Being English born, I never had a liking for american motorcars, except for the 1970 Cadillacs & Lincolns. We've always been a R.R. family. Still have 2 of our originally owned 1965 Silver Cloud III's. My Great Grandparents however had a Daimler DS420, (which is still in use in England by my 1st cousin) Anyway the point of all that was to say that the Slantback Seville is THE ONLY Cadillac of the 1980's that I truly love. It reminds me so much of my Great Grand's Daimler DS420. For the life of me I can not understand why they were not well rec'd by the americans. Classic/beautiful flowing lines on the beauty! Truly gorgeous!
I grew up in a small Midwestern town and my best buddy in school was “the doctor’s kid” whose father bought one of these when they were new. My friend was paranoid about being labeled “the rich kid” so he made his parents drop him off around the corner from school and walk in the last couple of blocks every morning rather than deal with the “humiliation” of being dropped off in front of the building in a Cadillac! I always thought if he wanted to know TRUE humiliation he should have been dropped off in a very rusty, pea green, four door, 1969 Delta 88 like I was…..🤔
My Dad carpooled to work with an older Gentleman, who retired around 1990, who drove one of these. To me, these Caddies, with their ugly humpback styling and anemic but super quiet motors, epitomized the old man car. By contrast, there was this kid in my high school who had a fake ID, smoked, and drove a '69 Olds Ninety-Eight with the 455 4 barrel rocket engine. Being the eighties, he had one of the fastest cars in the lot😁 His old bomber was known to beat the 5.0 Mustangs the rich brats drove, and allegedly could run door handle to door handle with a new Buick Grand Nat up to 60
@@ohioalphornmusicalsawman2474 My Uncle, who lived in Ohio had a 69 Olds 98 with the big engine. It was stoplight to stoplight drag race every minute of every day that he drove it. What amazed me was that the tranny and engine held up great to this constant hard use.
Try being dropped off in a Florida Blue VW Rabbit..in a rural high school where the popular kids drove Z28s and lifted Chevy pickups. Though, about halfway through high school, I was watching an autocross event hosted at our Civic Center parking lot. At the end of the event, one of the marshals had a bullhorn, inviting spectators to a fun run with their cars....I was shocked when I heard "Hey you, with the blue Rabbit...those things are awesome on the course, bring it over!" So I did...we walked through a tech inspection, boosted the inflation on the tires...got a helmet and tried it out on the course...and I was hooked.....of course, my classmates were puzzled by the concept...their idea of performance was dragging stop light to stop light on Main Street.
I used to watch this channel strictly for the cars. Now, I also benefit from the almost Zen-like experience of the presentation style. And today, I NEED it... as I am having an unpleasant out-patient procedure this morning. I will try chanting "bustle-back" as a mantra to aid the local anesthesia.
It still retains the classic Cadillac front end. Modern Cadillacs don’t have that classic look which is a shame. I’d love to see retro 50’s look coming back to Cadillac 😊
Hands down, the 1980 - 1985 Seville has the most elegant front designs of any car, subtle differences make all the difference. GM was very proud of the Seville's flush mounted windshield, installed from inside the car rather than the old way of dropping the glass onto the frame from outside the car. To my eyes, the Seville's trunk design seems to make the hood appear even longer than the Eldorado's. Wish more owners had chosen the alloy wheels, they really highlight the Seville's elegant overall design. Thank you, Adam.
@@RobHealy1 Yes, I had to check my old showroom brochure! The aluminum alloy wheels were an option on all Seville and Eldorado models, standard on the Eldorado Touring Coupe. Those wheels really accentuate the Seville's flowing design, in my opinion.
@@eddstarr2185 you bet they did! That's one of the nicest looking factory wheels ever... Right next to the 56-57 Eldorado Sabre Spoke, in my opinion. I also always loved the old Lincoln forged aluminum dish wheels that they used in the mid Seventies. Cheers
I lived in South Africa in a couple of occasions in the 80’s. The 2nd time I lived there…a friend had the only 84 Seville in all the country. Was a never ending service nightmare !
How awesome is that. Riding around in a Cadillac feels a certain way in America where you can access them easily, so I imagine the feeling in a whole different country where they’re hard to get is a whole nother feeling!
Many of the wealthy families in my hometown rushed out to buy this Seville. I can still see them taking their kids for the first ride in them. Everyone was in awe of its ride and beauty inside and out. The first one I ever saw in town was a white one. I will never forget that moment all those years ago. The family in it, felt special. We were still riding in our 74 Eldorado which seemed old by then but was still an aging beauty with rust spots on the body.
