The Seville was introduced in 1975 as a means of making the Cadillac more appealing to younger import car buyers. And while the car was initially successful, they missed their mark by selling a lot of them to older women who liked the smaller package. So, the car was reinvented in 1980 using the front-wheel-drive E-body also deployed by the Eldorado and other GM siblings. This ’80 edition came out of an estate sale and is a functioning luxury car with a diesel engine. Located in Fairplay, California, and needing a bit of attention, this Caddy is available here on Barn Finds Classifieds for $6,800.
With independent rear suspension, the 2nd generation Seville would be the first American car to have a diesel motor as standard equipment, though you could opt for a gasoline-consuming V8, too. This Caddy became known for its razor-edged, bustle-back rear styling which was inspired by English coachbuilders of the 1950s. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and both Lincoln and Chrysler (Continental, Imperial) would soon copy the styling. GM didn’t have a lot of success with its 1980s diesel engines, so Seville sales cooled as the decade unfolded.
Cadillac built nearly 40,000 Sevilles in 1980 and was likely pleased by those results. The seller acquired this 1980 Seville from its owner’s heirs. We’re told the 5.7-liter diesel V8 fires right up cold, but as is the case with most diesels, it runs better once warmed up. At 89,000 miles, there don’t seem to be any mechanical issues, but some electrical gremlins may be afoot. We’re told that some of the power accessories are not getting juice, like the air conditioning and power windows.
Appearance-wise, the interior is said to be in excellent condition with only the headliner needing some attention. The body is clean and rust-free, but the original paint is faded on upward-facing surfaces. The car is the Elegante version which means it’s as fancy an automobile as any you could get with a Cadillac badge.
I believe this was the first American car to broach $20,000, which was a pretty big deal at the time. The standard 350 diesel was of course an unmitigated disaster. The 368 you could also get in these was a good motor, until they stuck the V-8-6-4 contraption on it for ’81. Not good years for the Mark of Excellence.
I like this body style alot and have thick enough skin, and a big belly, to deal with any ridicule. My uncle had a diesel Delta 88 of that era and was the recipient of two replacement engines. It’s interesting to look at some of GM’s innovations with the conclusion being they were ahead of the curve but hampered by electronic/computer management systems.
The main problem was gm needing to comply with epa and cafe regulations faster than they could successfully engineer, test, and work out the bugs prior to production for the new tech. With average vehicle production and engineering times of 5 years per model, and the upcoming 1985 cafe rules they only had 2 generations to essentially double fuel economy AND dramatically reduce emissions.
‘The General’ used consumers and public roads, rather than engineers and proving grounds, for new product evaluations and durability testing at that time. My brother leased a new Toronado diesel around 1980 (and why a guy in his late ’20s wanted a ‘grandfather car’ is beyond me…) and bought his way out of the lease after two(!) catastrophic engine failures in a year. I’m still amazed that the GM diesel fiasco didn’t kill GM!
I agree CAFE really put the screws to the domestics. They had to increase their fleet gas mileage from like 14 mpg to 25 mpg in a 10 year span, and contend with increasing emissions and safety regulations while doing it.
But some of the failures are difficult to excuse. In the case of the Olds diesel, they used regular head bolts and maiin bearing caps designed for an 8,5:1 compression gas motor on a 22:1 compression diesel! And they failed to include a water separator in an era of lousy quality diesel fuel, which caused the fuel injection system to rust from the inside out, and to eat up all the seals when some owners did self help by adding alcohol to the fuel.
I mean, those would have been simple things to address that would have gone a long way towards improving reliability, and would have been much cheaper for GM in the long run
I liked this bustleback design. However, a family member bought one (with the V8-6-4 engine) and suffered through a host of issues with it and that killed any interest I had on owning one.
I’ve always been a fan of this body. Some late model drivetrain swap and enjoy it. An electric conversion sort of tickles the brain waves. Either that or I like my states cannabis laws.too much. Lol
The bustleback’s grown on me as a piece of design, but it was still wrong for the market in 1980. Where the firstgen Seville actually won over some Mercedes owners/import intenders, this actively repelled them on styling alone before they even had the chance to experience the engines on a test drive let alone as an owner.
GM and the Cadillac was the standard of the world in the 1950’s and 1960s. The cars were solid and you knew it when you shut the door, By the 1970’s GM started unraveling.
