On the day after Christmas, many of us are recovering from the experience of buying expensive items that we never would have bought during the rest of the year, items often bearing designer labels. During the late 1970s, you could have this experience when buying a car. Lincoln had its Designer Edition Mark IVs and Mark Vs from Bill Blass, Cartier, Givenchy, and Pucci, starting with the 1976 Mark IV. Cadillac did not offer a similar product from the factory, but a Miami-based company named International Automotive Design, Inc. modified production cars with a Gucci-designed and branded trim package in 1978-79.
A gold plated Gucci hood ornament, green and red Gucci stripes, Gucci upholstery on the armrests, headrests, headliner, and floor mats, a five piece set of fitted luggage, and gold plated Gucci emblems galore made up the “Designed by Gucci” package. It elevated the price of the car to $19,900 in 1978, 40 percent over the Seville’s $14,161 base price, and to $22,900 in 1979 – a whopping $64,714 in 2013 dollars. With a 1978 Mark V having a base price of $11,396 and the designer packages adding $1,600 to $2,100, one wonders whether many Seville Designed by Gucci owners experienced buyer’s remorse on the next day.
Gag, gag, gag, gag, gag!!!!!
Look at the bright side: leather seats, easier to wipe it off.
But how much did a Nova with vinyl seats and the exact same powertrain and suspension cost? Four grand?
Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!!!!!
Wow – no idea that this ever existed. I wonder how much involvement Cadillac actually had with this. It seems more along the line of the “His and Hers 1971 Thunderbirds” that Nieman Marcus put in their 1970 Christmas catalog.
I have a mild affection for this generation of Seville, but this edition of it does nothing for me.
Cadillac really didn’t much to do with this, they didn’t stop it from happening, so is that just as wrong?
HAHA.
By today’s standards, that’s actually not a ridiculous price. You can easily option a new CTS to over $65,000.
But the CTS isn’t a tarted-up Nova to begin with 😉
That’s true. I guess I probably should’ve used the Escalade as a better comparison haha.
Not great and luckily this kind of thing didn’t work it’s way to anything official with Cadillac’s national offerings….(I think).
Yet to this day when I think of absolutely ruining a new Cadillac with an ad-on, I go back to Paul’s article on Cadillac’s with vinyl roofs and that photo of the black CTS coupe with the fake vinyl roof.
What has been seen cannot be unseen (and unfortunately unglued from the vehicle without considerable expense).
Not impressed especially since it’s basically a tarted up Nova.Could you buy a loaded Nova for less money?It reminds me of the Vanden Plas Allegro,a humble runabout with delusions of grandeur
NO….FOR THE FINAL AND LAST TIME, the Seville is NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT a “tarted up” NOVA.
+1
The Skylark was a tarted up Nova. The Seville was simply far too developed and upgraded to endure that comment. And the buying public understood that and bought the standard issue Seville in good numbers at high transaction prices.
+1
The Skylark was a tarted up Nova. The Seville was simply far too developed and upgraded to endure that comment. And
the buying public understood that and bought the standard issue Seville in good numbers at high transaction prices.
Carmine,
Unfortunately, those that say the Seville is a tarted-up Nova are the same crowd claiming that the Jaguar X-Type is just a tarted-up Contour.
Too bloody dumb to understand the difference between “platform sharing” and “badge engineering”.
Gem; You mustn’t say those words around here, or else some folks are going to have a blood pressure crisis 😉
No the 75-79 Seville was a ground breaking design for GM which then migrated to the new for 1978 A/G body redesign. Now the 1979-1985 Eldorado was a tarted up Oldsmobile Toronado
Wrong on that one too, the Rivera, Toronado and Eldorado share the common FWD E-body, but they have completely different exterior panels and completely different interiors, the Cadillac only uses an Oldsmobile based engine in 1979 and in the diesels that were available after, 1980 and 85 used a REAL Cadillac motor, the good 368 and the not good 4100. Plus, they all came out summer of 1978 as 79 models, so they were all developed concurrently.
