller and with a new body with Cadillac style put on that platform would have saved so much money using many under-the-skin Chevrolet parts but with Cadillac quality interior, upgraded engine parts and of course individual styling that through economy of scale they still could have offered a large impressive eldorado that didn't look any smaller but save so much money through engineering and select part sharing, GM really just wasn't thinking things through and win in a radical direction that essentially destroyed so much customer confidence and introduced unreliable, lower-quality vehicles than should be allowed under the brand name.) Cadillac eventually did this exact thing with the last Fleetwood Brougham, using many parts from the radically upgraded Caprice, then fine-tuning them and making them undeniably Cadillac in the mid 90s, resulting in a infinitely better car than the Deville of the same year, but twenty five years earlier the exact same formula could have been used and resulted in a much better car in my opinion. It's important that the cars don't look like Chevrolet's like the cimarron, and I don't think anyone would argue that the Fleetwood Brougham resembled a Caprice very much at all, sharing only front doors and windshield with that other large car, and a stretched wheelbase shared with no other GM car at the time. It was even distinct from the Roadmaster which used a similar formula to make yet another distinct car from the Caprice donor car. And they were large comfortable reasonably fuel-efficient and benefited so much from the Chevrolet underpinnings while showing none of that to the customer for what they could see feel or touch. In many ways this first 75 Seville car led to a downfall for GM, yes it was fashionable for a moment but the simplistic styling, low comfort, cramped cabin, meager trunk and disastrous downsizing that destroyed the legacies of so many of America's Great Cars, ending up with the bottom of the barrel GM cars of the 80s that were all poor quality, boxy , flimsy, and identical and mocked in commercials and magazines and by the general public alike for being too similar and two plain and too lacking in style for a company that used to be a leader in all of those areas. So that's why I say this one model year by itself probably was not a bad car but what it represented and what it led to after it really was harmful to GM in the long run. Typical GM, looking at short-term game versus long-term sales and loyalty. Rich people bought it because it was different, that's just tracing a short-term trend rather than building a customer base based on long-term attributes and loyalty and with cars that they truly aspired to own for reasons other than the badge. Which is why they to quickly abandon its rebirth of exciting and uniquely styled cars in the early 2000s to simply building rebadged Chevy's with very little differentiation today with their range of SUVs that once again lack anything in any real styling. At least they are large and comfortable, with absolute minimum effort from GM.
My friend just bought a 30k mile 1976 Seville. It's been a little bit of a journey, replacing old and rotten vacuum hoses and general repairs a near 50 year old car needs after sitting for close to 30 years, but man oh man. It drives like a dream. So comfortable. It needs a few more odds and ends, but it's almost there.
Yeah, 30 years ago I spotted a '79 Seville for sale at an auto repair shop. This Pewter grey color but with red leather interior. I got a good buy on it at 58K miles because the old mechanics at this repair shop knew nothing about fixing the new, first EFI Olds 350" V8 that was getting 1 MPG at the time. Yep, a 20 gallon fill up got you 20 miles! Ouch! Those mechanics told me it had TBI... I got it home, removed the air cleaner, and started looking for the injectors in the throttle body... couldn't seem to find them... then it dawned on me that I was leaning on the fuel rail of the direct port injection with 8 injectors... one of the injectors was leaking... I called Cadillac... $150 for one of those special injectors... times 8 injectors... $1200 to replace all 8... just for parts... with a battery to jump it open and an air compressor to blow air though it backwards, I managed to clear out the clogged open injector for free... it still only has 85K miles and is like brand new... Apparently the first owner flew to Florida in winters, left it north, and only put 11K miles on it. Second owner only put 39K on and wanted out of it when 1 MPG started... he may not have known it was 1 MPG... maybe just thought it was very costly on gas... and unknowledgeable local shop gave him a huge estimate to attempt to repair it... he likely feared what a Cadillac dealer would charge... and local shop probably would have secretly subbed the job out to the Cadillac dealer... plus their own transportation and handling markups... I'm considering over boring the engine cylinders, adding higher compression ratio pistons, adding a mild performance cam, dual exhausts, and other tuning tricks to raise the HP peak from 4200 on up to 5500 RPMs... for more HP and better MPG...
I've had 5 caddy's so far, the 76 seville is my fave, but never copped one. I drive a XTS now, and a 1993 saab 900 convertible. but if I ever get my hands on one of these......
Not only did the round wheel arches look great and mark a styling change for Cadillacs, the 15 inch wheels and tires really filled up the wheel wells and the offset on the wheels gave them quite a bit of poke whereas the rest of the Cadillacs (and GM cars in general) had wheels set back into the wheel opening. It gave the Seville a much more muscular and substantial look. Considering they started with a Nova, they made a very attractive car that you really couldn't tell started life as a Chevy...........something they later miserably failed to do with the Cimarron. The success of this first generation Seville forced Ford to cobble together the Versailles from the Granada/Monarch and it was clearly a knee jerk reaction to an unexpectedly successful competitor.
@@peterhogan9537 Wrong. The factory original tires on the 1976 Seville were GR78-15 wide white wall radial tires. The US hadn't even adopted the P-metric tire sizing yet that we use today. I've owned 2 '76, 1 '77 and 3 '78 Sevilles. All were box stock, 100% original under 40K mile cars. 16" tires were not even a thing on cars in the 1970''s. The Nova (Seville platform mate) came standard with 14" wheels and tires and 15's were optional. 16" wheels and tires didn't appear on American cars until the 1984 C-4 Corvette and the factory original size was 255/50-VR16 Goodyear Eagle "Gatorback"
My mother always thought Caddies were ostentatious (our wealthy neighbor always got a new Fleetwood every year or two). My Mom drove a Chrysler New Yorker Brougham and felt that was understated luxury without the snob effect! However, when the Seville was introduced she loved it and felt the smaller Caddi was perfectly acceptable for our (slightly upper) middle class family! My father bought her a left over 1978 in early ‘79, it was Firemist Green with Green leather interior. It was a beautiful car and when I got my drivers license in 1980 I was occasionally permitted to drive it. I drove that car to my High School Prom with my friend and our dates, my friend still talks fondly about going to the prom in the green caddy! A few weeks after the prom my Mom traded it for a 1982 Volvo GL. Volvo’s were boxie and utilitarian back then, what a step down from a Seville!
This is my favorite generation of the Seville. GM did a remarkable job turning the commonplace Nova platform into a true luxury car. The only obvious shared Nova component that I can see in the interior are the interior door handles. What’s even more astounding is that only six short years after this success, Cadillac gave us the Cimarron.
With the Cimmaron, they just got lazy. They simply added a grille, soft seats, a different cluster, and a bit of sound insulation and called it a day. It was an OBVIOUS cavalier clone. Cimmaron looked more like the cavalier than the other j cars
@@dmandman9 agree with you there. GM and Cadillac knew what they needed to do to build a competitive small luxury car (because they just did it a few years earlier with Seville), but was unwilling to commit the necessary time and resources to do so. I understand from Adam’s previous video with John M. On the Cimarron that the designers were basically dealt a losing hand from the start with a shoestring budget and a very short timeframe to do it.
