Automotive Downsizing to the Extreme: Walkaround of the 1986-91 Cadillac Seville

Learn more about the 1986-91 Cadillac Seville and its history.
Also, watch the interview on the 1986-91 Seville with former Cadillac Assistant Chief Designer John Manoogian here:
• Most Controversial Car...

[@hurricane2649]

I agree, That was a bridge WAY too far, especially after the "size shock" from the late '70s. Now if they offered that type of Seville as the Cimarron instead of the dolled-up Chevy cavalier, I think it would have been a smash hit.

[@oscarprendergast7295]

Hurricane- you were Extremely Generous in yiur Assessment Of The CIMMARON as a dolled up CAVALIER- It wasn’t EVEN THAT SIR- it was One to the saddest automotive offerings of ALL time sir

[@davidallen5776]

Most everything was fantastic before they became nervously anorexic!!

[@scottwagner3214]

Completely agree! If that was the car released as the Cimarron in 1982 that would have been the bomb!

[@josevidal6458]

Beautiful Seville ...very nice color.

[@peterwinstonaldredge6927]

We inherited a 1989 DeVille Coupe with 49k miles on it. It hadn't been driven for several years and needed some work but, once all the work was done it was a wonderful car. Very quiet inside, rode very nicely, size meant it was very easy to park. Overall it was a great car to own.

[@loveisall5520]

I just recommended this channel to a fellow car fan who'd never seen this. My favorite car channel and I expect it to continue to grow--it's unique!

[@travelingfool9096]

second behind Jay Leno for me. this channel is awesome

[@581rma]

Agree.

[@loveisall5520]

@@travelingfool9096 Jay Leno has descended into silliness, unfortunately. I subscribed to his channel from its beginning, but no more. Not as dopey as DeMuro's, but getting there.

[@ddhsd]

@@loveisall5520 the Pandemic videos kind of gave us a reprieve from that Leno direction, but now they seem to be doubling down.

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

I really like the Bustle-back Seville. But this one reminds me of my Olds Cutlass Ciera with fancy clothes.

[@davidzornig1319]

I ordered hundreds of these as the fleet manager at Fanning Cadillac-Buick in Chicago. I recall the console shift was a tough sell to our elderly customers, as they liked to sit closer to their spouses at times. So former Eldorado and Seville customers steered back to FWD DeVilles and Fleetwoods. There was a specific ad campaign locally that featured Chicago Bears Gary Fencik, basically a "Not your father's big old Cadillac of old." theme. Somewhere out there is a silver `87 Eldorado that still has his parking garage card stuck in the visor, from a car we'd lent him for promotional purposes. Ordering the two tones was a chore on the DCS system, as it unknowingly allowed secondary color door edge guards, which then got installed on primary color doors. It was always a crap shoot as to what color would show up wrapped in paper on the back seat floor. Previously the D60 Edit Override caught any non factory recommended color combinations, but that primarily meant exterior versus interior colors. It was not sophisticated enough to catch painted door edge guards.

[@joebenedict9527]

I’m Australian and a lifelong admirer of American cars from the ‘golden’ era. Really impressed with these videos and how they make even the least appealing models so interesting. I’m seeing them in a new light. The presenter shows remarkable knowledge and skill at articulating the story of each car.

[@flubberlane8437]

I have to admit that is a beautiful car !

[@aaronwilliams6989]

It is, despite its diminutive size.

[@liddlebopeep]

Nope

[@tonyflorio3269]

On its own, this is a neat looking car with eye-catching proportions. The problem GM had was it applied a theme (like this one) across too many different cars. When it came out, nearly every GM sedan had the same formal c-pillar and similar forms, so the Seville looked too much like a lot of cheaper GM cars. If this Seville had come first (as it did with the first gen) maybe that would be ok, but it didn't.

