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?
If I wanted a boat, I’d get one that floats on water. Neither of these have any appeal to me.
Forced to pick between them, I’d go with the El Dorado, then cut off the back two thirds of the body and make one of those “Cadillac El Camino” things we saw on this site a few months back.
There’s no replacement for displacement
Well…there’s technology developed later than the Stone Age that can produce actual horsepower, better efficiency, and far fewer emissions from a much smaller engine.
i know I’m going to be in the minority here, so I’ll lead with the choice of the Deville. The Eldo is the cooler choice here to be sure, but having driven a few of these back in the day, I’m not entirely sure that I’d like to live with one, even as a weekender. Much as Caddy tried, they couldn’t really overcome the heft of the platform with a smog choked big block. You get sluggish performance AND ridiculous fuel consumption. I also never really liked the front suspension setup on these things – it seemed like the front end wants to slowly rotate clockwise over bumps. Yes, I know that the Deville as presented is an old person’s car, but there’s benefits to that. I have a feeling that whatever ills the Northstar may have had were probably addressed at this point…at least that’s what I’m telling myself, anyway. When they’re right, they’re pretty damned right…they deliver decent performance with a degree of efficiency. This thing would also gobble up highway miles in tomb-like silence and ask for more.
The Eldorado also requires a full airport runway for parking, and being on first-name basis with every fuel station employee within a 1-hour drive of your home.
I never liked those mid-90’s Devilles. I like the ones before that, and the ones after that, but that generation just doesn’t do it for me.
Might as well go full boat. Gimme the Eldo and chart a course for the nearest buffet!
The Deville has an early Northstar, so, not that one
Not to be a complete homer here, but a lot of the current stuff actually is. Blackwings and Escalades sure, but it’s also hard to pick out a competing luxury EV crossover that’s clearly better than what Caddy is putting out.
Eldo. I have a GMC motorhome I’d like to repower with bigger cubes, and this is the way forward.
I’ll take the Eldorado. When gas gets expensive again, I’d put it back on the market.
That 1975 is a lot of car for 4 grand. Literally. If you’re gonna Caddy do it right — big chonkin PLC barge from the 70s all day.
Genuine question: does anyone actually still do this?
It’s been a long time since Cadillac was considered the pinnacle of anything positive.
Eldorado, please – if only to futz around with a 500cid engine.
I enjoy that Cadillac is killing it in IMSA GTP (the prototype class) racing, with one of the most sexy designs on the grid no less. But very few people who’d buy a street Cadillac likely know this.
Judging by the last couple of IMSA races I’ve been to, Road America and the Daytona 24, I’d say more than a few folks on the younger side are starting to take notice. In both cases I saw a lot of people wearing “Cadillac Racing” shirts of one type or another and almost all of them were closer to my daughter’s age than mine.
My dad still calls Rolls-Royce the Cadillac of automobiles
I like your dad’s sense of humor
Old people do this.
And then they interject “zipadeedoodah”
Eh, even if Cadillac was nothing special during my existence, I heard the phrase enough where it kind of just stuck with me. Even if they weren’t praised by Car and Driver, I knew they were expensive at least.
I guess today if you want a giant luxury SUV, the Escalade might legitimately be the best.
When I see other Caddys, I just laugh and shine
Cause they don’t have the boom, that I have hooked in mine
My Caddy is so loud, some neighborhoods ban me
Went with the Eldorado, simply because I can fit more speakers in the trunk.
I like to build out a quick project plan based on these choices, so my spare cycles this morning has come up with the following:
Full low rider build, slammed on Daytons (chrome, not gold) with Air Ride.
Interior is already red, which fits with the Candy Red paint, that’s so dark it looks black outside of the sun.
Full Electrical system upgrades to support the 4 12″ subs and front and rear components with at least 1200 wats of amplifiers.
Dynamat EVERYTHING.
Modern Car Play receiver tucked into the glovebox, with DSP and crossovers for all the components.
