Being approximately the same age, I enjoy your talks Adam. I also like when you add in photos and such to reference what you're speaking of. It makes the videos all that much better. Editing can be time intensive and I thank you for that.
I once saw a girl getting into the passenger door of her huge 70''s/80's 2 door Buick and slipping over to the drivers side. This was in the 90's. I went up and asked her why? She said if she was to open the driver's door it might fall off! I tried it and she was right - and kept a strait face somehow. Our family had the same problem so I knew the fix. I told her I could fix it for $20. She didn't believe me. A day later, after I got her number and address, I showed up with the classic door pins and bushing kit - and a scissors jack, sockets & ratchet, and within a short time had fixed both doors. A good evening ensued. Bobby
Having had a 1976 Chevy 2 door and a 1984 Cadillac Fleetwood Coupe AND Coupe DeVille, I will tell you these doors, because they are so heavy, tend to sag. And if you don't have them adjusted, it CAN lead to the door falling off. I don't think its bad quality as much as I think its the pure weight of the doors.
I was enthralled with my father’s 1976 Seville. From a design standpoint I thought (as a 12 year old) that it was an exceptionally beautiful car. I became aware during my high school years that the materials in the Seville were no better than any other GM car. The AC vents bugged me a bit because they were chromed plastic, as was the grille. The driver’s door sagged over time. The driver’s armrest broke in two. I remember seeing the new 1980 Seville- I suppose in the fall of 1979- in the GM building on 5th Avenue in New York. It was then, at 17, that I first had the idea that I might do a better job of running GM. I could not believe that they abandoned such a fine design after only 4 model years; and they invested millions in an entirely new car instead of investing far less money in upgrades in materials and build quality on their existing product.
There was sort of a mystique to the '76; it was marketed as this new, more efficient way to build a luxury car and it looked extremely luxurious, at least from the outside. Ironically, one of the main reasons it was so good looking was that it inherited its proportions from the very space-inefficient Nova-Camaro family and thus had the wheelbase stretched under the hood and a narrow, "trim" body for a car of its size and weight. The fact that it had less shoulder room than most compact cars and a back seat dished out for 2 and only 2 passengers was easy to ignore it you didn't own one. The '80, despite its controversial looks, got everything right that the '76 got wrong right. It was very space efficient for a Cadillac and was the only real demonstration of how efficient the UPP drivetrain layout could get. I was in the minority that didn't hate its looks, so if I were looking for an un-loved classic car at a good price, an '80 or '81, with the 368, would be on my list.
@@heyrod59 70s Seville's didn't look much like Nova's or other 'X' cars at all. Seville was on it's own 'K' platform because it was an extensive modification of the 'X' car.
I worked at a Cadillac dealership as a technician in the 1980's and experienced the HT4100, hands-on. They made many mistakes with the design of the HT4100. The engine block was made of aluminum with free-standing cylinders(they didn't learn from the Chevy Vega), the cylinder liners were not integral but slip-in. They were dissimilar metals, so leakage was a problem. Then there were the cast iron cylinder heads. Because of the dissimilar metals, they scrubbed the head gaskets until they failed. The main bearing caps were also made of cast iron, so the bearings would pound into the aluminum making the engine knock. The factory fix was to install a "de-flashed" crankshaft and new bearings. It didn't work. Then there was the porosity of the aluminum blocks. They leaked both coolant and oil. The factory fix was to clean the leaking areas real good and then smear JB Weld on it. It Did work. Years later, I was working on an El Dorado with the HT4100, and the entire back of the block was covered with black silicone. It didn't work. OK, now one of the best Cadillac engines. That honor falls to the 6.0L V8-6-4. 1981 only, but non-modular displacement version, and carbureted, was continued in the Fleetwood commercial chassis through 1984. Plus, these were the last Cadillacs to use the TH400 bullet-proof automatic transmission. This was probably the best automatic transmission GM ever built and best in the world. Rolls-Royce and Jaguar used it for many years. The V8-6-4 was the last durable engine Cadillac made. Even with fuel injection, it was underpowered. The only customer complaints were from when it was in the V6 mode. This threw the engine out of balance and made the car vibrate. Many disabled the feature but the better option was to bridge the actuator solenoids so that the engine was either in the V8 or V4 modes. Myself, I have a 1981 Sedan De Ville sitting out in the driveway right now. There were 2 optional engines in 1981. The 350 Olds Diesel or a 4.1L carbureted version of the Buick V6(this engine came with the ill-fated TH 200R4, which the HT4100 inherited). I lost count how many TH 200R-4's I repaired. All but one had the same problems, so I had a permanent parts list for all the parts I would need. I repaired a few 325-4L's, but the only problem they had was with the 4th gear overdrive. The overdrive was added as an afterthought at the rear of the transmission under the chain cover. We could repair it in the car without removing the whole transaxle assembly. The only thing that went wrong with them was a strainer screen would get plugged up with blue plastic shavings. We never could find out where they came from as there were no parts that color.
@@bobbyheffley4955 Lots of them switched. Especially when Cadillac put more emphasis on front wheel drive. Cadillac lost alot of the professional car business.
I think you're spot on, as usual, Adam. Your discussion of the '70s Cadillacs brought a memory back to me with great clarity. My grandparents had just bought a brown metallic/white vinyl top/saddle leather/cloth interior '76 Grand Marquis pillared hardtop, which was a beautiful car. Very shortly thereafter, their neighbors FINALLY replaced an old, worn out '63 Coupe de Ville with a nearly new all red '75 Sedan de Ville. We all went for a ride in the Cadillac and even as a 15-year old, it was quite clear to me that the Cadillac was far below the quality of the Mercury, especially the quality of the paint and interior fittings. The leather of the Cadillac interior almost didn't seem real either. It was so shiny it looked like plastic (!), though it felt OK. After the ride, even my grandmother had plenty to say about the lack of perceived quality of the Cadillac, especially the ride.
One might have hoped GM could come up with a fastener that looked more like a decoration, a round rosette that meshed with a special driver. How could they send away a customer who paid $8,000 with a bare screw holding the handle on?
@@pcno2832 That would drive me nuts, especially knowing it's just going into bare sheet metal. Without a nutsert or something it's just going to rip itself out after a while anyway and then what do you do?
Here in Wisconsin Cadillac’s would rust within two years. I worked in the used car business and we would often have to paint the sides of two old Cadillac’s due to all the blisters under the side trim and vinyl tops. Back in those days GM felt that they could do no wrong and people would keep buying whatever garbage they built. I am not happy about the situation of the American workers that lost their jobs, but I was happy to buy a Japanese car when my last three GM cars imploded before the warranty expired. GM really got their ass handed to them by the European’s and the Japanese and deserved every bit of it. That’s what happens when bean counters that don’t know which end of a screwdriver to hold run a car company rather than people with a passion for them. Sorry about the bean counter remark Adam!
The death of the American "independent" brands was the worst problem with the US car industry. Not having the option of buying a Packard or a Peerless or a Pierce or a Marmon or a Duesenberg (and look at what Cadillac was offering in those days!), not having to compete with the coach-built Darrins and Le Barons and Rollsons and Henneys and Derhams allowed Cadillac to go to shit.
I’m a child of the ‘70’s, we were a Mopar family, (Chryslers, Dodge, Plymouth), being an auto enthusiast, I learned at an early age that American cars were junk. I became a European and Japanese car fan in the early 1970’s. This is a sorry state of affaires to lose you feature market at such an early age. The worst car I’ve owned was a Chevy Lumia (late 90’s), it was given to me by my Father. This car was so poorly put together the Wall Street Journal put it on the list of the top worst cars in America at the time. I owned it for 2 years and eventually gifted it to the Salvation Army. This car was slowly imploding random parts would just fall off of it for no apparent reason. I’m my life I have owned many Japanese and European cars none of them have let me down. This whole post is painful I’m a patriotic American, I believe we can do anything in this country. Looking forward, I’m hopeful, I saw a review of the new Cadillac Lyriq, this all electric SUV seems to embody the luxury and thoughtful detail you expect in a Cadillac. I will give it a good going over when it’s released. I hope the American automakers have learned a hard lessons and the future will be bright again. Who knows, maybe it’s not too late to win the hearts of the baby boomers after all!
@@mikequinlan9585 My family had Fords. My father started driving them because his father drove them (I assume). When I got old enough to influence the car buying decisions at our house I talked my dad into buying a new 1972 Buick Skylark which turned out to be one of the most trouble free vehicles that my father ever owned. My first several cars were Buick’s and I worked for a while at a Buick/Oldsmobile dealership. My last three GM cars were nothing to write home about. I was not into Mopars or Fords and about this time I had started an auto detailing business. My biggest customer was a Toyota dealership and after being exposed to them and how they compared to American cars I bought a used 1982 Tercel. That car turned out to be just wonderful. I still remember the chilly reception I got from my father the first day that I drove it to my parents house. On the news that day in 1987 GM was closing a truck plant in Flint and it was the fault of people like me who buy this Japanese “crap”. I had other thoughts but I kept them to myself as I had learned long ago that you were never going to sway my father, a life long union man on this subject. I have owned Toyota’s, Honda’s, an Acura and a Hyundai since then and I doubt that I will ever buy another domestic vehicle. The Asian imports just appeal to me more and I still don’t feel that buying a domestic product is a wise economic move. I am sure that plenty will disagree with me, but it’s my life, my money.
Fresh out of tech school I had 2 dealers to choose from to work as an auto repair tech that were the highest paying in town. One was a Honda and one was a Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Cadillac dealership. I'm glad I didn't choose the Honda because it was owned by tyrant that ended up cutting pay to a super low rate due to a monopoly he had in town. That said, the GM dealership had good people working in it and owning it but the product was a real shame. GM got everything they deserved when Toyota and Honda took their business. Fortunately, the horrible experience motivated me go back and get my associates in business after 2 years of horror and return to working for Toyota for 10 years. Night and day difference until about 2002 and then Toyota got crappy too. The GM dealer in the late 80's didn't make a great first impression of the repair industry on me.
I gotta tell you I’ve had several Toyotas that just keep on running. They didn’t get crappy and still aren’t and I’ll tell you why. Parts quality, Toyota uses very few outside suppliers unless they have to. My 08 tacoma had its exhaust last until 2022, the drive belt lasted until 2019 ( when i replaced it though it was ok looking) I never did the plugs or coil packs. I work at a GM dealer and we go through brake rotors faster then socks. Our exhaust systems are running garbage walker mufflers and aluminzied crap pipes. The other parts are stamped AC Delco which is funny cause AC Delco was bought out in 2007 by GM
@Simon I bought a new 2000 Camry and drove it 11 years. What a wonderful car it was. I live in Wisconsin, so it was exposed to plenty of road salt. Shortly before I sold it, I put it up in the air at work and there wasn’t even a hint of rust. I sold it to a customer and they turned over 200,000 miles. I am the unfortunate owner of a 2018 Honda CR-V with the 1.5 litre turbo. After driving it you can always smell what seems like hot oil hitting say an exhaust manifold or something. There are no drips on my garage floor and the dealer insists that nothing is wrong. I can’t justify getting rid of a car with 35,000 miles on it, especially now that I am retired. Fortunately I took out an extended warranty that does not expire until 2025. Then watch and see how quickly I get rid of this miserable piece of junk!
Purchased a 1984 Cadillac Coupe DeVille in 1990 for $4k. It had 38k miles on it. It was gray with blue leather. The 4.1 engine ran perfect and got really good gas mileage. I put 150k miles on it in 10 years. Regular maintenance was all it needed. No major repairs. I took very good care of it and when I sold it, I got my $4k back. Miss that car. I have owned 6 Cadillacs total. That 84 Coupe is still my favorite. I had a 1990 60 Special, 1995 Sedan DeVille, 1997 Catera, 2001 Catera Sport, 2003 CTS, and a 2007 CTS. The 4.1 was no powerhouse but with a 25 gallon gas tank I could easily go 500 miles of highway driving before needing to get fuel. Super smooth ride.