[@christopherkraft1327]

Hey Adam, I have to say that I think they went too far downsizing this Seville!!! Thanks for sharing this informative video!!! 👍👍🙂

[@kayeninetwo3585]

I have to say, many of the car shows that this channel gets images from have a very different flavor than the car shows around here. There are many '70's and '80's full sized and luxury cars in original condition to be seen in these videos, which is great. I'm not sure where these shows are filmed, but I live in the central United States, in the region north of the Kansas City area. Around here there are lots of modified cars, and not as much appreciation of cars as recent as the mid-1970's and later. I like that there are shows that emphasize originality, and cars from late 1970's and the 1980's deserve to be appreciated and collected. They are nothing like the cars of today, yet they are much more affordable than American cars from the '60's or earlier.

[@oscargeorge1]

Could you only imagine what would have happened if they didn't widen the car?? Yikes... that said, it's not a bad looking car as time goes by... certainly more refreshing then what a we are forced to look at in today's fleet....

[@willc5512]

Parked next to a chevy TRAX & Eco Sport! UGH. Them new $hitboxes get the same gas mileage as a properly running 4.5 V8 too!

[@eriks9417]

I like it. Love the two-tone paint and interior colour combo. I miss the 70s 80s early 90s!!!

[@jetsons101]

The rapid downsizing hurt many car manufactures, if you just scale down a car to make it smaller it just doesn't look right, the start of the Malaise era. Downsizing is what let to small and midsized SUV's and crossovers. A downsized "three box" car looks off but a SUV or hatch back looks better, so long story short "say good-by" to the trunk. Thanks to Rare Classic Cars for posting......

[@datsun210]

I know it's not really in your wheelhouse, but I am more interested in the red Nissan Pulsar NX SE sitting there next to the Seville. You never see those anymore, and it looks cherry! 🌸

[@cadillacguy1890]

IMO, this generation of Seville’s biggest problem, along with gasoline becoming relatively cheap again, thus people wanted bigger cars, was that it’s kinship to the N bodies was way too visible. It seemed almost like Cadillac was trying to pull another Cimarron move. I think the V-8 made it a pretty good car. Never owned one, but rented them frequently when traveling, they had good performance (the ones I rented were 4.9’s), really good fuel economy, lots of tech for the time, a quiet and relatively smooth ride, and decent build quality.

[@777jones]

Agreed my dad rented these on our trips all over the US. They were nominally 6 passenger cars, and were quiet, but they were not large.

[@ErikDB6]

I think you guys nailed one of the issues with these cars, if they were so readily available as rentals.

[@cadillacguy1890]

@@ErikDB6 Good point. Not very exclusive or prestigious if you can rent one at Dollar or Thrifty.

[@erikk1820]

@@cadillacguy1890 It’s was the stupid, suicidal race to the bottom that Cadillac and Lincoln got involved in, dumping their cars into fleet markets to get the very dubious bragging rights for the best selling luxury car. The greedy buggers totally missed the point that luxury cars are supposed to be exclusive, and it kills resale value, if rental companies are dumping them at huge discounts when they are six months old. Sad.

[@cadillacguy1890]

@@erikk1820 great point, you’d think the car makers would look at rental sales as a last resort only, especially the prestige brands.

[@danr1920]

My thoughts are Cadillac buyers would not be very sensitive to gas prices and many of them would prefer a big car to a little one. They still should have kept at least one huge Caddy around, even it they used an old platform.

[@willc5512]

Yeah driving a D'Eleagance VS that. In 85' I remember my dad coming home with a full size pre owned Park Ave after insisting he was getting a fleetwood. Dealer wanted $28k for the full size W00D was giving the small caddys away at 16K!

[@ZGryphon]

As a matter of fact, Cadillac _did_ keep one large, outdated platform available at the time--the Brougham (formerly Fleetwood Brougham), dating all the way back to _1977,_ stayed in production until 1992 (or _1996,_ if you count the revised version that got the Fleetwood badge back in '93)! That car was admittedly quite a bit smaller than the truly gargantuan 1974 model it replaced, but by the standards of the late '80s and early '90s, it was still huge. :)

[@kingofalldoughboys]

Great video

[@michaelnault5905]

They're so cute when they're little. The big Lincoln next to it seems to be snickering triumphantly :-)

[@joncassino]

Thanks for another excellent video. I believe those tail lights are a continuation of the previous generation Seville's styling rather than a big departure from traditional Cadillac styling cues. I found it interesting that the late 80's Nissan Pulsar looks a lot bigger next to it than it actually was.