Hey Adam, I think that this first generation Seville is the best & classiest Seville!!! It still looks fresh today!!! Thanks for showcasing this beauty!!! 👍👍🙂
It must've been wild going into a Cadillac dealership in the fall of 1975, just two years after the oil crisis, and seeing this downsized vehicle. Extremely handsome cars, with well integrated styling that absolutely lead the way as we made the full transition into malaise. GM absolutely nailed it with this. I've always thought it interesting that Ford has the same basic idea with the Granada/Monarch but missed the mark (despite the Granada being a sales success). Upon reflection, I think many underestimate how forward thinking the first gen Seville actually was, with so many copy cat designs following later on. While I still prefer the larger Devilles of the 75-76 and 77-79 that ran concurrent with this generation Seville, it's hard to argue that these weren't excellent cars. In particular I've always liked all the ribbed leather on the interior.
ALL automobile manufacturers went into the "malaise"! In "THE DAY", they still built affordable, BETTER VEHICLES than all this OVER-PRICED, OVER-TECHED, VASTLY OVER-SOLD GARBAGE buyers "end-up" with TODAY!T
As a teen, I coerced dad to trade in one of the Coupe DeVille for later 76 Seville with fuel injection. I got him to let us update the suspension. Adding Chevy Nova 9C-1 police suspension bits. Especially the sway bars, nylon bushings, shocks and power steering recirculating ball ratio. It really woke up the vehicle. Handled amazing. Plus, we did a number on elimination of air pump, EGR, modified electronic ignition timing profile, and the cat beads. Amazing the FI adjusted, no warning lights. Added extra HP, smoothed out the Olds motor.. ran harder than the emissions light 9C-1 police motor. Wish I still had it.
One of my sign language interpreters had a 1977 Seville in triple cream yellow colour: yellow paint, yellow upholstery, and yellow vinyl roof. On the gloomy mornings, her car would brighten up the whole place like a sun as she motored to the car park. This generation is my favourite Seville and one of my favourite Cadillacs. By the way, this generation Seville was quite popular in the Switzerland for the same reason: international size and weaker dollar during the late 1970s.
It is really hard for me to wrap my head around the fact this car was released in the mid 70s. It looks like a wonderfully engineered luxury vehicle of the late 80s. Truly a marvel of design.
Look underneath and you will be astounded by the unibody that goes back to the 1962 Nova. I believe GM would have done better to get Seville onto the new Midsized platform that was due for the 78 model year.
That is why it was my favorite car of the 70's! It was waayy ahead of it''s time, and it looked up to date, right on through the 1980's till the end of that decade.
Such great cars... I remember working on them as a Cadillac Master Craftsman when they were a few years old... Great ride...quick and handled well. Their owners loved them !
This brought back memories. I was raised in a coal mining area and a widow's coal mine sold for $12mil, of which, she ended up with about $4.5mil. That was a ton of money in 1975. She purchased a new Seville in solid white which lasted about two months - she ran it through a fence and plowed a field with it on the way to a party. Next she got another Seville exactly like the one you featured and drove it for a couple of years. When I grew up and moved away she had switched to Toronados,
Looking at the side profile of this car, and the rear 3/4 aspect, the 76 Seville is a very beautiful car. I remember the first one I saw - Silver- in Westport Connecticut in 1975 (I was 12). A Cadillac with no fender skirts! I thought that a titanic shift had occurred in the history of civilization. The wrap-around taillights were likewise revolutionary in contrast to the majestic, cathedral-like vertical designs Cadillac was doing at the time. The rear window was pure Rolls-Royce and nothing like it had been seen from GM. The interior was absolutely beautiful- vertical bands on the doors and on the seats, and a velour headliner that looked wonderful. My father bought one of these early Sevilles (black with red leather) and I was enthralled with the car. I took my driver‘s test in that car, drove it in high school, and on trips. So many memories. I loved that car.
My 78 Nova with 4 doors, equipped with a V8, PS and PB, was a perfect size car for urban driving. I’m sure had I owned a Seville, I would have loved it that much more with its luxury appointments. To this day I wish for one, in like new condition of course.
I had both a 1976 and 1979 Seville. The 76 was stolen. The79 Seville was white, white top, white leather, and black carpeting. It was beautiful. I sold it (and others) last fall.
I worked as a used car tech at a Toyota Stealership around 1981. They bought about three of these from auction to resell. I did very minor work on them. They were a very. nice driving car for the time. I was so happy that they were small, looked good, and had minimal issues.
My mother owned a ‘79 Seville when I was in high school. And despite my height, I could drive the car although it wasn’t my favorite for long distances. Still it was comfortable and handled well for the period. You mention the Chevy Nova bones of this car. When my mother bought this car, my stepfather was driving a ‘75 Buick Apollo which was a Nova clone. But the cars were very different in styling, handling, pretty much all important features. I wish we still had the Seville.
I always dug the simple and lean proportions of the 1st gen Seville. I also remember the body fit & finish being much better compared to other Cadillacs of the '70s. The bustle back model always looked like it had been kicked in the rear and had an awkwardly long front overhang. It may be the car people remember more today.
The most beautiful generation of Seville in my opinion. What made this version so attractive was its understated elegance and clean lines. I felt the "bustle back" version was an unfortunate and ill-executed grab at copying an old Rolls or Princess profile. My neighbor at the time had a black 1978 Seville, as well as a 1979 Seville Opera Coupe in two tone brown and gold. I'd love to see a video about that model!
I've always liked the bustleback version more than most people. But the '76 and all the cars patterned after it also had some Rolls influence. From what I've read, in 1974, while his people were still arguing over how to do the roofline, Bill Mitchell called in from the UK and told them to make it look like a Silver Shadow.
@@moonbeamskies3346Adam explains the underpinnings of the Seville at 1:26. Most US carmakers utilized an existing chassis or frame to make several classes of car. This saved them the expense of creating a unique one for a luxury model.
Cadillac built test Sevilles that looked like a full production model as far back as 72 or 73. Imagine running into one of those back then? Cadillac looked totally different then so to see one of those test cars had to be a shock to the person that saw one.
I remember when these came out. We vacationed in a fairly expensive NJ beach town where people could and did build 'beach mansions' as I called them (we by contrast rented 1/2 of a rancher duplex which then still existed). Along the more rarified streets you could find these proudly displayed in circular driveways. Everyone knew it was super expensive, much more than the regular Cadillac and I strongly suspect that in many instances they were purchased for that reason alone. Super successful marketing strategy. It was also the first American car priced somewhat on par with the small MB - a 300D in 75 stickered around 12,500, and if you were an American car buyer looking for Euro cachet but not wanting 20 second 0-60 and desiring traditional creature comforts, this Cadillac would have looked like a good deal. (We, however waited, and eventually took the plunge with the W123 300D a year or two later - still slow, but it started Dad on his German run which would last 40+ years). I still like these, they are at least handsome, at best elegant (or is that Elegante).
One of my other remembrance of the car was the economy meter it had two LED lights I think on the upper console green and red and as a l kid of course I rode in back and my grandfather had a notoriously heavy foot and the red light was usually on! I think in 1981 we had a family reunion in Colorado and we all drove out there to an Uncle's place in the mountains and we followed my grandfather in our 80 240D Mercedes stick and on the Flatlands we had no problem keeping up with him but once we hit the mountains we were on our own!
I was working in the service department of a Chevrolet and Cadillac dealership when this vehicle first came out. When the first Seville was unloaded off the car transport trailer and driven into the service bay for inspection, we opened the hood and I blurted out that's a Oldsmobile engine not a Cadillac engine. I got my ass ripped by the service manager and was told not to mention that fact again.
The Nova was a surprisingly good starting point proportionally, with the relatively wide track, particularly in front, and the front wheels set elegantly far from the cowl. And then the wheelbase stretch (in back), exquisite styling, and overall effort put into it really made the car special. The Versailles, by contrast, looked like a Granada with clearcoat paint and a continental kit.