Each division involved played a part in the E-body development, Cadillac engineered the chassis and suspension, the Eldorado came with 4 wheel disc brakes and load leveling suspension standard, it was optional on the other 2 E-body cars.
I was amongst a sea of Wolseley 1300s today nearly as bad lipstick on a turd
ROFL!
I remember seeing these in person as a kid, afterall they were made in my hometown, there were a few of them around. These continued into the 2nd gen Seville too. The price didn’t matter, it was the flash and the exclusivity that sold these, remember back then Miami was a wild west boom town where anyone that had a boat and had connections was just a deal away from striking it right moving the white powder.
These were actually made by at a local Cadillac dealer, IAD’s 20th and Biscayne address is the same location as Braman Cadillac-Rolls Royce-Bentley, still around today.
BTW, Gucci has one of these Sevilles in their own museum.
Is the same IAD? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Automotive_Design
I don’t think so, this was more of a local company.
Shame that it was the exclusivity that contributed to a relatively clean design like the Gen 1 Seville being given such a garish treatment. I thought GM did a commendable job, on their first attempt, creating a Cadillac a little more in tune with the times and the European competition. Reminds me of how the Lincoln Versailles was created with tacked on luxury. Only that happened at the factory.
Remember, GM and Cadillac really had nothing to do with the Gucci Seville.
Now the Versailles really was a tarted up Granada.
MMMMM! Taste!
Pass. Just not me to spend crazy money on a very mild custom. Even if could find the value in a Seville over a 98 or Electra in those years, I just don’t have the snob bones to try and think high priced and sorta ugly mods are worth that kind of money.
Is this car much worse than the broughams and other designer editions of that era? A little too much gold trim for my taste and I suspect the headliner might be literally and figuratively over the top but otherwise for me this interior looks way better than the velour pillow designs so popular back then. I have a couple of Gucci watches from this period – much cleaner designs than the ones they turn out today.
Apart from the pattern on the headrests, those seats are stock Cadillac.
Hi CA Guy,
Long shot and resurrecting a very old thread, but, i have this exact watch (with case) but I’ve no idea what model it is, would you know and be able to tell me please?
Gucci must have been hard up for sales or wanted their name in everything as they offered a AMC Hornet called the Sportabout with Gucci interior.
I think the only Package more dumber then that was the Levi’s Jeans edition for the AMC Gremlin
My sister had a Jeans Beetle with very worn upholstery,it may have looked cool but was nowhere near as tough as vinyl
On AMC cars, the Levis pak was VERY dumb. My first Jeep was actually a Levis edition Renegade CJ-7. It was the tan version, and the idea was definitely there…but the tan coloration was goofy. I could have totally seen it on the blue interior version if and ONLY if the seats were actual denim blue jean material…maybe with integrated seat pockets. Wouldve fit the whole rugged outdoorsy image Jeep has always carried.
I have always counted these cars among the most tasteless ever. They took a charming little car and made it repulsive. It completely blows my mind that they were able to sale even one.
Rolls Royce has teamed up with Italian designer Fenice Milano and has come up with the “Diva” It can be yours for 1.6 million USD
Rolls Royce (Really a tarted up BMW) wrote the book on tacky
I’m sure some chav lottery winner will want it,just the thing to go with a Swarovski bog brush
“Chav” that’s a British redneck, right?
Kind of but with less education and a hot hatch instead of a pick up
Love what they’ve done with the Burberry, so classy
Looks like the casting call for the next John Waters picture (film)
The one on the left could be the new Edith Massey> Aunt Ida/Edie/Queen Carlotta
How about the Kenneth Cole Mini (really another tacky BMW) with over 80,000 metal studs applied… got to have it!
Only 61,000 USD
That’s a real tart’s handbag!Horrible doesn’t even come close
These Gucci edition Cadillacs remind me of ‘Blazing Saddles”.
Wow. Someone from the hip -hop generation would pay for this.
Wasn’t this out around the same time AMC’s Gucci Hornet was also? Talk about brand name dilution…
Not quite. The Hornet Sportabout Gucci package was available in 1972 and ’73 only.
