One of the more incredible things about old luxury cars is that they, like the lowliest econobox, are not immune from being abandoned in someone’s garage. The listing for this 1977 Cadillac Seville indicates it is a one-owner car that has clearly been left standing for some time, and parked next to another Cadillac of a similar vintage. Back in the day, this garage would have been the envy of neighbors; these days, the Seville is listed here on eBay for $3,500 or best offer. The Cadillac is located in Mountville, South Carolina where it has been in this garage for 30 years.
The Seville had very humble roots, as the chassis started as an X-body, the same chassis that underpinned many of GM’s workhorses. The Nova, Apollo, Omega and others all used the X-body platform, but by the time Cadillac got done massaging and stretching it to suit their needs, it was essentially a new platform known as the K-body. This was an interesting point in Cadillac’s history, as it was pivoting for the first time away from its land barge philosophy into building smaller, more maneuverable sedans. Although this is often attributed to the need to build more fuel-efficient vehicles, the smaller-scale building also acknowledged Mercedes-Benz was having success with smaller sedans.
While still fairly ornate inside, critics also noted that Cadillac seemed to be using lower-grade materials throughout. While some Cadillac loyalists continued to decry what they perceived to be the neutering of a great brand, much of what the company was doing amounted to survival at that point with the onslaught of competition from European manufacturers. Remember, the likes of BMW were building mid-sized sedans with inline-six engines and manual transmissions, and Cadillac recognized it didn’t have anything in its lineup that could compete with that type of luxury car.
The Seville sold well for GM, even with the concerns from the Caddy evangelists about the smaller footprint and cheaper materials. It was still a very solidly-build vehicle with a bench seat, wire wheels, and white-line radials. It still looked like a Cadillac should look, and frankly, set the stage for the Cadillacs of the future. From this point forward, Cadillac began prioritizing sportier handling characteristics and a smaller footprint, and is still trying to build a legitimate 3-Series competitor. The Seville shown here has a lot of unknowns, but the potential for it to be a diamond in the rough seems high.
euh why two different steering wheels depending on the pic. The inverted V is off an 80’s up
Photos #3 & #4 are of the Sedan de Ville on the left, not of the Seville that’s in the listing.
I’m going to go out on a limb here. The Caddys are parked so close to each other, they’re the same color combination, they probably figured they could get away with the drivers side of the Sedan Deville and no one would notice? I guess they couldn’t be bothered to pull one or the other out?
These folks should know by now, you can’t sneak stuff past Barn Finds readers.
From what i see, It’s highly possible that neither car runs to pull one out of the garage.
When a seller calls the car “fair” condition then proceeds to say “a perfect project for someone or parts for another. That only hold true for a desirable car with a strong following, this car qualifies as neither, when a seller comes close to calling what they are selling a “parts car”, believe them.
The seller would be wise to rethink their ad and/or drop the price, pull the car out of the garage, take more and better pictures and state its mechanical condition, does it even run?
Steve R
That front end, the sharp elegant lines all the way to the trunk 👌
Just pleases the eye. One of the great looking cars of all time. Wish I saw them out driving around more often. Rare is a sighting.
Been sitting for 30 years? Yeow!
These were really nice cars in the day. And they bore the same relationship to the Nova as the Mustang did to the Falcon.
I had one white on white the first year of these babies. I loved that car; comfy handled well, nice zip and we had zero issues with it until one fateful day the x wife totaled it. Dump Trucks are unforgiving ;) she survived but our marriage did not. It was one of the caddy’s I truly enjoyed. I always thought of it as a glorified olds cutlass.
sold.
It Was Sold YESTERDAY
My late wife was a hair dresser when we lived in Naples, Florida in the late 90’s. One of her clients had a blue 78 Seville that had been her late husbands car. It was low mileage and in great condition. So we bought the car for $1000.00 for my step son as he had just turned 16 and got his license. He loved the car but unfortunately a gas hose underneath the engine compartment leaked gas and caught the car on fire. The car was totaled by the insurance company.
God Bless America