The second year Versailles made an important adjustment to the roofline, making it more formal and upright than the Grenade. That helped it to visually separate itself, and arguably looked more upscale. But it was still a "me too" effort done on the cheap. The subsequent 1982 "Continental" looked much better.
@@MarinCipollina Unfortunately, that Continental was another resoundingly obvious copycat, of the fugly bustle-back Seville... I do agree with you that Ford improved the rear window treatment on the Versailles, but as I said long before desert modern, it was still obviously a Glorified Granada - yet I loved the Granada coupes!
@@marko7843 I really dislike the bustle-back design for the second generation Seville.. It's been compared to garbage trucks and a dog preparing to defecate.
My Uncle drove (daily!) a '70 Nova ("307"/automatic) for 14 years! This says VOLUMES of "American Malaise"! American cars were JUST as good as ANYTHING Japan produced (SADLY, I owned two AWFUL examples of the "quality")! The Japanese just BOUGHT the "best quality" in the day!
In a blink and you’ll miss it moment in the Mel Brooks movie “High Anxiety”…. This car made a cameo appearance…. Madeline Kahn was in the movie and at one point she drives up in a Seville and it has a rather ornate paint job. When Madeline got out of the car, she was wearing an outfit that matched the Seville’s paint job! Quite a sight gag in a hysterically funny movie.
0:29 I know the '76 had more teething issues than the later years and you couldn't get one without a vinyl roof unless you paid someone to take it off and fill in the seam that extended the Nova roof panel, but that egg-crate grill looks so better than the Superfly-esque fake-rolls look of the last 3 years. If I were looking to buy one of these, I'd definitely go for the '76.
I worked for Southwest Leasing when the 1978 and 1979 Cadillac Seville models were produced. The buyers of these cars were as finicky as you might imagine, but they would offer a $50 tip when their cars were delivered back to their home or work after a service visit. We were a full-service leasing company, so we actually gave out loaners when we took our customers' cars in for service at our selected automotive vendors. The Elegante was the most desired Seville in1978. In 1979 the new Eldorado was released so the sales mix became 50/50.
My uncle was a Cadillac dealer. This was perhaps GM's finest offering. When the 1980 model arrived, sales declined by more than 45%. Many have claimed that the 1980 was a huge success. It was not. GM could has easily taken the 1976 body style into the 1980s. It could have had the run that the Lincoln Continental 1961-69 enjoyed. Both were timeless in style and appearance. My mother had a 1979 in triple black. It was a magnificent car. in 1981 she opted for an Eldorado. She was not a fan of the 1980 Seville styling. The Eldorado was beautiful too, but a bit of a problem child in its 1979-85 run. Thank you so much for this excellent segment.
As a teen my dad had a ‘79 Seville, triple yellow. Absolutely gorgeous! Anytime my car was in for service I would take his Seville to school, I felt like a king pulling into the parking lot with that!!! They were great cars.
My parents bought a '76 burgundy with plumb interior Seville. Of the three Sevilles they owned, it was my favorite. All three were reliable, well built, and made a statement. And, they were great on long trips.
Hi Adam, I truly believe this was certainly one of the most beautiful and most handsome Automobiles ever built. Absolutely Gorgeous Cadillac. They were every where when I was in High School. So Incredible. !!!
Personal views are, well, personal. But I cannot stand the Novas body dismorphia in any of its incarnations from 68 till 78. The RWD Seville, I just love. Everything about it is So Right. I love the Olds EFi 350 engine too. This was such a great car, with superb presence, deportment and detail.
Adam, If someone really wanted an Oldsmobile 350 V8 in 1976 they could have purchased a nicely equipped Delta 88 and a Cutlass for less than the cost of one Seville. 🤩
True. But in 1976 The olds was HUGE. And the Cutlass was still pretty large as well. The 88 was downsized in 1977 and the cutlass was downsized in 1978. So they were old designs on their way out. But the Seville was new
I really appreciate that you've been inserting pictures of contemporary models when you mention them, like the Eldorado and Taurus in this video. I've noticed it more in recent videos, and it really helps provide the comparison or contrast. Keep up the awesome work. I can't explain why, but I've always been drawn to the big American sedans, and it's fun to watch your content.
@@viciouspoodle5543 What cracked me up was in the episode of Mad Men where the Brit tried to kill himself in his brand-new Jaguar with carbon monoxide, the frickin' thing would not START!!! So he hung himself instead! Take THAT, Top Gear!
A nice summary of my second favorite Cadillac, Adam. These were a breath of fresh air when they appeared, and were very popular in the San Francisco Bay Area when new.
@@DSP1968 Why not include the 1980? I'm curious because I had a 1980 Coupe de Ville with the 'd Elegance package. It was a wonderful Cadillac. Admittedly, after 1980, engines became problematic for Cadillacs for several years, but the 1980 still had the 6.0 Cadillac V8 engine.
@@DSP1968 It still looks GOOD though, and really pops as a real Cadillac. 1980 was kind of the end of the era for coupes, but Cadillac Fleetwood returned to rear wheel drive and a 5.7 liter V8, 1990 - 1992..Order with trailering package for increased power. I didn't much care for the bloated looking 1993 restyle. I like most everything Cadillac did from "new era" 1940 - 1992 or so for what I consider traditional real Cadillacs. They all had a certain look and posture that just really stood out. A single Cadillac is a parade by itself.
I absolutely love this style of GM cars. I've never had a Cadillac, but I've had an Impala, Caprice Classic Brougham, Buick Electra and Olds Delta 88. And I'm trying to figure out how to get another car in this body style. I want another B-Body, but I'd gladly take a similarly styled G-Body. I just love those boxy rear wheel drive cars
My grandfather had an early Seville other than some fuel injection problems and he did a lot of extended travel on behalf of Purdue University and he would get back to the airport after a long trip and the battery would be dead! He really enjoyed the car and kept it until he passed away he was going to replace it in the early '80s but he absolutely hated the bustle back and he had Continentals in the past but they had bustel backs as well.
In my opinion the Bustle Back Seville was the UGLIEST of them all. Some of the other designs were boring. But the hump back was actually UGLY in my opinion
Being born in 1987 and a huge "classic" Cadillac fan, I never understood the appeal to them because they look just like the 80s Chevy Caprice, which was everywhere. I get it that one copied the other but still, the other Cadillac models of similar years had much more style and presence
Always loved this 1st Gen Seville. I wonder how they hold up mechanically. I loved what Mel Brooks did to the car in High Anxiety, with the YVL edition paint job. It was a hoot.
As WW Bland of Bland Cadillac of Houston Texas said - we will never have a Seville as good as the 76-79 again . He was correct. I always tried to point out to customers that the sombrero wheel covers were far more elegant than the Faux wire caps - I hated those. The 1976 was of course plagued by the faulty fuel lines that dissolved and caused more than one engine fire. The example you chose for this video is gorgeous - thanks for a really superb video.
Love the video! The first generation sevilles looked great with a pretty ground breaking design for the time. Anyway I’d love to see a video on the 4.5 and 4.9 Cadillac V8’s, I have a 94’ Deville with the 4.9 and love it so any information on it and the 4.5 would be much appreciated!!! Keep up the great work!!
