And they were in a recession in 82', I was almost thinking he was going to say the rich buy this car just to show all the poor idiots who didn't have recession proof jobs how bad off they really are. Reaganomics kicking into high gear, with the rich getting richer (in a rescission mind you) and the poor just staying poor.
@@marcusdamberger Nothing has changed. The richest people in the world have actually grown their wealth due to the pandemic, while so many people have lost their jobs. The rich will always have the upper hand.
No shit. It's like he was chugging shots and getting ready to say, "here, buy this shitty built symbol of opulence to celebrate all the working class you screwed over you prick."
My parents had a Seville and several times someone would slam the trunk on the auto pull down, breaking it. My father would get so annoyed no one was allowed to close the trunk but him!
@@richsimon7838 No one paid attention to that trunk pull down. Only person that would remember to be gentle to the trunk on my mom's Sedan DeVille was me and my dad, and he too would be so annoyed when some bag boy etc would slam it fearing it would break it.
I never understood the point of that feature. It didn't make closing the trunk easier; gravity did most of the work for that. If anything, it made it more difficult because you had to do it slowly and gently. What the hell am I missing here?
@@frankburns8871 If you find what you are missing let me know because my grandfather had one on a Cadillac and yes you had to slam it but only so hard. My guess is like many GM things at the time the engineers wanted to do something but the tech was not there yet.
I would imagine if weight isn't a concern you can make it just about silent. This car wasn't huge, had an engine that wasn't particularly heavy, and it was 3650, they must have packed a lot of insulation into the design.
In 1985 I almost bought the final year of this car. Instead, I went with all new design in a smaller Cadillac Seville for 1986. I believe I drove that car till 1992. Today at 99 , I own new Jeep Renegade and 2020 Chevrolet Equinox. I haven't drove a Cadillac, since 2000. I do own a pre-owned 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. It rides very well. Thank you
My Dad had a 1987 Sedan De Ville. As far as I recall it was a good car. We put over 200,000 miles on it which was good for the day. Once my Dad got an Acura it was all over. We had all Japanese cars after that
I've never heard JD less sound less impressed with a car, and he always manages to have a good attitude about even the lowliest of cars. I had a later Cadillac with that 4.1 liter, and I can tell you, it was a dog. I can only imagine the earlier versions were even worse. Add in that cheap fake wood interior and the horrible fit and finish...and that price! That's surely about 70-80 grand in today's dollars. Insane. Edit: I still like the way it looks, though, and there's no denying it had that smooth, quiet, plush Caddy feel. But those negatives far outweigh the positives, and again--$27K in 1982, you just can't have cheapness abound like that everywhere else, or even anywhere else.
JD was montone for a lot of the early reviews, especially for cars that were "meh" or worse. It started with the later 80s and into the 90s, but he definitely raised an octave or two selling the cars Motorweek was promoting.
@@badbooking3221 Good point, he was kinda monotone in the Paleolithic era. The man's a legend, here's to many more years. But it wasn't just monotone indifference, he seemed to have a decidedly derisive intonation talking about this car, and deservedly so, imho. But maybe I'm just biased based on my experience with an '86 Caddy with that godawful engine, and hearing things that aren't there. I don't think so, though.
Frank, what did you have a 4.1 in, a Fleetwood? Even though I'm a Ford guy, I remember that Aluminum Cadillac engine was highly respected, but it was always installed in cars that were still too big. In a Buick Regal A-body you probably would have liked the performance.
It's basically a product of its time. It's amazing this is now going on a 40-year-old car, and that's something you'd have to consider. It appealed to traditional Cadillac buyers. As a kid, I do remember this car making a big splash. LOL, I am not surprised the engine was a dog at the nadir of USA car performance due to a combination of fuel economy and air quality regulations. In retrospect, I'd be more enthusiastic about the Seville if it was rear-wheel drive, but of course that would drop performance even more! The fake wood was typical of American cars even in that price class. Off hand, I think you'd have to go back to the 1960's to get an American luxury car with genuine wood. And that was veneer! Not exactly Jaguar or Rolls-Royce dashboards.
I've always loved this Seville's design. The build quality of the '80s was shameful. But today it would make an awesome classic to restore and upgrade.
I recently purchased a restored 83 Seville--about 80% restored. I only use it on Nantucket Island. The car is awesome and my 37 yr old daughter, not a car person, loves going on rides we me.
Build quality was hit or miss -- and I'm convinced that Motorweek back then got review cars at the end of their review cycle. Also if you bought this car, the dealer was fixing any issues before you'd take delivery - same as today. The Japanese and Germans did have better build quality than the lazy American union workers, but that started to change when car makers started building cars in the south where the workers aren't so inherently lazy.
Interesting comment. Honestly, I like it from the perspective of first seeing them as a 9 year old in 1980. The original certainly received lots of accolades for its size and styling, but I was too young to be reading car magazines in 1975. I think what made its styling seem common was that GM started using this design language on cars like the 1980 Cutlass four door, Buick Regal sedan, '78 Malibu, thus making it that much less special. That being said, my perception is that the first generation Seville is a very well-built, durable vehicle because I still see the occasional example on the road or for sale in classifieds. These examples that I see are not trailer-queen condition, but in remarkable shape for a 45-plus-year-old car. Furthermore, the performance hasn't been strangled like the second generation models, and it has the weight balance of rear-wheel drive.
I was 8 years old when these came out, and I still remember marveling at how opulent they looked. While the HT-4100 proved to be a maintenance nightmare, all of the electronics and gadgetry the Seville and Eldorado came with seemed incredibly State-of-the-art. Fun to watch the car being driven along Motor Week’s test track. These cars had almost zero braking dive when you had to stop hard, nor did the rear end crouch down when you stomped on the gas - yet the ride was so heavy, soft, and controlled. It drove like a big car, yet the handling was so much more well-mannered than the same generation DeVille. The Seville and Eldorado were truly a new generation of Cadillac, and yet for all their problems, I still love them.