Ok, this reminds me of a scene from Mel Brooks’ “High Anxiety” – his (very good) parody of Hitchcock movies (and Hitchcock even helped him with the script). Madeline Khan plays the femme fatale rich woman, and is briefly shown wearing what looks like a heavily patterned Gucci pantsuit, with matching teddy bear outfit AND matching 1st gen. Seville. The entire car is covered in the pattern and it is a great sight gag as she runs to the car at the curb while wearing the suit.
I thought Brooks just dreamed that up, but maybe he got the idea from this car and pushed it to (even more) absurdity?!
I remember that too, the funny thing is that I think that movie pre-dates the Gucci Seville, I think the one in the move was covered with Louis Vuitton type logos.
Here is the car. Great movie, great actress, great car. But… You won’t catch me doing a DiNoc wrap like this on my 79.
BTW, I always hated the headliner and hood ornament on these Gucci Editions, but the car looks really good in Post Road Brown. I’ll see if I can dig up a picture.
Wow, had forgotten about the car! Ah Madeline, another one taken too soon…
That is SO true… But at least she will always make us laugh. Don’t forget History of the World Part-1 Everyone was great, but ‘Empress Nympho’ was the best 🙂
+1 “No, no, no, yes, no, no, no, YES!”
I found the other 1979 pic. I think it looks 100x better in this color than the white one in the Ad.
This angle lets you see that the roof treatment actually can work on this car. Also, it’s a real picture of a car, as opposed to the print ad and just ‘shows’ better, I think. Dare I say, but I find this particular car attractive. (you can still keep the headliner & gaudy hood ornament though)
Also, I had mentioned Post Road Brown previously, (which is a much darker brown) I believe they used Ruidoso Saddle Firemist on this car. Carmine can probably verify.
You are right again Carmine.
The movie came to theatres EOY after the 1978s went up for sale in late ’77, but besides the pic I posted below from High Anxiety, look what else I found with Louis V. logos and background color:
link>> http://la.curbed.com/archives/2009/07/thats_rather_hideous_the_house_that_louis_vuitton_built.php#lv-1
Now if we can just find that house and get Madeline’s Seville parked out front, we’d really have something 🙂
Buyer’s remorse? Hell, I’m having looker’s remorse. Though not a “designer” anything, but just as galling, is a Mercedes-Benz with a “gold” hood ornament and trunk lettering – especially when it starts flaking off.
For the equivalent today… is anyone doing designer edition BMWs?
Or maybe its more of a “COACH” Lexus?
Something like this ?
http://www.carscoops.com/2013/10/new-bmw-760li-sterling-robbe-berking.html
I had a few dates with a girl whose Escalade had a custom ‘Coach’ interior. It wasn’t near as tacky or gaudy as this mess, but still… I have NO problem dropping some coin to customize a vehicle, but the money is better spent in performance mods. AND on something that has more staying power than a soccer mom mobile.
I would KILL for one of these!!!!!
When we were in Beverly Hills on Rodeo Drive, there was one of these outside of the Gucci store!!! I was in A-W-E!!!
The Cadillac Seville and Gucci. How can you go wrong??
It was availble in three colors only: white, a metallic brown, and black.
P.S. While I’m typing this I’m listening to music from 1975. I feel like “Carmine”!! Cadillac lust and music from the seventies. Oy!
In black:
So much of this car reminds me of so much that was wrong with American cars for for a such a very long time: ersatz luxury. When did Americans begin to relate luxury with French whorehouse style?
I remember when the realization hit me. My dad was used car dealer, and it frequently fell to me to clean up his cars in preparation for sale. One day I was working on the interior of an early ’70s Olds Toronado, and I noticed the intricate, molded-in filigree on the plastic dashboard knobs. I wondered why someone decided to put such a useless, Rococo detail there. It was a tasteless detail in a too-big, slow, lumbering car, something that promised…well, something…that the car could not deliver. Was I supposed to believe that some old-world artisan hand-carved these details like the woodwork in the great cathedrals of Europe? I began looking at cars from the perspective from what they actually delivered, not just promised. Americans absolutely ate up millions of cars with padded vinyl roofs, fake wire wheel covers, stainless “style spears,” tufted pillow interiors, and faux Rolls Royce grills, while riding on chassis and suspensions barely evolved beyond agricultural service. Flat, unsupportive seats looked forward at faux wood appliqué dashboards with only a speedo and gas gauge, while the driver tillered the boat along with numb, over-boosted steering and had to rely on touchy power brakes.
