Cadillac was once the “Standard of the World” for luxury transportation. Then, in the late seventies, a portion of the luxury car market split, with many younger buyers opting for European luxury cars with more aggressive handling. Cadillac attempted to appeal to these buyers with the first-generation Seville, then took the opposite direction with second-generation vehicles like this 1985 Cadillac Seville for sale on Craigslist in Citrus Heights, California. This amazingly well-kept example, offered at $14,800, strongly contrasts the similarly sized BMWs and Audis that were its contemporaries. Did Cadillac make a mistake offering a smaller, more luxurious Cadillac instead of dropping a proper sports sedan into their showrooms? Thanks to T.J. for presenting us with the opportunity to discuss this stylish Caddy.
Pre-1970, if you were in the market for a luxury car, Cadillac, Buick, Lincoln, Chrysler, and occasionally Imperial were almost the only choices available. There were a few options if you wanted to purchase a foreign luxury car. Mercedes had a solid foothold on American shores, and BMW was gaining a toe-hold. By the early seventies, GM could no longer ignore the significant rise in market share for upscale foreign luxury cars. The difference was that these cars came with suspensions tuned for stints on the Autobahn and sterile interiors compared to the plush confines of American luxury cars. While prices were in the same galaxy, the experience behind the wheel of European luxury cars and their American counterparts was a universe apart.
More alarming to GM marketing gurus is that younger customers preferred the European cars, while the average age of a Cadillac buyer was slowly creeping into the graveyard. In response, Cadillac offered a smaller, Nova-based luxury car called the Seville. It had some attributes that younger buyers were looking for, such as a smaller body, rear-wheel drive, and more responsive handling compared to the other offerings in the Cadillac showroom. Perhaps the most appealing part of the new Seville was its sharp, angular styling. It was a home run in sales. However, the marketing department discovered that women flocked to the car because of its smaller size than traditional Cadillacs.
Instead of offering a second-generation Seville on a rear-wheel drive platform, the Seville was lumped in with cars such as the Cadillac Eldorado, Oldsmobile Toronado, and Buick Riviera on GM’s E-body chassis. The styling was a radical departure from the previous car. It looked like a Cadillac from the front, but the rear end sported a “bustle-back” design that customers and critics either loved or hated. Some of the engine options, such as a variable displacement engine control system that deactivated cylinders on the car’s V-8 engine when not under load, dubbed the V-8-6-4, and a diesel engine that suffered from reliability issues helped to sour buyers. Those younger customers that Cadillac was chasing were seemingly forgotten. Cadillac focused on sales to females with the second-generation car and upped the number of luxurious features in the hope that increased comfort would equal more sales. Those looking for an American sedan with European-style handling in a rear wheel drive chassis were out of luck for the time being.
Nearly 200,000 of these second-generation Sevilles were built from 1980 through 1985. Those are great sales numbers, but if you take a look at this pristine 1984 Cadillac Seville you will see that it was no threat to Mercedes or BMW sales during that time. This car, with an amazingly low 38,107 miles on the odometer, is a rolling representation of just how comfortable a luxury car could be in 1984. A perfect example of this is seen above. When was the last time you saw a car with such plush upholstery in the trunk? Even the trunk hinges are upholstered.
The seller tells us that the car has always been garaged and everything works perfectly. To get to that point, the seller and previous owners have invested heavily in making this car look like it just glided across the showroom floor. Included with it are receipts documenting repair work dating back to the eighties. More recent improvements include brand-new brakes on all four corners, a new air conditioning compressor and new lines, a new torque converter with new gaskets and transmission service, new OEM air shocks, a full tune-up with all the necessary parts, a new power steering pump and fluid lines, a new catalytic converter, a battery, and various other expenditures.
Unfortunately, the seller has decided to offer the car for sale due to financial distress. Reading between the lines suggests that the $14,800 asking price is negotiable. That price is not bad considering the outstanding shape this car is in and its historical significance. Second-generation Sevilles are seldom seen today but are a car that should have a more prominent place in Cadillac’s long history. It was here that Cadillac should have made an honest attempt to court younger buyers by giving them the car they wanted. The decision to turn the Seville into a smaller version of an American land yacht still haunts the company today.
Do you think Cadillac should have made the Seville a competitive car on the world stage? Do you agree or disagree with the premise that Cadillac should have offered two different product lines in the early eighties, one sporty and one luxurious? Please share your opinions and thoughts in the comments.
Always enjoyed the lines on the Seville bustle-backs.
Nice one, Jeff! That interior is exactly like my old black Seville (https://barnfinds.com/scotty-gs-garage-1984-cadillac-seville/), the ebony to this beautiful ivory example. I sold mine to a retired firefighter in Dearborn, MI a few years ago for $5,700 or some crazy thing like that, I should have kept that car. Thanks for the great write-up!