The Seville still looks nice all these years later. It looks clean and elegant. It has aged better than all the later Sevilles . And it hides it humble origins much better than the Lincoln Versailles. It doesn’t scream Nova. But the Versailles screamed Granada. And the Cadillac Cimmaron screamed Cavalier
@@MarinCipollina I think it’s a close second. But styling preference is a personal choice. However, I think we both agree that the hump back Seville hasn’t particularly aged that well😂
Handsome car and truly a design that predicted the future was coming soon. To me personally, I always thought it looked like the perfect Oldsmobile but didn’t have the shear size of a Cadillac.
God that is one gorgeous Cadillac! I’ve owned a few sevilles over the years. Great handling car and the olds 350 has alot of punch to it. Also the leather interior smelled amazing but the locks were problematic.
Interesting that the picture of the Buick Skylark X car was taken in Holland. The license plate plus a typical Dutch row home in the background give it away. A few of these cars were sold in Europe because of their more manageable size and better fuel economy than traditional American ones. Incidentally, the Seville was sold in Europe too and tested by a few European automobile magazines. In general they liked the car and found it a bit better adapted to local traffic conditions.
8:19 That interior does look tight. I believe the bizarre, overlapping, split-frame chassis and long distance from the firewall to the front wheels, both inherited from the Camaro, conspired with GM's unfortunate placement of the catalytic converter right where the passenger's feet used to go, to make the Seville much less space efficient than its bustleback replacement. The small interior was less of a concern for many of the women, uncomfortable with the size of the bigger models, who bough a good portion of these cars, but it must not have endeared the model to their husbands, who were stuck in that cramped passenger's seat.
Spent a lot of time in a diesel Seville when I was young. Riding around with my grandpa. It had a CB in it. Man what I wouldn't give to take another ride with him....
The radio knobs had a allen screw to hold it onto the shaft sticking out. I was able to order these and put them into my car. What a classy looking upgrade!
Tired R Us of Nova-Seville naysayers. Adam, you tell the real story and back it up with gratifying expertise. The facts speak for themselves in your post. Congratulations!
Beautiful car! I was in college then, one of the physicians with whom I worked bought that first year. Unfortunately they started out with computer problems; he'd be driving along in Houston traffic and the thing would just quit and have to be towed. After a few times of that he traded it back on an enormous powder-blue Eldorado...still sad to me that Lincoln didn't make the same effort with their Versailles.
Always wondered how GM styling missed the fact that it was, my opinion, not the formal roof look that made this car so attractive but rather the long dash to axle. The dash to axle length on this car recalls the "classics" that were so vogue in the mid/late 70's. Love the bustle-back for it's uniqueness but it simply wasn't the right style (presence?) to replace this elegant machine.
From 1973 to 1978 I was a gopher at Buick and Ford dealerships while in high school and college. These were the best driving American cars on the used car lots.
Back in 1978, I worked for a wholesale car dealer. He would by one and two year old Cadillacs and Lincolns at Columbus Auto Auction. Role back the odometers, and me and 5 or six other friends drove them to Long Beach Cal. and they would sell much higher there. I got to drive a 78 Seville out there a couple times, and it was the best handling, and most responsive out of all the other Caddys and Lincoln's that I drove out there.
I was selling new Cadillacs in San Diego when the Seville first debuted. The first few hundred were all the same. (Silver Color, silver vinyl roof, grey leather and options) Nearly every one we first sold came back on the "hook" because there was a fuel injection problem. Once the glitch was fixed, they were terrific cars.
Great video, Adam. I still think this car's design is stunning, especially the profile. My fave would be a silver with wires or the black over silver Elegante.
I absolutely love these cars.. they were a classic.❤
In the mid '70s the Seville was such a head turner. It had a unique presence like absolutely no other car! And my favorite version was the two-tone Seville Elegante'. Wow! That was one gorgeous vehicle!
The Elegante was a stunner, agreed!
I agree wholeheartedly. I was a young man when these were first sold, and they were stunning in person back then. Very different and modern looking compared to previous Cadillac designs. I really enjoy the first generation Seville, the bustleback was more awkward than a Mirada, and the third generation started to look like GM was getting serious again.
É diesel??
Around the same time, Citroen had released the CX. Sure, It had a small engine and none of Seville's glitz, but it looked as futuristic then as it does now. The same cannot be said about the Seville, even though it still looks nice and elegant today. The two cars could not have been more different, even though Cadillac was trying to go "international."
I would agree that it probably was a head-turner the first model year because it was the only thing like it on the road. But in the next couple of years in the mid-70s it looked 90% like everything else GM was producing from discount Cars to this most expensive model.
I never quite understood the appeal of this car, a car completely devoid of styling actually, looking just like the box it came in or if a child was told to draw a car or build one out of Legos
I don't think it was a bad car I just think it was an inappropriate car for Cadillac, lacking all of the legacy style comfort, room and ride that was associated with the brand and would have been better as a new sub-brand like in LaSalle or possibly better suited to Oldsmobile or Buick or even sporty upscale Pontiac.
And to price this car, made up of fewer materials and cheaper inferior materials/lower quality mechanicals so much more expensive than a regular DeVille really seems like an insult to a luxury car buyer of the era.
Frankly it seems like a rather cynically designed car that seemed to resent its intended customer base.
I would even go so far as to calling it generic, except for the two tone paint scheme you mentioned.
The next-generation truly did have style, although controversial, at least it took styling cues from very expensive British Cars and other cars from the thirties and forties to give it some panache that this car sorely lacks in my opinion.
The first generation Seville has zero luxury styling ques. It has zero styling.
I think a much better idea would have been to use the Chevrolet Impala platform, reworked with different doors with the Cadillac door handles, different front clip of course and revised rear clip with the traditional Cadillac fenders and styling queues and then you get the best of both worlds, a significantly smaller car that was still a largish car that would be roomy and have the soft ride and at least reasonably luxurious interior room and comfort that should have been the minimum for Cadillacs, and still offering a quite large trunk and having the same savings of using many out-of-sight Chevrolet parts while loading on the icing on the parts you could see and stuffing the interior with luxury features.
And you still could have claimed it was more internationally sized compared to the other GM large cars, and retained the more linear look.
And it still would have seen the shockingly new at the time without sacrificing core values of comfort and styling.
(Similarly, the Eldorado could have been moved to the 75 Monte Carlo platform/engines which while much smaller and cheaper to build didn't look much smaller and with a new body with Cadillac style put on that platform would have saved so much money using many under-the-skin Chevrolet parts but with Cadillac quality interior, upgraded engine parts and of course individual styling that through economy of scale they still could have offered a large impressive eldorado that didn't look any smaller but save so much money through engineering and select part sharing, GM really just wasn't thinking things through and win in a radical direction that essentially destroyed so much customer confidence and introduced unreliable, lower-quality vehicles than should be allowed under the brand name.)
Cadillac eventually did this exact thing with the last Fleetwood Brougham, using many parts from the radically upgraded Caprice, then fine-tuning them and making them undeniably Cadillac in the mid 90s, resulting in a infinitely better car than the Deville of the same year, but twenty five years earlier the exact same formula could have been used and resulted in a much better car in my opinion.
It's important that the cars don't look like Chevrolet's like the cimarron, and I don't think anyone would argue that the Fleetwood Brougham resembled a Caprice very much at all, sharing only front doors and windshield with that other large car, and a stretched wheelbase shared with no other GM car at the time. It was even distinct from the Roadmaster which used a similar formula to make yet another distinct car from the Caprice donor car.
And they were large comfortable reasonably fuel-efficient and benefited so much from the Chevrolet underpinnings while showing none of that to the customer for what they could see feel or touch.
