1986 Cadillac Seville And Deville Touring Sedan | Retro Review

The Seville sees dramatic change for its third generation, and we'll witness the birth of the sportier side of Cadillac with the Deville Touring Sedan.
Show 518 | Original Airdate 03-18-1986
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[@kevinbarry71]

"Cherry wood plastic". God bless John for saying that with a straight face. Not to mention saying something nice about the Cimarron in passing. That's a professional.

[@manofthehour6856]

How do you know he had a straight face when this statement was narration only?

[@a.person7825]

@@manofthehour6856You can hear a smile.😉

[@donwarrington4916]

Cherry wood plastic in a Cadillac ....lmao

[@davidwilliams7723]

​@@donwarrington4916real wood is great, until the chassis flex and temperature cycles makes it and the lacquer start cracking

[@SnepperStepTV]

The Cimarron is a good car with stupid marketing. If it was pitched correctly you wouldn't have your joke butt.

[@fp5495]

There is so much late 1980s about this video, right down to the stage set John is standing in. From the "techy" textured wall, to the moody spot lighting. If anyone wants to know what things that were on-trend were like in the late 1980s, that was a prime example. 1985/86 was an iconic pivot in cultural history for everything, including cars. For American cars, it was truly a growing pains period, and it took quite a while to get to where they are, for better or worse. Despite how it may have looked, American cars still ruled the road in the 80s, and the experience was way better than today's criticism too easily tries to lead you to believe. It was exciting to buy a car back then, because there were so many models to choose from and you were buying a lifestyle. People loved to show off their cars, but today, the variety is lacking, and nothing stands out as special. Car culture has shifted. Not a necessarily bad, but nothing like it was since post WWII to, maybe, the mid-90s, when car companies started to whittle away their brands, and homogenize their model lineup. YES, cars are way better today, but then, so is all technology. Respective of their model sector, there's very little that separates cars from one another, today.

[@MWBenDavis]

You said it, man! Well done

[@ddellwo]

Agreed - today’s vehicles are largely designed for soulless Millennials - little more than another dull kitchen appliance…….☹

[@Samspianopage]

Yep sure did. Esp when it comes to Styling pretty much most vars all have the similar basic silhouette nowadays with very minor differences its very hard to tell each apart.

[@carzak]

@@Samspianopage People say cars look the same now, but I think the '80s were the worst in that respect. Everything had rectangular sealed beam headlights and very little to set the front end apart from other cars. Plus, everything had that straight edge, angular styling and boxy design. You draw one sedan in profile, you draw 20. Not to say there weren't some beautiful and classic designs from that era, though.

[@meleepinata]

Car nut here. You nailed it. Been making the same statement for years now.

[@bored2323]

Keep these throwbacks coming ! I’m addicted to them

[@volvo145]

These videos are also excellent if one hour looking to buy or you stole Bureau car

[@2006gtobob]

Please Cadillac, we need you back. Cushy serene rides are what's needed on America's crappy roads

[@jft7174]

Dash board built by Texas Instruments 😂

[@kevinbarry71]

Younger buyers; you know, the under 75 crowd

[@bn9983]

Drive your new Caddy to preplan your funeral.

[@bruceyung70]

Lol😂

[@elizabethbox4464]

😂😂😂

[@carlasghost656]

Cadillac buyers, people who make references to WWII in first person.

[@davidglodoski2525]

awe come on its not all that bad lovies! i enjoyed my cadillac ❤

[@dueljet]

My dad had a 1988 Seville with the better 4.5l engine. He had over 275k on it when he sold it in 1998. It was a great car and I miss it. Never gave us any real trouble.

[@melrose9252]

He was blessed.

[@dueljet]

@@melrose9252 I did all of the maintenance on it and followed GM's recommended service intervals. That included special attention to the requirements for additional additives in the cooling system. Being a Buick Pontiac dealership employee helped with reasonably priced genuine GM maintenance parts too.

