Borrowing a nameplate from the 1950s, Cadillac introduced the Seville in 1975 as an early 1976 model. Its purpose was two-fold: to give Cadillac a product with more sensible dimensions, and to also give the automaker a competitor to European luxury imports like Audi, BMW, and Mercedes. The first generation was in production through the end of the decade and would find some 215,000 buyers. This nice example from 1976 has just 42,000 miles carefully put on by only two owners. It looks like a turnkey purchase that needs nothing but a new home. Located north of Baltimore, Maryland, this Caddy is available here on craigslist for $10,500 OBO. Another fine tip from one of our cool sleuths, T.J.!
Looking a bit like a Rolls-Royce, the new Seville had traditional Detroit engineering, i.e., unibody construction with rear-wheel-drive and a 350 cubic inch V8 engine, supplied by Oldsmobile and powered by gasoline or diesel fuel (the seller’s car appears to be fueled by gas). A GM TH-350 automatic transmission was your only choice in that department. This Cadillac with international cues came in about 1,000 lbs. lighter than the Sedan DeVille that Grandpa drove. In one fashion or another, the Seville stuck around through 2004 after which it was replaced by the STS.
Buyers may or may not have been aware that part of the underpinnings of the Seville was based on the X-platform that served the Chevy Nova. Horrors! But who doesn’t remember the ill-fated FWD Cadillac Cimarron of the 1980s that was a Chevy Cavalier in disguise. The popularity of the Seville grew from year to year (except 1979) and the seller’s car was one of more than 43,000 to find buyers in 1976-proper (remember there was a 1975 jump start that produced 16,000 copies).
The seller provides minimal details about this Caddy, but the photos show a well-preserved survivor. While the body and paint look fine, the interior and trunk look like they’ve hardly been used. The second owner kept the car garage a lot and that has resulted in an excellent survivor. If you’re into Cadillacs but don’t want another land yacht in your collection, how about this more sensibly sized example?
Beautiful. Those lines. One of the best looking designs ever from the General.
A masterpiece. Dr Olds even loaned out the Rocket 🚀 motor.
Really nice example here.
Almost too good, they stuck with this look long after it was out-of-date. At least GM wasn’t as bad as Chrysler who tooled up the Dodge Dynasty with this look for the late ’80s when it was ten years passe by the time Job One rolled off the line.
As someone who was a kid getting into cars in the mid ’80s it took me a long time to come around to appreciating these because of that.
The front end looks a lot like my 1977 Buick Riveria did.
Probably because i’m old but each time i see these i’m remembering Sheriff Lobo. Oh darn i got the tune in my head.
Very nice. Good luck though finding parts and service for that nearly 40-year-old fuel injection system if still original.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-1975-1979-cadillac-electronic-fuel-injection-gms-forgotten-fuelie/
Thanks for the link. Interesting article. However, occasionally some knowledgeable people comment on these types of articles (re. Paul Bedford and BlueBiarritz) with actual experience/history. It may not be as challenging to keep the system operating as would be implied the article.
Remember the 4-6-8-v8 Seville of 1981 one year only disaster? Grate idea but to soon needed improved computer technology 😂
Unless you love the smell of gas in the cabin get rid of the fuel injection system. Change the manifold and put a regular carb on it. O rings leak….
More so with today’s fuels. Replace all rubber parts in the fuel system. Hosed, o rings, seals, anything that’s not metal otherwise it a fire hazard. More than one has met it’s fate due to leaks.
I drove one for years, never had a smell of gas
The diesel didn’t come along until part way through the 1978 model year, so this is definitely a gas fueled example. It also appears to be wearing a later grille. The 1976 Seville grille had a bolder eggcrate design without the bright header, which led many buyers to fit a gaudy chrome cap.
Nice find. The gen 1 Seville aged nicely. Some of the 2 tone examples are striking…black/silver and bronze/brown. I had submitted a tip for a gen 1 Seville Moloney stretch (maybe 10 inches at the most) for sale on Facebook in Ohio.
Always liked these and not sure why they received a lot of ridicule. They look good and drive well. What’s interesting is that with the aging of the population and collectors, there’s an abundance of clean, low mileage vehicles from the 70’s and 80’s coming out of hiding, so many lately on BF!!
Upscale chevy Nova with Olds 350 engine ( good engine choice )
And the Nova was to this as the Falcon was to the top of the line Mustang in ’66. Not alot in common.
My dad had a 1977 Seville in this same color. It was the first fuel injection car he ever bought. I loved the lines and design of the Seville and this one is clean inside and out. As the author said, great Caddy without the huge land yacht size. I still remember the smell of that great leather interior.
I wouldn’t do this to this one because it’s too nice, but these make a great hot rod. Any GM powertrain will fit because of it’s X car base but you still have all the Cadillac toys and comfort.
Nice example, though not for me. These always looked like a full-sized car reduced in all dimensions. Cadillac finally got the Seville right in 1980 — a small luxury car which managed to not look “boxed-in” and had beautiful lines. Chrysler tried to imitate that ’80 Seville look, but fell far short.
When these arrived in ‘75, I was very impressed. This vehicle changed the automotive landscape for luxury American automobiles. They were all painted silver initially, but the size and design were standouts. For the ‘malaise era’, this was a fantastic achievement for GM. They have no idea how to do this anymore. The Standard of the World isn’t!
My aunt had one of these in pale yellow. It was pretty classic when the auto levelong rear air suspension system failed and jacked up the back! Not the look a 50-something woman wanted at the time…
My dad’s 77 Seville hauled ass, with the fuel injection, and never smelled like gas, only like leather seats. Like a Cadillac, Nova.
Wish this were a 1980 (I think)
It looks very similar to my dad’s 1977 Impala.
How do I contact the seller of this Cadillac Seville for further information?
Tap the Craigslist link in the first paragraph of this article.
All a matter of taste, I always thought the 1980 Seville looked ridiculous and these sedans looked nice.
As a matter of taste, the 1980 Seville looked “different” and vaguely European, in an elegant sort of way: it was unusual at its time, and I loved it.