Information on the Cadillac Seville

The Cadillac Seville was a luxury car produced by General Motors between 1975 and 2004. It was conceived in reaction to the 1973 gasoline shortages and luxury competition from Mercedes-Benz and BMW. It was the first Cadillac to extensively use Chevrolet parts. It met with considerable criticism in its early existence due to the perception that it skimped on traditional Cadillac quality, but it has endured as a complement to other Cadillac models.

Origins

The Seville first appeared as a hardtop model for the 1956 Eldorado convertible. The Eldorado, however, was a victim of overdesign and huge tailfins by 1959. The Seville version was discontinued in 1960 as the Eldorado went through a redesign. The Seville was resurrected in 1975 as a smaller vehicle than in its previous incarnations. It was expected to compete with the influx of German luxury import sedans.

Construction

The Seville was a rear-wheel-drive vehicle built on a beefed-up and re-engineered Chevrolet Nova frame. It sat on a relatively short 114.3-inch wheelbase and measured 204 inches long. It was powered by a 350-cubic-inch Oldsmobile gasoline or diesel-powered engine, prompting critics to complain that the Seville was a diluted Cadillac due to its extensive use of non-Cadillac components.

Design

General Motors sought a lean look that was a departure from the traditional oversized Cadillac models. Designers sharpened the Seville's lines, gave it a lower profile and a wide stance, and a liberal dose of chrome to enhance its luxury position in the market. Some styling elements, like the rear wrap-around taillights, were taken from rejected designs for the Coupe DeVille.

Identity Crisis

The Seville was General Motors' smallest Cadillac, yet it was also the most expensive with a 1975 price tag of $12,479. It countered the Cadillac philosophy that bigger equates luxury and therefore a high price. But it appealed to buyers who liked the fact that it was 1,000 pounds lighter than the DeVille and handled reasonably well on cornering. Despite the misgivings over the use of Chevrolet and Oldsmobile parts, it sold well with 16,355 units produced in 1975-76.

Special Sevilles

The Seville "Elegante" was introduced in 1978 featuring a black and silver two-tone paint scheme, light gray leather seats and wire-rim wheels. The limited edition "Gucci Seville" appeared in 1979 with Gucci's double interlocking "G" logo on the leather seats, instrument panel, wheel covers, trunk lid and hood ornament. The Gucci version sold for $23,000.
.

The 1980s

General Motors preferred to develop its technological advances on the Seville rather than the other Cadillacs. Seville engineers came up with the "memory" seats in 1981 that memorized two seat positions by touching a button. It also debuted its digital instrument panel in 1981, along with self-sealing tires in the event of a puncture. A year later the outside rear-view mirrors were heated for defogging. The 1980-85 Sevilles also featured the unusual retro-style bustle-backed models, nicknamed "slantbacks," which mimicked the early postwar Daimlers.

Recent Models

By 1998, the Seville was built on an Oldsmobile Aurora platform. GM began exporting the fifth generation models for the first time to Japan, the United Kingdom and South Africa. The Seville was produced through December 2003, when it was discontinued to make way for the Cadillac STS.