[@gettcouped]

4.5 and 4.9 were indestructible!

[@lifewithjosef]

Had a 4.5 in my '88 SDV. An excellent motor that gave me no trouble. My Cad was stolen at 160k, broke my heart.

[@303nitzubishi4]

I worked at a Cadillac dealer in the late 90s. 4.5s and 4.9s were dead reliable if you flushed the cooling system every 30-50k and did rod bearings every 70-100k. We had a guy in our shop that could drop the oil pan and do a full set of rod bearings in well under an hour. The folks that took their caddies to joe blo shops (and even some irreputable dealers) that didn't bother to read TSBs are the only ones who complain about the later HT engines

[@orphngv]

The owner of the first 1986 Cadillac that rolled off the assembly line is now 148 yrs old

[@bruschmidt9943]

37 years ago from 2023, that would mean they were 111 years old then 😕

[@TGarzarel]

@@bruschmidt9943 sounds about right

[@jimdayton8837]

Huh? I don't get what you're trying to say.

[@orphngv]

@@jimdayton8837 I’m saying Cadillac owners are so old , they’re petrified

[@stratfordbaby]

12 seconds 0-60. That is glacial... absolutely amazing.

[@sayimjustadreamer]

"Fairly quick"

[@joeseeking3572]

All depends what era you grew up in. In the early 80's 12 sec would have been 'pretty good' - a lot of stuff on the road was in the 15 second (or worse) range. Say an 83 Sedan DeVille, that Fairmont wagon in your neighbor's drive or Jimmy's old Volare that you caught a ride to school in :)

[@mr.boostang2064]

130hp from a V8 😨 and 0-60 in 12sec 😱 We really are spoiled these days. My Corolla with its 132 hp 1.8L 4banger would have been like a race engine back in those days

[@gmpny3945]

The downsizing of the 1986 Seville was a disaster. Sales plummeted as compared to the 1985 Seville. Add in the notorious HT4100 motor and you have a perfect storm.

[@judethaddaeus9742]

And sales of the ‘85 Seville weren’t all that hot to begin with. Especially with that same HT4100.

[@MercOne]

Yeah, they were just junk.

[@douglasb.1203]

@@judethaddaeus9742 85 Seville 39,700 -vs- 86 at 19,000. More than twice as many.

[@charlesbakston7414]

The same with the Cadillac Eldorado

[@mattmayo3539]

That dark days at Cadillac. They almost tanked.

[@OLDS98]

Thank you for sharing this GM video. It is appreciated. Those were some lean and difficult times at GM and at Cadillac. GM could not get anything right back them. The 1989 Deville could not come fast enough and the 1992 Seville either. The 4.5 Liter V8 that became the 4.9 could not come fast enough in 1988. The engine in that car in 1986 was beyond sad. Now people know the beginnings of the Cadillac DTS. It was not a new thing at all. The downsized era at GM 1985-1990 was a rough time. It took GM years to correct all of that. What was sad is how Seville looked like the cheaper N Body sedans( Pontiac Grand Am, Oldsmobile Calais/Cutlass Calais, and Buick Skylark). The Deville was not much better either looking like a Oldsmobile Ninety Eight or Buick Park Avenue. Thank you again. GM was using a lot of new technology across all the brands.

[@davidwilliams7723]

Especially when you consider 1985/6/7 was right in the middle of the oil glut. The Saudis were convinced by Reagan to increase production to torpedo the Soviet Union's oil sector. No one cared about the price of gas. A lot of small time oil companies in TX actually went bankrupt

[@Wasabi9111]

I just checked and the Deville was only 194 inches long. As a kid in the 80s, I thought this car was huge! But it is shorter than the current Honda Accord length.

[@86twin]

That makes my Challenger longer by 3”

[@aaronwilliams6989]

They did shrink an awful lot.

[@bruceyung70]

My uncle took me to a football game once in his new car. I believe it was Cadillac with a north star v8. What I remembered most was when he took a sharp turn, my body would slide around the front seat like a fried egg on a Teflon pan.

