Correct!! Before that time NYC was full of 75 series and stretch Cadillacs and no Lincolns to speak of. Afterwards Lincoln started to filled that spot and after 96 it was all Lincoln and still is to this day. How stupid it was to build a flagship Cadillac that was smaller than a Mercedes!!!
Sorry. I misread your comment. I thought you said these Caillacs were the greatest gift ever. I missed the part where you said it was the greatest gift to Lincoln. But yes. Lincoln maintained making the Town Car and even continued to upgrade its RWD platform. But idiots at GM absolutely insisted on keeping a smaller piece of shyt fwd platform.
This would not turn out to be a highly-regarded generation of Sedan deVille. I'm pretty sure most people see it as just another stain on Cadillac's reputation, and they certainly have every reason to think that way. Nevertheless, say what you will about this generation of Sedan deVille. It will always hold a special place in my heart. At the time, these seemed fresh, innovative, and "contemporary." I'm not much for the 85's, but I love the 1987 Sedan deVille. The ride was absolutely BUTTERY-smooth when they were new, and back then the thought of a smaller FWD Fleetwood or Sedan deVille seemed pretty new-fangled and far out. I suppose for the older crowd, it felt like they were "gettin' with the times" when they bought one of these 😂. Funny how GM was trying to market these cars to the younger, more affluent set. By 1985, most of that demographic had long moved on to the luxury imports. The people who actually bought these were mainly retirees and those nearing retirement. Nothing Cadillac offered at the time gave anyone any sense of excitement in terms of performance, nor any security in terms of reliability, which is exactly why this generation of Cadillac FLOPPED. Again, I really love these cars because I know the design and performance direction they were trying to go and I thought it was pretty cool at the time. Maybe for me it's more about the nostalgia than anything else. I mean, the mid-to-late 1980s were a very special time for me. It was my pre-teen years, and just a neat time to be alive.
I remember the first time I saw these cars, my initial thought is still what I think, “Rinky dink”. They looked like K-cars. Funny thing is that while they were initially junk cars with the horrible 4100 and the equally weak transmission within a few years they became quite reliable and were nice driving cars.
The downsized 1985 Deville and Fleetwood on the 111-inch wheelbase were too short and plain ... which is why their basic design was extended in length for the 1989 model year (longer front and rear overhangs, 3 inch longer wheelbase on the 4-Door, and expanded chrome trim). There was also a 1987 and 1988 Fleetwood Sixty Special with an extended wheelbase (5 inches). Instead, this 111-inch wheelbase with a boxy design would have been better suited as the next generation Seville (perhaps with larger wheels, center console, tight suspension, and higher performance engine). Instead, the 1986 Seville (108-inch wheelbase) was even shorter than the 1985 Deville .
The 1980's began with dire warnings of future gasoline prices and distribution shortages. Newspapers, magazines, radio and television; all media predicted a future of $10 a gallon gasoline and GM management saw fear on one side, tough CAFE standards on the other side. Had all the predictions come true, the 1985 Cadillac would have been heralded as Brilliant!
I'm a lifelong Lincoln Mercury fan but I have to admit Cadillac was better than anybody at downsizing, it started with the 1975 Seville. I've driven some of the cars in this video and they were not that small; over 4000 pounds and retained many of the rear drive styling cues. These cars rode and handled well , the performance was excellent.
had the 87 fleetwood delegance, with the 4.5 was an excellent car right up to the day i got rid of it at 175000 miles...yes they were a bit too small but it was a reaction to the CAFE standards of the time...
In 1996 my grandmother replaced her '80 Buick Regal with the '85 Fleetwood sedan her brother had bought new (His new - and last - car was a brand new Thunderbird.). It was white over white leather (but the dash and carpets were red) and I believe it had almost every option except a covered top or a sunroof. It was a noticeable step up from the Buick in terms of comfort, quietness and gadgets (Digital dash! Remote trunk release and power pull-down! Rear light status indicators on the ceiling!), but even at age 12 I could tell the GM beancounters had had their way with it (as the did everything else in the lineup). This suspicion was later confirmed by its multiple trips to the repair shops over the next four or five years she owned it, after which it was ditched for a '99 Olds Alero sedan.
I remember when these sad little cars came out, looking like overturned refrigerators, if fridges had fake wire wheels, padded vinyl roofs and "electro-luminescent opera lamps." Shrinking just when Mercedes was bulking up, and BMWs were becoming mass-market cars. Cadillac's answer to that was more overhang and fender skirts, on cars that resembled miniature blimps. To an S-Class Merc, they were ants on a crosswalk.