The Seville made some promises to the contrary. Right-sized and more nimble than its boat-like Cadillac stablemates, it looked good. GM made some good styling decisions when it downsized its full-sized lineup for 1977, turning out a lineup of clean, crisp designs that have aged well (the 1977 Caprice/Impala being a case in point).
In 1977 neither Cadillac’s (nor Lincoln’s, nor Chrysler’s) demographic understood a car that HANDLED, let alone want one. What they would pay for was isolation and the glued on appearance of luxury.
Yes, I am saddened when I see a CTS pass by with an aftermarket padded vinyl roof, dealer installed or otherwise. It serves to remind me how far we have yet to go.
So what’s luxury supposed to be then? Hard bucket seats, stiff suspension, a dash full of analog gauges, aluminum wheels? 70’s Eurocrap was not luxury…maybe just your idea of luxury. Your implication that the millions of stupid Americans that bought these fine vehicles didn’t have a clue merely proves that you are the clueless one.
Early 70’s Toronados had class, kick-ass light switch, lighter, & radio knobs. (I guess rubber knobs = eddchinashirt luxury). Your stupid “Slow and lumbering” generalization is comparing what to what exactly? Early Toronados were not slow at all compared to its contemporaries but it’s obvious you’ll never accept that.
Why can’t people like you figure out that a large portion of the populace could give a rat’s ass about handling? It certainly wasn’t a big deal back then. My daily commute is about 45 minutes and doesn’t include hairpin curves so what’s the point? There’s no point in wasting time….you’ll never get it.
Luxury encompasses automotive details that make the cars work better: good brakes, secure handling, adequate pickup, and of course, reliability. True, most people do not need nor want cars that can serve double duty as weekend racers, but I will trade all the fake plastic wood and filigree dash knobs for a supportive seat that can be adjusted for height, rake, and seat back angle. And, how about a head rest positioned so as to lessen the chances of whiplash in a rear ender (4 of which I have been the victim of).
Vinyl tops? All they ever did was to rust the roof of the cars to which they were applied.
Olds started down the right past with the 1966 Toronado, in my estimation one of the best looking cars of all time. Then, as the car lost content, its styling was increasingly pimped up. The Tornado died as the Trofeo in the 1990s. Olds tried to recapture the car’s soul, but by then it was too late.
You are right, Americans do not really care about handling. Perhaps we all should just drive pickup trucks.
You know, it looks like we do.
No, I hate to break it to you but luxury encompasses a combination of what is both in vogue and just out of reach of the common man. Eurotrash Luxury came into vogue because educated yuppies needed to lord over their success and perceived knowledge over their equally successful but uneducated elders driving their ersatz luxury Caddies — “Well out of touch old man, let me bore you with the specs and data showing how my equally slow, tiny, stark and ludicrously overpriced Bavarian cart compares to your Cadillac just to show just how much more upwardly mobile I am”.
Maybe Americans wouldn’t buy pickups if Americans could still buy traditional the American cars we were forced to give up.
The American and European definitions of “luxury” don’t really represent true luxury at all, for the simple fact that it’s easily attainable by the masses.
True luxury is what the wealthy and genuinely well-off have access to and it’s priced accordingly. Everything else is gingerbread. And whether it’s American gingerbread or European gingerbread, both represent the same sort of dollar-store luxury that people buy to make themselves feel kingly over their fellow gingerbread buyer.
Meanwhile, there’s a well-moneyed and well-landed scion putzing around on his multi-million dollar yacht, no doubt with access to a Rolls-Royce with Connolly leather and exotic wood trim sourced from a South American forest – things you’ll never, ever see on a Cadillac, let alone any “luxury” vehicle that can be bought by the masses for 0 down and a 96-month payment plan.