I liked the lines of the second generation Seville too, but I think I liked the first gen better overall. RWD, crisp styling and better handling. BTW, the sellers ad says the car is RWD, it’s not. I like Cadillac’s new line of cars too, the CT5 and CT4, but I think I’m alone in that on these pages. Still rear drivers, performance and handling. Competing with the best from Europe but still plagued by a lack of reliability.
I own, not a CT4, but an ATS from 2015. I have 93,650 miles with no major shortcomings at all. Routine maintenance. It’s not set up to be on NASCAR tracks; she’s standard equipment all the way. A great dealership for service and pleasurable driving awaits my enterance always!
I’m curious where that lead photo was taken?
San Fran ? 📸
I’m not really a fan of “where’s the rest of it?” Sevilles, they just look weird from certain angles, but this is an example that would attract my attention. Too bad they had such woeful engine options..from the anemic 4.1 to the even more anemic 350 (105HP according to specs!). Can’t tell which “powerhouse” this car has. It sure is an eye-catcher though!
The anemic 350 to which you refer is a diesel. . . . Performance was/is actually not too bad, due to final drive gearing. Does have crazy torque, though. Mine gets 30 MPG with an 18 gallon fuel tank. The engine in the picture is the “Hook & Tow” 4100. The 4.1L V6 actually ran better than the “H&T”, but I like my diesel. . . . .
Did you install a water separator in the fuel line? GM left that out, and water in the fuel did those diesels in, that and people “repairing” them and not knowing how to.
By 1984 the diesel was pretty much bullet proof. GM ended the diesel, not so much because of problems, but because diesel price had skyrocketed, and the EPA was proposing some impossible emission standards.
I NOVA liked the first generation Seville. BTW the Seville name had previously been used by Cadillac and for one year (1956) by DeSoto as asubseries 2 door. Cadillac threatened and DeSoto deferred, dropping Seville. While my tastes have always run to RWD LAND YACHTS, this generation Seville made me take a second look, especially in two tone color combo. Only the rear view was CADILLACKING. A firm believer in OTT excess, I would like to have seen a faux spare molded on the rear. Notice the speedometer only goes to 85. Typically of the era. I may have missed which engine is in this Seville. But the wrong engine could take this from Citrus Heights to being a real LEMON. 🍋 .
Hi Rick,
As soon as I saw Cadillac, I knew it would raise your eyebrows more than your morning coffee brew and you’d be chiming in with your expertise!
I liked the first generation better than these. Better engines, more formal style, and the Elegante edition, even though it was also an option on the slant backs.
Another issue with these was the plastic door armrest mounts breaking loose from the doors. I fixed a few of these in my upholstery repair days.
While the fake spare tire on these isn’t terrible, it’s not as blended in as a Continental Mark, so no thanks.
Lady Diva?
Greetings and Salutations. Jon! Like woolen underwear, to itch his own! 🤣 . In case you haven’t heard, Angel (with her own health issues) is planning to move back east to care for a sick friend. Talk about an ANGEL 😇 💖. As you know I would prefer a certified LAND YACHT. Still I had to weigh in. I’m still Rolling down hill, but finding it harder to roll up or even stay on an even keel. Here’s wishing you and yours a Happy, Merry, HanaKwanzaMas. 😲 Guess that covers it all! Watch out for low flying reindeer 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌! Grandma never did recover! 🎅 Ho 🎅Ho 🎅 Ho!
The anemic 350 to which you refer is a diesel. . . . Performance was/is actually not too bad, due to final drive gearing. Does have crazy torque, though. Mine gets 30 MPG with an 18 gallon fuel tank. The engine in the picture is the “Hook & Tow” 4100. The 4.1L V6 actually ran better than the “H&T”, but I like my diesel. . . . .
8-6-4 motor was a good motor with a bad idea but the motor in this picture looks like a HT 4100 V8 and are known for knocks on the number 1 main bearing. GM sold a .001 under bearing to fix it. I worked on many Cadilacs back in the day and it is a beautiful car and ride
I owner two. Loved them both!
Historical significance more like hysterical significance what a joke of an automobile Cadillac really choked on that and their price is way out of line. Those engines were terrible and would give out at 100,000 miles if they made it that far too much money put into that car. I had a 76 coupe DeVille with 19,000 original miles on it, sold it for $9,000 good luck with the sale.
If you’re referring to the diesel engine, I have several with all original engines at 130 k, 180k, and even 220K. Depends how they’re taken care of.
The 2nd generation is my dream car. I got to drive a brand new ’80 when the teacher I was assigned to had to go to the ER. A major thrill for a 17 year old Jersey boy. I need to buy one. My weekend to is a ’83 Cimmaron, daily is ’19 XTS.
I always loved the bustle-back styling on these cars and I love it even more especially when I see today’s cars with the nondescript jelly bean styling. My 84 Seville looks very much like this one except it has a digital dash and a fake continental kit. My only gripe about my 84 is that the 4.1 is too weak for my liking but it is very comfortable and has a butter-smooth ride which is what I expect from a Cadillac. I costed out the options on mine and it came to $30k in 1984 dollars so it was not an inexpensive car back then.