They did look quite pathetic. It was GM's miserable attempt to keep up with the times. The proportions were terrible, even though the interior room was not bad at all and very competitive. The overall look inspired no confidence whatsoever, much less convey prestige.
These are nimble for Cadillac compared to the Land Barges that immediately preceded them and the hallow plasticity yellow turning headlight housings, bloated bland bubble lacks of the 90’s! The best era for Cadillac and the last generation of Cadillac!
I was an usher in a friend’s wedding in 1988. We rode to the reception...crammed... into one of these small Cadillac limousines on a cold drizzling evening in upstate NY. It was underwhelming to say the least.
I referred to those body styles as Sadallacs, I still do, I've always bought Broughams, the only car that was alright were the early 80's Eldorados... the rest were junk... in y opinion. I still have an 88 Brougham...
My uncle bought a brand new Eldo in 85. He needed to be out of town when it was being delivered, so he asked if I could pick it up for him. Of course I would!! I was only 20 years old and I got the Gold Key delivery of a brand new Eldo. As I was driving it to my uncle’s house on the interstate I noticed how floaty the front end was. Like really floaty, kind of like the shocks were totally gone in the front. I knew they weren’t since the car was brand new but that was a big bummer to me and my impression of Cadillac as a company.
Anyone in '85 interested in a smaller, fwd luxury sedan would have been better off with the Old 89 or Buick Park Ave versions of the fwd "C" bodies. They looked better, had better engines and were cheaper too! GM was wise to leave the rwd Brougham in the lineup. If they had not, just about every potential Brougham customer would have jumped over to the Lincoln Town Car.
TBH, a limo does not need a monster motor. NVH is much more of a concern, than power in that application. If the driver were to be out flogging the engine and accelerating hard, he'd probably be out of a job rather quickly.
When these came out I was disappointed along with the Olds 98 and Buick Park Avenue but they actually rode very nice. On the Highway if you weren’t using cruise control or not paying attention you’d be traveling at 80 mph and it felt like you were barely moving.
Those limos never really caught on. I don't remember seeing too many of them. It was the big Fleetwood that continued to be the choice of both drivers and passengers.
I saw about 3 times as many CHRYSLER fwd limos in the 80s than Cadillac fwd limos. Meanwhile, the rwd full size Cadillac Brougham remained popular with coachbuilders, drivers and passengers into the 1990s despite it basically being a 1977 design with a 1980 sheet metal update!
I would have liked the limo model better if it had a higher roof, like the older limos instead of the same roof line as the regular models. Same goes for the limos from 1977 to this one. A higher roof with taller back doors with openings cut into the roof look great and make entering and exiting easier. Plus the higher roof really says 'limo'.
The downsized 1985-88 C bodies should have been given an all-new model and series name, while the RWD Deville/Fleetwood could have continued while a new, preferably RWD design of proper proportion (longer, lower, wider) could be designed and released.
I find it strange when they're demonstrating the instant and average mpg at 3:46 it shows really low mileage, on a car that was downsized to actually improve mileage. They should've done that demonstration better lol.
These cars were the greatest gift Cadillac could have ever given Lincoln. Lincoln’s Town car ad that was a response to this was an absolute classic.
Correct!! Before that time NYC was full of 75 series and stretch Cadillacs and no Lincolns to speak of. Afterwards Lincoln started to filled that spot and after 96 it was all Lincoln and still is to this day. How stupid it was to build a flagship Cadillac that was smaller than a Mercedes!!!
Sorry. I misread your comment.
I thought you said these Caillacs were the greatest gift ever.
I missed the part where you said it was the greatest gift to Lincoln.
But yes.
Lincoln maintained making the Town Car and even continued to upgrade its RWD platform.
But idiots at GM absolutely insisted on keeping a smaller piece of shyt fwd platform.