[@injustifiiable]

One of my favs. I remember a family friend having an STS and it was so fascinating inside, especially as a kid.

[@cardo1111]

Very Back To The Futurish.

[@thepissedoffrobot]

I just bought a super clean 1990 STS a few weeks ago.

[@RoadCone411]

This was the same year Acura began selling the Legend, and in just a few short years, Lexus and Infiniti were on the scene. With the already-established European brands selling well, Cadillac never found that younger demographic they were truly looking for.

[@devinbiz]

I do think that these “modernized” Cadillacs might have helped bring in some (though not much) younger buyers. Frankly, far more desirable cars than the Lincoln Continental and the turbo 4-cylinder Chryslers or the outdated RWD 5th Avenue

[@texan903]

Those brands swooped in to eat Cadi's lunch. Cadillac had no clear strategy during this time; keeping 1970s interiors while being economic sports cars, they were all over the place and sales plummeted as a result. Between this blunder, followed by the Eldorado and Cimarron, it's almost a shock the brand survived the 1980s.

[@Aikynbreusov]

Cadillac was chasing waterfall...

[@hitek9too255]

I never understood trying to bring in younger buyers who typically can't afford luxury vehicles anyways. If the brand is selling good, who cares if it attracts younger buyers? Buick used to be the top selling luxury brand until they started trying to attract younger buyers.

[@jamesslick4790]

@@hitek9too255 👍👍

[@mattmayo3539]

These were definitely the dark days at Cadillac. They lost there way and barely held on.

[@jimdayton8837]

Very true. Seems like they never recovered either if you ask me. Cadillac is currently going through another identity crisis.

[@stevend3753]

Can you imagine buying a new, premium model Cadillac and it not coming with something so basic as power door locks?

[@mikederucki]

$71,000 in todays money, can you imagine being swindled so badly

[@josh1alderete]

I would love to have this car right now 👌🏽

[@Bear_Arms]

Starting price of $26,756 is almost $75K in today's money. No wonder the Japenese and Germans were able to take over the luxury car market. Imagine paying that much for a rebadged Buick. 12 seconds 0-60 was "fairly quick" back then. No wonder old people drive so slow.

[@TeeroyHammermill]

The speed limit was 55 back then.

[@amarsta]

I used to watch this every Saturday morning on tv

[@kewlbean]

So interesting to look back and see this car and imagine what it was competing against. Also, Looks like it was filmed on a not yet open 295 between DC and Baltimore.

[@MWBenDavis]

It was a not yet opened 795

[@blisterbrain]

No wonder Lincoln was selling so many Town Cars at this time!

[@hitek9too255]

Lincoln was the better brand at the time.

[@dmer-zy3rb]

the big town car wasnt even slower!

[@islandon22]

In that year I was driving the Lincoln LSC. Loved it, sold it for great $. Trouble free for 4 years. Cadillac owning friends were disappointed with theirs.

[@SunsPhan75]

@2:17...Those Seville front seats looking like the my skinny pics from my 20s

[@TomSnyder-gx5ru]

I noticed that also - I've had sandwiches thicker than those front seat backs!

[@JJPMustang]

If your basis of “success” is the Cimmaron you know you’re in trouble!

[@AsteroidsDeluxe]

I learned to appreciate these down sized DeVille over the years. Especially as they improved into the early 90’s.

[@josevidal6458]

Beautiful Seville...perfect color.

[@devinbiz]

They may have been criticized by traditionalists at the time, but this was a much needed pivot point to remain relevant in the luxury car marketplace

[@davidwilliams7723]

No it certainly was not. These were a disaster. Seville sales were cut in half. Devile sales somehow did increase but fell by 40% the next year.

[@daviddaniel387]

Yes more Cadillac please

[@danielmestric9285]

Ahh the '86 Cadillacs... a lesson in how to alienate your core customer base without attracting any new buyers. That Deville was stylish as a Donkey!