In many ways this first 75 Seville car led to a downfall for GM, yes it was fashionable for a moment but the simplistic styling, low comfort, cramped cabin, meager trunk and disastrous downsizing that destroyed the legacies of so many of America's Great Cars, ending up with the bottom of the barrel GM cars of the 80s that were all poor quality, boxy , flimsy, and identical and mocked in commercials and magazines and by the general public alike for being too similar and two plain and too lacking in style for a company that used to be a leader in all of those areas.
So that's why I say this one model year by itself probably was not a bad car but what it represented and what it led to after it really was harmful to GM in the long run.
Typical GM, looking at short-term game versus long-term sales and loyalty.
Rich people bought it because it was different, that's just tracing a short-term trend rather than building a customer base based on long-term attributes and loyalty and with cars that they truly aspired to own for reasons other than the badge.
Which is why they to quickly abandon its rebirth of exciting and uniquely styled cars in the early 2000s to simply building rebadged Chevy's with very little differentiation today with their range of SUVs that once again lack anything in any real styling.
At least they are large and comfortable, with absolute minimum effort from GM.
My friend just bought a 30k mile 1976 Seville. It's been a little bit of a journey, replacing old and rotten vacuum hoses and general repairs a near 50 year old car needs after sitting for close to 30 years, but man oh man. It drives like a dream. So comfortable. It needs a few more odds and ends, but it's almost there.
Yeah, 30 years ago I spotted a '79 Seville for sale at an auto repair shop. This Pewter grey color but with red leather interior. I got a good buy on it at 58K miles because the old mechanics at this repair shop knew nothing about fixing the new, first EFI Olds 350" V8 that was getting 1 MPG at the time. Yep, a 20 gallon fill up got you 20 miles! Ouch! Those mechanics told me it had TBI... I got it home, removed the air cleaner, and started looking for the injectors in the throttle body... couldn't seem to find them... then it dawned on me that I was leaning on the fuel rail of the direct port injection with 8 injectors... one of the injectors was leaking... I called Cadillac... $150 for one of those special injectors... times 8 injectors... $1200 to replace all 8... just for parts... with a battery to jump it open and an air compressor to blow air though it backwards, I managed to clear out the clogged open injector for free... it still only has 85K miles and is like brand new...
Apparently the first owner flew to Florida in winters, left it north, and only put 11K miles on it. Second owner only put 39K on and wanted out of it when 1 MPG started... he may not have known it was 1 MPG... maybe just thought it was very costly on gas... and unknowledgeable local shop gave him a huge estimate to attempt to repair it... he likely feared what a Cadillac dealer would charge... and local shop probably would have secretly subbed the job out to the Cadillac dealer... plus their own transportation and handling markups...
I'm considering over boring the engine cylinders, adding higher compression ratio pistons, adding a mild performance cam, dual exhausts, and other tuning tricks to raise the HP peak from 4200 on up to 5500 RPMs... for more HP and better MPG...
I've had 5 caddy's so far, the 76 seville is my fave, but never copped one. I drive a XTS now, and a 1993 saab 900 convertible. but if I ever get my hands on one of these......
Not only did the round wheel arches look great and mark a styling change for Cadillacs, the 15 inch wheels and tires really filled up the wheel wells and the offset on the wheels gave them quite a bit of poke whereas the rest of the Cadillacs (and GM cars in general) had wheels set back into the wheel opening. It gave the Seville a much more muscular and substantial look. Considering they started with a Nova, they made a very attractive car that you really couldn't tell started life as a Chevy...........something they later miserably failed to do with the Cimarron. The success of this first generation Seville forced Ford to cobble together the Versailles from the Granada/Monarch and it was clearly a knee jerk reaction to an unexpectedly successful competitor.
God that Versailles was a piece of crap!!! A tarted-up Granada.
A rear-dive platform helps a lot. Get those front wheels as close to the bumper as you can. 🙂
16 in.
@@peterhogan9537 Wrong. The factory original tires on the 1976 Seville were GR78-15 wide white wall radial tires. The US hadn't even adopted the P-metric tire sizing yet that we use today. I've owned 2 '76, 1 '77 and 3 '78 Sevilles. All were box stock, 100% original under 40K mile cars. 16" tires were not even a thing on cars in the 1970''s. The Nova (Seville platform mate) came standard with 14" wheels and tires and 15's were optional. 16" wheels and tires didn't appear on American cars until the 1984 C-4 Corvette and the factory original size was 255/50-VR16 Goodyear Eagle "Gatorback"
@@andrewg.spurgeon1736 Thank you for informing these Car scholars
My mother always thought Caddies were ostentatious (our wealthy neighbor always got a new Fleetwood every year or two). My Mom drove a Chrysler New Yorker Brougham and felt that was understated luxury without the snob effect! However, when the Seville was introduced she loved it and felt the smaller Caddi was perfectly acceptable for our (slightly upper) middle class family! My father bought her a left over 1978 in early ‘79, it was Firemist Green with Green leather interior. It was a beautiful car and when I got my drivers license in 1980 I was occasionally permitted to drive it. I drove that car to my High School Prom with my friend and our dates, my friend still talks fondly about going to the prom in the green caddy! A few weeks after the prom my Mom traded it for a 1982 Volvo GL. Volvo’s were boxie and utilitarian back then, what a step down from a Seville!
This is my favorite generation of the Seville. GM did a remarkable job turning the commonplace Nova platform into a true luxury car. The only obvious shared Nova component that I can see in the interior are the interior door handles. What’s even more astounding is that only six short years after this success, Cadillac gave us the Cimarron.
The Cimarron was the ultimate, “Let’s see how dumb these fu*kers really are!” move - the answer being, “NOT DUMB ENOUGH!” 😂
With the Cimmaron, they just got lazy. They simply added a grille, soft seats, a different cluster, and a bit of sound insulation and called it a day. It was an OBVIOUS cavalier clone. Cimmaron looked more like the cavalier than the other j cars
@@dmandman9 agree with you there. GM and Cadillac knew what they needed to do to build a competitive small luxury car (because they just did it a few years earlier with Seville), but was unwilling to commit the necessary time and resources to do so. I understand from Adam’s previous video with John M. On the Cimarron that the designers were basically dealt a losing hand from the start with a shoestring budget and a very short timeframe to do it.
The cimarron blew gigantic balls
They sh*t out the Cimmaron...
Hey Adam, I think that this first generation Seville is the best & classiest Seville!!! It still looks fresh today!!! Thanks for showcasing this beauty!!! 👍👍🙂
Even Today it doesn’t look that dated.
They designed proper proportions and nice wheel size with this one along with the modern crisp lines.
It must've been wild going into a Cadillac dealership in the fall of 1975, just two years after the oil crisis, and seeing this downsized vehicle. Extremely handsome cars, with well integrated styling that absolutely lead the way as we made the full transition into malaise. GM absolutely nailed it with this. I've always thought it interesting that Ford has the same basic idea with the Granada/Monarch but missed the mark (despite the Granada being a sales success). Upon reflection, I think many underestimate how forward thinking the first gen Seville actually was, with so many copy cat designs following later on.
While I still prefer the larger Devilles of the 75-76 and 77-79 that ran concurrent with this generation Seville, it's hard to argue that these weren't excellent cars. In particular I've always liked all the ribbed leather on the interior.