@@johnz8210 Yes it had a timing belt that was a real pain to work on. IIRC, the tensioner and/or the idler pulleys would fail causing it to jump time and destroy the engine.
@@tasmith1969 OK, thanks. I had a friend who worked at a Cadillac dealer in the early 2000's and he'd get all stressed out just talking about that timing belt. Flat rate probably didn't help how he felt about it.
The governments should have stayed out of the automobile business. Cars got so much worse because of government interference. CAFE mandates, safety regulations, etc. let the buyers decide what they want.
Great video, Adam! Your viewpoints on the 1974-76 D'Elegance for the Devilles, and Talisman for the Fleetwood, would be interesting as it seemed to be an effort to dress up the plain Jane '71-'73 models.
So in the long run how much money did GM save by cheapining their products and pushing the assembly process? I would guess tens of millions of dollars in lost sales, lost market share, and loss of prestige for it's higher end cars. I come from a family that drove Oldsmobiles, Buicks, and Cadillacs. Now no one in my family purchases these models anymore. These models have been replaced by Lexus, Tesla, and Toyota products.
What you said is so true! And it's so unfortunate. To see Cadillac pushed off of its throne of the world was a shame. But in all fairness I've got to say that possibly GM has there act together now. We bought a new 2016 Chevy Cruze it's been the most dependable car. No other car, at any price, has given us seven years and 100,000 miles of absolutely trouble-free motoring. Nothing's gone wrong on that car! Nothing! Nothing! It hasn't even needed a battery or brakes yet!
Young Americans today only THINK they know what a luxurious ride quality feels like; today's Cadillacs, in particular, ride like PICK UP TRUCKS!! Absolutely TERRIBLE ride quality. I know this will be unpopular here, but give me an old style, 1970's luxury sedan and its soft, floaty ride and total isolation from the road ANY DAY! Again, those late 1980's and 1990 Buick Park Avenues were the perfect balance for me; isolation from the harsh, noisy roads, but with great handling and agility.
Gen 1 Escalade. It was such a rebadged suburban/tahoe/yukon it was just sad. Give them credit though, they turned it around with the gen 2! It was the ultimate blingmobile of the 2000s.
Great video!! I have 3 Cadillacs.. 67 Deville, 82 Fleetwood Brougham and an 83 Sedan Deville, both Diesels.. Definitely love Cadillacs, but my Oldsmobiles(81 Olds 98, 84 Delta 88-both diesels) are actually more comfortable and drive better imo... Thank you again Adam!! Great content as usual and 100% spot on!!!
Worked in a full service gas station with lots of Cadillac customers in the early 70s. The 71 and 72 Fleetwoods used the same door skins as the shorter wheelbase DeVilles, and they had a 3 inch wide filler strip in between. Even with no misalignment, it looked like a cheesy afterthought. On most cars they looked worse. In '73 Cadillac switched to a longer front door skin which greatly improved the appearance. Even as a young teenager I wondered how I would feel as the owner of a '71 or '72, knowing that GM was learning to fix obvious mistakes after they happily collected 8 or 9 grand selling me what looked like a ten year old used car from day one. Just one of many ways GM pissed away its "Standard of the World".
@@califdad4 I'm sure that was the reaction Cadillac was hoping for. That they spent mid-cycle money to tool the longer door tells me that most customers didn't agree.
@@billyjoejimbob56 I was a teenager when those came out, so I wasn't exactly following it . I preferred the Riviera and actually bought a used one during the 74 oil embargo, my first car
I bought a 1983 Coupe DeVille when I graduated from college in 86. I really loved the car. I didn’t have it long enough to really have any problems with it though. About a year in, I got hit by an F-150 and the car was totaled. Glad I was in a big car though.
Ford picked up on the GM quality issues. Ford had advertisements back in the day about how much better built the Fords were showing the panel gaps, and door closings.
My dad owned a 1974 Continental Mark IV "Gold" edition during the 1970's. As a kid, I was immersed into the American luxury car culture. I was always polishing the Lincoln and taking care of it for my dad. I always compared it to the Cadillacs of the era and the only car that almost rivaled it in my opinion was the 1976 Seville. The early 1970's Lincolns were the best that brand ever produced. Love your channel, and your insight into American luxury cars.
Nothing makes me more sad than the 4100. I can deal with poor materials and build quality so long as the car is reliable (not dismissing your complaints with the early 70s Cadillacs, because you're totally right that they were subpar when new, especially for the price). The 4100 ruins so many of the extremely handsome 82-85 Cadillacs. Every time I see one of these out on the road, I smile that someone is out there still using the car despite the issues... but I'm not brave enough to put money down on a 4100. I too almost kinda like the Cimmaron. I think it would be a pretty decent around town commuter that still has some niceties like ac.
I have a 1985 Fleetwood Brougham with the original 4100 and hydra-matic transmission. The car will hit 280,000 miles this week. The 4100 engine is painfully slow, especially when you need the power. I've had the head, intake manifold, timing cover, and valve cover gaskets all replaced. I am fully aware that his 4100 is an oddity for still running perfectly after 2 (almost 3) odometer rollovers. I wouldn't recommend these engines to anybody who can't deal with their issues. I've been told numerous times to drop a 5.7 in the car, but I love the novelty of driving one of the highest mileage notoriously junk engines ever created. Either way, the car is very nice looking and fun to drive!
@willg.5168 A local shop did all the work on it. It's hard to find a decent shop that will do older engine projects anymore since those aren't the most profitable jobs. This engine has had low oil pressure for years, so I'm going to have to rebuild it soon. Maybe this should be the time I finally give up on it and do a swap, but I want all of the computers and fuel data system to work.
@@alexanderw49 no one here in upstate NY would touch one, although I did run into a truck accessories shop who sold crate motors and after inquiring about my old Caddy, they suggested doing a 350 swap. The only slight mod would be ac hook up, which wouldn't be difficult either
I wrote about these very problems in book one of my four book exposé series “All in a DAZE work” (The decline and fall of the American work ethic) As a limousine and airport transportation driver I once had a retired GM engineer in my car. This person told me they were on the J car design team and the entire design team pleaded with General Motors management NOT to market the J-Car platform as a Cadillac!
From age 5 to 24 my parents bought 9 Cadillacs, and I never noticed the defects. My favorite was the 1977 eldorado with the 425-quite fast. And, yes, dad quickly dumped his diesel 4100!
When you mentioned the drop-off of interior quality of Cadillac starting around 1970, you were reading my mind exactly! It's completely unacceptable to me that Cadillac was selling sooooo many cars during this era while being so cheap and homogenous too.
Cadillac and GM made 2 big errors. 1. The sloan ladder became more compressed from the 30s to the 60s. Before the depression a cadillac cost 4x what a chevy cost. By the late 60s they were 50% more. With luxury exclucivity is king so whats the point if everyone can afford one? 2. Cheaping out construction. These 2 factors are why mercedes ate caddys lunch in the 70s. Cadillac shoulda tried to become an american mercedes, like Packard had been and focused on high end build quality and not far out designs.
@@jeffshadow2407 sit in any 70s caddy and any 70s benz and rethink that. Then theres rhe price. The benz would cost 2x what the caddy cost giving it snob appeal. Face it with luxury that matters as much as features.
I still remember the final comment in the July, 1969 issue of Popular Mechanics when they surveyed owners of the 1969 Eldorado. An Eldorado cost $8-9,000 in those days. The owner said that the price should be raised to $15,000. There are too many of them on the road.
HT 4100 is a true boat anchor, the cars are good but definitely an LS Swap with stock exhaust to keep the noise down. I used to work on the Diesel on a 80 coupe deVille for a customer back in 82 83 and loved driving it and really kept it up for my customer. Loved to drive it in the Winter when it was freezing. Great Videos Thank You 🙏
I think that all cars suffered cost cutting issues starting in the seventies, as far as the worst Cadillacs?? For me it's the Catera & the early Cimarron!!! Yuk!! 😬
Just a terrible car. I leased one new with no test drive. Worst automotive decision of my life. No power… got out of the lease and into a STS after 6 months.
The main reason Cadillac cheaped out after the 60s is because GM really understood its customer base. At the time the baby-boomers were just getting started in life. The WWII gen were in their prime years as concerns their finances and station in life. The WWII gen honestly believed the Cadillac was the 'Standard of the World'. There was no way the WWII gen was going buy a foreign make. In the 70s I had a WWII vet neighbor who only bought GM...Cadillac or Oldsmobile. Even when he got a complete lemon, he'd trade it on another new GM. He was the kind of guy who would have taken the bus rather than be seen in a German or Japanese car. GM knew this, and shamelessly ass-raped that generation. GM also ignored the baby-boomers, most of who are now lost to GM.
GM basically prostituted the Cadillac brand for high sales in the 60s and 70s. Plain and simple. They were the top dog then so it was just another example of GM hubris.
@@Henry_Jones Because GM knew their customers. The WWII gen that GM was hustling was not going to abandon Cadillac, no matter how badly they were taken advantage of. Cadillac prospered until their customer base went off to the nursing home or died of old age. Today I rarely see a new Cadillac sedan on the roads. It's mostly those CUV things and the abomination that is the Escalade. So basically blinged out Chevrolets.
@@MrSloika yep I remember when I got my license in 96 its what all the old timers were rolling around in. Cadillacs and olds, doin 30 in a 45. Id be stuck behind one and get so f*#*^ pissed! Now the oldies in my area all drive camrys and mercedes and lexuses.
@@Henry_Jones An old lady Camry is the used car to buy. They can be a bit neglected but they're not abused and they don't have high miles. Keep you eyes on the local obituaries.
Poor Cadillac, here they go again - all electric. This will fail miserably, could be the final nail in the coffin for this brand. Keep the coffin type door pulls handy. Finally found out why my local Cadillac dealer closed - they had to convert the showroom/operations to handle the all electric product, either invest in the conversion or take an offered GM buy out to close it - they took the buy out offer - smart move.
This “electric car” crap has to be another globalist power grab. If not, why would they be pushing it so hardcore? Everything they do is nothing but exactly that.
@@emilyadams3228 Just like the failure of the solar panel industry Solyndra and the huge amounts of money the government pumped into it that all went "poof" and what about the Chevy volt? This song played before and no one listened. . . Yet the "DJ" still tries to play the same song. . . the electric car system is unpractical and will be very expensive to maintain yet alone all the other problems.
What a great surprise.Its monday night here in Australia and nothing but garbage on tv, thought i would check my phone and this post popped up on my feed.What a treat.
