It may not be cool to admit this, but I love Cadillac. I have for years. Their cars may not be the “Standard Of The World” anymore, but they are consistently interesting, and you can’t say they aren’t comfortable. Today, we’re looking at two full-size Cadillacs from two different eras, one from just before the brand’s great fall from grace, and one from its rebuilding years.
Our featured brand yesterday was Nissan, and we looked at a full-size Titan truck and an Altima sedan with a stickshift. The Altima’s salvage title gave quite a few of you pause, but the truck’s lack of 4WD didn’t win it many friends either. The truck won, but it was a pretty close vote.
Whenever the choice is between a car and a truck, I have to consider the fact that I already have a truck that I like quite a lot. Could this truck replace mine? If not, do I have any interest in the car? I’d rather have my Chevy than this Titan, and while an Altima isn’t all that interesting, at least it’s a manual. So it gets my vote.
Cadillac is a hard sell among enthusiasts, with a very few exceptions. CT5 with a manual? Yes. ’62 Fleetwood? Cool, and interesting, but not all that desirable. Cimarron? Be serious. A lot of times it has to do with the price; a cheap Caddy can be a lot of fun, but how cheap is cheap enough? Could you be talked into four or five grand? Let’s check out these two and see.
1975 Cadillac Eldorado – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 8.2-liter OHV V8, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Upland, CA
Odometer reading: 79,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
In 1967, General Motors did the previously unthinkable: it introduced two new coupes, one Oldsmobile and one Cadillac, with front-wheel drive. The Olds Toronado and Cadillac Eldorado were a harbinger of things to come, as it turns out; the Eldorado never returned to rear-wheel-drive, and nearly all GM platforms had gone to FWD by the mid-1980s. This 1975 Eldorado was one of the last of the really big ones; by 1979 the Eldo was a shadow of its former self.
It has a big engine to match its outward proportions: the largest displacement V8 that Cadillac ever sold, 8.2 liters, or a nice round 500 cubic inches if you prefer. It sits longitudinally in the engine bay, driving the front wheels through a three-speed Turbo Hydramatic transmission. It runs and drives great, the seller says, and it has had a bunch of new parts installed. Most of the ad text is a list of new parts including part numbers from, if I’m not mistaken, RockAuto. That’s a lot of refrigerator magnets.
To truly appreciate an older Cadillac, you have to sit in it. The interiors really are a cut above GM’s other offerings. This one is in very good condition, with just a bit of wear on the driver’s seat and a few cracks in the vinyl on the door trim. It’s loaded with power features, of course, but the seller doesn’t tell us what works and what doesn’t.
It’s about the same outside: nice, but not perfect. I think the paint might be a little dull, but it’s hard to tell from the photos. And there’s a reflector missing on the right side of the rear bumper. But the urethane bumper fill panels, which tend to disintegrate on ’70s GM cars, have been replaced and painted, which makes a huge difference in its appearance.
1996 Cadillac Sedan DeVille – $4,987
Engine/drivetrain: 4.6-liter DOHC V8, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Tujunga, CA
Odometer reading: 94,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Cadillac is synonymous with V8 power; from 1915 to 1980 every Cadillac built had eight slappin’ pistons under its hood. The 1980s saw a new V8, the High Technology design, powering all Cadillacs except the little Cimarron. In true GM fashion, Cadillac worked all the bugs out of that engine, just in time to replace it with a new design with new and exciting failure modes: the Northstar.
This 1996 Sedan DeVille is powered by the Northstar, a 4.6-liter, 32-valve engine that sent 275 horsepower to the front wheels – for as long as its head gaskets held. It’s also prone to oil leaks. The seller claims this one is in good shape, but they also don’t include any underhood photos. And since the seller is a dealership, I’m sure there are no maintenance records. It runs and drives fine now, but who knows what the future holds?
Cadillac interiors haven’t gotten any less cushy over the years, and this one looks like a comfortable place to be indeed. There is a little wear on the leather, and possibly a broken piece of plastic trim near the seat controls – I don’t think it’s supposed to be at that angle. It looks really good otherwise, and the seller gives us lots of photos of the interior to prove it.
It’s really clean outside, too. Someone took care of this car. It has a landau roof, which I’m personally not fond of on a car this new, but at least it’s in good shape. The rear windows have been tinted, but not too dark.
I know at least some of you are going to say “Ew, neither; I’d rather have a Lexus,” and that’s fine. But you’re missing the point. A Lexus might be a more perfect car than these, but it’s not a Cadillac. It doesn’t have the same presence. There’s a reason so many songs have been written about these, and why calling something “the Cadillac of” its type is a good thing. Which one of these is a better example of the breed?
I’d take the DeVille and channel my inner Saul Goodman.