For the era they really were the best GM and America could offer. I loved my Father's 83 Coupe Deville. It was a gorgeous car that still looks good today. Back than if you drove a new Cadillac, or a Cadillac in general you made it.
My sweet mother, died just last year and I can still remember that she told me back then that this was her dream car. My dad owned a gold Cadillac Fleetwood, wow time flies..love this video.👍
My friend had one of these beautiful automobiles in pristine condition. That caddy was something else. Smooth as silk and beautiful. I remember cruising in it then I got into his Toyota Corolla and the Corolla looked, drove, and felt like an electric bumper car in an amusement park. I miss those old beautiful automobiles.
Yes, generally speaking cars have gotten cheaper over time. In 1993 a Camry was $20,000. Today you can still get a Corolla, a very similar (better) car for $20,000.
@@sutherlandA1 So true! However, Detroit was having a heck of a time during that era... I worked in the industry from the late-'70's through to the early-'90's. American automobile manufacturers went from utilizing engineers who were trained in the 1950's-'60's for the express purpose of engineering massive, floating personal luxury 'barges' then, *BOOM* literally everything changed! These very same antiquated engineers, who had no clue how to build smaller, higher-quality cars, were asked to do just that. Then, good ole 'Uncle Sam', the U.S. Govt. placed nearly impossible demands upon them. Also, the invasion of very well built econobox Japanese automobiles, and of course the Germans, who almost always had a high build quality, were creating less austere, less Teutonic, and ever more American-friendly cars. Those factors, coupled with unions and upper-management, both of which allowed an unnecessary hostility between one another; hostility which resulted in lower build quality and really hideous looking cars. It took Detroit a while to figure it all out... But, in time, IMO they succeeded! God Bless, my Comment Section friend. 😊
@@sutherlandA1 Americans love fake wood. I have seen old fake wood on cars before where you can see the dot pattern for the wood grain when they manufactured it. Always thought that was funny.
The Imperial is the real luxury king of this era. I have my Grandpa's '81 Imperial and its something to behold. All the same digital gauges and trip computer, fuel injected, pillow soft everything, but with a proper RWD layout and a reliable pig iron 318 under the hood.
Thing is they made a 170hp version with multiport fuel injection a few years later for the Allante. That would have felt "adequate" for the day in a heavier Seville or Deville. Not fast, but you could at least pass that spiky haired punk in a rusty Chevette with no problem.
I was working at a large all GM dealer row at the time. Styling wise I thought the bustle trunk was a travesty, but they seemed to sell well. No joke, the ones with the diesel could get 30 mpg but were pathetically slow and had some avoidable problems
Thank you for bringing this review to You Tube! It is appreciated to see this Cadillac Seville. Thank you for sharing more GM footage. Thank you for the past weeks of the Motorweek season marathons. I watched every week. I saw footage I had never seen before. Thank you again and I hope to see more old GM and Lincoln footage.
It's a love it or hate it polarizing design. It certainly is different compared to many cars of that era. Since it was a sales success, I guess all that mattered (certainly for GM) is that enough wealthy people voted with their money. That being said, that styling feature was abandoned for the replacement Seville.
Its a georgous car with a horrible engine. I love this car even though its a mechanicle nightmare. People always ask about it when im out and about. This car will be a future classic and will be worth alot since most of them were sent to the scrap yard.
@Steve Silvas : I guess you didn't learn much in getting your certification. These engines were Aluminum block with Iron Heads and Iron wet sleeves for cylinders. The problem was different rates of heat expansion of 2 different metals in contact with each other would tear the headgaskets and cause internal coolant leaks. Cadillac tried to remedy this problem by mandating the use of stopleak in the cooling system, but the results were uneven to say the least.
They never learned from their mistakes after the 4.1 the NorthStar came along and really killed Cadillac, they were almost impossible to get to 80k miles without warping the heads from overheating.
@@willbill808 : No Toyota never attempted such a design. Iron heads atop an Aluminum block with Cast Iron cylinders was never attempted by Toyota. Every automaker has had successful results with Aluminum heads on an Iron Block. The first GM Vortec V8's and Corvette LT1's were made that way. Cadillac HT engine design seems inspired from Chevy's Vega 2300 engine which was flawed.
Rudolph Guarnacci I always felt like the first gen looked like a hodgepodge of different cars, as if it were a Cadillac Chevrolet Buick Oldsmobile Seville. Though the 2nd gen is kinda funny looking I find it a bit more to my taste.
I always liked the unique funky bustleback trunk design of this car. I remember back in 85, I saw a new gorgeous black one in a parking lot. I wanted it.
@Onion Head Someone whom I used to call a friend works for Ford and apparently he doesn't give a shit about doing a great job, either, because he knows he can't get fired.
Nope - average new car price in 1982 = $9,370. Average new car price today = $38,000. It's more like $109,000 in today's money. Which is on par with today's top-line Cadillac CT6 V8.
So here's a question, if you didn't notice this gap at the dealer and the next day after you bought it, and showed it to the dealer, would they take it back or fix the gap? The way the door was hung, I assume that is why this gap is so huge? I assume it's not because the metal stamping is so imprecise on a new model when they weld the parts together..