This would not turn out to be a highly-regarded generation of Sedan deVille. I'm pretty sure most people see it as just another stain on Cadillac's reputation, and they certainly have every reason to think that way. Nevertheless, say what you will about this generation of Sedan deVille. It will always hold a special place in my heart. At the time, these seemed fresh, innovative, and "contemporary." I'm not much for the 85's, but I love the 1987 Sedan deVille. The ride was absolutely BUTTERY-smooth when they were new, and back then the thought of a smaller FWD Fleetwood or Sedan deVille seemed pretty new-fangled and far out. I suppose for the older crowd, it felt like they were "gettin' with the times" when they bought one of these 😂. Funny how GM was trying to market these cars to the younger, more affluent set. By 1985, most of that demographic had long moved on to the luxury imports. The people who actually bought these were mainly retirees and those nearing retirement. Nothing Cadillac offered at the time gave anyone any sense of excitement in terms of performance, nor any security in terms of reliability, which is exactly why this generation of Cadillac FLOPPED. Again, I really love these cars because I know the design and performance direction they were trying to go and I thought it was pretty cool at the time. Maybe for me it's more about the nostalgia than anything else. I mean, the mid-to-late 1980s were a very special time for me. It was my pre-teen years, and just a neat time to be alive.
I remember the first time I saw these cars, my initial thought is still what I think, “Rinky dink”. They looked like K-cars. Funny thing is that while they were initially junk cars with the horrible 4100 and the equally weak transmission within a few years they became quite reliable and were nice driving cars.
Yea, too bad..
The downsized 1985 Deville and Fleetwood on the 111-inch wheelbase were too short and plain ... which is why their basic design was extended in length for the 1989 model year (longer front and rear overhangs, 3 inch longer wheelbase on the 4-Door, and expanded chrome trim). There was also a 1987 and 1988 Fleetwood Sixty Special with an extended wheelbase (5 inches). Instead, this 111-inch wheelbase with a boxy design would have been better suited as the next generation Seville (perhaps with larger wheels, center console, tight suspension, and higher performance engine). Instead, the 1986 Seville (108-inch wheelbase) was even shorter than the 1985 Deville .
The 1989 was a definite improvement in appearance.
كم هي رائعة كديلاك ...لن تتكررر تلك التصاميم الرائعة من الزمن الرائعة ثانية ....شكرا كاديلاك شكرا امريكا .....👍👍👍👍😘😘😘😘❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😊😊
The 1980's began with dire warnings of future gasoline prices and distribution shortages. Newspapers, magazines, radio and television; all media predicted a future of $10 a gallon gasoline and GM management saw fear on one side, tough CAFE standards on the other side. Had all the predictions come true, the 1985 Cadillac would have been heralded as Brilliant!
Yes it's true many have inadequate understanding of the environment in which these were developed.
I'm a lifelong Lincoln Mercury fan but I have to admit Cadillac was better than anybody at downsizing, it started with the 1975 Seville. I've driven some of the cars in this video and they were not that small; over 4000 pounds and retained many of the rear drive styling cues. These cars rode and handled well , the performance was excellent.
Thank you for your continued posting of videos. I remember this downsized era. They got the size and execution wrong. They were forward thinking.
Love the 1980s music with these videos.
had the 87 fleetwood delegance, with the 4.5 was an excellent car right up to the day i got rid of it at 175000 miles...yes they were a bit too small but it was a reaction to the CAFE standards of the time...
Omg, thank you so much. I think I’ve watched the Cadillac videos previously posted about 3x over now. Lol.
In 1996 my grandmother replaced her '80 Buick Regal with the '85 Fleetwood sedan her brother had bought new (His new - and last - car was a brand new Thunderbird.). It was white over white leather (but the dash and carpets were red) and I believe it had almost every option except a covered top or a sunroof. It was a noticeable step up from the Buick in terms of comfort, quietness and gadgets (Digital dash! Remote trunk release and power pull-down! Rear light status indicators on the ceiling!), but even at age 12 I could tell the GM beancounters had had their way with it (as the did everything else in the lineup). This suspicion was later confirmed by its multiple trips to the repair shops over the next four or five years she owned it, after which it was ditched for a '99 Olds Alero sedan.
Hosted and narrated by longtime Detroit TV sports anchor Larry Adderly, WXYZ channel 7. 😀
Thanks for that! I posted the question in the 2nd video
m.ua-cam.com/video/YBgIR5Q5FIk/v-deo.html
Quality was also very good
I remember when these sad little cars came out, looking like overturned refrigerators, if fridges had fake wire wheels, padded vinyl roofs and "electro-luminescent opera lamps." Shrinking just when Mercedes was bulking up, and BMWs were becoming mass-market cars. Cadillac's answer to that was more overhang and fender skirts, on cars that resembled miniature blimps. To an S-Class Merc, they were ants on a crosswalk.
They did look quite pathetic. It was GM's miserable attempt to keep up with the times. The proportions were terrible, even though the interior room was not bad at all and very competitive. The overall look inspired no confidence whatsoever, much less convey prestige.