I LOVE those Cars. My Mom had one in 88. Dark Blue with the Simulated White Convertible Top and the Gold Trim Package. Still to this day, what I consider, one of the most BEAUTIFUL Cars of all time
I've always loved the Cadillac trumpet horn. It just says classy barge coming through. Love the horn so much i took the horn out of my Carrolla & put the Cadillac trumpet horn in it lol & it gets people to move lol
That engine start at the very beginning was music to my ears. There is nothing like hearing an HT-4100 come to life. Your videos are so wonderful to me because of all the historical information you include. I've been in love with the Bustleback Seville since I was a young boy in 1980. I remember seeing a lot of older people drive these around town all throughout the 80's. I've driven a couple of these, and the ride is SO plush. This vintage of Seville has such an executive look to it, and that lovely bell chime was such a nice touch of old-world class. Wonderful video for a wonderful car. I have so many fond memories of these.
That is without a doubt the most beautiful and elegant example of that car I've ever seen outside a dealer showroom - and I was lucky enough to sit in one as a kid at a dealership. You are a lucky man.
My grandfather had one of these. It was white with like a maroon velvet type interior. He was a long-time cigar smoker, but when he bought this car new, he cold-turkey stopped smoking. I remember the car to be very roomy, comfortable, and safe. Funny how 40+ years later, cars are still getting 20-25 mpg. I would love to have that car back to just cruise around in. Nice review!
I used to think this Biscuit interior was the Classiest Seats of any car. I had it in my ‘85 Biarritz Eldorado in that Beautiful Red and stainless top and Astro roof. It had the Added Extended Chrome Hood Extension with the flying Goddess. My sister would always say “The King has arrived” lol. I was scared of the car when I knew more about the engine and transmission. But that car just on looks alone could sell any day of the week.
The Bustleback Seville is so unique!!! I thought that the 76 - 79 Seville was so classy so when the 80 came out I hated it. Now I'm older & wiser, I love it!!! 👍👍🎃
Back in the early 80's, my boyfriend Mark was working at a Cadillac dealership. He showed me the back lot, surrounded by a fence. Inside, there were four Sevilles and Eldorados of this vintage, with the new fuel-injected engines. They were burned up, to the point where even the tires were melted off. Mark told me that the Cadillacs with the EFI had two kinds of ender badges: if the lettering was red, they were likely to catch fire without warning. The ones with the BLACK lettering didn't have that bug in the design. Off topic, I just left a bunch more comments on the '61 Imperial dash-panel page. I also plan to upload the ENTIRE '55-56 Dodge LaFemme original article with pictures soon, and will mention its URL on the LaFemme page. You're doing a great job!
Thanks for this video. I had a 83 Seville and I don't know why I ever sold her. Funny when you mentioned the back windows I'd remembered that I had a 1986 Pontiac Bonneville (beautiful car) that had absolutely NO options at all to roll down the back windows. I'd originally thought I'd bought a old police car until recently. The Malibu sedan was the same. That Caddy is amazing brother!
I have always loved the styling of that era Seville. I think Cadillac nailed it. I wish they had designed it to use the SBC engine and in a RWD configuration.
I thought I’ve seen a Pure Michigan plate on another one of your beauties before. Glad to see a fellow Michigander who enjoys a drive on these crisp days. Thanks for showing us your collection!
It has taken me decades to find the name of the designer of this Cadillac, thankfully I clicked on this link. It has taken more than 4 decades to accept the design of this car, it is slowly growing on me, the front is otherwise perfect.
This has, is & always will be my preferred Cadillac of any model ever. Daring design, ultra smooth & quiet ride, my preferred trim is the Elegante with the two-tone Plum Firemist paint. As a 15 year old kid going into 9th grade auto mechanics is when this came out. I loved it but my classmates not so much, probably enjoyed going against the grain of choice. I remember the brochure I carried everywhere, it was a textured white parchment paper style with the Cadillac crest embossed on the cover. I like the blacked out trim inside, less bling for your eyes, as well brings out the grain of the fake wood a bit more classy.