It is sad that GM would make a vehicle that would dilute the brand. Making a diesel engine for the General should have been easy. They owned Detroit diesel. There was no way that engine should have been released. But that is what they did. The poor owner would then be the engineer.
It is interesting how the new electric Cadillac Lyric will play out since GM hasn’t proved a reliable electric vehicle manufacturer. I feel we will be bailing out the new GM soon enough.
This is a Seville Elegante, which was a $3000 package that added even more luxury. A few more options like an Astroroof (which this car lacks), and the sticker price could approach $30,000.
My parents had a 1980 Caprice Classic station wagon with this diesel engine in it. It was slow off the mark, but once up to speed it was fine. Of course, as previous posters have mentioned, the engine testers were the consumer and at around the 100k mark the engine imploded and I think they ended up selling it for something around $500 to someone who was going to do an engine swap.
100k miles was pretty good for any car of that era! Most people avoided used cars of 70k miles. GM even said at the time their cars were designed to only last 100k or so. Our 81 Cutlass Diesel was still running with 123k when we sold it in 1983. I believe we got around 2k for it.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they say. A guy who worked for me invited me to his wedding in 1987. I thought his bride was the ugliest woman I had ever seen, until I met her mother. She drove one of the ugliest cars I had ever seen, a Seville like this one.
Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. I always thought these cars were Fugly and would not take a diesel one if it was free.
Yes the GM diesel was bad. I bought 7 for my company during that era from the rare 1976 Cutlass to a 1985 olds nighty eight. The 76 model had the terrible V6 and the 85 model had a V6. I still own my 81 Cadillac Couple Deville with the 5.7 liter with 76,344 original miles and I have never spent a dime on repairs.
@Mark,
OUCH! You got a trifecta!
Sweet looking Cadillac Seville. I’d buy it if I was in the market for such a car. I’d swap the Diesel engine and drivetrain for another diesel engine and drivetrain.
Still running. Nice flat floor. Industry could take a lesson.
Lincoln did the bustle back thing a lot better than GM
Cadillac’s take on it looks like a four door AMC Gremlin. Hardly classic English coachbuilding.
Of course their Seville of the early ’90s looked like a bloated Corsica five door, so at least the designers were consistent.
Hideous then and still hideous.
Friends of mine bought one of these new. I purchased it when it was three years old. She was so beautiful and in perfect condition. I took her on a trip to northern Michigan. That diesel engine broke down and it took three days to get the part. I got pissed off, drove her home and immediately sold it. Kind of wish I had it today. It would take too much money to get this one in the condition that I would want.
Had an ‘85 Eldorado diesel, Bought cheap from a Leasing co. Had 100k on it but new engine & trans. Original owner had purchased a 100k warranty when he bought the car. Lease ended at the 100k mark. Leasing Co. wanted car to go away. I put a few thousand miles on without any problems. Great fuel mileage. Sold at a profit. Still have photos of it.
This was certainly not the GM Mark of Excellence.
Just say NO! NO! NO!
I had one of these “GM jewels” back in the day. Burgundy color. It ran fine while I had it. For the 0-60 mph you needed a Calendar instead of a speedometer…but once it got going it would run fine at highway speeds.
It has a tragic end when some lady decided to do a right turn from the left lane and didn’t see or hear the Diesel cruiser right by her side… Total loss but I got money from the insurance and bought a Suzuki 750 2 Stroke “Water buffalo”.
I was working at a Caddy dealership when these came out. I was told by our district rep a few years later that the designer was being forced to retire ( he was old, I guess) and this was his finger to GM. Unfortunately for him some people actually liked these turds. Give me a Coupe DeVille any day.
I loved these cars when they first came out. Still do. We had an Olds 5.7 diesel and had good luck it. We would wait a good 5 minutes for it to warm up. Kept it about 3 years and racked up 123k miles on it without issue.
I had a Oldsmobile 98 diesel come in the gas station I worked when I was a kid back in 83. The owner was from Rochester NY and we were in Ohio, 100 + miles away. He said it was louder that usual and asked me to check it out. I popped the hood and told him I found his problem and that he should find a room for the night as there were two rods hanging out of the side of the block. He was pretty adamant that he and his family had to be home that night. I filled it with oil and he drove off into the night. I wondered if he ever made it home on time.
I am not sure that they made it to the motel, let alone 100+ miles, lol.
I would buy this, i love diesels!