It’s a Caddy. What u expect? They had that in the 70s. The European cars didn’t offer that. As a matter of fact the car mags used to ding Cadillac for that and that they prefer analogs. Wow, right 😂
My dad brought three of these home to compare what color scheme he wanted. He finally decided on the non grey metallic side with the navy metallic top. I didn't care for the back at first but it grew on me. I remember he pulled it out of the garage one Saturday and I gave the top navy area a waxing. It came out so... beautiful. That might have been the day that the back trunk lid started to agree with me. I think it was the best riding car that my dad ever owned. What a real classy and sexy grey leather interior. Unfortunately... what left a HUGE sour taste in my dad's mouth was that 4100 junk of an engine.
My mother had a Caddy with that HT4100 engine. It was a total hunk of junk and ended up blowing a head gasket and destroying itself with about 80,000 miles. Beautiful car, but it was made for the junkyard.
My mother had this model, and I absolutely loved it. Drove great...and, as Motor Week noted, it was super quiet inside. I wish my dad had never sold it. I would drive it today! Research tells me, however, that the engine turned out -- over the long haul -- to be a disaster. We didn't have any big problems, but we also owned it less than five years and kept the miles low...
I am always convinced that a Cadillac Seville from this time frame that is in the video looks like someone used a giant sword (most likely, the Buster Sword from Cloud Strife or the Mariglenn Blade from Jaster Rogue) and just chopped off a big portion of the rear of the Cadillac and only part of the metal and lights were recovered, so they just did their best to cover up the problem and you have a 1982 Cadillac Seville.
We were happy just to have any new cars! Just a few years earlier gas lines were the new 1/4 mile lol. Cal-look Bugs and mini pickups were the quickest cars around! American cars were just comfy quiet cruisers with AC and decent FM stereos, perfect for smoking a fatty.
It's a beautiful car to enjoy driving , like a Limousine ,... I have an '84 seville with 4100 ht and I install a 368 with some modifications , worked beautifully .
I remember when my parents had this car. They hated it because is was breaking down constantly and The was always an issue with the fuel line. My mom would break down and my grandad would show up in his little Ford Mavericks and push her to Cadillac dealership. She was so happy to het rid of it.
At the time, I didn't like this "ELEGANTE" version, with the sloping trunk, though I did think it was brave of Cadillac to try out this variation on the original style. But in this video, I realised this only goes to show How uncompromising, and CONFIDENT Cadillac were in bringing out a model that is so DIFFERENT at both ends! Usually, like with the original version, both ends match, because they are BOTH square. But they knew what they were doing, even if it's taken me 40 years to figure this out! Both versions are my FAVOURITE American cars of all time! My favourite British car of all time, also came out at the same sort of time - the Rolls-Royce SILVER SPIRIT. It is better than any other Rolls-Royce up to then, because it combined both English elegance and American attention to detail. Unlike cars today which seek to keep up with automotive fashions by copying each other's best ideas, in those days, manufacturers were proud to be different and more recognisable!
@@basshead. Its sad because a Cadillac from 20 years earlier was much better built, better materials inside(ie real wood, temp and oil pressure gauges), and was significantly faster.
Estee' Lauder had an air conditioner sticking out of a window of her Palm Beach home. The Kennedy home In Palm Beach didn't get air conditioning until a few years ago.
I had a friend who bought one of these brand new in 1984 when he was 47 years old. He said that it was comfortable and quiet but it did have some things that needed to be corrected. One thing was the trunk lid was off, he said that it was actually crooked and the gaps weren't even. He didn't take it to the dealer to have it fixed, instead taking it to a body shop he was friends with and it was corrected. Three or four years later it was totaled in a collision, he ended up hitting a Lincoln salesman and the salesman got him a lease on a continental for around $130 a month or so.
I remember the 1st time I saw these on a huge turntable in the center of the showroom floor. Penske Cadillac Palo Alto, Ca. They were beautiful in person. Only the upper crust of society had these in their garages.
Every single Seville I parked at my parking lot all through the 1980's had defective brakes, they went all the way to the floor,I was way more impressed with the Buick Riviera and Lincoln Town car they were far better in every way!
A friend bought one new and said the ride was smooth, however, he said it had a few things off when it came to the body. He knew a body shop owner who took care of the issues instead of taking it to the dealer. The trunk lid was off and the body shop adjusted it to get it to match the gaps.
I saw one at a gas station parked in the back, it was beat missing wheel covers black canvas roof riped off like a soup can cover. Headliner destroyed. These are very rear in 2022 the pre 1993 broughams and even the once very common early 90s sedan devilles that i use to see every time i went out are scarce now. Surprisingly i still see the 79 to 85 eldos in my area, not alot but a few. The 92 and below broughams have vanished i never see them anymore.
I live in Italy and own several cars including a Ferrari and two Mercedes. That said, as an expat I have always loved Cadillacs and always rent one when I come back home (these days usually the XTS). I remember the 4.1 in the Deville and it was slowwww.... and the panel gaps and fake wood!! Ugh. But I guess cars are like women, if you love them you put up with their faults.
The strong degree of disapproval in the tone of this review really surprised me. Hadn't realized how much Mr. Davis disliked Cadillacs at the time...or their buyers. I'll grant that this car was hilariously overpriced for the quality and performance, but this was quite unexpected.
The pulldown serves an actual function it holds the trunk down to reduce noise. It allows it to fit tighter cutting rattle of the trunk lid and license plate. To do so with a traditional latch would require an extremely hard slam were it even possible. This is usually as here instead explained as soft close or some other daft interpretation.
