1976 was the last year for General Motors’ full-size cars before the downsizing began. In light of fuel shortages and higher gas prices, it was inevitable that automobiles would have to become efficient. The 1976 Cadillacs were the biggest of the big cars, including the seller’s Fleetwood Brougham which is said to have just 67 miles on the odometer. It looks like someone drove it home, put it in a time machine, and set the dial for 2021. The car is being sold by an auction house in Greensboro, North Carolina and its available here on GA Classic Cars during April 2021 with no reserve.
By the time 1977 rolled around with smaller Caddies, they had already had once since 1975, the Cadillac Seville. It was created to offer Cadillac buyers an alternative to the luxury imports that were on the market. Realizing that people were slow to change, Cadillac introduced the Seville beforehand, giving buyers a little time to get used to the change that was coming. Besides preparing for the big shrink, 1976 would be the last year that Cadillac automobiles would come with a 500 cubic inch V8 engine. They would sell a lot of cars in ’76 as long-time Cadillac owners flocked to showrooms to get the last of the breed. More than 300,000 Caddies would be built, including 24,500 Fleetwood Brougham 4-door luxury sedans, like the seller’s car.
This beautiful ’76 Cadillac looks like something Jay Leno would have bought new and squirreled away for future generations. Why we don’t know the circumstances surrounding its likely isolation, the seller attests that it has less than six dozen miles on the clock. Meaning it could have been driven home from the dealership and then put away. The seats appear to have the plastic covers that new cars are shipped with, suggesting that it might not have even been prepped by the dealer. The only flaw appears to be the plastic pieces around the taillights which are known to fade and crack.
Finished in Sea Green with a corresponding dark vinyl top and turquoise interior, the condition of this car appears nothing less than stunning. But once you get past the beauty of the car, you have to wonder does it run. No mention is made of that or the fact that the car could contain 45-year-old-fluids and rubber bits. So, to be on the safe side, the buyer should be prepared to refresh all of that if he or she intends to drive it. Or leave it as-is if the car is headed to some sort of Cadillac museum. At 67miles, I might be inclined not to let it go past 100 for posterity’s sake. But posterity here is not likely to come cheap.
The last of the obscenely huge Cadillac barges.
Not obscene and not a barge. Rather, it is proper American luxury car.
The Cadillac of today is just one more major appliance and the one shown here is a real car that should be revived but never will be.I have made several trips as the driver in one of these real Cadillacs and they were indeed fine cars.
Needs a hood ornament and a replacement “Fleetwood” badge for the LF fender, but otherwise, just as she left the Lindon NJ plant.
Except these were made in Detroit….but hey….
And its Linden NJ…..
Those full size Caddies were only made at the Clark Street Plant in Detroit.
The driver’s side low beam headlight might also need to be replaced. It has that foggy look to it, as if it might have acquired a pinhole chip during the long hibernation.
I’m struck by how significant inflation was during these years. This 1976 Cadillac had a sticker price of $10,935. Only six years later, my new 1982 Chevy Citation X-11 had a sticker price of right around $10,000 as I recall.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator website, $10,935 in January 1976 was equivalent to $18,546 in January 1982. That’s an inflation rate of between 9% and 10% per year. I was a teenager and young adult at this time, and I remember the word “inflation” being a constant in the news. This kind of brings the point home in a way I was too young to fully understand at the time.
I remember bank CDs paying 16% and 30-yr mortgage rates higher than that. The past may quickly come back to haunt us.
and real estate in this booming market will come crashing down. not if, but when.
I remember when banks paid 5% interest on passbook savings accounts. Those were the good old days.
Thats beautiful car but like 1975 buick electra 225 limted better better looking not front wheel drive
Neither this car nor the Electra 225 were FWD…..
They wouldn’t be FWD until 1985.
You’re thinking of the Eldorado.
These were so nice , don’t care for the color of this one, but what a nice car these are.
I agree David , I like the interior but would scuff n squirt some deep emerald from H.O.K . over the porch paint exterior.
Husband drove it home; wife saw the color and shot him on the spot…
Sorry, I like big caddies but my eyes hurt…
They would have been better off storing away a new 1976 Cadillac Seville for forty-five years. What were they thinking?
The hood is out of alignment on the driver’s side and it also appears to have a blown out low beam on the same side
Very faded taillights filler panels , hard to believe it has only 67 miles
Maybe it’s just me, but this appears to be one of those anomalous low mileage cars that seems to have led a hard life?!
My high school car was a 75 Caddy just like this one! 500 that would do burnouts like crazy while hauling five friends! When I graduated I sold it for more than it was purchased for only a couple years earlier.
I love the color
Welcome to the minority club, Mike D. I like greens.
It was 1976. Green was no big deal back then, even dinner-mint green like this. Personally, I find it refreshing to see a luxury car painted in something off the gray scale.
Someone was apparently betting that the last of the aircraft-carrier Cadillacs would be very valuable someday. Was he right? Probably not, but we’ll know for sure once the auction closes.
I knew a Cadillac dealer years ago who said when they sold a Caddy in grey the it was “Executive Gray” and when they took it in on trade it was “Funeral Grey”
Riding or driving one of these is pure joy, except for the gas pump.