Yeeeaaahhhh....I, too, have a love-hate relationship with Cadillacs. I grew up with Pontiac Bonnevilles, Buick Electras, and later on, my mom's 1978 Buick Electra Park Ave., and to me, those cars were a much better deal than the Cadillacs were and ARE. Once I was an adult, I also drove the big Buicks, a Pontiac Grand Prix, and a few Oldsmobiles, but the Buicks were the best of the lot. My first new car was a 1990 Buick Park Ave., and I wish I'd have kept it; it was the most reliable car I think I ever owned, and the ride was not only FAR SUPERIOR to a Cadillac, it also had great handling for that type of car. I had to special order the anti lock brakes, along with the "Prestige option package," but it was well worth it, and it was still about $12,000.00 LESS than a similarly equipped Cadillac. The Lincolns have also been very reliable for me, with the exception of the rear air suspension on one of the Town Cars I had. I finally decided to try a Cadillac, so I bought a new, 2007 DTS, and it was THE worst car I've EVER owned, HANDS DOWN! You name it, it broke; by the time it had 62,000 miles on it, the power steering lines had ruptured twice, the rack and pinion steering system CONTINUALLY needed repairs, the entire front suspension was a nightmare! The wheel bearing hubs and brake calipers were also terrible, always freezing up or just coming apart....while I was driving it! I would take it back to the dealer, they'd have it for a week, I'd get it back, and within 3-5 months, it would be right back to where it had been before....over and over and over again. I put THOU$AND$ into that Goddamned car's suspension, only to have it fall apart again and again....and I do NOT drive my cars hard or rough at all. It got to where I was pulled over TWICE for weaving...."Yep, I sure was," I told the cop...."because if I even drive over a slightly indented sewer cover, it either throws it out of alignment, or something breaks in the front suspension!" I'd have gotten rid of it much sooner, but I was forced to hold onto it as long as I did due to a divorce I was embroiled in at the time and money was tight. I finally dumped that pile of shit and got back into another Lincoln, a 2011 Town car, then a 2017 Lincoln MKZ, then my current 2020 Lincoln Continental. Lincolns, in my opinion, are just far superior to ANY Cadillac ANY day! The old Chrysler Imperials were also great cars; my grandparents had a few, and I seem to recall their overall ride quality and luxury was right up there with my '90 Park Ave. and my Lincolns. Now, everything is a Goddamned SUV, so I'm going to hang onto this last Lincoln sedan as long as I can!
I always enjoy your videos where you just sit and talk about a subject. Your perception on the 70's GM vs the 60's GM cars is spot on. I remember my '66 Riviera which was a daily driver during the early 90s and how well built and solid that car was. The materials used for the switches and the metal a/c vents were all strong and never wore out. My vinyl seats were often mistaken for leather and suffered no splits of cracks. Little things like how the door handle gently clicked when you opened the car and the incredible way the car took the road made me really enjoy driving it. I also drove a '72 Electra and '72 Riv and while I love those cars, one can't help notice the plastic that permeates the interiors and dash. Mechanically they're fantastic cars but my driver arm pad cracked on both cars and the pull straps were always loosening so I'd have to pop off the screw cover and tighten them repeatedly. The hinges unfortunately also wore and those '72 doors, particularly on the coupes are really heavy. Always looking forward to your next videos!
I grew into car awareness during the early '60s, saw almost all the auto (r)evolutions you describe. Your posts always warrant more than one listening. Well done.
You hit the nail on the head, the 67 was the last high-quality interior -69 70 had horrid dashes all hard plastic and spray on chrome (which rubbed off) cheep seatback surround, I know how they got away with it -nobody noticed!
Good report. I love older Cadillacs. Yes, GM build quality in the 70’s left a lot to be desired. I had a ‘75 Camaro, my first brand new car. It was beautiful but soon revealed it’s poor quality and unreliability. Later on, I so wanted an ‘85 Eldorado HT4100 but now I’m glad I couldn’t quite afford one at the time. When I was able to buy one in ‘87, I strongly disliked the horribly (imo) downsized version. To me, it was no longer a real Cadillac. I bought an Acura Legend.
My dad for unknown reasons to this day, bought a 1984 Cadillac DEISEL Fleetwood. It was the worst PIECE OF CRAP ever put on the road. We live in Northern Indiana. That car would not run half the time or start. It broke down all the time. He said that car was built on a Friday before a long holiday.
The diesel would have been a pretty easy fix but the reputation was so bad there was no salvaging it. It was still a bad idea to convert a gas to diesel in a luxury car especially at that time.
In the very early 70s my dad told me a story that a friend of his bought a cadillac and the ash tray rattled. The dealer's solution was to put a piece of scotch tape on it to secure it.
It sounds like my neighbor as a child that bought a new Rambler. It had an annoying rattle in one of the doors. When he finally could not tolerate it any longer he took it to the dealership, whose service department removed the interior trim panel. There rested inside the door shell an empty beer bottle that contained a note. The note said “Noisy, isn’t it?”
The only reason any 4100 Cadillac should be doing 17 seconds 0-60 would be a partially worn cam or an engine way out of tune. I owned and drove tons of them because my buddy had a used Southern car dealership from 1977 to current so loads of these went through it to be sold. A proper running FWD downsized Deville or Eldo was around 11 seconds 0-60, the 82-85 larger E-body Eldos were in the 12.5 to 13 second 0-60 times and the C-body RWD 4100's were 13 to 14 seconds. Yes those were slow times by todays standards for sure but fully in line with what Ford and Chrysler were capable of. You are correct in that these cars are best avoided but if you do see one running good today chances are it was either pampered and serviced religiously or the engine was rebuilt or replaced somewhere along the line. My buddy's dealership often checked and replaced the intake on these cars and serviced the coolant while adding the pellets and we actually rarely had a come back with engine issues. I remember we often stressed to the customer to service these every year or other year and to use the pellets
Yeah, I inherited m grandmother's '87 FWD "Fleetwood" with a 4100. About 12 sec 0-60 seems a bit more what I remember. The fake wire hubcaps were a disgrace. Squeaked and rattled down the road like an East German product.
Pardon if I say I'm in love with you! Born in '62, lived through riding in many of these stylish cars through uncle's, aunts, parents automobiles. Your explanation of drive and ride, and in particular styling, sharing the evening lighting of interiors, just fantastic. Airodinamics has muted the design imagination of those days. I also strongly appreciate your honest evaluation of cars we love. Thank you!
Quite informative. I had heard about the HT4100. I knew people who owned them. I know the doors on a 1976 Coupe Deville were heavy. You were right about them sagging from that era. I did not know about the quality dropping and someone trying to save a bucket. I know the 1989-1993 Devilles and Fleetwoods are great cars. I know the 1992 Eldorado and Seville were indeed revolutionary. I liked those too especially when they did not have the Northstar V8. It was sad to hear how Lincoln quality aped Cadillacs quality for a time there. Lincoln was successful with what they had. The downsized era at GM 1985-1990 gave them a leap forward too. Great video. Thank you for sharing.
I have 8 Cadillac's in my time and my favorite was a 1982 Fleetwood Brougham D'Elegance with the diesel, an old farmer told me to always let a diesel run after driving to cool down. I never had any problems with the car and loved it. I know a couple people that had diesels and had nothing but trouble. Then I had an 81 Eldorado with the 4100 and did not have any problems at all with that one but also I bought a 83 Seville with the 4100 and that thing was in the shop more than I drove it. I traded that off quickly for an 85 Fleetwood Brougham and that car was amazing.
Well, Adam, don't hold back, please! I've heard you previously speak with derision of Caddies. Maybe you've got it outta your system, at last... Thanks, as always, for another enjoyable video about cars.
You kind of skipped over the 425 for 77-79. Excellent engine and some really good cars from the division those years. I've had both a 79 Continental with a 400 and a 76 Fleetwood with the 500. From ride, to handling, to acceleration and fuel economy, the Cadillac was superior in every way. Quieter inside, no rattles in the dash. My 79 Continental had horrible gaps, poor stampings, interior trim pieces with huge gaps. The Lincoln Mark Vs all suffered from the same door panel pull strap issue as the early full-size Cads. 1980 and 81 Cadillac cars still offered the big 368, and pulling one wire disconnected the 8-6-4 system, so no big deal there. After 82, it was all down hill. I'll never understand Cadillac engineering spending all that money on the 4100 when a good 5-speed automatic with overdrive would have given them better fuel economy without sacrificing power. The A/C vents in all Cadillac cars definitely were an issue, but I'll take that over the Lincoln power seat switches that melt down and start fires :).
Ford received a windfall of GM customers in the late 70's and all of the 80's. Cadillac was inferior in every way and it just got worse every model year.
I drove a 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham D'Elegence, which was a beautifully designed Cadillac, inside and out, in my opinion. The pillow design interior was almost too comfortable, lulling occupants to fall asleep. It was a true Cadillac in every sense. The ride was so smooth compared to the 1965 Cadillac DeVille convertible, which wasn't all that comfortable, in my opinion. I never liked the steering wheel design of 1976, as I thought it looked cheap for such an opulent car. In my old age, I drive a Buick now, which is a comfortable car, but that 1976 Cadillac was excellent.
My dad bought a new 77 Sedan DeVille. It was a horror show of cheap quality. All the cheap of the earlier models you mentioned. So if you found the 77's & later to be made better than the earlier, I can't imagine how much worse pre 77's could have been. Boy was I fooled by the looks of the earlier 70's. They looked so much more classy than the late 70's cars
I had a 1972 Coupe de Ville. The climate control circuit board went out several times, the interior had perpetual dash rattles, and a rocker arm retainer clip busted at around 40,000 miles-just a low budget stamped piece in the 472. I also recall that the AC compressor ran perpetually and loaded the engine enough to cause it to Ping, regardless of tune-even on leaded gas. That said, I loved the car, hated to get rid of it due to insurance before I learned about classic car insurance in the 1980s. The low stance, fender skirts, and headlamps pushed to car’s edge was beautiful. Would buy another one…now.
In all honesty being picky with years and models with PITA models of a particular car I can’t blame you for having biases to certain makes/models of cars. Parts, numbers, vehicles made, finding matching parts, it can be fricking nightmare. Like looking for a ‘55 Fairlane” convertible parts.
I had a 1985 Fleetwood Brigham d’elegance with the dreaded 4100. I got what I deserved. People tried to warn me but I didn’t listen. It was without a doubt the biggest piece of junk on planet earth.
I had a friend, back in California, who bought about a fifteen year old early 70's Calais in mint condition. That car had a chintzy plaid cloth and vinyl interior that would have embarrassed a base model Nova.
Kinda surprised the Allanté didn’t get a mention. Especially as a new car, it couldn’t have missed its mark any worse. One of Cadillac’s worst engines its first year, mediocre transmission at best, an extremely balky top, sloppy handling, underwhelming performance, questionable interior fit & finish, and a $60,000 price tag when new in 1987. That car became an instant white elephant.
I thought it stacked up well and may have actually been a better car than a 380SL. But it was just too expensive for the typical Cadillac buyer and Euro fans just weren't going to abandon their brand. As far as the top, Jaguar and Mercedes roadsters also had awful manual tops that required tools to remove and install so their top was actually worse than Allante's. I don't believe it was a White Elephant because J.R. Ewing drove one on the Dallas TV Show.. 😂
@@TeeroyHammermill The Allanté was slower, less well made, handled worse, and was more expensive than the ancient R107 SL when it came out. And in just 30 months, it was absolutely demolished by the new R129 300SL, not to mention the 500SL. If it can’t hang with a ca. 1972 Mercedes and a ca. 1975 Jag in the late ‘80s, it’s not good enough. It doesn’t matter how many 747 trips the body takes, you can’t turn a cut-up Olds 88 into a proper luxury roadster. That torturous production process was the main reason it cost so much. And it yielded zero benefits to the consumer. Certainly not on the order of paying an extra 50% of what it should have cost.
@@judethaddaeus9742 I think it would've been a winner if it had a power top and maybe $45k-$50k MSRP. I like the sure footed performance and growl of the Cadillac V8 Engine.
Union wages didn't help. High people cost and poor engineering plus second rate suppliers finished Cadillac off. BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, and now Tesla are finishing them off.
Adam, I normally agree with your opinions, but have to really disagree with you on the 1971-72 Cadillacs. Ok you are right that the interiors were not as nice as the Lincolns . I Had a 1973 Mark lV, (more of a competitor of the Eldorado of course) and my Dad has had 1975 and 79 Coupes. They do seem fancier inside, but...but, the Cadillac was just as comfortable as those cars (great firm seats) and my Cadillac took curves better as well. Never had a window drop into the door like my Dad's 1979 , either. Perhaps it's one time buying the low mileage cars does not pay off as the little issues were fixed early on. No gap issues at all (1976 Electra I have now, a different story ;) ) and the doors closed better than ANY car I have ever owned. and the 460s, while great engines, never would smoke the tires like my 1971 Coupe de Ville. Went from 80K to 140K with mine, and it was hands down, the best car I ever owned.
