1975 Cadillac Seville Engineering

Testing the lab, on the road, winter driving, suspension tests and with customers. The Seville became the smallest and most expensive model in the lineup, turning Cadillac's traditional marketing and pricing strategy upside down.
Initially based on the rear-wheel drive X-body platform that underpinned the Chevrolet Nova (a unibody with a bolt-on subframe, common to both GM X and F bodies), the Seville's unibody and chassis were extensively re-engineered and upgraded from that humble origin and it was awarded the unique designation "K-body" (rather than "X-special" following the format of the A-special Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Pontiac Grand Prix and B-special Buick Riviera). Cadillac stylists added a crisp, angular body that set the tone for GM styling for the next decade, along with a wide-track stance giving car a substantial, premium appearance. A wide chrome grille flanked by quadruple rectangular headlamps with narrow parking and signal lamps just below filled the header panel, while small wrap-around rectangular tail lamps placed at the outermost corners of the rear gave the appearance of a lower, leaner, and wider car. The wrap-around taillights might have come from a design sketch of a rejected Coupe DeVille concept.
Seville engineers chose the X-body platform instead of the German Opel Diplomat in response to GM's budget restrictions-GM executives felt re-engineering an Opel would be more costly than the corporate X-car.
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Ref: S072

[@MarkWG]

One of my all-time favorite car designs. The first generation Sevilles still turn heads today. They are timelessly designed and so elegant. I drove one frequently as an office company car back in the day. Sevilles had all of the competition beat.

[@JRobert111111]

I really like this generation of Sevilles. I got to ride in a neighbor's brand new one back in the day, and loved every minute of it!

[@marlowhernandez7610]

fix the sound it's low

[@AlexanderCrump]

Your neighbors must have been rich. These were crazy expensive.

[@hphm2446]

The unforgettable masterpiece of GM👌🏻

[@detroitluxury]

Probably the best engineered American car of the 1970s.

[@MaestroTJS]

It seems to be one of the few which most people agree is definitely a classic of the era, and not in an ironic way like the Pacer or the Cordoba.

[@mr.butterworth4216]

@jason9022 The fact is, it was among the best engineered cars of the seventies, your misconception does not apply.

[@jamesslick4790]

@@MaestroTJS I agree, HOWEVER: Pacer WOULD have worked LATER. It had the whole "bubble" look before Ford made it "hip" 10 years later. 2, The Cordoba WAS a cash in on the whole PLC trend, But if it had been sold as a Plymouth (as WAS intended) it would have been better regraded, As a "B" body MoPar - It could get all of the Charger "go" bits! 😊

[@DragonSmokepnp]

One morning in 1977 My parents left the house in my mom's, austere, uncomfortable and noisy 1970 Ford Maverick. That afternoon they returned home with a new Seville. It was as though they had purchased a magic flying carpet. As a ten year old I marveled at how quiet the car was, how it seemed to float up Pittsburgh's hills, how comfortable, secure and protected I felt in the back seat, how cool the car interior was on a hot day. Yes the car had faults, and yes the car shared some body components with the Chevy Nova and some of the mechanical bits were born at Oldsmobile but the Seville fantastically fit the needs and wants of it's target buyer.

[@peterdaniel66]

Some? Try the chassis WAS the Nova.

[@drewburk6309]

The car was magnificent and you were wise beyond your years for recognizing such.

[@cadman10000]

@F L If the '86 Cimarron would have come out in '82, it would have been a massive hit.

[@DarkKnightwing75]

Wow, that’s quite an upgrade from a 7 year Old Ford Maverick to the most expensive Cadillac on sale at the time!

[@TVHouseHistorian]

LOVELY story. You are so fortunate to have experienced that. Our parents always drove intermediate cars from Ford or GM. They never considered themselves "Cadillac people," so they were satisfied without the luxuries of life. I, on the other hand, desperately wished they would have changed their minds. This generation of Seville was a truly special car.

[@jamespolcyn8441]

I had a 1978 Seville and liked it very much.

[@AlexanderCrump]

The styling of this car was so incredibly ahead of its time. GM would apply a lot of the Seville styling cues to its refresh of the B- and C-body sedans five years later in 1980. This is still a really handsome car in 2021. How many cars from 1975 would you still consider handsome?

[@davidjames666]

It looks like a time traveler as the Seville is compared to other cars from every manufacturer at the time. That 1976 Seville car design cadillac developed was the trend till 1985. The technology used in the car was current till 1995. An example is the airbags, and antilock brakes.