I had a '83 Seville, Bryia Brown "Bussel back" , she was a sweet ride. I had put 116,000 on her before some idiot crashed into her one night. I might still have had her. Needless to say I am on my 8th Caddy. I'm drivin a 2013 CTS wagon right now and she's my daily runner. Another sweet ride
That 27 on the highway is nice😁 More economical and comfortable than the junk on the road now, and much quieter and smoother. These cars were not fast or quick, but the older folks back then drove slowly and wanted quiet and comfort
Neighbor owned a '82 Coupe deVille in the late 80s with that same engine... engine blew a head gasket at only 37,000 miles. Car was in well-maintained and stunning condition otherwise.
I've always liked these. They do drive very nice and are very comfortable cars. The HT4100 engine was really the issue with these. They were pretty slow but did get very decent gas mileage and were better than the diesel engine version. Those were even slower and usually fell apart before 40k miles.
I always thought this was the worst of Cadillac's lineup at the time, and still feel the same way! The "hump" didn't make it classy, but actually screams that some of the car is missing! The model before this one actually looked better! It's taken Caddy a while to figure it out, but now you can put the CTS and CT6 up against anything and come out with your head up!
My first car was a 79 Seville. Beautiful car with a 350 olds engine from factory, rear wheel drive and 4 wheel disc brakes. Awesome car and GM totally destroyed the Seville with this model!
Авто/Мото
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“A motorized trunk latch removes the need to bang the lid down”
*bangs the lid down*
Yasss!!! I was just going to comment that!
No car review mocks the rich more than this one.
And they were in a recession in 82', I was almost thinking he was going to say the rich buy this car just to show all the poor idiots who didn't have recession proof jobs how bad off they really are. Reaganomics kicking into high gear, with the rich getting richer (in a rescission mind you) and the poor just staying poor.
@@marcusdamberger Nothing has changed. The richest people in the world have actually grown their wealth due to the pandemic, while so many people have lost their jobs. The rich will always have the upper hand.
@@jaxandmore440 Always!!
No shit. It's like he was chugging shots and getting ready to say, "here, buy this shitty built symbol of opulence to celebrate all the working class you screwed over you prick."
@@marcusdamberger Bidin is making that look like a cakewalk.
As he SLAMS the trunk closed.
HAH!! Yeah, he should have read the owner's manual first (or took instruction from someone who had!)
My parents had a Seville and several times someone would slam the trunk on the auto pull down, breaking it. My father would get so annoyed no one was allowed to close the trunk but him!
@@richsimon7838 No one paid attention to that trunk pull down. Only person that would remember to be gentle to the trunk on my mom's Sedan DeVille was me and my dad, and he too would be so annoyed when some bag boy etc would slam it fearing it would break it.
I never understood the point of that feature. It didn't make closing the trunk easier; gravity did most of the work for that. If anything, it made it more difficult because you had to do it slowly and gently. What the hell am I missing here?
@@frankburns8871 If you find what you are missing let me know because my grandfather had one on a Cadillac and yes you had to slam it but only so hard. My guess is like many GM things at the time the engineers wanted to do something but the tech was not there yet.
This brings a tear to any Pimp's eye.
lmaoo
Black Guy Biggest Dream Is To Own A Big Car And A White Women.
"The back end wanted to swing wide, but was easily controlled."
*cone goes flying*
Yeah, pretty strange.
Maybe for a seasoned pro
😂
🤣🤣
As nimble as a school bus with a flat tire
My dad has a 1984 Diesel Seville , the car engine was so loud I could hear my dad coming home from a block away ....
That could be a good thing, depending on your dad's personality, and what you were up to!
Lol amazing!
At least you had a two block warning to stop doing what you weren't supposed to be doing!🤣
Which gave you time to hide the stash.
The one stat that is still competitive today is the 64db sound level - remarkable even today.
I would imagine if weight isn't a concern you can make it just about silent. This car wasn't huge, had an engine that wasn't particularly heavy, and it was 3650, they must have packed a lot of insulation into the design.
No, today's measurement is at 70mph.
The average Lexus is around 58 decibels at 55
Tires makes a huge difference. The low profile rock hard tires that are fitted to most cars today are no comparison to a tire with a proper sidewall.
@@mvcharisma2968 That affects ride quality more than sound characteristics.
He still slammed the truck anyway!
You had to give them a sort of slam, then the motor pulled it tight. You could not just "touch" it like today
@@realazduffman Never had to slam any of the Old cadillacs I had like the guy in the video did
In 1985 I almost bought the final year of this car. Instead, I went with all new design in a smaller Cadillac Seville for 1986. I believe I drove that car till 1992. Today at 99 , I own new Jeep Renegade and 2020 Chevrolet Equinox. I haven't drove a Cadillac, since 2000.
I do own a pre-owned 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. It rides very well. Thank you
You are welcome.
My Dad had a 1987 Sedan De Ville. As far as I recall it was a good car. We put over 200,000 miles on it which was good for the day. Once my Dad got an Acura it was all over. We had all Japanese cars after that
You're awesome. Keep on pushing.
Why, may I ask, at 99 do you own two new cars and a fifteen year old Malibu?
I want to be buying cars at 99 and commenting on RUclips videos too. Good for you, Mr. Hahn.
I've never heard JD less sound less impressed with a car, and he always manages to have a good attitude about even the lowliest of cars. I had a later Cadillac with that 4.1 liter, and I can tell you, it was a dog. I can only imagine the earlier versions were even worse. Add in that cheap fake wood interior and the horrible fit and finish...and that price! That's surely about 70-80 grand in today's dollars. Insane.
Edit: I still like the way it looks, though, and there's no denying it had that smooth, quiet, plush Caddy feel. But those negatives far outweigh the positives, and again--$27K in 1982, you just can't have cheapness abound like that everywhere else, or even anywhere else.
JD was montone for a lot of the early reviews, especially for cars that were "meh" or worse. It started with the later 80s and into the 90s, but he definitely raised an octave or two selling the cars Motorweek was promoting.