[@P.Galore]

Love The STS version of this era Seville.

[@ddhsd]

That was the one to get.

[@chriseaton2730]

Especially with the 4 place seating.

[@markaustin4370]

Always love your reviews!

[@HelvisCamaro]

Another great video, Adam! Love the history lesson as always!

[@antera77]

The upside is the 1992 Seville redesign -- one of the best looking cars of all time. I remember seeing it at the LA Auto Show early in 1991. Like seeing a horribly disfigured person get miraculous plastic surgery.

[@brhmpl]

Another great video Adam. Keep them coming.

[@ohnoohyeah3205]

I remember the 6 pack exhaust tips as a young whippersnapper.

[@hawk00055]

Another great video! Please do more of these.

[@elvenwizard12]

I had this car. It was a beautiful car. People would always make compliments of the looks. Owning it was a love / hate relationship. When this car ran good it was really nice. Good ride and right around 70 -75 it had a nice quiet exhaust note from the V8. 4.1 had good power despite what people say. Going to Vegas up the Grapevine and full of people it was no problem plenty of power. The problem came with the reliability. It wasnt made for daily driving. At least mine wasnt. No matter how good you took care of the car something always went wrong with it. This car was always on the tow truck. Mechanics did not like working on it, neither did the Cadillac garage. I remember the serpentine belt either broke or kept popping off. That belt wont last long even after many attempts from different mechanics. This happened many times. You fix one thing on the car then something else broke and the computers and electronics always thru the mechanics off. It was a complicated car. It was a guessing game fixing the problems. At the end I had a fat folder full of repair receipts at least up to $8500 in repairs and then the tranny went. I called Father Joes ST Vincent De Paul and donated the vehicle and the car went bye bye.

[@RareClassicCars]

Yikes. The serpentine belt issue was likely due to some misalignment of pulleys on the accessory drive. Something was probably replaced at some point with a slightly incorrect pulley length.

[@elvenwizard12]

@@RareClassicCars To many hands doing the same job over and over didnt help matters either. Your assessment of the pulley problem is most likely right. If you havent done a review on the 84 Lincoln Continental that would be a welcome. Another car we owned and it had the air suspension. Such a wonderful magic carpet ride of a car.

[@jdwxflyer]

I’m really glad these cars still exist in pristine condition. They represent an important time in Cadillac history. Even though I wasn’t a fan at the time, it’s neat to see them today as clean survivors. Great job Adam!

[@vwgolf6487]

Another great offering, Adam....!

[@bwsescal]

I have a 1988 Seville. I wish I could go back and get it new. Great car!

[@jeffscomp]

I liked the 1986 grand am that you showed. I used to drive one that belonged to a friend. The dark red color was awesome on them also and other gm cars.

[@chaosdemonwolf1]

You should've done a ''walk around'' of that whole lot. I saw some cool cars in the back-round.

[@BJDOnline]

My dad had a ‘91 black on red leather with aluminum wheels and the 4.9L and it was a rocket ship.

[@Skunked68]

Admit I don’t recall these Seville’s at all now. I see hint of formal roofline of my fav Olds 98’s, front wheel drive, tidy size, lights galore, 85-90 era. After growing up with land yachts and still my own fav was ginormous 76 Delta 88 Royale 4 door hardtop with 455. What a long lasting comfortable car that was!! But the easy parking and less garage space of this Seville I’ll give a thumbs up. At first I really disliked the bustle back look years, but can hack them now. Especially if I hear the diesel clatter for uniqueness. The original square Seville late 70’s I still love looks of. As long as not a tiny Chevy makeover called Cimarron of poor reliability/quality. Wow. What a disaster for a Caddy nameplate that tiny one was. What focus/design group sat in meetings around tables for months and decided that was a good idea ??! “Let’s take a very basic, really small econobox Chevy, wave magic wand and massage that into a Cadillac”. Norwegian slang “Uff da” fits that deal.

[@toronado455]

I agree the 1991 with the 4.9 is the best one of these. As usual, GM finally got it right at the very last minute. Did Manoogian design the 1992 Seville?