[@KingRoseArchives]

David James It was a remarkable vehicle for the reasons you mention. Ahead of the pack.

[@mr.butterworth4216]

I’d go further than that, by saying the styling was still relevant throughout the 80’s - the Chevy Caprice body which borrowed very heavily from this Seville was in production until 1990. And many of the technological concepts are still in use today. With the technology itself current up to the late-90’s.

[@gedisdiop]

In 1975, I was pumping gas at a Marathon station in Terre Haute, Indiana when a guy pulled in, with 4 people in the car, coming from Cincinnati, Ohio. They were salesmen traveling to Oklahoma. Checking their mileage, the driver was amazed they were getting 25 MPG, with 4 people and their luggage. The 350 FI engine was a great motor. Based on the Chevy Nova, it wasn't a particularly Caddy design, but a nice looking car nonetheless. Very nice car.

[@user-xg8yy7yl1d]

The good fuel mileage was probably due to the EFI system. EFI eventually became standard on all cars today even the cheapest cars have it

[@CoolAce1]

This was the king of cars in during its run.

[@mr.butterworth4216]

And people think it was just a Chevy Nova underneath. The engine was choked with emissions equipment like about every car of the period, and the electronic fuel injection could be vulnerable to issues, but the ‘76-‘79 Seville was solid! Classic proportions and good looks, the likes of which hadn’t been seen in years.

[@lasuvidaboy]

Timeless design and 40-years later, still looks great. That can't be said of most Cadillacs built 10-20 years later. BTW, at 4:37, the painter is painting a full-sized DeVille and not a Seville.

[@johnmcalister7023]

good eye

[@AntoineMiller]

Who cares he’s painting a deville. I’m sure the painting process was still just as good of quality.

[@peterdaniel66]

Truly amazing what they made out of a Nova

[@raymondhaley248]

This is the one car Cadillac made just for me engine and all.

[@rogerchurch3804]

all those little extras that took this caddy over top too much one of the times they struck design gold !

[@hphm2446]

That car was at least 20 years ahead of time

[@JohnJohn-do2oj]

5

[@kennethsouthard6042]

It definitely was a great a great leap for Cadillac and this was a successful car without a doubt. However, had they reached a little further and had they developed an OHV engine and an IRS rear end, it would have been on par with what the Europeans were offering with cars like the Mercedes Benz 280E. Sadly, instead of going farther forward after this, Cadillac went into the abyss with the Cimarron, the diesel V8, the HT4100 and the look alike GM cars of the 80s. They somewhat turned it around later in the 90s with the STS and the NorthStar, but those engines were plagued with other issues that sullied the reputation of those cars as well. By the time they really got it together in the 00s with the CTS, there were really not enough Cadillac customers left to care.

[@robo6863]

This was my moms car when I was a kid. It was a great car. I loved the reading light in the back I was a 1st grader. It was fast. My older brother who was 16 would it 100 on the on ramp to the highway. Stupid kids we were lucky not get killed or kill anyone else.

[@dustygadsby522]

4:35 Spraying clear without a mask

[@nickk1406]

Beginning of the end for land yachts lol

[@SFLMIguel]

DJ alt.Rock I can personally attest to what you allude to. I interviewed for a Cadillac marketing position in the Spring of 1981, at its Corporate Headquarters in Detroit. Next door was the Clark Avenue Main Cadillac Assembly Plant. The HR Manager took me on a tour of the plant. I noticed that a Union Worker was asleep in the back seat of a Sedan deVille, in the process of being built going down the assembly line. I asked the HR Manager why doesn't his Supervisor wake him up? He told me only a Union Representative has the power to awaken him. Then I asked what about the assembly parts he should have placed on the vehicle? The HR Manager said, well let's hope we catch what he did not install at the end of the line in the Quality Check. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, and just shook my head in disbelief.

[@pcno2832]

+SFLMIguel He was probably the guy whose job it was to put dead mice or coke bottles in the doors. I remember a mid-'80s "plant rescue" story about that plant (or some Caddy plant). It claimed that the plant would have been closed if they hadn't gotten the union to work with them to clean up their operation.