ALL automobile manufacturers went into the "malaise"! In "THE DAY", they still built affordable, BETTER VEHICLES than all this OVER-PRICED, OVER-TECHED, VASTLY OVER-SOLD GARBAGE buyers "end-up" with TODAY!T
The Versailles should have been marketed as an entey-level Lincoln, imho
As a teen, I coerced dad to trade in one of the Coupe DeVille for later 76 Seville with fuel injection. I got him to let us update the suspension. Adding Chevy Nova 9C-1 police suspension bits. Especially the sway bars, nylon bushings, shocks and power steering recirculating ball ratio. It really woke up the vehicle. Handled amazing. Plus, we did a number on elimination of air pump, EGR, modified electronic ignition timing profile, and the cat beads. Amazing the FI adjusted, no warning lights. Added extra HP, smoothed out the Olds motor.. ran harder than the emissions light 9C-1 police motor. Wish I still had it.
One of my sign language interpreters had a 1977 Seville in triple cream yellow colour: yellow paint, yellow upholstery, and yellow vinyl roof. On the gloomy mornings, her car would brighten up the whole place like a sun as she motored to the car park. This generation is my favourite Seville and one of my favourite Cadillacs. By the way, this generation Seville was quite popular in the Switzerland for the same reason: international size and weaker dollar during the late 1970s.
It looks better now than it did then. I’d buy it today if it was available.
It is really hard for me to wrap my head around the fact this car was released in the mid 70s. It looks like a wonderfully engineered luxury vehicle of the late 80s. Truly a marvel of design.
Agreed! This car reminds me of the 1985 Olds Delta 88 Royale.
Look underneath and you will be astounded by the unibody that goes back to the 1962 Nova. I believe GM would have done better to get Seville onto the new Midsized platform that was due for the 78 model year.
@@michaeltutty1540 You mean the G-body?
That is why it was my favorite car of the 70's! It was waayy ahead of it''s time, and it looked up to date, right on through the 1980's till the end of that decade.
It preemptively provided the styling them of the 80s. Spot on assessment.
Such great cars... I remember working on them as a Cadillac Master Craftsman when they were a few years old... Great ride...quick and handled well. Their owners loved them !
This brought back memories. I was raised in a coal mining area and a widow's coal mine sold for $12mil, of which, she ended up with about $4.5mil. That was a ton of money in 1975. She purchased a new Seville in solid white which lasted about two months - she ran it through a fence and plowed a field with it on the way to a party. Next she got another Seville exactly like the one you featured and drove it for a couple of years. When I grew up and moved away she had switched to Toronados,
The FWD Toronado can handle that "mining field" much better!
Very understated and classy.
Looking at the side profile of this car, and the rear 3/4 aspect, the 76 Seville is a very beautiful car. I remember the first one I saw - Silver- in Westport Connecticut in 1975 (I was 12). A Cadillac with no fender skirts! I thought that a titanic shift had occurred in the history of civilization. The wrap-around taillights were likewise revolutionary in contrast to the majestic, cathedral-like vertical designs Cadillac was doing at the time. The rear window was pure Rolls-Royce and nothing like it had been seen from GM. The interior was absolutely beautiful- vertical bands on the doors and on the seats, and a velour headliner that looked wonderful. My father bought one of these early Sevilles (black with red leather) and I was enthralled with the car. I took my driver‘s test in that car, drove it in high school, and on trips. So many memories. I loved that car.
My 78 Nova with 4 doors, equipped with a V8, PS and PB, was a perfect size car for urban driving. I’m sure had I owned a Seville, I would have loved it that much more with its luxury appointments. To this day I wish for one, in like new condition of course.
I had both a 1976 and 1979 Seville. The 76 was stolen. The79 Seville was white, white top, white leather, and black carpeting. It was beautiful. I sold it (and others) last fall.
I worked as a used car tech at a Toyota Stealership around 1981. They bought about three of these from auction to resell. I did very minor work on them. They were a very. nice driving car for the time. I was so happy that they were small, looked good, and had minimal issues.
That interior was fantastic.. The steering wheel just sets it off. Leather seats. I like it.
Always wanted one of those
My mother owned a ‘79 Seville when I was in high school. And despite my height, I could drive the car although it wasn’t my favorite for long distances. Still it was comfortable and handled well for the period.
You mention the Chevy Nova bones of this car. When my mother bought this car, my stepfather was driving a ‘75 Buick Apollo which was a Nova clone. But the cars were very different in styling, handling, pretty much all important features. I wish we still had the Seville.
I LOVE these first ones too much.
Wow I just got a 76 Cadillac Seville a couple of weeks ago, the long search is over! 2 years of searching
These were (and are) an instant classic.
I always dug the simple and lean proportions of the 1st gen Seville. I also remember the body fit & finish being much better compared to other Cadillacs of the '70s. The bustle back model always looked like it had been kicked in the rear and had an awkwardly long front overhang. It may be the car people remember more today.
I always like that early Seville roof line and the wraparound rear tail lights.
The most beautiful generation of Seville in my opinion. What made this version so attractive was its understated elegance and clean lines. I felt the "bustle back" version was an unfortunate and ill-executed grab at copying an old Rolls or Princess profile. My neighbor at the time had a black 1978 Seville, as well as a 1979 Seville Opera Coupe in two tone brown and gold. I'd love to see a video about that model!
I've always liked the bustleback version more than most people. But the '76 and all the cars patterned after it also had some Rolls influence. From what I've read, in 1974, while his people were still arguing over how to do the roofline, Bill Mitchell called in from the UK and told them to make it look like a Silver Shadow.
Was this Cadillac a clone of the 1977 Chevrolet Impala/Caprice?
@@moonbeamskies3346Adam explains the underpinnings of the Seville at 1:26. Most US carmakers utilized an existing chassis or frame to make several classes of car. This saved them the expense of creating a unique one for a luxury model.
Cadillac built test Sevilles that looked like a full production model as far back as 72 or 73. Imagine running into one of those back then? Cadillac looked totally different then so to see one of those test cars had to be a shock to the person that saw one.
An international luxury car with very big success! 👍🏼🏁
I remember when I saw first this Seville here in Bavaria: it was extremely impressive! ✨
I remember when these came out. We vacationed in a fairly expensive NJ beach town where people could and did build 'beach mansions' as I called them (we by contrast rented 1/2 of a rancher duplex which then still existed). Along the more rarified streets you could find these proudly displayed in circular driveways. Everyone knew it was super expensive, much more than the regular Cadillac and I strongly suspect that in many instances they were purchased for that reason alone. Super successful marketing strategy. It was also the first American car priced somewhat on par with the small MB - a 300D in 75 stickered around 12,500, and if you were an American car buyer looking for Euro cachet but not wanting 20 second 0-60 and desiring traditional creature comforts, this Cadillac would have looked like a good deal. (We, however waited, and eventually took the plunge with the W123 300D a year or two later - still slow, but it started Dad on his German run which would last 40+ years). I still like these, they are at least handsome, at best elegant (or is that Elegante).
One of my other remembrance of the car was the economy meter it had two LED lights I think on the upper console green and red and as a l kid of course I rode in back and my grandfather had a notoriously heavy foot and the red light was usually on!
I think in 1981 we had a family reunion in Colorado and we all drove out there to an Uncle's place in the mountains and we followed my grandfather in our 80 240D Mercedes stick and on the Flatlands we had no problem keeping up with him but once we hit the mountains we were on our own!
I saw this car at a auto show in 1976. Fell in love with this car. Such a classy, beautiful car
I was working in the service department of a Chevrolet and Cadillac dealership when this vehicle first came out. When the first Seville was unloaded off the car transport trailer and driven into the service bay for inspection, we opened the hood and I blurted out that's a Oldsmobile engine not a Cadillac engine. I got my ass ripped by the service manager and was told not to mention that fact again.