[@fernandorocha8459]

I love Cadillac Seville and Deville 86 e too 85, 87 and 88. I love Cadillac Eldorado 85-88, Fleetwood, 85-88, Cimarron 85 - 88. I love Cadillacs 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988, best cars

[@chrisb2844]

That is a sharp looking Seville, I haven't seen one of those on the road in years!

[@patrickmcgoldrick8234]

There are reasons,weak transaxles,throw away weakly designed engine, erratic climate control system, leaking rack and pinion, plastic strip window regulators,and the sad part is it could have a great car.

[@deeplycon638]

Y'all know what?🤔 This the only channel that I don't have to watch a ad first 😂

[@johneddy908]

The third-generation Seville was arguably the best Seville yet - especially styling-wise, much better than the model it replaced.

[@hellbound64]

$26500 is $76 grand in todays money….

[@8corymix8]

Very handsome cars. I love em

[@hitek9too255]

12 second 0-60 with a 130hp V8 with tons of bodyroll and that's supposed to be sporty? Lol.

[@tkewrestler2662]

Hardly enough power to get out of its own way.

[@Andrew-bb3lc]

It was enough for 1986…. Back then it was torque not horsepower that mattered. Government regulations strangled horsepower in the early 70s due to emission standards and CAFE standards.

[@melrose9252]

@@Andrew-bb3lc..< They didn’t even have considerable Torque back then. Engines were weak.

[@new2000car]

@@Andrew-bb3lcthe ford Taurus’ v6, the smaller, cheaper duratec, I think, had around 140 hp. It did 0-60 in 9.8 seconds. It’s not Cadillac-like to be thoroughly outgunned by a base model ford. This 4.1 was pathetic in its day. The saving grace was supposed to be better gas mileage, here the Taurus was better too.

[@TeeroyHammermill]

@TKE Wrestler: i had an 86 Seville. Seemed to have adequate power.

[@hitek9too255]

​@@new2000car 😂😂😂

[@thebagnechannel3183]

I’d rock one of these.

[@zzoinks]

I'm surprised that some Cadillac models still looked boxy in the 1990s but these 80s models are all smooth and aerodynamic.

[@ogjk]

Wish they still used that retro set with the model car in the background.

[@fp5495]

Oh, man, I just saw your comment after posting my (very long) comment. The mood of that set WAS on-trend, late 1980s.

[@speedydb55]

It always amazes me how low power output was with these engines way back when (I was 2 years old in '86). My CTS with a turbo four makes more than double the horses of the V8 featured here.

[@albclean]

I detailed those when they were brand new off the car carrier when I worked at a Cadillac dealership. I'm OLD😅

[@bruceyung70]

Join the club. Lol

[@johnhenrymcmahon6878]

SO gorgeous, both inside and out. All that leather and wood is heavenly. I love these old Jags. ;)

[@googleuser3007]

Nearly 40 years later Cadillac builds a 6 speed manual 600+ horsepower all conquering destroyer called the CT5 Black Wing. Back on top!!

[@Camaro69z]

Good to see these weren't taped over like Johnny Carson episodes.

[@Bloodcurling]

@2:30 At least in this review they didn't slam the 'power lid latch' like the other review 🤣

[@Wasabi9111]

As an impressionable young child in the late 80s, my mom‘s wealthy, best friend only drove Cadillacs. And in my mind, I thought they were the best cars ever! But started in 1990, they slowly switched over to all European imports. I guess that was the typical trend back then

[@JamesSmith-sw3nk]

The average 1986 Cadillac buyer was born in the 1920's. That digital & computer tech must have been a huge hit with them..

[@Andrew-bb3lc]

Not totally true, my parents were in their 30s in the 80s when they owned Cadillacs and I also knew plenty of 40 and 50 year old that owned them.