@@badbooking3221 Good point, he was kinda monotone in the Paleolithic era. The man's a legend, here's to many more years. But it wasn't just monotone indifference, he seemed to have a decidedly derisive intonation talking about this car, and deservedly so, imho. But maybe I'm just biased based on my experience with an '86 Caddy with that godawful engine, and hearing things that aren't there. I don't think so, though.
Bad Booking Also it was a steaming piece of crap
Frank, what did you have a 4.1 in, a Fleetwood? Even though I'm a Ford guy, I remember that Aluminum Cadillac engine was highly respected, but it was always installed in cars that were still too big. In a Buick Regal A-body you probably would have liked the performance.
It's basically a product of its time. It's amazing this is now going on a 40-year-old car, and that's something you'd have to consider. It appealed to traditional Cadillac buyers. As a kid, I do remember this car making a big splash. LOL, I am not surprised the engine was a dog at the nadir of USA car performance due to a combination of fuel economy and air quality regulations. In retrospect, I'd be more enthusiastic about the Seville if it was rear-wheel drive, but of course that would drop performance even more! The fake wood was typical of American cars even in that price class. Off hand, I think you'd have to go back to the 1960's to get an American luxury car with genuine wood. And that was veneer! Not exactly Jaguar or Rolls-Royce dashboards.
I've always loved this Seville's design. The build quality of the '80s was shameful. But today it would make an awesome classic to restore and upgrade.
I recently purchased a restored 83 Seville--about 80% restored. I only use it on Nantucket Island. The car is awesome and my 37 yr old daughter, not a car person, loves going on rides we me.
it looks like shit.
No, it wouldn't
Imo, the 76-79 Sevilles were better.
Build quality was hit or miss -- and I'm convinced that Motorweek back then got review cars at the end of their review cycle. Also if you bought this car, the dealer was fixing any issues before you'd take delivery - same as today. The Japanese and Germans did have better build quality than the lazy American union workers, but that started to change when car makers started building cars in the south where the workers aren't so inherently lazy.
I thought the guy at the start was smelling the car for a second 😂
I thought he was kissing
@@crouchb15 same
5:19 he was checking the paint quality.
He was saying “would ya just look at that!? Sometimes you just gotta look at it!”
That's Craig Singhaus, if you are curious.
I was never a fan of the bustle back version of the Seville. To me, the original design was far more elegant and understated.
I agree brotha.
Interesting comment. Honestly, I like it from the perspective of first seeing them as a 9 year old in 1980. The original certainly received lots of accolades for its size and styling, but I was too young to be reading car magazines in 1975. I think what made its styling seem common was that GM started using this design language on cars like the 1980 Cutlass four door, Buick Regal sedan, '78 Malibu, thus making it that much less special. That being said, my perception is that the first generation Seville is a very well-built, durable vehicle because I still see the occasional example on the road or for sale in classifieds. These examples that I see are not trailer-queen condition, but in remarkable shape for a 45-plus-year-old car. Furthermore, the performance hasn't been strangled like the second generation models, and it has the weight balance of rear-wheel drive.
Yeah late 70s and 80s Cadillac were disturbingly ugly
@@roddydykes7053 I disagree
You and I are on the same page.
Love that they actually got someone to dress up as a chauffeur for this. Talk about commitment 😂
I was 8 years old when these came out, and I still remember marveling at how opulent they looked. While the HT-4100 proved to be a maintenance nightmare, all of the electronics and gadgetry the Seville and Eldorado came with seemed incredibly State-of-the-art. Fun to watch the car being driven along Motor Week’s test track. These cars had almost zero braking dive when you had to stop hard, nor did the rear end crouch down when you stomped on the gas - yet the ride was so heavy, soft, and controlled. It drove like a big car, yet the handling was so much more well-mannered than the same generation DeVille. The Seville and Eldorado were truly a new generation of Cadillac, and yet for all their problems, I still love them.
For the era they really were the best GM and America could offer. I loved my Father's 83 Coupe Deville. It was a gorgeous car that still looks good today. Back than if you drove a new Cadillac, or a Cadillac in general you made it.
Me too.
Bustleback Caddy
My sweet mother, died just last year and I can still remember that she told me back then that this was her dream car.
My dad owned a gold Cadillac Fleetwood, wow time flies..love this video.👍
Awwww
👼
My friend had one of these beautiful automobiles in pristine condition. That caddy was something else. Smooth as silk and beautiful. I remember cruising in it then I got into his Toyota Corolla and the Corolla looked, drove, and felt like an electric bumper car in an amusement park. I miss those old beautiful automobiles.
*That $27,000 1982 Cadillac Seville (Adjusted for inflation) would cost $71,735.78 in 2020 dollars!* 👀
And I would expect real wood on the dash for the money, along with decent build quality
Yes, generally speaking cars have gotten cheaper over time. In 1993 a Camry was $20,000. Today you can still get a Corolla, a very similar (better) car for $20,000.
@@sutherlandA1 So true! However, Detroit was having a heck of a time during that era... I worked in the industry from the late-'70's through to the early-'90's. American automobile manufacturers went from utilizing engineers who were trained in the 1950's-'60's for the express purpose of engineering massive, floating personal luxury 'barges' then, *BOOM* literally everything changed! These very same antiquated engineers, who had no clue how to build smaller, higher-quality cars, were asked to do just that. Then, good ole 'Uncle Sam', the U.S. Govt. placed nearly impossible demands upon them. Also, the invasion of very well built econobox Japanese automobiles, and of course the Germans, who almost always had a high build quality, were creating less austere, less Teutonic, and ever more American-friendly cars. Those factors, coupled with unions and upper-management, both of which allowed an unnecessary hostility between one another; hostility which resulted in lower build quality and really hideous looking cars. It took Detroit a while to figure it all out... But, in time, IMO they succeeded! God Bless, my Comment Section friend. 😊
And, just think in 1982 you could finance it for a low, low 15-16% APR! lol
@@sutherlandA1 Americans love fake wood. I have seen old fake wood on cars before where you can see the dot pattern for the wood grain when they manufactured it. Always thought that was funny.