The mileage could be correct based on the shape of the door panels and dash pad (no visible cracks). As for the rear bumper extensions, those fiberglass filler panels were always very fragile and subject to fade and cracks. Having owned over a dozen cads this vintage, my experienced guess is the car was parked nose in in a carport were the late sun hit the rear of the car and caused those four panels to fade and crack. If there is no bubbling under the vinyl top, it is a stellar example of a 76 Brougham with a very timely color scheme.
Father in law had a burgundy 1975 with a tan top, had a new quadrajet carb installed and modified so the rear barrels would open at 1/3 throttle….
A big car that ran well, spoiled everyone that rode in it.
Nice car here, I would consider it if I were in the market. I owned a ’71 and ’79 Sedan Devilles – good cars overall.
’71 had high mileage but had been well taken care of – oh, that trunk! The ’79 was only a year old but already had 24k miles. Lots of nickel and dime issues but nothing major. Bought one more GM vehicle after this and none since.
I’ve read where some of theses full size Cadillacs received the EFI option along with the Seville (standard) beginning in 1975. EFI wasn’t standard across the entire Cadillac lineup until 1981. I have yet to see a 1975-1980 Deville or Fleetwood with EFI.
The 1981 V8-6-4? Coworker bought a new ’81Coupe DeVille and stated that disconnecting one wire would allow the motor to operate full time on all cylinders, a common practice. He traded a ’77 Coupe DeVille – ultimately regretted it – GM quality overall was heading toward the basement rapidly. I drove his ’81 a few times in both modes – could tell the difference but didn’t seem to be a big deal – did run better on all cylinders as expected.
My 2020 Chrysler 300S with the 5.7L (345ci) motor switches between 8 and 4 cylinders seamlessly. Lamp on the panel indicates which mode it’s in. Technology has improved tremendously.
Modular displacement is pretty common now, GM even manages to do it on twin turbochared DOHC V6’s like the 3.6…..
Fuel Injection was optional from 1975-1979 on full size Cadillacs, standard on Sevilles from 1976 up and standard on Eldorados starting in 1979.
If you’ve never seen a 75-79 Cadillac with fuel injection it’s because you never bothered too look for one because although they are rare, there are plenty of them around…..
See below….
Here’s a 76 Fleetwood ‘dElegance with fuel injection
http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/cadillac/540211-1976-cadillac-fleetwood-brougham-d039-elegance-fuel-injected-astroroof-all-power.html
77 Fleetwood with fuel injection
http://davidsclassiccars.com/cadillac/148601-classic-1977-cadillac-fleetwood-brougham-d039elegance-999-rust-free-ca-car-81k.html
Just 67 miles?? Did Tony From Brooklyn own this car? lol
I don’t care what the Gen-Ys on here say about “land barges” – at least they looked like CADILLACS – not something out of Star Trek.
I like big old American cars for sure,but 75-76 caddy’s are just ugly to me,and the Seville was another one I never liked, give me a 68 deville….now we’re talking, and that green on green sucks.
The front drive cars of that era were the Cadillac eldorado, and oldsmobile toronado.
The length of this Cadillac is 230.7″. Converted to feet is 19.23′. (For comparison a standard length 2005 Lincoln Town Car is 215.4″ or 17.95′.) These cars had carpeted footrests for the backseat passengers…a basic rolling living room on wheels, with an average 8.2 MPG. The weight was around 5,297 lbs. for a 1974 Fleetwood Brougham. No specs were found for the 1976 vehicle.
Tho the color wouldn’t be my top choice, she wears it well. I do love these big land yachts, I had a 76 SdV with the 500; mine was Silver, w/blue vinyl interior. Loved that car, but she had a ‘drinking problem’, and most of my paycheck was going to support her. I’d happily trade my 2017 mid-size hybrid for a beauty like this!
The last of the “Cadillac size” cars
R.J.Rains,
Your father had a burgundy ’75 Fleetwood, so did I, but I got mine around 1986. Burgundy with a darker top and burgundy interior. Loved that car . Had 6 70s Cadillacs over the years, coupes, Fleetwoods and Eldorados
I’ve got to get another one soon
So did my grandfather … it came with a white vinyl top … he thought it looked too “racy” and had them replace it with a black vinyl top to “tone it down” …
We had a ’65 and a ’76. The older Caddy was twice the car the newer one was, in power, durability, and quality of the components and quality of the fit and finish, in my opinion. Our ’76 was choked down by the primitive emission controls of the day. A friend had a ’71 or 72. They were evidently the last of the free-breathing engines. He said he got well over 20 mpg on his annual jaunt to Florida. We did well to get12 with the ’76, but our old ’65 got nearly 20 if driven sensibly. The older Cad seemed to be a unique vehicle, but the ’76 felt like an Electra 225 or Olds 98 in Cadillac clothes.
I had this Cadillac, this year, in this color. Love, it was.
Him I nicknamed Gilbert, for the man from whom I purchased the vehicle. Gilbert was the car that got away. I wish I had never sold that magnificent bastard…what a ride! Driving in the early springtime with orange blossom-scented air swirling inside that sweet cavernous interior or later, when the rains came and the desert breeze smells of creosote and wet earth…and you, sitting on a couple of tons of smoooooooth-running steel and velour. If you were sitting in the back…more’s the better…like a living-room sofa rolling on cotton-candy wheels.
Gilbert, come home!
What a beauty. All GM bumper fillers fall apart no matter what. By 76, quality was going down. The word Titantic comes to mind.
I would love to add this to my collection.