[@melrose9252]

@@Andrew-bb3lc< The GM diesels had run many Caddie owners away not to mention shoddy gas engines. By the mid 90’s Lincoln and the imports were tearing them up.

[@air-headedaviator1805]

12 seconds to 60… 12.8 average fuel economy… My how times have evolved. Even basic transportation today would seem like a supercar back then, and only because there was an inability to make these old style designs efficient on fuel

[@hitek9too255]

Wow! 13 mpg off a 130hp V8. Man these cars are terrible.

[@landyachtfan79]

I must go on record & confess that this was always my least favorite body style of the Seville. I understand that the name of the game in the 1980's was efficiency, & this car DID have a gorgeous interior, but you could literally park this car next to a Buick Skylark/Somerset, Oldsmobile Calais, or Pontiac Grand Am of the same year & people would be very hard-pressed to tell the difference.

[@tomanderson6335]

100% right. The fact that this generation of E/K-body came out the model year after the N-bodies debuted made it even worse, much like how the Maserati TC came out after the J-body Chrysler Le Baron convertible. Toronado and Riviera sales never really recovered, even after the heavy facelifts that gave them the longer tails and less boxy greenhouses they should have had in the first place.

[@landyachtfan79]

Ah...............the Chrysleratt Total Crap, @@tomanderson6335!!!!!!

[@RoxiSmith]

My oldest brother had 89 gold Cadillac Seville in late '90s and early '00s. Really nice ride. Also my former neighbor's daughter had one Seville beige and I was ride in too. My family friend had 87 or 88 Cadillac Deville (color wine) back in the day 1990s. Fly time!!

[@Paul-cx4gm]

Thanks for the video, brings back memories... some good some not so good about this era. 😁

[@antwanmcclain8909]

This Deville looked extremely small. Really didn't look any bigger than the Seville.

[@filthyanimal874]

Beautiful automobiles!

[@MercOne]

Look at this and look at the W126 and you see why Cadillac just completely lost it in the 80's and has been struggling every since. Then 1990 came.........the rest is history. That said, for some reason I still remember this DeVille fondly. I like the look even now.

[@MidnightinSavannah]

Those 4.1 V8 knocked when they were new. I don't know how Cadillac is still around with the 4-6-8 V8engine, this engine and the Northstar.

[@jasperdilincoln2341]

My Grandfather had a '85 Coupe Deville, My Grandmother a '86 Sedan Deville and my Parents a '87 Sedan Deville as well. They were all comfortable cars. My parents had leather and my Grandparents had Valor. In '92 My Grandmother got a New Deville which she still has to this day. She will be 100 in October, but says she liked her '86 better because of the Valor Seats they were more comfortable then in her '92 😆🤦‍♂️

[@thezfamily989]

How is the 87 seville? Any issues?

[@bruschmidt9943]

0:33 Welcome back to c1986 & hold up. These Cadillacs were extensively downsized for the 1985 (DeVille) & 1986 (Seville)model years, but in 1986 they were already considered "large"? 😕

[@johnnymason2460]

Better engines and a better 4-speed automatic would have helped these Cadillacs a lot. Cadillac should have had all their cars RWD except for the Cimarron. All these would have made Cadillac more competitive with the European luxury brands as well as the upcoming Japanese luxury brands.

[@mollari2261]

No wonder the US auto industry needed so many bailouts. 2:38 Good ol’ GM engines, turning gasoline into nothing. 3:48 One look tells you that this is a badge-engineered Chevy Caprice.

[@vwgolf6487]

THANK YOU!!!

[@HypocriticYT]

Drove one in the 80’s and on the worse road I could find and it was amazingly smooth

[@mattt198654321]

My uncle a seville like this. I remember sitting in it as a very young child and being completely unimpressed with the interior space. My Grandma's caprice classic felt like an aircraft carrier compared to the Caddy.

[@ohguy1991]

@6:01 MotorWeek had a habit of taking still shots with the hazard lights on. Always wondered the reason behind that. Lol

[@CRAPO2011]

Many vintage car adverts would have the hazards on

[@tonychavez2083]

We need a video on the 91 with the 4.9L V8 those were great!