The Imperial is the real luxury king of this era. I have my Grandpa's '81 Imperial and its something to behold. All the same digital gauges and trip computer, fuel injected, pillow soft everything, but with a proper RWD layout and a reliable pig iron 318 under the hood.
I didn't know that 4.1L engine was such a weakling 135hp LoL
@@bondedstars hell, the 1983 Toyota 4A-GE had 128 HP in JP spec, and it was only a 1.6 4 cylinder ! The later supercharged models made 140 HP
4 years later the Fiero 2.8L V6 would be 140 HP in a much lighter car...
Thing is they made a 170hp version with multiport fuel injection a few years later for the Allante. That would have felt "adequate" for the day in a heavier Seville or Deville. Not fast, but you could at least pass that spiky haired punk in a rusty Chevette with no problem.
I'm hoping the torque numbers were higher. 82 was still pretty dark for American automakers when it came to performance.
The mercedes 380sl made 155 hp and cost 2 times more
good thing i got one of these in 164 scale hotwheels 💯✌🏾
Yes I have the same version. It saved me a lot more money in gasoline at one sixty four scale
I was working at a large all GM dealer row at the time. Styling wise I thought the bustle trunk was a travesty, but they seemed to sell well. No joke, the ones with the diesel could get 30 mpg but were pathetically slow and had some avoidable problems
Thank you for bringing this review to You Tube! It is appreciated to see this Cadillac Seville. Thank you for sharing more GM footage. Thank you for the past weeks of the Motorweek season marathons. I watched every week. I saw footage I had never seen before. Thank you again and I hope to see more old GM and Lincoln footage.
The diesel version lol
The back end of that thing looks like it’s a animal doing a number 2.......
It was MEANT to emulate old style Rolls Royce sedans. How successful it was is in the eye of the beholder. Lol
I thought it looked like your mom too
Terry Orcutt squint really hard ...and forget to put on glasses might help?
It's a love it or hate it polarizing design. It certainly is different compared to many cars of that era. Since it was a sales success, I guess all that mattered (certainly for GM) is that enough wealthy people voted with their money. That being said, that styling feature was abandoned for the replacement Seville.
Its a georgous car with a horrible engine. I love this car even though its a mechanicle nightmare. People always ask about it when im out and about. This car will be a future classic and will be worth alot since most of them were sent to the scrap yard.
Future iterations were fantastic engines but that 4.1 was JUNK!
@Steve Silvas : I guess you didn't learn much in getting your certification. These engines were Aluminum block with Iron Heads and Iron wet sleeves for cylinders. The problem was different rates of heat expansion of 2 different metals in contact with each other would tear the headgaskets and cause internal coolant leaks. Cadillac tried to remedy this problem by mandating the use of stopleak in the cooling system, but the results were uneven to say the least.
They never learned from their mistakes after the 4.1 the NorthStar came along and really killed Cadillac, they were almost impossible to get to 80k miles without warping the heads from overheating.
Bucky Rodgerdodger to be fair, even Toyota uses iron blocks/Al heads for their truck motors. But they knew how to bond the two...
@@willbill808 : No Toyota never attempted such a design. Iron heads atop an Aluminum block with Cast Iron cylinders was never attempted by Toyota. Every automaker has had successful results with Aluminum heads on an Iron Block. The first GM Vortec V8's and Corvette LT1's were made that way. Cadillac HT engine design seems inspired from Chevy's Vega 2300 engine which was flawed.
Agreed the 4.5 and 4.9 were amazing engines.
I thought that car was so beautiful back then and would buy one in mint condition today.
We collect them now for cheap. They're everywhere, check the Cadillac sales forums online.
I liked the gen before better. Kinda boxy, squarish. Never liked this back
Rudolph Guarnacci I always felt like the first gen looked like a hodgepodge of different cars, as if it were a Cadillac Chevrolet Buick Oldsmobile Seville. Though the 2nd gen is kinda funny looking I find it a bit more to my taste.
@@e.f.clarke2041
Yes, that's true.
Same.
I always liked the unique funky bustleback trunk design of this car. I remember back in 85, I saw a new gorgeous black one in a parking lot. I wanted it.
Thanks for the early 80s upload! Some of my favorite reviews in this period.
Yes! Love the early 80s reviews!
$27k was about $72k in 1982... for a car with a faux wood interior and a humpback. GM must have made a killing on these.
glory days of unionized autoworkers making inflation adjustment amount of 60k/year for plugging in lightbulbs on the assembly line.
@Onion Head Someone whom I used to call a friend works for Ford and apparently he doesn't give a shit about doing a great job, either, because he knows he can't get fired.
Nope - average new car price in 1982 = $9,370. Average new car price today = $38,000. It's more like $109,000 in today's money. Which is on par with today's top-line Cadillac CT6 V8.
In the 80's and 90's this was called the slant back, especially in the south & midwest
That's magic how they can have such huge panel gaps but still make such a quiet interior
jesus...those gaps
Goes to show you the quality control that General Motors allow that thing to roll off the assembly line
@@paystyles5429 My 83 Seville doesn't have those gaps.