My dad bought one in two tone gold in 85. It was a great colour combination with light tan leather. I remember many family road trips in that car and I remember that in the mid to late eighties that it did feel dated by the time dad came home in 88 with a new sedan Deville gold edition. That was a beauty done in black with grey leather
My buddy just picked up a clean 1983 with low mileage that was well cared for. When we first drove it the 4100 was pretty lethargic and weak. With a tune up, fresh gas, a new replacement high flow catalytic converter to replace the shot and restrictive pellet unit, replaced fluids, a bump in base timing by 4 degrees and some higher quality ignition wires and plugs the difference was staggering to say the least. It went from about a 17 second 0-60 car to under 12 seconds which is still not quick but more than enough to keep up with traffic and pass on a two lane road safely. I went over the oil change and anti-freeze regimen and GM stop leak with them and they are going to follow that closely along with waiting for heat to come out of the vents before driving so should have many years of good service with this car!
I also had a 1984 Cadillac Seville Elegant gold delivery with the same brown interior and outside brown two-tone. My goodness, I loved the car, it was the most beautiful car I've ever had. Unfortunately, someone drove into my side who overlooked a stop sign.
Growing up in Michigan during the 80’s and 90’s I would see tons of these. I was never particularly fond of them but they’re really eye catching nowadays. We had an 83 Chrysler New Yorker Fifth Ave at the time. It’s actually the car that got me into Mopars. It became my first car in 98.
These have always been sort of an "automotive guilty pleasure" for me. The design is just so unlike anything on the road today: and I think it's great! Like an American Rolls-Royce.
Another spot on episode. When I think of Cadillac, this car and the 76-79 Sevilles come to mind. The Cadillac looks great 👍 keep up the great & informative videos 🤘
I feel the EXACT same way about fall and driving my 81 Imperial. The car cabin is intimate & has a distinct smell when heater warms interior. Also brings back memories. It’s something you cannot buy no matter how much you pay for a new car
Having owned Cadillac and Mercedes of that era, the reliability of the Cadillac cars was stellar. We had an '85 Fleetwood Brougham FWD and the engine used more oil than we had experienced with Cadillac. I was told by Cadillac the rings on the piston were "lined up" instead of staggered.
Thanks for the memories, i was a young Caddy-Chevy dealer Tech back then, Had a Engineer tell me the HT4100 was the best engine ever made! Ok Buddy! FWIW i am still a Caddy-Chev Dealer Tech!
In 1997 I bought an 84 Seville with factory alloy wheels, a rare option. That car was a money pit. Luckily I worked at a dealership at the time and all the service on the car was cost plus 10%. The heater core was the most expensive repair I recall. But it needed a lot of front end work. Mine was lighter in color with the same color interior as this car. Those seats were so sumptuous. Really quite and nice riding car with a gutless 4.1 engine. Merging on to a Houston freeway was a test of one's nerves. The engine really let this version of the Seville down. I eventually sold it to a guy who wanted a car to drive across the country. I wouldn't mind owning one of these with a v8-6-4. It's a good engine with the cylinder deactivation disconnected. One thing Adam didn't point out is the side glass on these cars is THICK, presumably to cut down on noise.
The bustleback might have been all about the rear end design, yet it some ways so was the 1976 Seville. Come to think of it, so was my all time favorite Cadillac design, the 1967-70 Eldorado. When the 1976 Seville launched it had an air of elegance, even a sort of formal restraint, and yet looked modern. There was something about how the rear wheel arches made the wheels look larger than they were, and the body above the wheels slimmer, and right on top of that slimness, that formal, upright rear window. The trunk also continued that slimness, smartly ending with the wrap around rear lights. The two tone Elegante, with its painted roof rather than vinyl, accented this slimness, and formal rear window, even more and with auto level control it looked oh so very stylish, and expensive. Even with that modern look, it seemed to recall something from the 1930s. As EmmyJune212008 points out the 1976 Seville had great dash-to-front-axle ratio, adding to its elegance. Then the bustleback arrived and it removed what defined the car. Perhaps it was the right decision, but not for me. Sales of the 1976-79 Seville peaked at almost 57,000 units in 1978, and even in its final year sold over 53,000. The bustleback never sold even 40,000 units, and in its third year sold less than 20,000. While the 1976 Seville looked smaller than it was, the bustleback, to my eyes, looked larger. My friend's mother had the diesel version bustleback. It was heavy, sounded clattery and seemed like a tired car. To me the Seville will always be the 1976-79, and it still looks good today.
