Case of the Boxy Cadillac
During the 1970’s and 80’s Cadillac produces some of the most popular luxury, and boxy, vehicles: The Coupe De Ville & Deville sedan. They were family cars, limos, pimp mobiles and seen as carries of important individuals both in real life and on films/television. Both the Cadillac DeVille and Coupe de Ville have grown into more aerodynamic rides since the late 70’s, but didn’t we all have an aunt or grandfather who drove one of these 90-degree angled beautiful beasts?
Seventh generation Coupe De Ville 1977-1984
General Motors introduced these B and C body designed in 10When General Motors initiated 1977 - shrinking all of the early 70’s both in size (about 10 inches) and in weight (half a ton, give or take, depending on the model). The new standard engine was a 425-cubic V8, giving way for a V6 variant for the fuel conscious, or those suffering thanks to the gasoline crisis around that time.
A special edition Coupe de Ville was also available in 1977. Three-sided, wrap-around tail lamps were a 1977 feature only, but would appear again in 1987. As for those Caddy’s with padded vinyl roofs it was the popular Coupe de Ville Cabriolet, just make sure you get a coating of fabric protection on there before the sun chips it away.
Sixth generation DeVille 1977 - 1984
1977 was Cadillacs 75th anniversary, and the beginning of a ne age in automotive design with Caddy. This year also so the introduction of smaller DeVille sedans and coupes. Outside, along with those right angles, you had vehicles that were several inches shorter and almost half a ton lighter. The vehicles had more space conscious interiors, with large seats and a pushed back dashboards without bulging gauges but still with the easy to handle over sized steering wheel. The sixth generation DeVille was a landmark for the auto company - being the first since the 1949 Cadillac to not have rear fender skirts. The classic 500-cubic V8, which produced 190 horsepower, was replaced for 1977 by a 180 horsepower 425-cubic V8 of similar design. FUture models later offered a V6 engine, but this unfortunately cut back on sped and acceleration.Still, both models sold successfully until the end of their initial run in 1984.
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