Stylewise I’d rather have the Eldorado, especially since the ’75 and later models were sharpened up a bit (the rounded flanks with ’50s-style chrome of the ’73 and ’74 always gave me Fat Elvis vibes), but I have some seat time in that vintage Northstar DeVille from two two-week rental periods (free upgrade on Emerald Aisle) visiting a friend in San Francisco. The torque steer would rip the wheel out of your hands if you stood in the gas, but otherwise it was quite a nice thing to drive and felt smaller than it was in the city. (My friend lived in what’s now Cesar Chavez across the side street from the BP at the ramp to southbound 101, so parking wasn’t an issue.) So, out of nostalgia for a time when I had a future to look forward to and since it’s behind in the votes anyway, I went all ’90s.
A friend of mine in college had a hand-me-down 75 Eldorodo and I visited him one summer in Atlanta. Two things impressed me. It could smoke the front tires at 20 miles per hour, and when you turned up the AC, the windshield would fog on the outside. His was a convertible and the top was down. Having the Modern Lovers’ “Pablo Picaso” on the tape deck was icing on the cake. Riding in that thing was somewhat boat-like, but a very fast boat, maybe a Cigarette. Pretty sure it did not have stock exhaust, come to think back.
I kind of like both – a great uncle had the DeVille, and it was a pretty sweet car, and very comfortable.
I’m voting for the Eldorado though, because that bordello red interior is so sweet. Can we bring those back again? Also, the 500 plus the THM425 is a solid, if thirsty, combination. I’ll budget for some weekend gas rather than for a head job on the Northstar.
Northstar powered Cadillacs are as honest as Saul Goodman.
I’m going big block today
It’s surprising to me how “presidential limo” the Sedan DeVille looks. Too bad it’s not black.
Late in elementary school, my grandfather had a ’65 Olds 98 Luxury Sedan, and my parents had a ’65 Olds 88 Dynamic Sedan.
As I recall, both rode very comfortably. I never drove the 98, but the 88 was not my idea of dynamic.
My grandfather replaced his 98 with a ’73 Toronado, which he loved until his dying day. Towards the end, he had weekly appointments with an oncologist. I would meet him at his assisted living facility and take him to the appointments, and we’d go out for lunch at his favorite restaurant. He always insisted that we take his car.
When he passed, I inherited the Toronado. I didn’t really like how it drove, nor how it went through gas. The Olds didn’t have THAT many miles on it, but it felt like the rear shocks were totally shot. I didn’t feel like replacing them on a car that was just sitting in my driveway. My brother needed a car, so I passed it on to him. Within a year, it was wrecked after someone blew a stop sign and T-boned him and the Toronado.
I can’t with the vinyl cap on the Deville – so it’s the huge Eldorado for me.
I seriously do not get y’all’s apparent fondness for ancient land barges. Having cut my driving teeth on a 68 Olds 88 and a full sized 64 Chevy wagon, those few thousands of miles were enough of wallowing Detroit iron nonsense to last a lifetime.
Granted, Pablo Picasso never got called an asshole in his El Dorado. But still.
So give me the relatively modern wheels and an airbag and if the Northstar grenades, oh well.
The Eldorado seems to warp time and space around it. I’m no fan of barges, but its like a barge that has inexplicably gotten up on plane. As transportation, it’s not that great, although they were popular at ski resorts in their day, but as a toy to take out they are a hoot. Especially if someone else owns it.
Neither and what is the DeVille seller smoking or thinks some dumb kid will buy the 90s Grandpa cruiser for 90s nastalgia having missed it completely.
I have no interest in owning another front wheel drive car, but if I had to choose I guess the Eldo. It’s a giant coupe with a giant engine and I like that. The Deville does look comfortable, and like it has been well cared for, but go big or go home.
Oh wow! Eldorado for me! I drove a 78 in high school. White on white with red carpets and dash. Fairly similar to this, but a lighter red and obviously white seats. Mine had the “downsized” 425, which still had plenty of torque and power for me to get in trouble with. I think my record of people transported at a time was 12. Great cruiser, pretty reliable and the interior on mine was in fabulous condition still in the early 2000s. I’m seriously tempted here.
Were some of those 12 people in the trunk?
We don’t talk about what’s in the trunk.
I’ll just take the one that has a parking pass at Del Boca Vista.
Hold the fish please…
Being a fan of large two-door cars, this was too easy. Eldorado is the better star.
I’m gonna channel my inner Pablo Picasso and watch the girls turn the color of an avocado while I drive down the street in my Eldorado. Given the tailpipe emissions, plenty of people will still call me an assh*le though.
“Not like you”
For sure! LMAO
The Eldorado has style, it has panache, it does not have a Northstar.
I think the properly big Caddy is the way to go because it makes a statement and you’d feel a certain kind of joy every single time you walked up to it (which would be often considering gas mileage is going to be rather abysmal). Certainly more joy than what you’d feel looking at the ’96 sitting outside your mechanic’s shop as you drive past or the massive oil stain it would eventually leave on your driveway.