[@RareClassicCars]

No. Dick Ruzzins team.

[@iancolePRD129G]

I like this car and some amazing cars in that lot, thanks Adam

[@robertcarly4186]

I like the Mark parked next to the Seville. I drove a 78' Seville in Los Angeles when I lived there, I had no complaints about it, but people who like the big Caddy's probably would. I drove an 88' Seville that a friend of mine who was a used car dealer bought, it was too small for me. I believe that the Eldorado's from this period were plaqued with issues.

[@goodbonezz1289]

Oh..that must be a car show you’re at. At first I was thinking it was a old/antique used car dealership. If that was the case, I’d have to know about it!

[@andregonsalvez9244]

Great review ! I really like the two tone paint and the Cadillac Seville in the mid 80s didn't look too bad in styling .

[@craigcardwell4143]

I remember when these were introduced and not being impressed with them at all. They looked small, cheaply made, too much plastic, and over priced. The quality control was dismal compared to other brands in this price bracket, and traditional Cadillac buyers were moving on to other makes and many never returned. Lexus introduced the LS400 around this time and the difference in quality was so amazing. Cadillac clearly was losing it's way and is still struggling to find it.

[@DSP1968]

A very astute telling of the story of this car, Adam. I have a fair amount of experience with one of these -- it was very nicely finished, very pleasant, and a decent looking car. However, since it (and the Eldorado) was introduced after the N Car and seemed to be the same size yet cost so much more, it didn't stand a chance in the market. I'd call this one another Cadillac planning failure, though certainly a good car on its own merits.

[@flyonbyya]

As Adam quite accurately and astutely states in conclusion… The Lexus LS400 devastated them all, and ain’t stopped since!

[@CadillacCentral]

Lexus has been on a downturn for many years now.

[@SuperBooboo02]

the only thing Lexus sells is the RX350

[@AaronSmith-kr5yf]

I saw a bunch of those concept sketches from the car's designer and his original vision was a pretty clean, crisp, very modern/forward looking car. Cadillac really screwed the pooch on this model was its size, another 6" of wheelbase would've really helped the stubby look(and tight back seat). Also if they had just ditched that damn formal roofline for a more sloped rear window glass and fatter C pillar it wouldn't have looked nearly so boxy. Also all of these should have looked like the STS, minimal chrome trim, no hood ornament, alloy wheels with no option for those god awful wire spoke hubcaps(GM and Chrysler were the only companies doing that nonsense past 1984 or so).

[@dingecibbs]

I remember reading in Motor Trend back in the late 70's when the first downsized GM models hit the market that GM was already planning to downsize them yet again 5 or six years later (I know,I'm old). There were artist's conception illustrations in the leading auto magazines of the Eldorado/Riviera/Toronado models after their 2nd downsizing, which subsequently took place in the mid 80's.

[@joedanvers1010]

I graduated High School in 1985 and this was the first Cadillac model I could see myself driving. 37 years later I'm driving a 2019 Cadillac ATS, lol! Longer wheelbase and about the same weight but clearly looks and performs much differently...

[@marcodarko6941]

Seeing that steering wheel kicked to the side like that reminds me of my Grandfather's penchant for Park Avenues of that era. You always had to work to keep the wheel slightly to the left going down the road. He owned a few of them and then totaled a few in his later years, he always managed to walk away virtually unscathed every time. I really liked this era of Seville and enjoyed other similar GM cars. We're they the greatest cars ever, no, but they were pleasant rides of the time.

[@flight69twa]

Nice color combination. I'm looking for one of these Sevilles now.

[@stevevarholy2011]

My Uncle was (and still is) a Cadillac man. He had a 1981 Bustleback in the silver/black two-tone paint scheme. When they were downsized, he had the STS Seville and later bought STS versions of the next generations. His current Caddy is a CT6. I liked the downsized Seville. But then agains, I liked the 1985-1986 Devilles as well.

[@jeffshadow2407]

The 2016 to 2018 CT6s have room for a proper SEVILLE emblem on the trunk!

[@drm9397]

The CT6 is a phenomenal car. Big, fast, quiet, comfortable.