[@fleetwin1]

I always liked the original sevilles

[@pcno2832]

+kramden The egg-crate on the 1976 models was much more dignified than the fake-Rolls look of the 1977. The '76 was one of the few ultra-boxy cars that looked like a piece of art; the 1977 downsized C-bodies had some of that too. But the downsized 1978 LTD was just awkward, as if someone had taken a 1960s barge and cut a foot or two out of it. GM got some things right during those years.

[@fleetwin1]

I agree totally, the original Seville still looks good today, they wrecked it when the did the RR thing on the back. Those original 77-80 Impala/Caprices were GREAT cars. I remember when my friends got a 78 Caprice four door, it was a tight car that handled and performed very nicely with the sports suspension. Yeah, the styling was boxy, but looked good anyway. They wrecked the old Impala/Caprices in 74 when they put in those god awful "opera windows". Wish I still had my 73 coupe!

[@klwthe3rd]

No Name I like the 3 spoke steering wheel on the 1976 too. One year only for that wheel on sevilles.

[@magnah5581]

This was my first car at 18 some of the features didn't work but I loved the as everyone loves there first car

[@rbrobbi]

Painting with no respirator.

[@KingRoseArchives]

rbrobbi No OSHA to make sure workers are safe. Some want to get government off their backs but I'm glad they've made things safer for workers and consumers.

[@TVHouseHistorian]

I noticed that too. I bet the guy has been dead for decades now.

[@pcno2832]

4: 30 How long are those guys' lungs going to last? I can't believe they did that all day with no respirators. I believe the EFI systems on these were somewhat related to the system that Bendix pioneered on the 1958 DeSoto and the one Bosch used on the 1968 US-spec VW Type-3 Fastback and Squareback models. It must have been a mixed blessing for Cadillac to tout the nylon leaf spring spacers; they were a good idea, but leaf-springs on a luxury car in 1975? I guess when you start with a Nova, your options are limited. The vinyl roof was another example of that limitation; it was mandatory to cover up the seam between the Nova roof and the Seville extension; by 1978, I think, the Seville had its own roof and celebrated it with the 2-tone Elegante option.

[@afshinimani4042]

My love cadillac

[@raymondhaley8156]

Believe it or not this was last car that was actually coach built, and yet was the first cad- cam designed car, a double casted under body and a bullet drive train to match, that car was built to 21st century standards, back then so why is it that today,s cadillacs are not nearly as good if not better than a 76 seville, wow really a funny thing happened on their way to 21st GM lost it,s way, what a shame.

[@am74343]

I want one of these so bad!!!! They are as rare as hen's teeth, though!!

[@KingRoseArchives]

Timeless elegance.

[@derrickjackson6737]

am74343 hard to find

[@eblackadder3]

I just bought a beautiful '79 for $1,500!!

[@user-lj9jw9im6d]

親父がフォード系をずっと乗っていて リンカーンを先に好きに… キャデラックはこのセビル、 日本ではこれくらいのサイズがベストだと思う、 リンカーンならマークV I かベルサイユ、 キャデラックならこのセビル、 いつかは手に入れたい。

[@angrycatowner]

Leaf Springs ? Good Grief!

[@ivorwm2291]

There was a special video tape player that played this. It 2as in the showroom. I worked in parts

[@KingRoseArchives]

There were laser discs that were developed by GM Photographic and sent to all the dealers. This was going to be the big training future. To launch it they did a golf video with a famous golfer. I'm thinking Arnold Palmer. That one they watched in the dealerships. The ones that followed, the sales and repair training, videos, just gathered dust. Actually, some were used to prop up wobbly tables. But they did use the TVs on the groovy stands that were part of the package to watch sports.

[@raymondhaley8156]

At the time, it was a break through car that,s for sure,it was the last coach built sedan cadillac to be built, the years that followed,nothing cadillac made never even came close,the new aphabet cars are down right laughable at best,this one was the real mc coy.

[@Rlotpir1972]

GM was first to make a downsized mid-sized automobile (Cadillac) for 1975. It would be three years later that GM would downsize other mid-sized cars to that platform.

[@judethaddaeus9742]

Robert Lopresti The Seville was on a completely different platform than the downsized 1977 models. The Seville was unit construction loosely based on the Nova. The 1977 B/C/D-bodies were body-on-frame.

[@circuit-breakermi3865]

Where are the tailfins?

[@johnmaki3046]

GREAT marketing! Average (AT BEST) vehicle!