😅😅🤣😅🤣😅😅 not overturned refrigerators 😆😆😆😆
These are nimble for Cadillac compared to the Land Barges that immediately preceded them and the hallow plasticity yellow turning headlight housings, bloated bland bubble lacks of the 90’s! The best era for Cadillac and the last generation of Cadillac!
I was an usher in a friend’s wedding in 1988. We rode to the reception...crammed... into one of these small Cadillac limousines on a cold drizzling evening in upstate NY. It was underwhelming to say the least.
fleetwood brougham was the best from cadillac's lineup imo
I referred to those body styles as Sadallacs, I still do, I've always bought Broughams, the only car that was alright were the early 80's Eldorados... the rest were junk... in y opinion. I still have an 88 Brougham...
My uncle bought a brand new Eldo in 85. He needed to be out of town when it was being delivered, so he asked if I could pick it up for him. Of course I would!! I was only 20 years old and I got the Gold Key delivery of a brand new Eldo. As I was driving it to my uncle’s house on the interstate I noticed how floaty the front end was. Like really floaty, kind of like the shocks were totally gone in the front. I knew they weren’t since the car was brand new but that was a big bummer to me and my impression of Cadillac as a company.
Anyone in '85 interested in a smaller, fwd luxury sedan would have been better off with the Old 89 or Buick Park Ave versions of the fwd "C" bodies. They looked better, had better engines and were cheaper too! GM was wise to leave the rwd Brougham in the lineup. If they had not, just about every potential Brougham customer would have jumped over to the Lincoln Town Car.
Its incomprehensible to me that Cadillac put a 125 HP 4100 in a limo let alone a full size coupe or sedan.
How about the Chrysler Executive limousine that was K car based? It came with a 4 cylinder engine. Now, that is incomprehensible.
TBH, a limo does not need a monster motor. NVH is much more of a concern, than power in that application. If the driver were to be out flogging the engine and accelerating hard, he'd probably be out of a job rather quickly.
@@andyali13 What an absolute joke! They actually approved budgets for that thing. You might as well do a stretch Geo Metro.
I love how they tried to pass off the federally-mandated center stop light as a "feature".
It wasn't mandated yet in 1985
Thank you! I was looking for videos on the downsized gm limos!
They were awesome cars. Nice that they made them smaller but still comfortable
When these came out I was disappointed along with the Olds 98 and Buick Park Avenue but they actually rode very nice. On the Highway if you weren’t using cruise control or not paying attention you’d be traveling at 80 mph and it felt like you were barely moving.
Those limos never really caught on. I don't remember seeing too many of them. It was the big Fleetwood that continued to be the choice of both drivers and passengers.
I saw about 3 times as many CHRYSLER fwd limos in the 80s than Cadillac fwd limos. Meanwhile, the rwd full size Cadillac Brougham remained popular with coachbuilders, drivers and passengers into the 1990s despite it basically being a 1977 design with a 1980 sheet metal update!
@@jamesslick4790 That's right.
I would have liked the limo model better if it had a higher roof, like the older limos instead of the same roof line as the regular models. Same goes for the limos from 1977 to this one. A higher roof with taller back doors with openings cut into the roof look great and make entering and exiting easier. Plus the higher roof really says 'limo'.
The downsized 1985-88 C bodies should have been given an all-new model and series name, while the RWD Deville/Fleetwood could have continued while a new, preferably RWD design of proper proportion (longer, lower, wider) could be designed and released.
Or name it Cimarron and discontinue the Cavalier clone
A leader with the Hook & Tow 4.1L 4100 engine
She was the standard of the world 🌎. Yes. General Motors was a company like no other at one time. Americans built only the best of the best.
With the new Lyriq and the upcoming ultra luxury Celestiq
Cadillac can again be a standard of the world!!🇺🇸
I find it strange when they're demonstrating the instant and average mpg at 3:46 it shows really low mileage, on a car that was downsized to actually improve mileage. They should've done that demonstration better lol.
I always disliked these cars compared to the beautiful early 80s and early 90s models
Do you like smacking a ball while on a horse? You'll love this Cadillac.
A sad end to the magnificent Fleetwood Seventy-Five series.
Any upcoming 1980s buick?
This features recycled music from the 1984 Firebird promotional film. More classic GM badge engineering.
Ahhhh yes.. The HT4100 the engine that Cadillac just kept giving away new ones.. POS engine cost Cadillac millions for replacement..
The most crappy, hideous, bland Cadillacs ever. What junk.