[@TheProAer]

My Friend Master P loves these old Sevilles

[@tombaker501]

Tons of great info, like that you cover the 80’s cars. Keep up the great videos!🏳️‍🌈

[@christopherlaflam6383]

Love it ! Lovely two-tone - XTS VSport owner

[@elizabethcherry920]

Even that Continental Mk7 is nice, the two Continentals really make that Seville look small , what was Cadillac thinking

[@ThisCarChannel]

I especially liked the STS version of these. In white with the STS wheels it looked super sleek!

[@JeffreyReed4380]

Adam, thanks so much for these videos you are really making me a car fanatic! I still have a love for the 88-90 Buick Electra Park Avenue which this somewhat resembles… did it have the same platform as those C-bodies? I do hope we can see your Park Avenue soon!! I’m still looking for one myself 🤞🏼 Thanks for the videos! Big fan of yours!!!!!

[@johneddy908]

The 1985-91 Seville utilized GM's K platform. It was the deVille and Fleetwood that used the larger C platform, along with the Buick Park Avenue.

[@JeffreyReed4380]

@@johneddy908 thanks John! 👍🏼

[@daunte8106]

Wow, there are some cool cars on this parking lot

[@careavis]

Reminds me of my first car in size a 1984 Buick Century Custom.

[@nomebear]

An elderly friend owned the STS model. The wood interior on the STS was sourced from BEHR in Germany, a Mercedes OEM.

[@gregfielder4763]

Cadillac really lost their way in the 80’s and I haven’t seen much since that impresses me. I currently own 2 Caddy’s, a ‘69 DeVille and a’14 SRX (wife’s car) but I would choose the Lincoln next to your featured car all day long.

[@1234Testicle]

The Nissan Pulsar NX next to the caddy is interesting as well.

[@markst.germain9286]

Just imagine if this car did get the 3800 series 2. They would still be everywhere.

[@nb7466]

We had a car similar growing up. It was a 1989 Oldsmobile toronado trofeo. It even had the VIC center. The car reminded me of knight rider when I was a kid. Being all black and all of those digital screens. Car was great had it for over 200k miles then it rotted away sadly.

[@ddomin2002]

If you ever want to do a video on my 1988 Seville, I’m local in Detroit! It’s “light Rosewood” with matching rosewood interior and only 44k miles. I also have a 91 Eldorado ETC and 86 toronado. These E/K’s are my favorite!

[@RareClassicCars]

Oh that would be cool once the weather breaks. Email me.

[@jmax313]

@Rare Classic And Automotive History , It's ironic that the Caddy and Town Car of that particular era are your subject, Being that "Rodger Smith" told consumers that complained, of the small Caddy. "They'll buy, what we make"! Next month , Ford Rouge opened a third shift, and took over the domestic market. Marking the beginning of the end for "The Mark Of Excellence" ! Thanks Rodger...

[@fourdoorglory5945]

We flooded the daily rental market in Florida with these in 88-89 as a way of getting people exposed to these E/Ks. It worked. Once they drove em they sold big in the Florida zone. These are very comfortable well mannered driving cars.

[@fourdoorglory5945]

Hi Adam. Think that to might have been hacked unless you have an account with the same logo and channel name on the Telegram app.

[@clintmullins4406]

I like to see you do a review of the 1991 Deville touring.

[@rafaelfiallo4123]

All of these had walnut veneer starting from 1986, the STS added a ton of extra burled wood. The same vintage Eldorado only had wood on the Biarritz at first. These were cars that needed to be just a little longer and wider to loot much better.

[@Noir0107]

This car has an amazing engine and can run fast af

[@its.just.me.1.2.3.]

I much prefer this version of the Seville than the bustleback version of 1980-1985, which I greatly dislike. The exterior of the 1986-1991 Seville is attractive, though the interior is more Chevy Cavalier than Cadillac! Would love to see you do a piece about the Lincoln Mark VI parked next to it.

[@johnhall8364]

Those cars felt and looked like crappy little economy cars, heck that little Datsun pulsar beside it looks like it shared a platform with Seville. Even the also awkwardly downsized dorky looking Lincoln mark iv beside it looks good by comparison. Great video by the way.