[@surfordie82]

3:02 "0-60 was fairly quick at 12.0 seconds". God those 4.1s were boat anchors.

[@P.Galore]

In 1986, a FOUR cylinder Baby Benz had 138 hp and did 0-60 in 9 seconds. not the 12 second 0-60 Cadillac V8. Pitiful.

[@kevinbarry71]

Yes, and about the time this review was done the Acura legend arrived, with 152 hp from 2.5 L. And a much much much better car overall

[@hitek9too255]

130hp from a V8. A damn shame.

[@Wasabi9111]

Growing up in the 80s, I never understood why American cars in the same price class had such a large engine versus their import counterparts. I guess big engine doesn’t mean big power

[@dmer-zy3rb]

people talk badly about mercedes prices back in the day - sure they were expensive but even a 4 cyl merc smoked the us luxury cars! and they were 10 times more durable and reliable than these Cadillacs.

[@ENDTIMEsVideoLibrary]

The Over-Downsized Cadillacs that taught GM a few lessons about putting out Cookie Cutter Cars..

[@86twin]

I like these designs, but I wish they were a tad bigger.

[@aaronwilliams6989]

By around a foot to 15 inches.

[@jimdayton8837]

My dad had an '86 Seville when I was a kid and would drive me to school in it everyday. It had a really nice red leather interior and I remember really liking it. I think I may have barfed in it once however lol.

[@brians8794]

Haha that's funny. When I was little I puked in the backseat of grandma's Cadillac Brougham. It was a D'Elegance so it had the button tufted leather seats and I'm pretty sure it was hard to clean the puke out of the buttons.

[@jimdayton8837]

@@brians8794 Be glad the interior wasn't cloth or velour lol

[@brians8794]

@@jimdayton8837 haha yes that would've been a nightmare

[@romanseano]

After watching this video, I can see why the 1988 Chrysler New Yorker redesign had such successful sales. They offered everything buyers wanted most in this class, for several thousand dollars less. Leather, same digital tech, safety features like ABS (driver side airbag in 89), the NY'r's V6 even had similar HP to Seville's V8. Some context: Today, Chrysler wouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as Cadillac. But in the 80's, it was positioned as the corp's luxury brand - marketing itself as a more attainable alternative to Cadi, Lincoln, Benz, etc.

[@PhillyDee215]

I love my Cadillac.....CTS-V3

[@landyachtfan79]

2:00 & 4:39........I REALLY miss Caddy's "doorbell" chimes, & REALLY wish they would bring them back!!!!!!

[@RADIUMGLASS]

The age of buyers range from 60 to death ☠️

[@thethomasj1795]

Of all the Caddy's I owned/leased my 1990 Coupe DeVille was my favorite. That being said the early offerings were a crime against humanity.

[@user-ik3wq4qh9k]

Crazy that a V8 in a Cadillac makes so little horsepower ! I just purchased a Honda Civic that only has a 4 cylinder that makes 315 hp ! It’s turbo but still less than half the size of the V8 in this car .

[@its.just.me.1.2.3.]

I may be the only one who really likes the 1986 Cadillac Seville much more than the 1975 version and especially much more than the 1980 redesign. Best one of all was the 1967 model though!

[@daviduliana4447]

1986 was the nadir for styling for Cadillac.

[@suomenpresidentti]

4.1 liter V8 with 130hp. Same as my - 05 1.8 corolla verso. That is even less per liter, than that 1983 2.0 nissan stanza with 83hp.

[@zillsburyy1]

the best the U.S. had to offer in the 80s

[@briq4409]

Sometimes you get the word touring. Other times it’s turring. Also, make a drinking game out of every time John says touring/turring take a drink. I think people would die.