The 4 cyl 2.0 cimmeron was a grate car for a miser I had one with 370+k on it with little issues over the 12 years I daily drove it but it is basicly a cavalier Bullitt proof durability 👍 the v6 had better power but not as durable over time.
True, I've owned a 73 Sedan Deville, 70 Eldorado, and an 83 4100 coupe Deville, replaced the engines in the 83, and in a 77 Sedan Deville with a bad 425, I've had a few Northstar cars, Eldorados and STS, and DTS, from 83 - 2007... I drove a 91 Brougham for 15 years, and drive an 88 Brougham now but yes, you're right those 90's - 2000+ year cars weren't built well.... they can keep the new ones of today.
I bought a 1983 Coupe DeVille on eBay in 2002 and it was a fantastic luxury car. No engine problems, perhaps because it only had 44,000 miles. I sold it after my wife and I agreed that I had to sell one car after leasing our 2005 Dodge Magnum SXT. I am now having repairs done on my 1985 Eldorado that has been in garage storage for seventeen years. It does have the new 4100 replacement engine installed in 1994.
I own a 83 Seville Roadster. Car makes me nervous. But it has Substantial Sentimental Value. Driven it only 700 miles in the last year and a half. Keep up the good work.
Our family purchased new, an Oldsmobile Cutlass Brougham Diesel in 1981. Never had an issue. Drove it to 123k miles w/out incident then traded it in. If you waited 5 minutes for a cold engine to warm up, used good diesel, and changed the oil religiously the Olds diesels would treat you well.
Today, at the Wilton Manors car show in Florida, I ran across a '93 Cadillac Allante with the Northstar engine. I asked the owner about the head gasket issues, and he replied that he knew about this problem but that his car only had 8500 miles from new and he didn't drive it much. That was a COOL car! On his car, he had the blackwall 60 series tires, and these have never looked right to me.
There's a repair kit for those head bolts, but the job costs more than the car. However, if you get it done, then the car will literally last forever. It's a strong, well built car, it just suffered from those god-awful head bolts.
@@tjsogmc Yes, but installing that kit requires one to drill out the head stud holes with a hand held power drill, and if you get it even slightly wrong, you ruin the block....
@@Flies2FLL its definitely not a job for the home mechanic. The first thing you have to do is pull the engine out. Then remove the heads and use the alignment jig to drill and tap each individual bolt hole. Get one thing wrong and its game over. But when its done correctly, you end up with an excellent vehicle.
@@tjsogmc If you haven't, then check out Car Wizard's channel. He's a mechanic in Wichita and did a video on this procedure about two years ago. It's a shame that GM screwed this up, that was a cool car and engine.
My parents had 5 Cadillacs from 1974 to 1982, never kept any of them long enough to have any problems I guess. I just remember that for the time period I loved the way they rode and drove.
I agree with you Adam although probably wouldn’t include the 71-72 as worst. Maybe some aspects were underwhelming but they are still good cars and much better than the other ones you mention. Glad you didn’t pan the Cimarron. I have a beautiful 24,000 mile 1985 2.8 in cream with Palomino leather interior.
I’ve got an 87 FWD Fleetwood as a work beater and love it. Got about 120k miles. Got to do that coolant treatment. Payed $700 Canadian for it almost 2 years ago. Not complaining.
The '57 imperial set the design parameter for the '59 Cadillac. It also was the "last hurrah" ushering Harley Earl's "bulgemobiles" out the door, and Mitchell's good design chops soon arrived. Unless you grew up in the era, you don't realize what an absolute design pariah that '59 Cadillac became when the '61 Continental arrived.
I will disagree with you on the HT4100. I knew a guy that owned an oil well. He asked me to sell 5 of his 83 Caddy’s. I kept one, sold one to my employee, and sold the others with ease. Yes, it is slow on the 0-60 times. If I wanted a race car, I would have bought something else. For those in my generation, the Caddy, and later Lincoln’s were America’s best. After about 1985, the imports started to catch up. My favorite car was a 1969 Sedan de Ville hardtop. I put it to great use on the new interstate freeways being built at the time. I owned a 62, 65, 69, 70, 73, & 83. Currently own an Audi eTron
GM was pretty bad in the early 70s. Although not a Cadillac story, my parents bought a new 71 Chevelle Wagon. I still have all the paperwork for it. It was a Concours Estate, antique green with the faux wood siding, had a 307 and three on the tree. No power anything, windows, brakes or steering. But it had heavy duty suspension, posi-traction. My father ordered it and it took a long time for it to be delivered, I think because there was a big GM strike back then. It was built at the plant in Baltimore. I was 7 at the time and remember we picked it up in March 1971. Literally 2 blocks from the dealer on the way home the oil light came on ! I remember we stopped my father got out and looked and the car was pissing out oil all over the place from underneath, so we turned around and got back to the dealer. Turns out it was some seal, I think it was for the camshaft, wasn't seated and just pumped oil out all over the place, it was a mess. Anyway we had to leave the car there and it was about 3 weeks before we could pick up our new car again. I learned a lot of new 4 letter words that day listening to my father. Even after that, I remember my father going around tightening everything in the front end because everything was all loose. The radio, with the antennae in the windshield quit working after 6 months. I learned to drive in it. I still remember the H pattern for shifting, from first at the bottom, up and across thru neutral and up to 2nd, and it always dropped out of 2nd. My parents kept it until 1983 when it was a hulk with 160K on it.
We had a limo service in the early 90s and had a 75 inch stretch 1984 Cadillac with the HT4100. Served us well and if I remember right put over 150000 miles on it and still running when we sold the business. Perhaps the Almighty was watching over us!
Thanks for the "It could have been worse..." on the Cimarron. An X-body Cadillac sounds truly horrifying. Somehow, though, you managed to miss the Catera. Not especially bad, but an Opel can never be a Cadillac.
Had a chance to drive a Catera (owned by Chrysler Corp's comparison fleet!) when they were first launched. My personal car at the time was a less than perfect '95 Bonneville. The Bonneville was a better car overall. Lisa Catera? tempting. Lease a Catera? No thanks!!!
Look to the X body Buick Skylark. This looks much more like a (shrinked) Cadillac (Seville 1st gen.) that that poor J-body. But having all those mechanical issues (of the early x-bodies) in my mind, it was better, not to do an x-body Cadillac. At least the German version of the J-body, the Opel Ascona, has had only two issues: rust and endless boredom. But it was very durable and reliable.
There are a number of Cadillacs from the early 80's through to the recently dropped XTS that I thought are really good looking cars but the terrible engines of Cadillacs would prevent me from buying any of them.
Circa 1972-3 I had a long commute to my co-op student engineering job in Houston. I must have heard 100 times the radio jingle... "The leader, any way you look at it- Cadillac- any way you look at it- the leader." What a joke, but I bet it sold them some cars. TripleDent Gum and other earworms.
High school in the early 80s, one of the girls had a family who were fairly well off I suppose. She drove a big red late-70s Cadillac convertible with a white leather interior. Very impressive car compared to our Pintos and Civics. Don’t know what model it was, but I imagine it was one of the last convertibles of time when everyone thought convertibles were going to be outlawed
It had to have been an Eldorado as of 1971, Eldorado was the only Cadillac you could get in a cabriolet. 1965-70 the only Cadillac convertible was the Coupe de Ville. Personally, I have a cooper "ember glow firemist" Eldorado with a white convertible top and white leather interior. Yes, they are breathtaking. 1976 was the last year they produced them. In 1984 they started sending out their Eldorado hardtops to be converted into convertibles. I don't remember the names of the two companies. One of them was "Coach Builders" and the second one did mid-80s conversions for Jaguar.
Wow my friend just got a 1983 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz.. he loves the car but I do digging around about the car and kinda figured the ht4100 might sucks .it’s a weird engine design.. like ur videos 🤙🏼
You forgot one flaw with these 70s/80s caddies. THE DAMN BUMPER FILLERS. Even CHRYSLER managed to make them last for decades, so why was cadillac unable to make them right?
@@RareClassicCars Yes. Caught that. My uncle's 76 Fleetwood Brougham de Elegance was in showroom new condition when he passed in 91.....EXCEPT for those bumper fillers. Beautiful sky blue car with white padded top, but those fillers were real detractors from the otherwise beautiful appearance.
@@RareClassicCars i am notoriously impatient and commented before finishing the video. Altough i still dont get how did cadillac managed to make the only cars with persistent bumper filler issues
I thought the 74-92 cars had a nice elegant interior. The only thing I didn't like was the door lights on 77-92. They look nice but get hot enough to scald you if you're wearing shorts. The factory Limos were simply awesome.
Being approximately the same age, I enjoy your talks Adam. I also like when you add in photos and such to reference what you're speaking of. It makes the videos all that much better. Editing can be time intensive and I thank you for that.
I once saw a girl getting into the passenger door of her huge 70''s/80's 2 door Buick and slipping over to the drivers side. This was in the 90's. I went up and asked her why? She said if she was to open the driver's door it might fall off! I tried it and she was right - and kept a strait face somehow. Our family had the same problem so I knew the fix. I told her I could fix it for $20. She didn't believe me. A day later, after I got her number and address, I showed up with the classic door pins and bushing kit - and a scissors jack, sockets & ratchet, and within a short time had fixed both doors. A good evening ensued. Bobby
So you got the “door open”
@@jacknasty6940 Several of them.....
Having had a 1976 Chevy 2 door and a 1984 Cadillac Fleetwood Coupe AND Coupe DeVille, I will tell you these doors, because they are so heavy, tend to sag. And if you don't have them adjusted, it CAN lead to the door falling off. I don't think its bad quality as much as I think its the pure weight of the doors.
Door never fell off my 78 LTD landau Ford
@@retroguy9494 If the door is too heavy for the hinge then the hinge is BAD QAULITY for that car.
I was enthralled with my father’s 1976 Seville. From a design standpoint I thought (as a 12 year old) that it was an exceptionally beautiful car. I became aware during my high school years that the materials in the Seville were no better than any other GM car. The AC vents bugged me a bit because they were chromed plastic, as was the grille. The driver’s door sagged over time. The driver’s armrest broke in two. I remember seeing the new 1980 Seville- I suppose in the fall of 1979- in the GM building on 5th Avenue in New York. It was then, at 17, that I first had the idea that I might do a better job of running GM. I could not believe that they abandoned such a fine design after only 4 model years; and they invested millions in an entirely new car instead of investing far less money in upgrades in materials and build quality on their existing product.
To me that was one of the most beautiful models i've ever seen.
76 Seville design influenced so many cars that came after, too bad GM couldn't match build quality to design quality ☹️
There was sort of a mystique to the '76; it was marketed as this new, more efficient way to build a luxury car and it looked extremely luxurious, at least from the outside. Ironically, one of the main reasons it was so good looking was that it inherited its proportions from the very space-inefficient Nova-Camaro family and thus had the wheelbase stretched under the hood and a narrow, "trim" body for a car of its size and weight. The fact that it had less shoulder room than most compact cars and a back seat dished out for 2 and only 2 passengers was easy to ignore it you didn't own one.
The '80, despite its controversial looks, got everything right that the '76 got wrong right. It was very space efficient for a Cadillac and was the only real demonstration of how efficient the UPP drivetrain layout could get. I was in the minority that didn't hate its looks, so if I were looking for an un-loved classic car at a good price, an '80 or '81, with the 368, would be on my list.
@@heyrod59 70s Seville's didn't look much like Nova's or other 'X' cars at all. Seville was on it's own 'K' platform because it was an extensive modification of the 'X' car.