So here's a question, if you didn't notice this gap at the dealer and the next day after you bought it, and showed it to the dealer, would they take it back or fix the gap? The way the door was hung, I assume that is why this gap is so huge? I assume it's not because the metal stamping is so imprecise on a new model when they weld the parts together..
thats GM for you and their new cars are no different lol
I was impressed to see digital climate control in 1982. There’s still cars today that don’t have that feature
It’s a Caddy. What u expect? They had that in the 70s. The European cars didn’t offer that. As a matter of fact the car mags used to ding Cadillac for that and that they prefer analogs. Wow, right 😂
The styling grows on me as I age, also this is arguable the first " 4 door coupe" with slant back body and pillar less doors
Maybe your getting close in age to the demographic this car was meant to appeal to back in '82?
My brother and his gf had one in diesel. It sucked! But it did make the neighbors jealous when he came down to visit.
1:22 John: Cadillac has brought back the bustle trunk! LOL
Had no idea that was called a "bustle trunk."
Had one of those, Green and green. It was a great car.
Some people call this one the “whale back” 😂🐋
Funny how this car being treated like its a Rolls when I just saw a row of them in the junkyard in multiple trims.
lmaoo😂😂😂😭 yeah the guys wearing a chauffeur uniform, he should be wearing a mechanics uniform lmao
I re-watch this video just to see him slam the trunk with such anger.
My dad brought three of these home to compare what color scheme he wanted. He finally decided on the non grey metallic side with the navy metallic top. I didn't care for the back at first but it grew on me. I remember he pulled it out of the garage one Saturday and I gave the top navy area a waxing. It came out so... beautiful. That might have been the day that the back trunk lid started to agree with me. I think it was the best riding car that my dad ever owned. What a real classy and sexy grey leather interior. Unfortunately... what left a HUGE sour taste in my dad's mouth was that 4100 junk of an engine.
My mother had a Caddy with that HT4100 engine. It was a total hunk of junk and ended up blowing a head gasket and destroying itself with about 80,000 miles. Beautiful car, but it was made for the junkyard.
My mother had this model, and I absolutely loved it. Drove great...and, as Motor Week noted, it was super quiet inside.
I wish my dad had never sold it. I would drive it today!
Research tells me, however, that the engine turned out -- over the long haul -- to be a disaster. We didn't have any big problems, but we also owned it less than five years and kept the miles low...
I am always convinced that a Cadillac Seville from this time frame that is in the video looks like someone used a giant sword (most likely, the Buster Sword from Cloud Strife or the Mariglenn Blade from Jaster Rogue) and just chopped off a big portion of the rear of the Cadillac and only part of the metal and lights were recovered, so they just did their best to cover up the problem and you have a 1982 Cadillac Seville.
A year later, the Delco Bose audio system was introduced in the Cadillac Seville.
Yeah i remember these quite well, nice unique design indeed!
My dad bought a 1983 brand new. What a lemon. It was always breaking down.
We were happy just to have any new cars! Just a few years earlier gas lines were the new 1/4 mile lol. Cal-look Bugs and mini pickups were the quickest cars around! American cars were just comfy quiet cruisers with AC and decent FM stereos, perfect for smoking a fatty.
Used to watch this show every Saturday
Morning as a kid on PBS. John Davis was so young back then. How time flies.
It's a beautiful car to enjoy driving , like a Limousine ,... I have an '84 seville with 4100 ht and I install a 368 with some modifications , worked beautifully .
Cadillac Seville classics collection of the nice wonder of the world
Love those Sevilles
I remember when my parents had this car. They hated it because is was breaking down constantly and The was always an issue with the fuel line. My mom would break down and my grandad would show up in his little Ford Mavericks and push her to Cadillac dealership. She was so happy to het rid of it.
I enjoyed this walk down memory lane. Thanks.
I used to love watching this series when I was a kid...
At the time, I didn't like this "ELEGANTE" version, with the sloping trunk, though I did think it was brave of Cadillac to try out this variation on the original style. But in this video, I realised this only goes to show How uncompromising, and CONFIDENT Cadillac were in bringing out a model that is so DIFFERENT at both ends! Usually, like with the original version, both ends match, because they are BOTH square. But they knew what they were doing, even if it's taken me 40 years to figure this out! Both versions are my FAVOURITE American cars of all time! My favourite British car of all time, also came out at the same sort of time - the Rolls-Royce SILVER SPIRIT. It is better than any other Rolls-Royce up to then, because it combined both English elegance and American attention to detail. Unlike cars today which seek to keep up with automotive fashions by copying each other's best ideas, in those days, manufacturers were proud to be different and more recognisable!
Jesus, Cadillac could not even build a quality press car.
Most cars were not well built back then. Only German cars were well built.
@@basshead. Its sad because a Cadillac from 20 years earlier was much better built, better materials inside(ie real wood, temp and oil pressure gauges), and was significantly faster.
There's a good chance it's a pre production car.
basshead 😊Japanese cars were better than German.
+Mel Rose Not in 1982
That mansion in the background has window air conditioners built into the walls and yet back then that was just a solution to a problem.
Estee' Lauder had an air conditioner sticking out of a window of her Palm Beach home. The Kennedy home In Palm Beach didn't get air conditioning until a few years ago.
I had a Hot Wheels yellow Cadillac Seville once when I was little-cute!
I always liked that design!
You're nuts.
me too, I was in love with that car back then!
I was born in '77 and used to love these cars as a kid, maybe in part because they looked like nothing else on the road and seemed really classy.
I was 8 years old in 1982, and I remember seeing these bustle backs rolling around town. Absolutely loved them.
It has a cyber trunk.