[@CarloCars83]

I love the styling of these cars! The engine is just sad 4.1L 130 HP 😂 They both deserve an engine swap. Fun fact Cimarron V6 had 125HP. I bet it was the fastest Cadillac that year.

[@ljmorris6496]

This is why the 4.5 and 4.9 was created..

[@generaloranger6150]

I love 80's FWD Caddy. They all looked like a cheap N Body Calais...

[@fana406]

Those fingers looked like an 80s scary movie

[@lgbman]

0-60 in 12 seconds! Wow, glad we're in the new millennium.

[@bwest6275]

I am so thankful I wasn’t looking to buy a car during this era.

[@RaymondHaley-lv2mo]

Cadillac tried to make more youthful luxury cars, only thing that was missing, the engine transmission and suspension but at least they came fully equipped, how sad.

[@wingsley]

Cadillac's HT4100 engine fiasco of the early- to mid-1980s damaged Cadillac's reputation. However, if we zoom out to get an even bigger picture, we can see that the HT4100 was a symptom of a much broader failure of GM's corporate leadership at that time. GM, along with other U.S. automakers began a grand, multi-billion-dollar "downsizing" program for its passenger car lineups in the late 1970s in order to comply with escalating (and necessary) federal fuel economy regulations known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). The original goal was to achieve a fleet sales CAFE average of 27.5 miles per gallon by the late 1980s. Reagan and Congress softened these regs, allowing for less fuel efficiency. But domestic automakers still faced a challenge of keeping up with the tightening regs. This escalating fuel-efficiency standard forced most passenger cars to adopt a familiar formula: unibody construction, front-wheel-drive, smaller overall body size, less weight, and smaller engines with overdrive transmissions. This standard formula swept through GM's X, J, N, A, C, L, K, E and W car body lines, plus others. For engines, GM adopted smaller engine designs. For larger cars, GM took existing V8 engines and derived new 90º V6 engines. The most famous, and indeed legendary result, was Buick's now-legendary 3.8-liter V6. Less famous but still popular was Chevrolet's 4.3-liter V6, which made its debut in the popular 1985 Chevrolet Astro / GMC Safari minivan. Chevy's 4.3 V6 was essentially a 350 V8 with two cylinders chopped off; Buick's 3.8 V6 was similarly derivative on an old Buick V8. GM hit one out of the ballpark when, in 1985, Buick, Oldsmobile and Cadillac introduced the even-more-downsized front-wheel-drive C-body Electra/Ninety-Eight/deVille sedans, most of them using a new port-fuel-injected Buick 3.8 V6. But the legend would not come to full fruition until 1988 when the Electra/Ninety-Eight received GM's rebuilt "Series 3800" rebirth of the Buick 3.8, given a balance shaft for smoothness and made better and more reliable in every way. The Series 3800 would become widely used, and more widely known as one of GM's best engines of the 1980s and '90's. But the "Series 3800" was never used in a Cadillac sedan. And the lessons learned from the "Series 3800" were not applied to Chevy's 4.3 V6 until the mid-1990s. Why? Even more baffling: GM embarked on such a major, expensive downsizing initiative, one that wiped out several rear-wheel-drive V8 car lines, and replaced those car-lines with smaller cars powered mostly by Fours and V6s, but Cadillac had to be bestowed a lackluster, lesser-quality V8. And Cadillac would eventually develop that V8 into a much larger V8 for larger cars. Soooooo... what was the point of this downsizing program again??? This decades-long tale of downsizing, downsizing again, and then upsizing underscores how GM's leadership embarked on an expensive series of obviously uncoordinated blunders. Buick's V6, right under GM's nose all along, held the key to saving Cadillac's reputation and boosting GM's image overall. For one thing, Buick's 3.8 V6 was GM's "Comeback Kid", to say the very least. In the early 80s, Buick's 3.8 in carbureted form made only about 125 horsepower. But by 1988, the Series 3800 was like a new engine, making about 160 horses and getting better gas mileage while being as smooth and reliable as a good V8. So, why didn't GM's leadership make sure that a coordinated downsizing effort also applied to Chevrolet and Cadillac? Where was the balance shaft-equipped, modernized "Series 4300" V6, to replace the 5.0-liter (305 cubic inch) V8 in the Caprice? And, for that matter, where was a new "Series 4100" V6, also derived more directly from Buick's "Series 3800" motor, for 1988-model-year Cadillacs? The logic for these modernized engines should be obvious (especially since a "Series 3800" motor was excellent for C-bodied Electra and Ninety-Eight, yet somehow not for deVille) but logic meant nothing if GM's poorly coordinated leadership wasn't paying attention. A Buick "Series 3800"-derived Cadillac 4.1 V6 could easily have made 170-180 horsepower, and probably more as GM continued to improve the "Series 3800" engine. (The Series 3800 V6 wound up making 200 horsepower in plain fuel-injected trim in the 1990s.) So, in the end, GM (especially Cadillac) could have avoided shooting themselves in the foot if only they had more coordinated leadership that actually looked more critically at their overall downsizing program and the tremendous role that Buick's 3.8 V6 played in that program. Instead, they embarked on a confusing mission, allowed their decisions to suffer from mission creep, and wound up partially defeating what they set out to do. The Series 3800 was the key all along. If GM's leadership had the foresight to seize the initiative and more aggressively coordinate their downsized engines and transmissions, they could have accomplished so much more, so quickly. Instead, they dawdled and wound up dragging it out, clear through the 1990s.