Handsome, sure, but exceptionally beautiful? The Lamborghini Muira is beautiful; a boxy Cadillac is not.
I worked at a Cadillac dealership as a technician in the 1980's and experienced the HT4100, hands-on. They made many mistakes with the design of the HT4100. The engine block was made of aluminum with free-standing cylinders(they didn't learn from the Chevy Vega), the cylinder liners were not integral but slip-in. They were dissimilar metals, so leakage was a problem. Then there were the cast iron cylinder heads. Because of the dissimilar metals, they scrubbed the head gaskets until they failed. The main bearing caps were also made of cast iron, so the bearings would pound into the aluminum making the engine knock. The factory fix was to install a "de-flashed" crankshaft and new bearings. It didn't work. Then there was the porosity of the aluminum blocks. They leaked both coolant and oil. The factory fix was to clean the leaking areas real good and then smear JB Weld on it. It Did work. Years later, I was working on an El Dorado with the HT4100, and the entire back of the block was covered with black silicone. It didn't work.
OK, now one of the best Cadillac engines. That honor falls to the 6.0L V8-6-4. 1981 only, but non-modular displacement version, and carbureted, was continued in the Fleetwood commercial chassis through 1984. Plus, these were the last Cadillacs to use the TH400 bullet-proof automatic transmission. This was probably the best automatic transmission GM ever built and best in the world. Rolls-Royce and Jaguar used it for many years.
The V8-6-4 was the last durable engine Cadillac made. Even with fuel injection, it was underpowered. The only customer complaints were from when it was in the V6 mode. This threw the engine out of balance and made the car vibrate. Many disabled the feature but the better option was to bridge the actuator solenoids so that the engine was either in the V8 or V4 modes.
Myself, I have a 1981 Sedan De Ville sitting out in the driveway right now. There were 2 optional engines in 1981. The 350 Olds Diesel or a 4.1L carbureted version of the Buick V6(this engine came with the ill-fated TH 200R4, which the HT4100 inherited). I lost count how many TH 200R-4's I repaired. All but one had the same problems, so I had a permanent parts list for all the parts I would need. I repaired a few 325-4L's, but the only problem they had was with the 4th gear overdrive. The overdrive was added as an afterthought at the rear of the transmission under the chain cover. We could repair it in the car without removing the whole transaxle assembly. The only thing that went wrong with them was a strainer screen would get plugged up with blue plastic shavings. We never could find out where they came from as there were no parts that color.
Who knows how many Cadillac owners switched to Lincoln?
@@bobbyheffley4955 Lots of them switched. Especially when Cadillac put more emphasis on front wheel drive. Cadillac lost alot of the professional car business.
GM took “the standard of the world” and turned it into just another car. The Buicks were a much better value imho.
The big Buick (and Oldsmobile) was essentially the same body as the big Cadillac but WAY better quality all around.
Buick/ Olds was always a better value
I think you're spot on, as usual, Adam. Your discussion of the '70s Cadillacs brought a memory back to me with great clarity. My grandparents had just bought a brown metallic/white vinyl top/saddle leather/cloth interior '76 Grand Marquis pillared hardtop, which was a beautiful car. Very shortly thereafter, their neighbors FINALLY replaced an old, worn out '63 Coupe de Ville with a nearly new all red '75 Sedan de Ville. We all went for a ride in the Cadillac and even as a 15-year old, it was quite clear to me that the Cadillac was far below the quality of the Mercury, especially the quality of the paint and interior fittings. The leather of the Cadillac interior almost didn't seem real either. It was so shiny it looked like plastic (!), though it felt OK. After the ride, even my grandmother had plenty to say about the lack of perceived quality of the Cadillac, especially the ride.
Always prefered the big Lincoln and Grand Marquis to Cadillac.
That story about the door pulls is hilarious. The fix sounded like some of the fixes I resorted to on my jalopies.
One might have hoped GM could come up with a fastener that looked more like a decoration, a round rosette that meshed with a special driver. How could they send away a customer who paid $8,000 with a bare screw holding the handle on?
@@pcno2832 That would drive me nuts, especially knowing it's just going into bare sheet metal. Without a nutsert or something it's just going to rip itself out after a while anyway and then what do you do?
@@pcno2832 Grand Marquis had a nut on the backside, inside the door, on that same type of pullstrap. They never let go.
Our local dealer had TH4100 blocks piled up like cordwood behind the shop. The salesman showed then to us to talk Mom out of buying one.
Here in Wisconsin Cadillac’s would rust within two years. I worked in the used car business and we would often have to paint the sides of two old Cadillac’s due to all the blisters under the side trim and vinyl tops. Back in those days GM felt that they could do no wrong and people would keep buying whatever garbage they built. I am not happy about the situation of the American workers that lost their jobs, but I was happy to buy a Japanese car when my last three GM cars imploded before the warranty expired. GM really got their ass handed to them by the European’s and the Japanese and deserved every bit of it. That’s what happens when bean counters that don’t know which end of a screwdriver to hold run a car company rather than people with a passion for them. Sorry about the bean counter remark Adam!
My Japanese epiphany was in 2000. 1997 was my LAST 'merican car. No drama, they just go and go, with the best FUEL INJECTION.
The death of the American "independent" brands was the worst problem with the US car industry. Not having the option of buying a Packard or a Peerless or a Pierce or a Marmon or a Duesenberg (and look at what Cadillac was offering in those days!), not having to compete with the coach-built Darrins and Le Barons and Rollsons and Henneys and Derhams allowed Cadillac to go to shit.
I’m a child of the ‘70’s, we were a Mopar family, (Chryslers, Dodge, Plymouth), being an auto enthusiast, I learned at an early age that American cars were junk. I became a European and Japanese car fan in the early 1970’s. This is a sorry state of affaires to lose you feature market at such an early age. The worst car I’ve owned was a Chevy Lumia (late 90’s), it was given to me by my Father. This car was so poorly put together the Wall Street Journal put it on the list of the top worst cars in America at the time. I owned it for 2 years and eventually gifted it to the Salvation Army. This car was slowly imploding random parts would just fall off of it for no apparent reason. I’m my life I have owned many Japanese and European cars none of them have let me down. This whole post is painful I’m a patriotic American, I believe we can do anything in this country. Looking forward, I’m hopeful, I saw a review of the new Cadillac Lyriq, this all electric SUV seems to embody the luxury and thoughtful detail you expect in a Cadillac. I will give it a good going over when it’s released. I hope the American automakers have learned a hard lessons and the future will be bright again. Who knows, maybe it’s not too late to win the hearts of the baby boomers after all!
@@mikequinlan9585
My family had Fords. My father started driving them because his father drove them (I assume). When I got old enough to influence the car buying decisions at our house I talked my dad into buying a new 1972 Buick Skylark which turned out to be one of the most trouble free vehicles that my father ever owned. My first several cars were Buick’s and I worked for a while at a Buick/Oldsmobile dealership. My last three GM cars were nothing to write home about. I was not into Mopars or Fords and about this time I had started an auto detailing business. My biggest customer was a Toyota dealership and after being exposed to them and how they compared to American cars I bought a used 1982 Tercel. That car turned out to be just wonderful. I still remember the chilly reception I got from my father the first day that I drove it to my parents house. On the news that day in 1987 GM was closing a truck plant in Flint and it was the fault of people like me who buy this Japanese “crap”. I had other thoughts but I kept them to myself as I had learned long ago that you were never going to sway my father, a life long union man on this subject. I have owned Toyota’s, Honda’s, an Acura and a Hyundai since then and I doubt that I will ever buy another domestic vehicle. The Asian imports just appeal to me more and I still don’t feel that buying a domestic product is a wise economic move. I am sure that plenty will disagree with me, but it’s my life, my money.
For such a young man, I am really impressed with your interest and knowledge of these classic vehicles!
Great job Adam👍
Fresh out of tech school I had 2 dealers to choose from to work as an auto repair tech that were the highest paying in town. One was a Honda and one was a Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Cadillac dealership. I'm glad I didn't choose the Honda because it was owned by tyrant that ended up cutting pay to a super low rate due to a monopoly he had in town. That said, the GM dealership had good people working in it and owning it but the product was a real shame. GM got everything they deserved when Toyota and Honda took their business. Fortunately, the horrible experience motivated me go back and get my associates in business after 2 years of horror and return to working for Toyota for 10 years. Night and day difference until about 2002 and then Toyota got crappy too. The GM dealer in the late 80's didn't make a great first impression of the repair industry on me.
I worked at an Oldsmobile/Buick dealership in 1976. I loved the job, but I could see where GM was headed and took a different job.
Own several Hondas. Only made four trips to the dealer for warranty items in the past nine years. No sagging doors so far. GM dug its own grave.
I gotta tell you I’ve had several Toyotas that just keep on running. They didn’t get crappy and still aren’t and I’ll tell you why. Parts quality, Toyota uses very few outside suppliers unless they have to. My 08 tacoma had its exhaust last until 2022, the drive belt lasted until 2019 ( when i replaced it though it was ok looking) I never did the plugs or coil packs. I work at a GM dealer and we go through brake rotors faster then socks. Our exhaust systems are running garbage walker mufflers and aluminzied crap pipes. The other parts are stamped AC Delco which is funny cause AC Delco was bought out in 2007 by GM
@Simon
I bought a new 2000 Camry and drove it 11 years. What a wonderful car it was. I live in Wisconsin, so it was exposed to plenty of road salt. Shortly before I sold it, I put it up in the air at work and there wasn’t even a hint of rust. I sold it to a customer and they turned over 200,000 miles. I am the unfortunate owner of a 2018 Honda CR-V with the 1.5 litre turbo. After driving it you can always smell what seems like hot oil hitting say an exhaust manifold or something. There are no drips on my garage floor and the dealer insists that nothing is wrong. I can’t justify getting rid of a car with 35,000 miles on it, especially now that I am retired. Fortunately I took out an extended warranty that does not expire until 2025. Then watch and see how quickly I get rid of this miserable piece of junk!
@Simon
I enjoy talking about cars with people who think like I do.
You've been on a roll lately. Solid content will have that impact. Absolutely on point. Accurate. Keep it moving forward.
Purchased a 1984 Cadillac Coupe DeVille in 1990 for $4k. It had 38k miles on it. It was gray with blue leather. The 4.1 engine ran perfect and got really good gas mileage. I put 150k miles on it in 10 years. Regular maintenance was all it needed. No major repairs. I took very good care of it and when I sold it, I got my $4k back. Miss that car. I have owned 6 Cadillacs total. That 84 Coupe is still my favorite. I had a 1990 60 Special, 1995 Sedan DeVille, 1997 Catera, 2001 Catera Sport, 2003 CTS, and a 2007 CTS. The 4.1 was no powerhouse but with a 25 gallon gas tank I could easily go 500 miles of highway driving before needing to get fuel. Super smooth ride.
If you drove a 4100 150k miles without major problems, you need to buy a lottery ticket.
As a former GM tech I agree with you BUT you forgot two that are far worse: the Allante and the Catera! We HATED working on those.
Yeah. I can’t disagree w you. Follow up!
Didn't the Catera have some kind of ridiculous timing belt design? I've heard tensioning it was a pain in the ...
I could deal with the Allante . But the Catera was the worst of all time. Just JUNK all the way around
@@johnz8210 Yes it had a timing belt that was a real pain to work on. IIRC, the tensioner and/or the idler pulleys would fail causing it to jump time and destroy the engine.
@@tasmith1969 OK, thanks. I had a friend who worked at a Cadillac dealer in the early 2000's and he'd get all stressed out just talking about that timing belt. Flat rate probably didn't help how he felt about it.
The governments should have stayed out of the automobile business. Cars got so much worse because of government interference. CAFE mandates, safety regulations, etc. let the buyers decide what they want.