[@Tigerfire75]

Why if Cadillac had a fuel injection system with 8 injectors did they go to TBI later on? I know it is cheaper but I think they should of kept this system for the 1980's

[@chief1972]

+Tigerfire75 This early fuel injection was very unreliable.

[@pcno2832]

+Tigerfire75 Wasn't TBI mainly for low-end cars like the Cavalier (and, embarrassingly, the Cimarron)? It seemed like a stop-gap replacement for the digitally controlled carburetor. I didn't think they used it on any real Cadillacs.

[@Tigerfire75]

No Name Well during the mid 80's they did use it.

[@westhavenor9513]

Holy cow. Dudes starting at 4:30 with no respirators. I'm sure they're dead by now.

[@auxmike]

Spray painting with no respiratory protection! Awful...

[@chief1972]

That zinc coating didn't work very well.These things rotted like crazy.

[@jasonwilliams8187]

With those two challenging fuel pumps smdh

[@andean89]

This car was closely related to the Chevrolet Nova. It had an Oldsmobile fuel injected V-8

[@tjlate]

Tenio Latev

[@alibii3385]

O M G💓

[@FrankGutowski-ls8jt]

Volume.

[@peterdaniel66]

it was a gussied up Nova.. thats it

[@standbyjeff]

You have heard that so you repeat it. The Seville shared very little with the Nova, no sheet metal, no trim, no interior components which could be seen or touched, different drive train, different wheelbase. The cars shared a couple of suspension parts and a couple of unseen support pieces. Basically all cars share components. The Corvette shared very little, other than that most cars borrow what they can from other models. The Seville was very rare in that it had a one model only dashboard (very expensive as there are many pieces), also having exclusive body panels and trim (including bumpers) on a car which they knew would be low volume showed their commitment to doing it right. Originally the Seville was going to share more with the Nova, that is how the rumor started. Ultimately Cadillac did it right and in doing so decided to give the car its own body code which is K, the Nova was an N body.

[@westhavenor9513]

Yeah, you're just a parrot

[@robneville5728]

Well, they did a masterful job creating a world class automobile from it's humble beginnings as a Nova. Sometimes it works. Not so much in the case of Lincoln, who tried to create a competitor from a Granada. FAIL! Anyway, these cars looked ahead of their time. I had a slant back '84 which I liked the looks of, but these looked great, too.

[@mr.butterworth4216]

It never was a Nova, that’s the big secret.

[@milfordcivic6755]

A fancy Chevy Nova sedan is all this car is!

[@paulbedford7260]

Rubbish. The car took fortunes of money and used, for the first time, some of the most sophisticated development equiment ever used at that time. You need to go study?

[@standbyjeff]

Milford, you clearly know little about the Seville. You would do well to keep your opinion to yourself... you are incorrect. The two cars share no body panels, no trim, no interior components which are seen or touched. They have a completely different drive train (the rear end may be the same), they have a different wheelbase. You base what you say on the fact that you heard it somewhere... with no shared pieces you can see or touch how would you know they are the same unless someone told you? The Seville is a K body, the Nova is an N body.

[@spookerr]

Hello?? VOLUME BUTTON??? HELLO???

[@chief1972]

These really rusted badly.

[@allstar930]

They might have been well engineered but they were all screwed together by alcoholics and drug addicts. My grandfather had one and it was a fucking lemon.

[@KingRoseArchives]

Your grandfather's car may have been a lemon but I wouldn't lay the blame on the employees who worked in the assembly plants. These are urban myths about why American auto quality wasn't up to par. This had more to do with management decisions about cost and antiquated assembly procedures. Much easier to point the finger at some line worker who's just trying to do a good job with what they've been given build than to unravel the deep problems that eventually brought down GM and Chrysler and also plagued Ford.

[@gedisdiop]

allstar: why do you assume that these cars were assembled by boozers & druggies? Stop being so negative and have a happier life. There is a lemon in every bunch.

[@allstar930]

Because I'm from a deep GM family going back to my grandparents. All worked on the line except for my mom was a supervisor and between all their stories, I have come to this opinion. I know the truth hurts. I'm a proud union member myself but the shit that went on in those plants in the 70s and 80s is off the hook. Cheers.

[@dustygadsby522]

Agreed 100% unions ruined GM

[@henryhill3778]

What a waste of Time! "Rubber mounts between front springs and Body, Rear Teflon liners between leaf springs" this stuff is on my Geo Metro, and they make a big deal about it. "metering on the injectors" Like they would just DUMP gas in...