I think what John Williams is saying is that if your car sports fake wire wheels, fake wood, fake leather, and fake gold trim, you are telling the whole world that you are too busted to be able to afford the real thing. Perhaps it is better to drive something that does not advertise your destitute situation.
Yes, I would rather have a real alloy wheel over a fake wire one. Wire wheels have their place on certain cars. If you are going to charge a premium for your car, maybe you should put a real wire wheel on it. Similarly, I would rather have a real steel wheel with a real dog dish hubcap on my car than a fake wire one.
“Hard” bucket seats? Seats need be neither hard nor bucket to be good. The seats in my 1993 Bonneville SSEi were among the best I ever owned, roomy, comfortable, shaped to fit a real human, infinitely adjustable and a pleasure to sit in and make an 8 hour-plus drive. I felt the same way about the seats in my 1987 Ford Taurus. I believe neither of those cars are German nor qualify as any kind of yuppie mobile. The seats in my 1999 Crown Vic, however, purely an after thought on Ford’s part, because that car was designed for a demographic with low automotive expectations. When you sit in a seat and you immediately have the feeling of sitting on the seat and not in the seat, you can be assured the long-term relationship will not be good.
A knob for a light switch does not need to be anything more than a knob, rubber or not. It is desirable that it be durable, feel good to the hand, have a positive action that gives the impression of quality, and maybe have something informative stenciled across its face that indicates its function, say, the word “Lights,” perhaps. It does not need to resemble the clasp on Marie Antoinette’s garter belt.
eddchinashirt,
No, I think what John Williams point was is that real luxury is getting chauffered around in a Grosser or whatever the modern equivalent would be. A true luxury car is something that you will not find a few years later, en masse, in the ghetto. The seats, the wheels, etc. do not matter, whether its alloy or wire or a set with lots adjusting options. Do your windows run on a ridiculously expensive hydraulic system or does a tune up cost the same as a new econo-box? No? Then its not luxury. If its in something you could have bought off the lot near where you live, its gingerbread and ultimately its (faux) luxury status is in the eye of the beholder.
My opinions on this car are both positive and negative. Positive about the Seville, but negative about the Designed by Gucci package.
My view of the Gen1 Seville is that it was a well-engineered and successful evolutionary design that does not deserve the Deadly Sin status that it has received. (The clean-sheet Gen2 with its disastrous engines and bustleback styling does deserve it, on the other hand.) The Gen1 Seville took the existing, proven GM compact unibody platform and made it into a satisfactory compact rendition of a Cadillac of the time. The car geek in me wishes that it had been a clean sheet design with Mercedes-matching all-independent suspension and a more modern interior, but its high sales numbers proved the success of the concept. Growing up during the 1970s, I had several neighbors who were very successful businessmen and professionals who could have bought any car that they wanted, and they owned Gen1 Sevilles for years. They were not car nuts; they wanted a comfortable and reliable small Cadillac, and the Seville delivered what they wanted. They became Mercedes owners only in the 1980s after Cadillac introduced disaster after disaster and Mercedes came out with its W126, which was unbeatable in the early 1980s.
The Designed by Gucci package, on the other hand, strikes me as absurd. I do not find it ugly as others seem to do; aside from the silly vinyl bikini-bottom top, most of it is unobtrusive and even fairly attractive. The price, for a few trim items, a set of luggage, and the Gucci name, is what I find unbelievable. The small volume and non-assembly-line work justify a couple of thousand dollars in 1978-79 dollars, perhaps more than the Mark V designer packages, but not the price of this package. IAD must have laughed their way to the bank with each sale.
I followed a JDM Nissan on the trip home today that this reminds me of bits of chrome tacked onto every detail on it back to the bad old days of Japanese Brougham chinz. That fell off before the warranty expired.
Except the really ugly wheels, I actually like it !
I’ve got one for sale!!!!
http://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/listing/1979/cadillac/seville/631332
http://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/listing/1979/cadillac/seville/631332
Don’t hate, just appreciate =)
http://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/listing/1979/cadillac/seville/631332
http://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/listing/1979/cadillac/seville/631332