That’s globalism for ya. Much like Brown Recluse Poison, it destroys everything it touches.
You rapidly became one of my favorite CZcams channels. Love your content and continue learning so much. Keep up the great work.
Great video, Adam! Your viewpoints on the 1974-76 D'Elegance for the Devilles, and Talisman for the Fleetwood, would be interesting as it seemed to be an effort to dress up the plain Jane '71-'73 models.
So in the long run how much money did GM save by cheapining their products and pushing the assembly process? I would guess tens of millions of dollars in lost sales, lost market share, and loss of prestige for it's higher end cars. I come from a family that drove Oldsmobiles, Buicks, and Cadillacs. Now no one in my family purchases these models anymore. These models have been replaced by Lexus, Tesla, and Toyota products.
What you said is so true! And it's so unfortunate. To see Cadillac pushed off of its throne of the world was a shame.
But in all fairness I've got to say that possibly GM has there act together now. We bought a new 2016 Chevy Cruze it's been the most dependable car. No other car, at any price, has given us seven years and 100,000 miles of absolutely trouble-free motoring.
Nothing's gone wrong on that car! Nothing! Nothing! It hasn't even needed a battery or brakes yet!
Young Americans today only THINK they know what a luxurious ride quality feels like; today's Cadillacs, in particular, ride like PICK UP TRUCKS!! Absolutely TERRIBLE ride quality. I know this will be unpopular here, but give me an old style, 1970's luxury sedan and its soft, floaty ride and total isolation from the road ANY DAY! Again, those late 1980's and 1990 Buick Park Avenues were the perfect balance for me; isolation from the harsh, noisy roads, but with great handling and agility.
Gen 1 Escalade. It was such a rebadged suburban/tahoe/yukon it was just sad. Give them credit though, they turned it around with the gen 2! It was the ultimate blingmobile of the 2000s.
You're absolutely right!
An uglier version of they donor chassis, for sure
Great video!! I have 3 Cadillacs.. 67 Deville, 82 Fleetwood Brougham and an 83 Sedan Deville, both Diesels..
Definitely love Cadillacs, but my Oldsmobiles(81 Olds 98, 84 Delta 88-both diesels) are actually more comfortable and drive better imo...
Thank you again Adam!!
Great content as usual and 100% spot on!!!
Worked in a full service gas station with lots of Cadillac customers in the early 70s. The 71 and 72 Fleetwoods used the same door skins as the shorter wheelbase DeVilles, and they had a 3 inch wide filler strip in between. Even with no misalignment, it looked like a cheesy afterthought. On most cars they looked worse. In '73 Cadillac switched to a longer front door skin which greatly improved the appearance. Even as a young teenager I wondered how I would feel as the owner of a '71 or '72, knowing that GM was learning to fix obvious mistakes after they happily collected 8 or 9 grand selling me what looked like a ten year old used car from day one. Just one of many ways GM pissed away its "Standard of the World".
@@billyjoejimbob56 I always thought that strip between the doors on the 71&72 Fleetwood gave it a limo look. That was what I liked about it
@@califdad4 I'm sure that was the reaction Cadillac was hoping for. That they spent mid-cycle money to tool the longer door tells me that most customers didn't agree.
@@billyjoejimbob56 I was a teenager when those came out, so I wasn't exactly following it . I preferred the Riviera and actually bought a used one during the 74 oil embargo, my first car
I bought a 1983 Coupe DeVille when I graduated from college in 86. I really loved the car. I didn’t have it long enough to really have any problems with it though. About a year in, I got hit by an F-150 and the car was totaled. Glad I was in a big car though.
Ford picked up on the GM quality issues. Ford had advertisements back in the day about how much better built the Fords were showing the panel gaps, and door closings.
yep! "Watch this door...no wobble."
The closer you look, the better we look.
My dad owned a 1974 Continental Mark IV "Gold" edition during the 1970's. As a kid, I was immersed into the American luxury car culture. I was always polishing the Lincoln and taking care of it for my dad. I always compared it to the Cadillacs of the era and the only car that almost rivaled it in my opinion was the 1976 Seville. The early 1970's Lincolns were the best that brand ever produced. Love your channel, and your insight into American luxury cars.
Nothing makes me more sad than the 4100. I can deal with poor materials and build quality so long as the car is reliable (not dismissing your complaints with the early 70s Cadillacs, because you're totally right that they were subpar when new, especially for the price). The 4100 ruins so many of the extremely handsome 82-85 Cadillacs. Every time I see one of these out on the road, I smile that someone is out there still using the car despite the issues... but I'm not brave enough to put money down on a 4100.
I too almost kinda like the Cimmaron. I think it would be a pretty decent around town commuter that still has some niceties like ac.
I have a 1985 Fleetwood Brougham with the original 4100 and hydra-matic transmission. The car will hit 280,000 miles this week. The 4100 engine is painfully slow, especially when you need the power. I've had the head, intake manifold, timing cover, and valve cover gaskets all replaced. I am fully aware that his 4100 is an oddity for still running perfectly after 2 (almost 3) odometer rollovers. I wouldn't recommend these engines to anybody who can't deal with their issues. I've been told numerous times to drop a 5.7 in the car, but I love the novelty of driving one of the highest mileage notoriously junk engines ever created. Either way, the car is very nice looking and fun to drive!
@@alexanderw49I'm wondering who'd you get to do that work on that motor?😮 Every garage I know said no to that and the Northstar
@willg.5168 A local shop did all the work on it. It's hard to find a decent shop that will do older engine projects anymore since those aren't the most profitable jobs. This engine has had low oil pressure for years, so I'm going to have to rebuild it soon. Maybe this should be the time I finally give up on it and do a swap, but I want all of the computers and fuel data system to work.
@@alexanderw49well that local shop is DEFINITELY a God send
@@alexanderw49 no one here in upstate NY would touch one, although I did run into a truck accessories shop who sold crate motors and after inquiring about my old Caddy, they suggested doing a 350 swap. The only slight mod would be ac hook up, which wouldn't be difficult either
I wrote about these very problems in book one of my four book exposé series “All in a DAZE work” (The decline and fall of the American work ethic) As a limousine and airport transportation driver I once had a retired GM engineer in my car. This person told me they were on the J car design team and the entire design team pleaded with General Motors management NOT to market the J-Car platform as a Cadillac!
From age 5 to 24 my parents bought 9 Cadillacs, and I never noticed the defects. My favorite was the 1977 eldorado with the 425-quite fast. And, yes, dad quickly dumped his diesel 4100!
That was fun,, Adam please do a full review and drive video on your Eldorado...
When you mentioned the drop-off of interior quality of Cadillac starting around 1970, you were reading my mind exactly! It's completely unacceptable to me that Cadillac was selling sooooo many cars during this era while being so cheap and homogenous too.
Cadillac and GM made 2 big errors.
1. The sloan ladder became more compressed from the 30s to the 60s. Before the depression a cadillac cost 4x what a chevy cost. By the late 60s they were 50% more. With luxury exclucivity is king so whats the point if everyone can afford one?
2. Cheaping out construction.
These 2 factors are why mercedes ate caddys lunch in the 70s. Cadillac shoulda tried to become an american mercedes, like Packard had been and focused on high end build quality and not far out designs.
Mercedes was no challenge to Cadillac until about 1983.
@@jeffshadow2407 sit in any 70s caddy and any 70s benz and rethink that.
Then theres rhe price. The benz would cost 2x what the caddy cost giving it snob appeal. Face it with luxury that matters as much as features.
I still remember the final comment in the July, 1969 issue of Popular Mechanics when they surveyed owners of the 1969 Eldorado. An Eldorado cost $8-9,000 in those days. The owner said that the price should be raised to $15,000. There are too many of them on the road.
HT 4100 is a true boat anchor, the cars are good but definitely an LS Swap with stock exhaust to keep the noise down. I used to work on the Diesel on a 80 coupe deVille for a customer back in 82 83 and loved driving it and really kept it up for my customer. Loved to drive it in the Winter when it was freezing. Great Videos Thank You 🙏
I am so glad you came out with these videos! I started looking for your videos on Saturday and didn’t think see them and started to worry.
I think that all cars suffered cost cutting issues starting in the seventies, as far as the worst Cadillacs?? For me it's the Catera & the early Cimarron!!! Yuk!! 😬
The Catera 🤢🤮
Oh man. Yes. The Caddy that Zigged ;)
Just a terrible car. I leased one new with no test drive. Worst automotive decision of my life. No power… got out of the lease and into a STS after 6 months.
The main reason Cadillac cheaped out after the 60s is because GM really understood its customer base. At the time the baby-boomers were just getting started in life. The WWII gen were in their prime years as concerns their finances and station in life. The WWII gen honestly believed the Cadillac was the 'Standard of the World'. There was no way the WWII gen was going buy a foreign make. In the 70s I had a WWII vet neighbor who only bought GM...Cadillac or Oldsmobile. Even when he got a complete lemon, he'd trade it on another new GM. He was the kind of guy who would have taken the bus rather than be seen in a German or Japanese car. GM knew this, and shamelessly ass-raped that generation. GM also ignored the baby-boomers, most of who are now lost to GM.
GM basically prostituted the Cadillac brand for high sales in the 60s and 70s. Plain and simple. They were the top dog then so it was just another example of GM hubris.
That's like an uncle of mine a WWII vet The only kind of car he would own was an Oldsmobile. He had 10 of them from 1955 to 1982.
@@Henry_Jones Because GM knew their customers. The WWII gen that GM was hustling was not going to abandon Cadillac, no matter how badly they were taken advantage of. Cadillac prospered until their customer base went off to the nursing home or died of old age. Today I rarely see a new Cadillac sedan on the roads. It's mostly those CUV things and the abomination that is the Escalade. So basically blinged out Chevrolets.
@@MrSloika yep I remember when I got my license in 96 its what all the old timers were rolling around in. Cadillacs and olds, doin 30 in a 45. Id be stuck behind one and get so f*#*^ pissed! Now the oldies in my area all drive camrys and mercedes and lexuses.
@@Henry_Jones An old lady Camry is the used car to buy. They can be a bit neglected but they're not abused and they don't have high miles. Keep you eyes on the local obituaries.
Once again, and as I always say, and you overlook....it is the greed and incompetence of management that ruins the product.
I think he touched upon it when he spoke of the xhief designer he knew that, ad an underling in the sixties, saw the change to cheap beginning.
Poor Cadillac, here they go again - all electric. This will fail miserably, could be the final nail in the coffin for this brand. Keep the coffin type door pulls handy. Finally found out why my local Cadillac dealer closed - they had to convert the showroom/operations to handle the all electric product, either invest in the conversion or take an offered GM buy out to close it - they took the buy out offer - smart move.
This “electric car” crap has to be another globalist power grab. If not, why would they be pushing it so hardcore? Everything they do is nothing but exactly that.
@@emilyadams3228 Just like the failure of the solar panel industry Solyndra and the huge amounts of money the government pumped into it that all went "poof" and what about the Chevy volt? This song played before and no one listened. . . Yet the "DJ" still tries to play the same song. . . the electric car system is unpractical and will be very expensive to maintain yet alone all the other problems.
What a great surprise.Its monday night here in Australia and nothing but garbage on tv, thought i would check my phone and this post popped up on my feed.What a treat.
Yeeeaaahhhh....I, too, have a love-hate relationship with Cadillacs. I grew up with Pontiac Bonnevilles, Buick Electras, and later on, my mom's 1978 Buick Electra Park Ave., and to me, those cars were a much better deal than the Cadillacs were and ARE.
