The early 90s were an era of immense change for Cadillac. Gone were the days of huge, rear-wheel drive behemoths and thirsty V8 engines. While the change to front-wheel drive happened early in the 80s, the downsizing of the lineup continued while the integration of new technology features began to give the company some legs to stand on against foreign competition. The market for these cars remains somewhat soft, but you have to appreciate the high level of preservation on display in cars like this 1990 Cadillac Fleetwood Coupe here on Facebook Marketplace.
This is a low-mileage example flagged by Barn Finds reader Sam61. The listing mentions the Cadillac has under 24,000 original miles and obviously presents as such. The C-body Cadillacs were redesigned for the 1989 model year, and you see the results of some of those tweaks. The fender skirts are the most noticeable addition, and a reminder that the company still felt looking backwards was a better way to get shoppers in the showroom than abandoning its past. Clearly, landau roofs and fender skirts were not being installed on BMW 3-Series, so Cadillac was still finding fertile ground with its older buyers.
However, how can you kick rocks at a company that did such a bang-up job on luxury appointments? Look at that leather interior: it’s absolutely stunning. Sure, it’s perfect for the retiree set in Boca, but that was the point! They would love showing this interior off at the early bird gathering at Denny’s. The wood trim is handsome and pairs perfectly with the navy blue seats. The powerplant was still fairly humble from a raw output perspective, generating about 180 horsepower until 1992 when it bumped up to an even 200 b.h.p. This 1990 model would have been equipped with a 4T60E transmission.
One thing that goes underappreciated for all the belly-aching about GM in the late 80s and early 90s is the emphasis on technology. We just recently discussed the driver command center in the Buick Reatta, and this Cadillac placed a similar emphasis on putting plenty of data right at the driver’s finger tips. You’ll also note this Caddy is equipped with the “Twilight Sentinel” package, which was a trick automatic headlight control system. Overall, this is one beautiful Cadillac, and while it may be a while before someone steps up to the plate at the current asking price, it looks like it’s worth the dough.
The General still took mind of the smokers 🚬 in the backseat it appears 😄
No matter how nice it is, are there really people willing to pay $26,000 for a 1990 Cadillac? There are a lot of really nice cars available for a fraction if the price, this needs to be someone’s dream car to come close to justifying the asking price.
Steve R
In MY NOT so humble opinion, transferring the FLEETWOOD name to these downsized POS was just one of numerous Cadillac mistakes. I wouldn’t give 2 cents for this. Full-size FLEETWOODS are available for less.
@Rick W
I always thought putting the Fleetwood nameplate on a coupe was Cadillacs first biggest mistake
These models had lots of problems. A 1990 Lexus LS400 with 200k might still be a better choice
i hope theres $20,000 in the glove box!
i hope theres $20,000 in the glove box!
Beautifully styled. It hits all of the right American styling cues. However, it’s a $5,000 car. I’d even bargain at that amount.
All front drive Fleetwood’s from ‘89-93 had fender skirts and vinyl roofs standard. It was about all the set them apart from a regular deVille externally. Internally the Fleetwood offered the pillowed seats, real wood trim on the dash and a few more courtesy lights and such than a deVille. Mechanical’s were identical to the lesser cars. This is a beautiful example but grossly overpriced.