Absolutely! That first-gen Seville was an exceptional design. It had a sense of proportion and stance more like the European sedans - with the wheels pushed to the corners of the body emphasizing an athletic, road-ready look. At the same time, the design and the detailing was pure Cadillac. What Bill Mitchell called, "shear" design - with crisp, straight lines that really dominated auto styling for the next decade. My favorite part of the first Seville is that wide, upright "C" pillar - a crib of Rolls Royce sedans at the time. I remember when Motor Trend interviewed Mitchell upon the Seville's introduction and he pointed that out. When the interviewer asked him why they didn't make the Seville look more like a contemporary Mercedes he replied, "If you're gonna' steal you rob a bank, not a grocery store!"
I agree. Was not fan of this design. Although I would very much like to have a beautiful car like this one. I believe my appeal to Adam's cars are the wonderful years (or times) that they represent. The cars remind me of different times that I have very fond memories of. At the time, those years didn't seem like anything special. But there isn't much that I wouldn't do to return to the 70s~80s. Cheers
I still have a very vivid memory of seeing a kid at school being dropped off in 1984 in a Seville Bustleback. At the time this thing was the king of luxury and I was so jealous.
Sweet video, brings back memories growing up in the early 80s when these were everywhere. One of my first cars was an 80 Eldorado with the 368ci NON-8-6-4, Was a great, torquey motor, and the fuel injection was actually very reliable. My grandfather had an 85 Eldo at that time, lot of fond memories of us comparing our cars -it was just peculiar to note the strange differences -we couldn't believe GM was going kinda backwards in many ways, and from a great motor (olds 350 was a good one too) to the now infamous "hook and tow" 4.1 -thanks for reminding me of that precious jem!! Looking forward to your upcoming Doug Damerau of this car!!!🙂
Amazing to point out the subtle design aspects that make such a difference. Also remarkable is the mention of the wheel/body stance. Especially with the turbine vane wheels, which are massive looking themselves, the car has a very sustantial look to it. Plus, the flush windshield with the massive roof contours is something that I remember well from our 81.
I called it the wheel offset. GM always had that correct on all of their cars. Ford and Chrysler larger cars, the body always kind of hung over the wheels like they were trying to save a nickel with a shorter axle or something. I noticed this as a kid and always hated that. The cars looked ridiculous from the rear.
What a beautiful example! I recall the stir these cars created when they were new quite well. A friend bought an '83 with the Bose sound system, which was quite impressive for the day. I think the styling is good, but of the three luxury cars (Seville, Continental, and Imperial) with the bustle back design, the Continental carried it off the best. I think so because the Continental (Fox) body is narrower, and the vertical taillights create a further visual impression of height that this type of styling needs to be successful.
BITD I owned a Givenchy Continental in two tone blue with velour interior, fully loaded. The Continental of this Era is so much better than the Seville in build quality, not space. The throttle body injected 302 with 4AOD transmission is virtually indestructible. Loved my Continental.
The first time I remember seeing one of these beautiful cars is seeing one in the segment "Night of the Rat" in the film Nightmares. I thought it was such a gorgeous, stately car. It is my dream to own one of these.
Back in the 80s, my parents had a new Fleetwood Brougham D'elegance. The ride in that era of cadillac was impeccable. I can remember feeling rich just riding in it.
My neighbor had an 86 D' Elegance (big, fluffy pillow top seats) just like you stated. I still believe that car had the best and quietest ride of any car ever. Was slow, and the lifters would rattle sometimes under acceleration like most cars in those years. But man, what a smooth and plush ride!
I've always wanted one of these, my dad had a beautiful one in charcoal grey (or something like that). I used to love the way it felt as we rode down the freeway. It felt like we were gliding. The problem is getting one today that isn't practically junked. The problem with the Cadillacs and Lincolns of this era was that once they started to break down, they went quickly. These vehicles are intricate and not easily repaired and the parts not easily replaced. You often find yourself breaking something trying to repair something else, or something going bad leading to a cascade of issues. I feel like this would make an awesome electric engine swap candidate.
It might be a coincidence..but I have noticed that men who love this cars styling are usually very educated, down to earth, are "foodies", romantic, and believe you only live once so you better live well. In other words..we are keepers. 😉 Thanks for another great vid, Adam! 🙂👍
Re the coloured headliners. If you can’t get what you are after you can easily paint them to match the colour you are after and you would never know. I did that on my Mark VI Lincoln sedan (blue).
Great video! I owned an Elegant. Classy black and silver. It wanted to hydroplane easily when raining. The a/c unit leaked and needed to be recharged each and every spring. It always looked nice parked under the street lights in downtown Boston.