Once I was an adult, I also drove the big Buicks, a Pontiac Grand Prix, and a few Oldsmobiles, but the Buicks were the best of the lot. My first new car was a 1990 Buick Park Ave., and I wish I'd have kept it; it was the most reliable car I think I ever owned, and the ride was not only FAR SUPERIOR to a Cadillac, it also had great handling for that type of car. I had to special order the anti lock brakes, along with the "Prestige option package," but it was well worth it, and it was still about $12,000.00 LESS than a similarly equipped Cadillac. The Lincolns have also been very reliable for me, with the exception of the rear air suspension on one of the Town Cars I had. I finally decided to try a Cadillac, so I bought a new, 2007 DTS, and it was THE worst car I've EVER owned, HANDS DOWN! You name it, it broke; by the time it had 62,000 miles on it, the power steering lines had ruptured twice, the rack and pinion steering system CONTINUALLY needed repairs, the entire front suspension was a nightmare! The wheel bearing hubs and brake calipers were also terrible, always freezing up or just coming apart....while I was driving it! I would take it back to the dealer, they'd have it for a week, I'd get it back, and within 3-5 months, it would be right back to where it had been before....over and over and over again. I put THOU$AND$ into that Goddamned car's suspension, only to have it fall apart again and again....and I do NOT drive my cars hard or rough at all. It got to where I was pulled over TWICE for weaving...."Yep, I sure was," I told the cop...."because if I even drive over a slightly indented sewer cover, it either throws it out of alignment, or something breaks in the front suspension!" I'd have gotten rid of it much sooner, but I was forced to hold onto it as long as I did due to a divorce I was embroiled in at the time and money was tight. I finally dumped that pile of shit and got back into another Lincoln, a 2011 Town car, then a 2017 Lincoln MKZ, then my current 2020 Lincoln Continental. Lincolns, in my opinion, are just far superior to ANY Cadillac ANY day! The old Chrysler Imperials were also great cars; my grandparents had a few, and I seem to recall their overall ride quality and luxury was right up there with my '90 Park Ave. and my Lincolns. Now, everything is a Goddamned SUV, so I'm going to hang onto this last Lincoln sedan as long as I can!
What are your thoughts on the Catera
I always enjoy your videos where you just sit and talk about a subject. Your perception on the 70's GM vs the 60's GM cars is spot on. I remember my '66 Riviera which was a daily driver during the early 90s and how well built and solid that car was. The materials used for the switches and the metal a/c vents were all strong and never wore out. My vinyl seats were often mistaken for leather and suffered no splits of cracks. Little things like how the door handle gently clicked when you opened the car and the incredible way the car took the road made me really enjoy driving it. I also drove a '72 Electra and '72 Riv and while I love those cars, one can't help notice the plastic that permeates the interiors and dash. Mechanically they're fantastic cars but my driver arm pad cracked on both cars and the pull straps were always loosening so I'd have to pop off the screw cover and tighten them repeatedly. The hinges unfortunately also wore and those '72 doors, particularly on the coupes are really heavy. Always looking forward to your next videos!
I grew into car awareness during the early '60s, saw almost all the auto (r)evolutions you describe. Your posts always warrant more than one listening. Well done.
I get the love hate thing. With Caddilac, when they're hot they're hot and when they're not they're not.
You hit the nail on the head, the 67 was the last high-quality interior -69 70 had horrid dashes all hard plastic and spray on chrome (which rubbed off) cheep seatback surround, I know how they got away with it -nobody noticed!
Good report. I love older Cadillacs. Yes, GM build quality in the 70’s left a lot to be desired. I had a ‘75 Camaro, my first brand new car. It was beautiful but soon revealed it’s poor quality and unreliability. Later on, I so wanted an ‘85 Eldorado HT4100 but now I’m glad I couldn’t quite afford one at the time. When I was able to buy one in ‘87, I strongly disliked the horribly (imo) downsized version. To me, it was no longer a real Cadillac. I bought an Acura Legend.
I bought a 76 coupe deville in 91 for $750. Still have the texas plates.
Ran it for 7 years without mechanical failure.
My dad for unknown reasons to this day, bought a 1984 Cadillac DEISEL Fleetwood. It was the worst PIECE OF CRAP ever put on the road. We live in Northern Indiana. That car would not run half the time or start. It broke down all the time. He said that car was built on a Friday before a long holiday.
The diesel would have been a pretty easy fix but the reputation was so bad there was no salvaging it. It was still a bad idea to convert a gas to diesel in a luxury car especially at that time.
I bet there are some fat Largemouth Bass in that pond. Yes, I'm commenting about fish on a car channel. Yes, I have a fishing problem.
Might be Tiger bass in that pond or Cadillac bass too
that's not a problem.
In the very early 70s my dad told me a story that a friend of his bought a cadillac and the ash tray rattled. The dealer's solution was to put a piece of scotch tape on it to secure it.
It sounds like my neighbor as a child that bought a new Rambler. It had an annoying rattle in one of the doors. When he finally could not tolerate it any longer he took it to the dealership, whose service department removed the interior trim panel. There rested inside the door shell an empty beer bottle that contained a note. The note said “Noisy, isn’t it?”
The only reason any 4100 Cadillac should be doing 17 seconds 0-60 would be a partially worn cam or an engine way out of tune. I owned and drove tons of them because my buddy had a used Southern car dealership from 1977 to current so loads of these went through it to be sold. A proper running FWD downsized Deville or Eldo was around 11 seconds 0-60, the 82-85 larger E-body Eldos were in the 12.5 to 13 second 0-60 times and the C-body RWD 4100's were 13 to 14 seconds. Yes those were slow times by todays standards for sure but fully in line with what Ford and Chrysler were capable of. You are correct in that these cars are best avoided but if you do see one running good today chances are it was either pampered and serviced religiously or the engine was rebuilt or replaced somewhere along the line. My buddy's dealership often checked and replaced the intake on these cars and serviced the coolant while adding the pellets and we actually rarely had a come back with engine issues. I remember we often stressed to the customer to service these every year or other year and to use the pellets
MT tested an 83 Eldo Touring coupe. 16 secs 0 to 60.
Yeah, I inherited m grandmother's '87 FWD "Fleetwood" with a 4100. About 12 sec 0-60 seems a bit more what I remember. The fake wire hubcaps were a disgrace. Squeaked and rattled down the road like an East German product.
Pardon if I say I'm in love with you! Born in '62, lived through riding in many of these stylish cars through uncle's, aunts, parents automobiles. Your explanation of drive and ride, and in particular styling, sharing the evening lighting of interiors, just fantastic. Airodinamics has muted the design imagination of those days. I also strongly appreciate your honest evaluation of cars we love. Thank you!
Quite informative. I had heard about the HT4100. I knew people who owned them. I know the doors on a 1976 Coupe Deville were heavy. You were right about them sagging from that era. I did not know about the quality dropping and someone trying to save a bucket. I know the 1989-1993 Devilles and Fleetwoods are great cars. I know the 1992 Eldorado and Seville were indeed revolutionary. I liked those too especially when they did not have the Northstar V8. It was sad to hear how Lincoln quality aped Cadillacs quality for a time there. Lincoln was successful with what they had. The downsized era at GM 1985-1990 gave them a leap forward too. Great video. Thank you for sharing.
In the early-mid 70s I found BOP exciting, but Cadillac was a yawn.
I have 8 Cadillac's in my time and my favorite was a 1982 Fleetwood Brougham D'Elegance with the diesel, an old farmer told me to always let a diesel run after driving to cool down. I never had any problems with the car and loved it. I know a couple people that had diesels and had nothing but trouble. Then I had an 81 Eldorado with the 4100 and did not have any problems at all with that one but also I bought a 83 Seville with the 4100 and that thing was in the shop more than I drove it. I traded that off quickly for an 85 Fleetwood Brougham and that car was amazing.
Well, Adam, don't hold back, please! I've heard you previously speak with derision of Caddies. Maybe you've got it outta your system, at last... Thanks, as always, for another enjoyable video about cars.
I can't believe how much I agree with you on everything.
My 69 DeVille had 375 hp 472. It took a lot of abuse from a 18 year old.
You’re a great story teller Adam and you’re knowledge is outstanding. Do you have an automotive background?
Yes I do
You kind of skipped over the 425 for 77-79. Excellent engine and some really good cars from the division those years. I've had both a 79 Continental with a 400 and a 76 Fleetwood with the 500. From ride, to handling, to acceleration and fuel economy, the Cadillac was superior in every way. Quieter inside, no rattles in the dash. My 79 Continental had horrible gaps, poor stampings, interior trim pieces with huge gaps. The Lincoln Mark Vs all suffered from the same door panel pull strap issue as the early full-size Cads. 1980 and 81 Cadillac cars still offered the big 368, and pulling one wire disconnected the 8-6-4 system, so no big deal there. After 82, it was all down hill. I'll never understand Cadillac engineering spending all that money on the 4100 when a good 5-speed automatic with overdrive would have given them better fuel economy without sacrificing power. The A/C vents in all Cadillac cars definitely were an issue, but I'll take that over the Lincoln power seat switches that melt down and start fires :).
Oh, yeah! The '77. I remember flipping out over the fantastic styling when the '77 model year came out. THAT was a beautiful Cadillac.
Ford received a windfall of GM customers in the late 70's and all of the 80's. Cadillac was inferior in every way and it just got worse every model year.
I drove a 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham D'Elegence, which was a beautifully designed Cadillac, inside and out, in my opinion. The pillow design interior was almost too comfortable, lulling occupants to fall asleep. It was a true Cadillac in every sense. The ride was so smooth compared to the 1965 Cadillac DeVille convertible, which wasn't all that comfortable, in my opinion. I never liked the steering wheel design of 1976, as I thought it looked cheap for such an opulent car. In my old age, I drive a Buick now, which is a comfortable car, but that 1976 Cadillac was excellent.
My dad bought a new 77 Sedan DeVille. It was a horror show of cheap quality. All the cheap of the earlier models you mentioned. So if you found the 77's & later to be made better than the earlier, I can't imagine how much worse pre 77's could have been. Boy was I fooled by the looks of the earlier 70's. They looked so much more classy than the late 70's cars
No views, 13 seconds ago.
Nice. Listen to this as I'm launching lead off the back porch.
I had a 1972 Coupe de Ville. The climate control circuit board went out several times, the interior had perpetual dash rattles, and a rocker arm retainer clip busted at around 40,000 miles-just a low budget stamped piece in the 472. I also recall that the AC compressor ran perpetually and loaded the engine enough to cause it to Ping, regardless of tune-even on leaded gas. That said, I loved the car, hated to get rid of it due to insurance before I learned about classic car insurance in the 1980s. The low stance, fender skirts, and headlamps pushed to car’s edge was beautiful. Would buy another one…now.
In all honesty being picky with years and models with PITA models of a particular car I can’t blame you for having biases to certain makes/models of cars. Parts, numbers, vehicles made, finding matching parts, it can be fricking nightmare. Like looking for a ‘55 Fairlane” convertible parts.
I had a 1985 Fleetwood Brigham d’elegance with the dreaded 4100. I got what I deserved. People tried to warn me but I didn’t listen. It was without a doubt the biggest piece of junk on planet earth.
I had a friend, back in California, who bought about a fifteen year old early 70's Calais in mint condition. That car had a chintzy plaid cloth and vinyl interior that would have embarrassed a base model Nova.
Kinda surprised the Allanté didn’t get a mention. Especially as a new car, it couldn’t have missed its mark any worse. One of Cadillac’s worst engines its first year, mediocre transmission at best, an extremely balky top, sloppy handling, underwhelming performance, questionable interior fit & finish, and a $60,000 price tag when new in 1987. That car became an instant white elephant.
I thought it stacked up well and may have actually been a better car than a 380SL. But it was just too expensive for the typical Cadillac buyer and Euro fans just weren't going to abandon their brand. As far as the top, Jaguar and Mercedes roadsters also had awful manual tops that required tools to remove and install so their top was actually worse than Allante's.