Updated exterior lighting and underglow for maximum visibility.
Chromatic Window tint
I like to build out a quick project plan based on these choices, so my spare cycles this morning has come up with the following:
Full low rider build, slammed on Daytons (chrome, not gold) with Air Ride.
Interior is already red, which fits with the Candy Red paint, that’s so dark it looks black outside of the sun.
Full Electrical system upgrades to support the 4 12″ subs and front and rear components with at least 1200 wats of amplifiers.
Dynamat EVERYTHING.
Modern Car Play receiver tucked into the glovebox, with DSP and crossovers for all the components.
Updated exterior lighting and underglow for maximum visibility.
Chromatic Window tint
Custom Plate: BLDVSSL
I’ll take the Eldorado, as then I could use it instead of my motor home. That trunk is big enough for two people to sleep in, and I bet both the RV and the Caddy get about the same milage.
These were very popular with Mafiosi back in the day because of the ample space in the trunk for “sleeping” bodies.
The road to Eldorado is littered with mid-’70s kitsch and will require stopping for fuel often, because 10 mpg. It might be entertaining for one trip across the US of A, stopping at all the tacky stuff along the way. This car is late-era Elvis personified, with a slight disco finish. Not my cup ‘o tea.
The Deville is boring, but will be an excellent highway cruiser/winter car. Until the Northstar does its best Polaris missile impression and nukes itself.
The Deville for winter and the highway. Save the gas money that would be consumed by the Eldo for a Miata.
Just a point of order if you road trip that 75 you will be stopping for gas roughly every 300-325 miles. These cars have a 31 gallon fuel tank and realistically get 12 mpg highway with a carb. Every stop will be a leat a Cnote but you can drive a long way on a tank of gas. I know from experience.
Ah, I was unaware of the gas-station like fuel capacity of those beasts. I kind of expected a 20-gallon or thereabouts tank – more akin to a modern car.
I mean, I consider anything above 15 gallons ‘large’, so my optics on ’70s land barges are probably a bit skewed.
I’ll take the Lexus.
It’s 2026: Lexus has had better presence and reputation for quality than Cadillac for decades.
But if I’ve got pick one, the ’96 would get the ticket.
If you’re gonna pimp, might as well do it big! Eldo all day.
There’s still enough Northstars out there, especially of this Era, that I’d rather have the newer car over ’70s emissions choked n’ smoked. Besides, I have a friend who used to own a Seville STS, so I at least have a maintenance reference.
I was so ready to pick the 96 over the 75 because there are eons of improvements in American cars over that 2 decades. BUT a big FWD 500CI luxo barge is just clean and cool.
If all else fails remove the engine and transmission and build a mid engined tube buggy around it and go break stuff and get dirty.
I’d love to slap a set of big gnarly snow tires on the front of that Eldorado and see what it can do in the snow.
If I am taking on a potentially unreliable Cadillac, I’m going to cruise in the land barge.
The DeVille is probably the better cruiser, but my guess is the Northstar is on borrowed time.
Battleship grey is a fitting color for the Eldo. It doesn’t have GM’s rudimentary fuel injection, and the bumper fillers are intact. I’ll take it.
It’s just weird seeing a 70s Eldo not wearing whitewalls.
Could you be talked into four or five grand?
No. But if I HAD to, I’ll take the Eldorado, it’s interesting at least.
My first job out of the Navy was a Caddy (Chevy/Geo/Sterling/Lexus/Rolls) dealership in 1991. The new Northstar was a BIG deal back then.
I picked the Eldo with my fake internet money. I’ll also use some fake internet money to set up in-flight refueling in case I fake drive it more than just to the office.
I don’t need to put fuel into a 500ci engine.
Also those mid 90s Cadillacs are road trip comfort personified.
The Gen 1 Northstar’s were bad. I had a Gen 2, not as scary. Still I want the old boat.