[@davidaubin3902]

6:24 John: SO PLEASE CADILLAC, NEVER LOOK BACK! LOL

[@fernandorocha8459]

This Cadillacs 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988 is authentics Cadillac styles

[@celestialnubian]

Someone at MotorWeek woke up and realized that they have decades of content that people will watch if they just post it.

[@MWBenDavis]

Bruh, we've been doing this for close to 10 years

[@blackericdenice]

3:00 Did he say 0 to 60 in a fairly quick 12 seconds? My 2004 Golf has the 115 hp 2.0 4 cylinder and it does 0 to 60 in the same time.

[@JamesSmith-sw3nk]

Times have changed. Literally. Today's 4cyl Camaros & Mustangs will beat the fast editions of 1980's and most 90's V8 Camaros & Mustangs. I remember the 13 second 1/4 being VERY fast at the local drag strip for cars that people also drove everyday.

[@SuperBooboo02]

and a CTS V sport with a turbo V6 can do 60 in just over 4 seconds

[@melrose9252]

@@JamesSmith-sw3nk< 13’s are still pretty quick.

[@blackericdenice]

@@SuperBooboo02 And

[@devinbiz]

At the time, that was relatively quick

[@Sapp440]

It's really a wonder how GM didn't go bankrupt until the 2000s.

[@Porsche996driver]

This was really the start of better driving cars.

[@ajjuneja]

Amazing what a 1986 Seville is worth compared to a 1986 Grand National 😂😂😂

[@6SpeedTA95]

Fantastic vid. Makes you wonder how GM has gotten it so wrong for so long. 37 years ago they started their move to be sporty and better built and not gaudy. And here we are 37 years later they are trying to do the same thing. Maybe they should hire a few enthusiasts and thrown out the interior bean counters that result in atrocious interiors model after model?

[@davidwilliams7723]

That's the problem. No one wants a sporty Cadillac. That's why the Escalade was and is so popular. It's the closest you can get to a 1976 Fleetwood.

[@a.person7825]

128 MPG! Wow.

[@aaronwilliams6989]

Miss print.

[@blackenedheart9592]

0-60 in 12 seconds was quick? Lol 😅 damn lol.

[@davek12]

It was less time from these cars to the first CTS-v than from it to today. The HT4100 was a let down, and the deVille should've had a floor shift, too. These had finer leather than you'll easily find in cars today, and Cadillac itself considers the fake stuff fine. That's almost as big a let down as the HT4100.