Typical GM , too many divisions. At least it didn't have a Chevette engine.
Though the engine was assembled by Cadillac they bought the short block and heads from Oldsmobile and put it together at a Cadillac plant.
A truly defining example of a "love/hate relationship" between a car and its owner.
The Nova was a surprisingly good starting point proportionally, with the relatively wide track, particularly in front, and the front wheels set elegantly far from the cowl. And then the wheelbase stretch (in back), exquisite styling, and overall effort put into it really made the car special. The Versailles, by contrast, looked like a Granada with clearcoat paint and a continental kit.
The second year Versailles made an important adjustment to the roofline, making it more formal and upright than the Grenade. That helped it to visually separate itself, and arguably looked more upscale. But it was still a "me too" effort done on the cheap. The subsequent 1982 "Continental" looked much better.
@@MarinCipollina Unfortunately, that Continental was another resoundingly obvious copycat, of the fugly bustle-back Seville... I do agree with you that Ford improved the rear window treatment on the Versailles, but as I said long before desert modern, it was still obviously a Glorified Granada - yet I loved the Granada coupes!
@@marko7843 I really dislike the bustle-back design for the second generation Seville.. It's been compared to garbage trucks and a dog preparing to defecate.
My Uncle drove (daily!) a '70 Nova ("307"/automatic) for 14 years! This says VOLUMES of "American Malaise"! American cars were JUST as good as ANYTHING Japan produced (SADLY, I owned two AWFUL examples of the "quality")! The Japanese just BOUGHT the "best quality" in the day!
In a blink and you’ll miss it moment in the Mel Brooks movie “High Anxiety”….
This car made a cameo appearance….
Madeline Kahn was in the movie and at one point she drives up in a Seville and it has a rather ornate paint job.
When Madeline got out of the car, she was wearing an outfit that matched the Seville’s paint job!
Quite a sight gag in a hysterically funny movie.
0:29 I know the '76 had more teething issues than the later years and you couldn't get one without a vinyl roof unless you paid someone to take it off and fill in the seam that extended the Nova roof panel, but that egg-crate grill looks so better than the Superfly-esque fake-rolls look of the last 3 years. If I were looking to buy one of these, I'd definitely go for the '76.
You could get any Seville up to and including 1979 and simply trade out the grille for a 1975 version.
My aunt and uncle had a light blue 1976 Seville. I still remember how beautiful it was. It was very comfortable to ride in.
I worked for Southwest Leasing when the 1978 and 1979 Cadillac Seville models were produced. The buyers of these cars were as finicky as you might imagine, but they would offer a $50 tip when their cars were delivered back to their home or work after a service visit. We were a full-service leasing company, so we actually gave out loaners when we took our customers' cars in for service at our selected automotive vendors. The Elegante was the most desired Seville in1978. In 1979 the new Eldorado was released so the sales mix became 50/50.
My uncle was a Cadillac dealer. This was perhaps GM's finest offering. When the 1980 model arrived, sales declined by more than 45%. Many have claimed that the 1980 was a huge success. It was not. GM could has easily taken the 1976 body style into the 1980s. It could have had the run that the Lincoln Continental 1961-69 enjoyed. Both were timeless in style and appearance. My mother had a 1979 in triple black. It was a magnificent car. in 1981 she opted for an Eldorado. She was not a fan of the 1980 Seville styling. The Eldorado was beautiful too, but a bit of a problem child in its 1979-85 run. Thank you so much for this excellent segment.
As a teen my dad had a ‘79 Seville, triple yellow. Absolutely gorgeous! Anytime my car was in for service I would take his Seville to school, I felt like a king pulling into the parking lot with that!!! They were great cars.
My parents bought a '76 burgundy with plumb interior Seville. Of the three Sevilles they owned, it was my favorite. All three were reliable, well built, and made a statement. And, they were great on long trips.
Hi Adam, I truly believe this was certainly one of the most beautiful and most handsome Automobiles ever built. Absolutely Gorgeous Cadillac. They were every where when I was in High School. So Incredible. !!!
still one of my favorite cars. understated and balanced. and-- super easy to park-- especially on the narrow streets of Boston. great video as always.
What a great car!
This is still a pretty car to this day. Great proportions.
Personal views are, well, personal. But I cannot stand the Novas body dismorphia in any of its incarnations from 68 till 78. The RWD Seville, I just love. Everything about it is So Right. I love the Olds EFi 350 engine too. This was such a great car, with superb presence, deportment and detail.
Adam, If someone really wanted an Oldsmobile 350 V8 in 1976 they could have purchased a nicely equipped Delta 88 and a Cutlass for less than the cost of one Seville. 🤩
Obese whales
True. But in 1976 The olds was HUGE. And the Cutlass was still pretty large as well. The 88 was downsized in 1977 and the cutlass was downsized in 1978. So they were old designs on their way out. But the Seville was new
I really appreciate that you've been inserting pictures of contemporary models when you mention them, like the Eldorado and Taurus in this video. I've noticed it more in recent videos, and it really helps provide the comparison or contrast.
Keep up the awesome work. I can't explain why, but I've always been drawn to the big American sedans, and it's fun to watch your content.
My dad, God rest him, traded in his 1973 Jaguar XJ-6 for a 1976 Cadillac Seville. The Jaguar was nothing but trouble!
Starting with it's God-Damned 1936 Lucas electrical system.
@@misterwhipple2870 When the engine block cracked he traded it in for the Seville!
But classy in a way Cadillac has never been. The 6s were the good engine. The 12s a horror show.
@@viciouspoodle5543 What cracked me up was in the episode of Mad Men where the Brit tried to kill himself in his brand-new Jaguar with carbon monoxide, the frickin' thing would not START!!! So he hung himself instead! Take THAT, Top Gear!
@@rogersmith7396 Not that good if the engine blocked cracked after 2 years!
A nice summary of my second favorite Cadillac, Adam. These were a breath of fresh air when they appeared, and were very popular in the San Francisco Bay Area when new.
Which was your top favorite ?
@@MarinCipollina The downsized '77-'79 Cadillacs. A home run on all counts for Cadillac, especially after those previous barges.
@@DSP1968 Why not include the 1980? I'm curious because I had a 1980 Coupe de Ville with the 'd Elegance package. It was a wonderful Cadillac. Admittedly, after 1980, engines became problematic for Cadillacs for several years, but the 1980 still had the 6.0 Cadillac V8 engine.
@@MarinCipollina I don't care for the more upright roofline on the '80 and newer Coupes de Ville. Still nice cars, though.
@@DSP1968 It still looks GOOD though, and really pops as a real Cadillac. 1980 was kind of the end of the era for coupes, but Cadillac Fleetwood returned to rear wheel drive and a 5.7 liter V8, 1990 - 1992..Order with trailering package for increased power. I didn't much care for the bloated looking 1993 restyle. I like most everything Cadillac did from "new era" 1940 - 1992 or so for what I consider traditional real Cadillacs. They all had a certain look and posture that just really stood out. A single Cadillac is a parade by itself.
I absolutely love this style of GM cars. I've never had a Cadillac, but I've had an Impala, Caprice Classic Brougham, Buick Electra and Olds Delta 88. And I'm trying to figure out how to get another car in this body style. I want another B-Body, but I'd gladly take a similarly styled G-Body. I just love those boxy rear wheel drive cars
My grandfather had an early Seville other than some fuel injection problems and he did a lot of extended travel on behalf of Purdue University and he would get back to the airport after a long trip and the battery would be dead!