[@anonlarson2875]

I like these, because they aren't very common. For some reason, I find them interesting, despite them looking cheap compared to the bussle back which ooozed money when they first came out.

[@kevinbarry71]

A lot of manufacturers overdid it downsizing cars in the 1980s. For example a current Toyota Camry has a wheelbase that is 111.2 inches. 3 inches longer than that car.

[@willc5512]

The Camry has gotten entirely too big! I think its ugly like a fat jelly bean!

[@kevinbarry71]

@@willc5512 well perhaps. I was just using it as a point of comparison. A Honda Civic is probably a better choice if you don't like the Camry so much. It has other advantages as well

[@stevevarholy2011]

Cars in general have gotten much larger. Camry and Accord in 2022 are way bigger than they were in 1985. The same thing happened with pickups. Drove a rentalcurrent model Silverado and thought it was pointlessly big.

[@joe6096]

@@stevevarholy2011 I owned a 1988 Accord sedan and a 2009 Accord coupe. You could fit two ‘88 Accords in my ‘09 - one in the back seat and one in the trunk.

[@Sedan57Chevy]

I imagine most people who bought these would've been plenty satisfied with the Buick v6, and the v8 could've been reserved for the more performance version. As a comfortable, compact, relatively economical cruiser, this gen Seville wasn't bad... the problem was that it was priced $4-5k more than the similar looking deville, which had the same engine (1990 base prices). It's no doubt that Cadillac managed to sell 131k+ Sedan deviles In 1990, compared to 33k Sevilles. This generation was a good car (especially with 4.5 and 4.9) but it didn't offer anything you couldn't get in a bigger, cheaper car... ironically, flying in the face of Cadillacs attempt to separate itself from the bigger models. In 1990, they sold about 600 more Broughams, a 1977-vintage car, than Seville.

[@fleetwin1]

"hippo on a bar stool", YUK YUK YUK! I really like the styling of the next generation Sevilles, clean/classic lines that will always look good. I would happily drive one of those verhicles if the powertrains were robust/reliable. Who/what design team developed that model?

[@felinebline7154]

Big dollar and ultra rare 91 Saville Spring Edition ASTRO ROOF European grabbing what's left. Bringing well into the mid 20k if your lucky to find one. Quick as hell with the coveted 91 4.9!!!

[@paularcher4607]

I liked those small Eldos and Sevilles. I worked at a Buick/Olds dealer at the time and everybody thought they looked too much like the Buick Somerset at twice the price. PS, too bad you couldn't ease your camera just a little to the left and show us that juicy Mark VII.

[@markdc1145]

I've always been uncomfortable with this car's proportions but the times were different then. Unfortunately, designers had little sway over the package engineers who had a very different agenda. Thankfully, the car was widened and I shudder to think how it would have been otherwise.

[@elizabethcherry920]

I thought I would never say it since I never liked this generation, but this is a nice looking car, what I like much more than this Seville is that Continental Mk6 that is parked next to it

[@GaryBoyd02]

You know what I see is a Buick Lesabre or Olds 88. I don't see Cadillac..I am willing to bet that is what alot of other people saw as well. Why would you pay the Cadillac premium?

[@loveisall5520]

Had Cadillac not changed, it probably wouldn't be with us today, as we now see the bloated, overweight Escalade designed to match our bloated, overweight population.

[@charlesw62]

Anyone that knows cars can easily tell it’s NOT a Lesabre or 88.

[@GaryBoyd02]

@@charlesw62 Thanks for your sage opinion. You.may want to explain that as why they lost 10s of thousands of sales.. Nobody knew any thing about cars clearly .....tens of thousands of people.. Oh my it was obvious.