Yeah, you either love it or hate it, and I really used to hate these, but have grown over the years to only dislike them, lol. These were out when I was very young, but I remember a number of relatives on my mother’s side who were Cadillac buyers making fun of this model wondering what the hell Cadillac was thinking trying to sell cars that looked like the rear end was “sawed off”. Given how iconic and successful the “classic” Cadillac style was from the 50s through even the 90s, the lack of a long, prominent tail end with vestigial fins and vertical tail lamps was sacrilege to them, and I agree. It’s not even functional as that trunk would be larger if it didn’t have that odd bustleback slope (sorry Wayne Kady!). Add the fact that these cost more than a Fleetwood Brougham, and I could never get the appeal. As Cadillac needs to learn even today, if someone wants a Mercedes, they’ll buy a Mercedes. Trying to copy Mercedes and BMW and ditching their heritage has led them down a path from “Standard of the World” to just another also-ran car company. I feel the Seville, though not necessarily a failure itself, unfortunately marked one of the first steps in this journey.
My dad was in management at the local Cadillac dealership from the late 70's thru the 90's and as a kid just learning about cars and driving the Cadillac in that time frame was the luxury standard. Mercedes & Rolls Royce had a luxury presense in that time but not like today. The Seville coming out with the swope back was a huge jump in styling for 1985.
If I came across a V8-6-4 I think I'd have to keep the system active. It seems like such a neat idea... GM actually trying to do something innovative. Mercedes demoed cylinder deactivation on the 1979 w126 500SEL, but it never shipped as far as I know. But they managed to do it with Bosh CIS! Speaking of controls... I was amazed at how much nicer the turn signal / headlight dimmer lever felt on my ELR compared to a friends Chevy. Same looking control, but the one in the Cadillac felt much much nicer.
Enjoyed the commentary on the rear door windows and how the filler glass doesn't extend out far enough to have the door glass role down all the way.....I chuckle in response via the 79 Cutlass A/G body four door we owned...where GM decided to bond the windows in place. The irony of all that...a few years into ownership, the passenger rear door window seal failed and the glass started to fall into the door, creating a 1/8th gap in the top of the window...almost as if it was trying to roll it self down. On the wagons and the 80/81 and beyond sedans, they added a filler glass panel that could open in vent mode and still had the rear windows fixed in place. I find the decision to go with this engine design to be interesting considering the Vega had an iron head and aluminum block. And you could get a larger displacement V8 on more pedestrian GM cars..like the Chevy 305 or the Olds 260 and 307 V8s...which were probably more durable in the long run. Probably a stop gap with the failure of the V864 of 1981 and increasingly strict fuel economy standards and the next design cycle scheduled for 1986. If I recall, the rear driver C-body cars continued the latter half of the 1980s with the Olds and Chevy V8s. My feelings on this generation of Seville are mixed. The previous generation was such a clean, classic design. If I had the space and resources, I would definitely have one as a collector car. For this generation, the body design looks better in certain colors...and the color of your car certainly brings out the best of the design. And it had a decent platform it shared with the Eldorado....the '86 was too generic and emblematic of GM's cookie cutter designs of the era. I think the mild restyle a few years later helped and the '91 Seville took it back to a more attractive design...though again, GM's implementation of the early Northstar didn't help with long term reliability.
Adam, I hated the bustle back car back then - I was a car crazy teen. But it “grew” on me years later and now I love it. I think this car is much more handsome in it’s time than the later BMW Bangle bustle back cars were in their day. I’m so thankful that you are collecting and preserving so many cars. I can imagine a future when enthusiasts talk about “Adam’s collection”. 😁 I’m also thankful for you sharing all your knowledge.
I think you pointed out just about everything that I love about the 80-85 Seville. I have a 81 Elegante, and I love it. Love the rake of the A pillar, and the windshield which is uncharacteristic of an 80’s 4 door car. It not only looks richer inside- it is a much more comfortable car inside than the 76-79 Seville. I own a 76 and I can tell you the 81 gets more seat time, it just has a better ergonomic design and feel. Love the rear and the subtle curves with the all the creases and angles. I need to find the trumpet horn, those two extra horns are just Cadillac to me. The 4100 has been good to me in other cars, and I also drove this in other Sevilles, but I really love the 6.0L, it’s not fast but it is very strong and feels noticeably quicker. The trunk is huge, most people don’t expect that in such an angular looking design.