I had a friend who bought one of these brand new in 1984 when he was 47 years old. He said that it was comfortable and quiet but it did have some things that needed to be corrected. One thing was the trunk lid was off, he said that it was actually crooked and the gaps weren't even. He didn't take it to the dealer to have it fixed, instead taking it to a body shop he was friends with and it was corrected. Three or four years later it was totaled in a collision, he ended up hitting a Lincoln salesman and the salesman got him a lease on a continental for around $130 a month or so.
I remember the 1st time I saw these on a huge turntable in the center of the showroom floor. Penske Cadillac Palo Alto, Ca. They were beautiful in person. Only the upper crust of society had these in their garages.
My favorite part of the channel-old cars. I hope that marathons of old seasons return as well.
Every single Seville I parked at my parking lot all through the 1980's had defective brakes, they went all the way to the floor,I was way more impressed with the Buick Riviera and Lincoln Town car they were far better in every way!
A friend bought one new and said the ride was smooth, however, he said it had a few things off when it came to the body. He knew a body shop owner who took care of the issues instead of taking it to the dealer. The trunk lid was off and the body shop adjusted it to get it to match the gaps.
Royal seal were very good luxury tires.
Grand parents on my dads side had one when I was a young boy I remember we only drove it on Sundays & it was in the garage..87'
Year I was born, the best year!
1980 AND 1981......THE BEST YEARS 2 BUY.........6.0V8...368 ENGINE...........
Reminds me of an A-Team or Night Rider Villain car lol
My grandfather had one of those.. its still im almost mint condition
The ultimate golfers car lol
Those early 80s Sevilles were beauties
I think the "chauffeur" is Craig Singhaus playing a campy role. He was sometimes a bit of a ham.
I saw one at a gas station parked in the back, it was beat missing wheel covers black canvas roof riped off like a soup can cover. Headliner destroyed. These are very rear in 2022 the pre 1993 broughams and even the once very common early 90s sedan devilles that i use to see every time i went out are scarce now. Surprisingly i still see the 79 to 85 eldos in my area, not alot but a few. The 92 and below broughams have vanished i never see them anymore.
I live in Italy and own several cars including a Ferrari and two Mercedes. That said, as an expat I have always loved Cadillacs and always rent one when I come back home (these days usually the XTS). I remember the 4.1 in the Deville and it was slowwww.... and the panel gaps and fake wood!! Ugh. But I guess cars are like women, if you love them you put up with their faults.
My mechanic would always be amazed that the engine was still running .
The strong degree of disapproval in the tone of this review really surprised me. Hadn't realized how much Mr. Davis disliked Cadillacs at the time...or their buyers. I'll grant that this car was hilariously overpriced for the quality and performance, but this was quite unexpected.
Were you aware of the state of the US economy in 1982?
@@theedmee Of course I was aware; I lived through it. Totally irrelevant to the tone of the segment.
The pulldown serves an actual function it holds the trunk down to reduce noise. It allows it to fit tighter cutting rattle of the trunk lid and license plate. To do so with a traditional latch would require an extremely hard slam were it even possible. This is usually as here instead explained as soft close or some other daft interpretation.
I had a '83 Seville, Bryia Brown "Bussel back" , she was a sweet ride. I had put 116,000 on her before some idiot crashed into her one night. I might still have had her. Needless to say I am on my 8th Caddy. I'm drivin a 2013 CTS wagon right now and she's my daily runner. Another sweet ride
$23K is a lot, considering the average cost of a new car was $6-10K in 1982.
The test car they did was twenty seven k that's even crazier
Nice shot of the old Bonita Ave. you can see Mornigside in the background. Wish there was more video or footage of that area from that time.
That 27 on the highway is nice😁 More economical and comfortable than the junk on the road now, and much quieter and smoother. These cars were not fast or quick, but the older folks back then drove slowly and wanted quiet and comfort
this and the porsche 911 were my dream cars back in the 80’s, i would still take these over any of todays models…
Neighbor owned a '82 Coupe deVille in the late 80s with that same engine... engine blew a head gasket at only 37,000 miles. Car was in well-maintained and stunning condition otherwise.
It needed the high trunk lid so you could fit a spare engine back there. Far more likely to need a spare 4.1 V8 than a spare tire!
Back in the days John was not afraid of giving his opinions and not reading manufacturer’s brochures like these days
I think cars were just trashier back then.
1:43 “removes the need to bang the lid down.” 😂
Look at that boat float. perfect!
Ths was my dream car when I was 10 y/o
fit and finish is normal GM
especially. 5:10 lol. i expect nothing less frm GM
I have always loved these cars. I think they're beautiful even as a kid in the 80's.
I would definitely get wider rims and tires....LOL
The 76 to 80 Seville was one of the most beautiful cars of 1970's, then GM made it down right ugly
I've always liked these. They do drive very nice and are very comfortable cars. The HT4100 engine was really the issue with these. They were pretty slow but did get very decent gas mileage and were better than the diesel engine version. Those were even slower and usually fell apart before 40k miles.
Wow $27k in 82 was a huge amount. My pop drove an old 77 Nova back then lol
My jaw dropped when he said $27k in 1982 dollars. These were not quality vehicles.
@scdevon Rolls royce was nice but it wasn't a quality vehicle it always ended up in the shop same as jaguar😂
I always thought this was the worst of Cadillac's lineup at the time, and still feel the same way! The "hump" didn't make it classy, but actually screams that some of the car is missing! The model before this one actually looked better! It's taken Caddy a while to figure it out, but now you can put the CTS and CT6 up against anything and come out with your head up!
nice look that ages well
I love those vehicles!
My first car was a 79 Seville. Beautiful car with a 350 olds engine from factory, rear wheel drive and 4 wheel disc brakes. Awesome car and GM totally destroyed the Seville with this model!
totally agree !!!
Best car show ever.