[@davidu4758]

I agree with others, it was a nice looking car...although not really a true Cadillac in that sense. The styling reminds me more of a Buick or Olds and my favorite Caddy is the older (early 80s) Fleetwood Brougham. Round about 1990-something, a nurse I worked with at the time had one and it was a little bit of a lark to me since she was about five-foot-nothing and probably weighed 105 lbs dripping wet. Just a little odd that somone so small would be driving such a boat. One of the nicer looking land yachts of the past IMO wasn't a Cadillac, but another GM. The Pontiac Parisienne (5th gen). Our next-door neighbors (retirees, of course) bought one. Now we're talking mid-late 80s. Leaving for high school every morning, I could only admire the sight in the driveway. On the other hand, we had a Buick Skyhawk. Nice on the inside, but a little too spicy for grandparents on the outside. Kind of embarassing in a way.

[@davidfrania8990]

The difference in size between this Seville and the Mark VI next to it is almost comical. That being said, a friend of mine had a Seville in the same color as the amethyst upper color on this Seville. She eventually traded the Seville in on a Continental, which had a much roomier interior.

[@aaronwilliams6989]

And WAAAAY bigger and cooler!

[@newtonlee7849]

Nice video Adam. I'm curious whether the sales losses of this & the Eldorado was taken up by increasing sales of mainly foreign makes. This model Caddy actually is much more similar in dimension to foreign luxury makes, so it's surprising that the sales dropped during this model period 85-91

[@Primus54]

It had at least two strikes against it. First, there were too many GM cars in the cheaper divisions that had a similar look thanks to “badge engineering”. Second, the younger generation that could afford luxury vehicles grew up when Cadillac was known for much larger land yachts usually owned by older folks so they were looking from a brand with a less “stodgy” reputation.

[@billyjoejimbob56]

I have always thought that the nearly vertical backlite, short package shelf, and squared off rear end on the '86 - '91 Seville (Eldo, Riviera and Toronado also) gave these cars very awkward proportions that accentuated their compact size. Combined with the long front overhang and steeply raked windsheild, it almost appears as if those who shaped the front half of the cars were not allowed to share their designs with those who shaped the rear half until time was up. Not among GM's finest work IMHO.

[@howebrad4601]

I have to respectfully disagree. particularly the Eldorado touring coupe version of this generation looks great to my eye with the vertical backlight. to each his own I guess

[@billyjoejimbob56]

@@howebrad4601 To each his own. Look at the bright side... If you want to buy one, i won't be bidding up the price on your prize!

[@OLDS98]

Thank you Adam for the video. I liked the topic. I liked what you said. It was not just the Seville that suffered. All the GM cars suffered and it was not the downsizing that messed GM up. It was not just the size, the styling, and distinction all the brands lost at GM. Chevrolet was the only one that did not downsize in the downsized era at GM 1985-1990 time frame. I know GM started upsizing in 1988 and 1989. I own two of the upsized Oldsmobiles( Ninety-Eight ( 1991)and Toronado( 1990)). I wonder what would have happened if the 1989-1992 upsized GM cars had come out in 1985 -1987? They could have invested in other things to improve instead of spending funds upsizing everything and making styling corrections. I know as you said they were trying to create 1977-1979 again and be successful with that. It did not happen because of expectations and a fuel crisis. Another thing is the more expensive cars looked like the cheaper cars( the C and H bodies looked like A Bodies and the E and K Bodies looked like N bodies. Great video and topic. According to the new Lincoln Book I have Lincoln was going to downsized too, but did not. They have sketches in the book as well.

[@rafaelfiallo4123]

The 87 FWD Continental was pretty much what a FWD Town Car would have been. They had Ford/Mercury proposals for that same stretched Taurus platform but they were never made.

[@OLDS98]

@@rafaelfiallo4123 Thank you for your comment. The front wheel drive Lincoln Continental was 1988. The last rear drive Continental was the fox platform 1987 model. I have never seen the Ford and Mercury proposals. It would be interesting to see. You can see the 1988 Lincoln Continental was like a Town Car. That car influenced the design of future Australian Fords. Go check out the AU Ford LTD and Fairlane and the BF Ford LTD and Fairlane. There are videos here on You Tube.

[@rafaelfiallo4123]

@@OLDS98 88 my bad. I remember it being in magazines in 87 when it was introduced.

[@OLDS98]

@@rafaelfiallo4123 No issues or worries..