He really enjoyed the car and kept it until he passed away he was going to replace it in the early '80s but he absolutely hated the bustle back and he had Continentals in the past but they had bustel backs as well.
In my opinion the Bustle Back Seville was the UGLIEST of them all. Some of the other designs were boring. But the hump back was actually UGLY in my opinion
Beautiful car. What a radical change in design!
I had a 1978 and I loved it.
My dad had a ‘78 Seville Elegante in black and silver. What a beautiful car that was.
Being born in 1987 and a huge "classic" Cadillac fan, I never understood the appeal to them because they look just like the 80s Chevy Caprice, which was everywhere. I get it that one copied the other but still, the other Cadillac models of similar years had much more style and presence
Always loved this 1st Gen Seville. I wonder how they hold up mechanically. I loved what Mel Brooks did to the car in High Anxiety, with the YVL edition paint job. It was a hoot.
Thank you for the trips down memory lane.
Bishops Kirby 2.6 turns lock to lock recirculating ball steering, aka F body 70-1/2.
9:14 Great GM design putting the manual lock button literally right next to the power lock switch.
As WW Bland of Bland Cadillac of Houston Texas said - we will never have a Seville as good as the 76-79 again . He was correct. I always tried to point out to customers that the sombrero wheel covers were far more elegant than the Faux wire caps - I hated those. The 1976 was of course plagued by the faulty fuel lines that dissolved and caused more than one engine fire. The example you chose for this video is gorgeous - thanks for a really superb video.
I love that you're a Cadillac fanatic. I've always wanted to own any of the Cadillacs from between 1976 and 1988.
Love the video! The first generation sevilles looked great with a pretty ground breaking design for the time. Anyway I’d love to see a video on the 4.5 and 4.9 Cadillac V8’s, I have a 94’ Deville with the 4.9 and love it so any information on it and the 4.5 would be much appreciated!!! Keep up the great work!!
I thought by 1994 that De Ville had adopted the 4.6 liter Northstar.. Was that not the case?
My Dad had a '76, all blue. Wonderful car, nice size and very comfortable interior. Wish I had one today.
The Seville still looks nice all these years later. It looks clean and elegant. It has aged better than all the later Sevilles . And it hides it humble origins much better than the Lincoln Versailles. It doesn’t scream Nova. But the Versailles screamed Granada. And the Cadillac Cimmaron screamed Cavalier
The stiletto styled 1993 Seville STS has aged rather well in my opinion. It was the first Seville that outdid the original in terms of style.
@@MarinCipollina I think it’s a close second. But styling preference is a personal choice. However, I think we both agree that the hump back Seville hasn’t particularly aged that well😂
@@dmandman9 Oh, I just loathed those..They remind me of a dog preparing to defecate.
Handsome car and truly a design that predicted the future was coming soon. To me personally, I always thought it looked like the perfect Oldsmobile but didn’t have the shear size of a Cadillac.
God that is one gorgeous Cadillac! I’ve owned a few sevilles over the years. Great handling car and the olds 350 has alot of punch to it. Also the leather interior smelled amazing but the locks were problematic.
I have often thought that this is what the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow should have looked like, instead of a bowler hat on wheels
Maxx Cherry drove one in "Jackie Brown"...nuff said ! TY QT
What's fascinating is the 66 Coupe Deville in Reservoir Dogs in 1992 is the same car used in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in 2019.
Interesting that the picture of the Buick Skylark X car was taken in Holland. The license plate plus a typical Dutch row home in the background give it away. A few of these cars were sold in Europe because of their more manageable size and better fuel economy than traditional American ones. Incidentally, the Seville was sold in Europe too and tested by a few European automobile magazines. In general they liked the car and found it a bit better adapted to local traffic conditions.
My Dad’s buddy had a ‘76 in black with a red leather interior and wire wheels. That thing was very nice!!
8:19 That interior does look tight. I believe the bizarre, overlapping, split-frame chassis and long distance from the firewall to the front wheels, both inherited from the Camaro, conspired with GM's unfortunate placement of the catalytic converter right where the passenger's feet used to go, to make the Seville much less space efficient than its bustleback replacement. The small interior was less of a concern for many of the women, uncomfortable with the size of the bigger models, who bough a good portion of these cars, but it must not have endeared the model to their husbands, who were stuck in that cramped passenger's seat.
I had one back in the ''90's...a sweet ride...I miss that car!!😎😎😎😎
Beautiful car, magnificently proportioned.
Spent a lot of time in a diesel Seville when I was young. Riding around with my grandpa. It had a CB in it. Man what I wouldn't give to take another ride with him....
This is one of my favorite caddies.
The radio knobs had a allen screw to hold it onto the shaft sticking out. I was able to order these and put them into my car. What a classy looking upgrade!
Adam, always enjoy your shows, AND: you know: "CADILLAC" is my favorite! > Real "Cadillac's..........'76 and BEFORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tired R Us of Nova-Seville naysayers. Adam, you tell the real story and back it up with gratifying expertise. The facts speak for themselves in your post. Congratulations!
Cadillac resale value is poor. Expensive maintenance just because its a Cadillac.
This Handsomely Athletic, while still Stately Cadillac frightening Ford so much, they panicked and pulled a " _Cimarron_ " with the Versailles.
I do like these although have never owned one. I have owned an 81 model and now have an 83 Elegante.
Beautiful car! I was in college then, one of the physicians with whom I worked bought that first year. Unfortunately they started out with computer problems; he'd be driving along in Houston traffic and the thing would just quit and have to be towed. After a few times of that he traded it back on an enormous powder-blue Eldorado...still sad to me that Lincoln didn't make the same effort with their Versailles.
Adam , very good as usual. Please make a video about the Ford LTD 4th generation! Thank you very much!
Always wondered how GM styling missed the fact that it was, my opinion, not the formal roof look that made this car so attractive but rather the long dash to axle. The dash to axle length on this car recalls the "classics" that were so vogue in the mid/late 70's. Love the bustle-back for it's uniqueness but it simply wasn't the right style (presence?) to replace this elegant machine.
From 1973 to 1978 I was a gopher at Buick and Ford dealerships while in high school and college. These were the best driving American cars on the used car lots.
My uncle had the same exact caddy in the 80s. It rode real smooth on the highway.
Back in 1978, I worked for a wholesale car dealer. He would by one and two year old Cadillacs and Lincolns at Columbus Auto Auction. Role back the odometers, and me and 5 or six other friends drove them to Long Beach Cal. and they would sell much higher there. I got to drive a 78 Seville out there a couple times, and it was the best handling, and most responsive out of all
the other Caddys and Lincoln's that I drove out there.
I was selling new Cadillacs in San Diego when the Seville first debuted. The first few hundred were all the same. (Silver Color, silver vinyl roof, grey leather and options) Nearly every one we first sold came back on the "hook" because there was a fuel injection problem. Once the glitch was fixed, they were terrific cars.
Beautiful car..... classy color on that one.
I owned two a 76 and a 77 both great cars with features that were later incorporated in other GM cars of the time . Yes it was pleasure to drive.
Great video, Adam. I still think this car's design is stunning, especially the profile. My fave would be a silver with wires or the black over silver Elegante.
Beautifully classic design.
Actually really liked this when I first saw it back in college.
I loved that vehicle when it came out and still do!!!
Those things were so beautiful in their day. They're still beautiful now.
The similarity of the Seville's rear end to that of the 1980-85 Delta 88 is striking.
I was thinking Olds too when he showed the rear quarter view.
I had a 76, 78,79. 76 was definitely my favorite.