I don't believe it was a White Elephant because J.R. Ewing drove one on the Dallas TV Show.. 😂
@@TeeroyHammermill The Allanté was slower, less well made, handled worse, and was more expensive than the ancient R107 SL when it came out. And in just 30 months, it was absolutely demolished by the new R129 300SL, not to mention the 500SL. If it can’t hang with a ca. 1972 Mercedes and a ca. 1975 Jag in the late ‘80s, it’s not good enough.
It doesn’t matter how many 747 trips the body takes, you can’t turn a cut-up Olds 88 into a proper luxury roadster. That torturous production process was the main reason it cost so much. And it yielded zero benefits to the consumer. Certainly not on the order of paying an extra 50% of what it should have cost.
@@judethaddaeus9742 I think it would've been a winner if it had a power top and maybe $45k-$50k MSRP. I like the sure footed performance and growl of the Cadillac V8 Engine.
It's sad that an individual's quest for higher profitability can do such damage to a company.
Union wages didn't help. High people cost and poor engineering plus second rate suppliers finished Cadillac off. BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, and now Tesla are finishing them off.
Adam, I normally agree with your opinions, but have to really disagree with you on the 1971-72 Cadillacs. Ok you are right that the interiors were not as nice as the Lincolns . I Had a 1973 Mark lV, (more of a competitor of the Eldorado of course) and my Dad has had 1975 and 79 Coupes. They do seem fancier inside, but...but, the Cadillac was just as comfortable as those cars (great firm seats) and my Cadillac took curves better as well. Never had a window drop into the door like my Dad's 1979 , either. Perhaps it's one time buying the low mileage cars does not pay off as the little issues were fixed early on. No gap issues at all (1976 Electra I have now, a different story ;) ) and the doors closed better than ANY car I have ever owned. and the 460s, while great engines, never would smoke the tires like my 1971 Coupe de Ville. Went from 80K to 140K with mine, and it was hands down, the best car I ever owned.
The 4 cyl 2.0 cimmeron was a grate car for a miser I had one with 370+k on it with little issues over the 12 years I daily drove it but it is basicly a cavalier Bullitt proof durability 👍 the v6 had better power but not as durable over time.
I caught that Imperials [plural] comment, Adam! Mayhaps you've procured another since your black '72 LeBaron? 🤞
Shhhhh! Top secret! For your eyes only!
True, I've owned a 73 Sedan Deville, 70 Eldorado, and an 83 4100 coupe Deville, replaced the engines in the 83, and in a 77 Sedan Deville with a bad 425, I've had a few Northstar cars, Eldorados and STS, and DTS, from 83 - 2007... I drove a 91 Brougham for 15 years, and drive an 88 Brougham now but yes, you're right those 90's - 2000+ year cars weren't built well.... they can keep the new ones of today.
I bought a 1983 Coupe DeVille on eBay in 2002 and it was a fantastic luxury car. No engine problems, perhaps because it only had 44,000 miles. I sold it after my wife and I agreed that I had to sell one car after leasing our 2005 Dodge Magnum SXT. I am now having repairs done on my 1985 Eldorado that has been in garage storage for seventeen years. It does have the new 4100 replacement engine installed in 1994.
I own a 83 Seville Roadster. Car makes me nervous. But it has Substantial Sentimental Value. Driven it only 700 miles in the last year and a half. Keep up the good work.
Our family purchased new, an Oldsmobile Cutlass Brougham Diesel in 1981. Never had an issue. Drove it to 123k miles w/out incident then traded it in. If you waited 5 minutes for a cold engine to warm up, used good diesel, and changed the oil religiously the Olds diesels would treat you well.
Today, at the Wilton Manors car show in Florida, I ran across a '93 Cadillac Allante with the Northstar engine. I asked the owner about the head gasket issues, and he replied that he knew about this problem but that his car only had 8500 miles from new and he didn't drive it much. That was a COOL car!
On his car, he had the blackwall 60 series tires, and these have never looked right to me.
There's a repair kit for those head bolts, but the job costs more than the car. However, if you get it done, then the car will literally last forever. It's a strong, well built car, it just suffered from those god-awful head bolts.
@@tjsogmc Yes, but installing that kit requires one to drill out the head stud holes with a hand held power drill, and if you get it even slightly wrong, you ruin the block....
@@Flies2FLL its definitely not a job for the home mechanic. The first thing you have to do is pull the engine out. Then remove the heads and use the alignment jig to drill and tap each individual bolt hole. Get one thing wrong and its game over.
But when its done correctly, you end up with an excellent vehicle.
@@tjsogmc If you haven't, then check out Car Wizard's channel. He's a mechanic in Wichita and did a video on this procedure about two years ago.
It's a shame that GM screwed this up, that was a cool car and engine.
My parents had 5 Cadillacs from 1974 to 1982, never kept any of them long enough to have any problems I guess. I just remember that for the time period I loved the way they rode and drove.
I agree with you Adam although probably wouldn’t include the 71-72 as worst. Maybe some aspects were underwhelming but they are still good cars and much better than the other ones you mention. Glad you didn’t pan the Cimarron. I have a beautiful 24,000 mile 1985 2.8 in cream with Palomino leather interior.
To me 1979 is the last truly great year of Cadillac.
I'm jealous of that hair, but also I am a GM fan and I can definitely appreciate your opinions
I’ve got an 87 FWD Fleetwood as a work beater and love it. Got about 120k miles. Got to do that coolant treatment. Payed $700 Canadian for it almost 2 years ago. Not complaining.
How is it doing now?
@@gregorymalchuk272 still my daily beater. Could use strut tower bearings. Drivers side window is starting to struggle. Can’t complain.
@@Ian-of9oi Ah, cool. Do you treat for rust at all?
The '57 imperial set the design parameter for the '59 Cadillac. It also was the "last hurrah" ushering Harley Earl's "bulgemobiles" out the door, and Mitchell's good design chops soon arrived.
Unless you grew up in the era, you don't realize what an absolute design pariah that '59 Cadillac became when the '61 Continental arrived.
I will disagree with you on the HT4100. I knew a guy that owned an oil well. He asked me to sell 5 of his 83 Caddy’s. I kept one, sold one to my employee, and sold the others with ease. Yes, it is slow on the 0-60 times. If I wanted a race car, I would have bought something else. For those in my generation, the Caddy, and later Lincoln’s were America’s best. After about 1985, the imports started to catch up. My favorite car was a 1969 Sedan de Ville hardtop. I put it to great use on the new interstate freeways being built at the time.
I owned a 62, 65, 69, 70, 73, & 83.
Currently own an Audi eTron
GM was pretty bad in the early 70s. Although not a Cadillac story, my parents bought a new 71 Chevelle Wagon. I still have all the paperwork for it. It was a Concours Estate, antique green with the faux wood siding, had a 307 and three on the tree. No power anything, windows, brakes or steering. But it had heavy duty suspension, posi-traction. My father ordered it and it took a long time for it to be delivered, I think because there was a big GM strike back then. It was built at the plant in Baltimore. I was 7 at the time and remember we picked it up in March 1971. Literally 2 blocks from the dealer on the way home the oil light came on ! I remember we stopped my father got out and looked and the car was pissing out oil all over the place from underneath, so we turned around and got back to the dealer. Turns out it was some seal, I think it was for the camshaft, wasn't seated and just pumped oil out all over the place, it was a mess. Anyway we had to leave the car there and it was about 3 weeks before we could pick up our new car again. I learned a lot of new 4 letter words that day listening to my father. Even after that, I remember my father going around tightening everything in the front end because everything was all loose. The radio, with the antennae in the windshield quit working after 6 months. I learned to drive in it. I still remember the H pattern for shifting, from first at the bottom, up and across thru neutral and up to 2nd, and it always dropped out of 2nd. My parents kept it until 1983 when it was a hulk with 160K on it.
We had a limo service in the early 90s and had a 75 inch stretch 1984 Cadillac with the HT4100. Served us well and if I remember right put over 150000 miles on it and still running when we sold the business. Perhaps the Almighty was watching over us!
I had a 1984 Fleetwood with HT4100 and put over 200,000 miles on it. Put two transmissions in it, but the engine held up fine.
Thanks for the "It could have been worse..." on the Cimarron. An X-body Cadillac sounds truly horrifying.
Somehow, though, you managed to miss the Catera. Not especially bad, but an Opel can never be a Cadillac.
Had a chance to drive a Catera (owned by Chrysler Corp's comparison fleet!) when they were first launched. My personal car at the time was a less than perfect '95 Bonneville. The Bonneville was a better car overall. Lisa Catera? tempting. Lease a Catera? No thanks!!!
Look to the X body Buick Skylark. This looks much more like a (shrinked) Cadillac (Seville 1st gen.) that that poor J-body. But having all those mechanical issues (of the early x-bodies) in my mind, it was better, not to do an x-body Cadillac. At least the German version of the J-body, the Opel Ascona, has had only two issues: rust and endless boredom. But it was very durable and reliable.
@@Romiman1 My aunt liked her X-body Skylark. My aunt on the other side loathed hers.
There are a number of Cadillacs from the early 80's through to the recently dropped XTS that I thought are really good looking cars but the terrible engines of Cadillacs would prevent me from buying any of them.
Circa 1972-3 I had a long commute to my co-op student engineering job in Houston. I must have heard 100 times the radio jingle... "The leader, any way you look at it- Cadillac- any way you look at it- the leader." What a joke, but I bet it sold them some cars. TripleDent Gum and other earworms.
My dad always loved Cadillacs. I’ve got an 81 sedan deville that he had that’s pretty nice. I’m selling it because I have too many cars right now.
High school in the early 80s, one of the girls had a family who were fairly well off I suppose. She drove a big red late-70s Cadillac convertible with a white leather interior. Very impressive car compared to our Pintos and Civics. Don’t know what model it was, but I imagine it was one of the last convertibles of time when everyone thought convertibles were going to be outlawed
It had to have been an Eldorado as of 1971, Eldorado was the only Cadillac you could get in a cabriolet. 1965-70 the only Cadillac convertible was the Coupe de Ville. Personally, I have a cooper "ember glow firemist" Eldorado with a white convertible top and white leather interior. Yes, they are breathtaking. 1976 was the last year they produced them. In 1984 they started sending out their Eldorado hardtops to be converted into convertibles. I don't remember the names of the two companies. One of them was "Coach Builders" and the second one did mid-80s conversions for Jaguar.
Wow my friend just got a 1983 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz.. he loves the car but I do digging around about the car and kinda figured the ht4100 might sucks .it’s a weird engine design.. like ur videos 🤙🏼
Ugh! To change a water pump on the 4100... I don't have enough fingers to keep track of the number of hard to reach bolts in that thing.
That’s why if you get one just throw a tuned 350 in it with a 4 barrel carb , enjoy the awesome ride!
You forgot one flaw with these 70s/80s caddies. THE DAMN BUMPER FILLERS. Even CHRYSLER managed to make them last for decades, so why was cadillac unable to make them right?
I talk about that at the end
He mentions the flubber bumper fillers near the end.
@@RareClassicCars Yes. Caught that. My uncle's 76 Fleetwood Brougham de Elegance was in showroom new condition when he passed in 91.....EXCEPT for those bumper fillers. Beautiful sky blue car with white padded top, but those fillers were real detractors from the otherwise beautiful appearance.
@@RareClassicCars i am notoriously impatient and commented before finishing the video. Altough i still dont get how did cadillac managed to make the only cars with persistent bumper filler issues
I thought the 74-92 cars had a nice elegant interior. The only thing I didn't like was the door lights on 77-92. They look nice but get hot enough to scald you if you're wearing shorts. The factory Limos were simply awesome.
Accurate review. Good work.
Even though it was much later, the Cadillac Catera from the late 1990s was a terrible car as well for several reasons.