[@bettermost]

Those pouches were added on the front seat backs because people complained to dealers about how thin the seat backs looked. The pouches gave the illusion the seats were thicker.

[@adamcampbell8794]

Gorgeous ❤

[@varzilla1513]

I still like these baby Seville/Eldo's, and I'd love to own one. I remember I had a friend who was also a Cadillac man who hated them but loved the crappy Cimarrron. We would always argue over this because like I told him the baby Seville/Eldo's look like Caddys the Cimarrron didn't!

[@arevee9429]

I actually really like this car and would like to see a test drive if Adam has such a car in his seemingly vast collection. And I agree with @hurricane that it would have made a much better Cimarron than the actual Cimmeron. A 200hp V8 in a 3400-pound car would be quite spritely even by today's standards. The V8 probably didn't have the reliability of the GM 3800, but it would be much smoother and quieter than the 3800. I had the occasion to start a low-mileage LeSabre with that engine recently and it definitely made its presence known - and not in a great sounding or feeling way.

[@kc0lif]

cute cadillac Seville.

[@mistert7958]

Dug deep into the Cobalt parts bin for this one.

[@corvettejimmy3323]

I’d love a review of the 1979-85 eldorado by you and Wayne kady. I have 2 perfect specimens if you ever decide to do a video…

[@jonell1425]

My opinion about Cadillac overall was then, and continues even today, to be that they lost their way when they stopped trying to get buyers to step up from lesser domestics and started to try to get buyers to step down from much better luxury imports.

[@dennismccallister3994]

I remember going to car lots after the down size looking at window stickers ans asking they want that much for that????....lol...was that car show you where at...what time capsules i use too own...

[@cardinaloflannagancr8929]

My mother almost got one of those used in the early 90's size was the issue. She wanted a small car though this was a little too small for her.

[@chinito507]

I have a 1987 cadillac seville that I am rebuilding, do you think it is worth it?

[@androo4519]

With a few mods you could take the trunk lid off and make this into a uniquely odd crew-cab pickup.

[@rjsmith4495]

When these tiny Cadillacs came out people were shocked how cheap they looked and basically were twins to the tiny Olds Calais etc. We had an '83 Seville that had so much more class than any of these downsized trollops!

[@klwthe3rd]

This having the 2 tone paint, i believe is an Elegante model. I owned a 1990 Cadillac Seville with exterior silver Burgandy Leather interior with the 4.5 port fuel injection. I loved the look of the car and it ran excellent with the motor and transmission combo. The only complaint i can say is that the back seat leg room was indeed kinda cramped. For kids it's fine but for adults, it's kinda tight. It's plenty wide enough just not much knee and leg room. I ended up getting rid of the car when the torque converter went out so i basically unplugged the connector on the transmission and drove it that way for another year before selling it off. The elegante models are the most rare and i love the color combination on this particular vehicle. My guess it's a 1988.

[@rafaelfiallo4123]

It's 2 tone like an Elegante but the Elegante of this year had the button tufted seats from what I recall. This car has the base seats. I didn't see the Elegante emblem in the quay glass either.

[@klwthe3rd]

@@rafaelfiallo4123 You could be correct. I wasn't sure if you could get the two tone paint scheme as an option on the base Seville. 🤔 But you are spot on about the interior. The Elegante did have the button tufted seats and door panels.

[@klwthe3rd]

@@rafaelfiallo4123 what is the quay glass btw?

[@rafaelfiallo4123]

@@klwthe3rd Quarter glass. Oops. The Elegante's had the script in the rear door glass like the FWD Fleetwoods of the same era

[@klwthe3rd]

@@rafaelfiallo4123 I never knew that. I did know the Fleetwoods of 1987-1988 had the script in the quarter glass in the back doors but i didn't know that about the Sevilles of the same years.

[@messemphanger]

Had a 91 Seville with the 4.9L, the thing was a little rocket ship.

[@jacobfleming6616]

I had a 1990 Fleetwood of this body and I must say it was a good car. Was it a Capital C “Cadillac”? Maybe not. But it was an excellent car. Stylistically it had more traditional Cadillac looks, with narrow vertical tail lights, rear wheel skirts, vinyl top.