Jerome Solberg caught this fine pairing at the curb. Given that these FWD DeVilles weren’t really all that big, it’s a testament to the MGB’s size to make it look huge.
Driving these back-to-back would make a nice study in contrasts too.
The MGB’s venerable pushrod four wasn’t exactly known for its smooth and refined characteristics, but it got the job done, as long as it wasn’t one of the later heavily strangled 62 hp versions. A sad ending to what had once been lively cars. This one looks to be either a ’70 or ’71, when it still had a 92 (gross) hp rating.
What am I going to say about a metallic-pink Cadillac of this vintage? I’d better leave that to you.
Cool caddy, love those bgt’s… Had a roadster for 5 years, a girlfriend bought a 67 b gt special edition in brg. Black leather with white piping, 4 sp and factory ac… Would love to have that one now. Occasionally one will come up on bat site…
I also had a brg 67 BGT. Mine also had overdrive and (painted) wire wheels. Loved it, sold it, regretted it.
You mention a sad end for the MGB. For me this Cadillac is the beginning of a VERY sad ending for what was called The Standard of the WORLD. Having owned an 89 Brougham deElegance 🏆and a 93 Brougham, the down sized fwd Cadillacs were a disappointing compromise, especially when FLEETWOOD name was transferred. to them. Cadillac has continued downward ever since. Only a few SMALL cars 🚗 and glorified trucks now wear the Cadillac Crest! 🤮 Have since gone to FMC GRAND MARQUIS and LINCOLN TOWN CARS for traditional American luxury and comfort. Even those are no longerbeing manufactured. Maybe this Cadillac is actually the beginning of the SAD end for the GREAT AMERICAN LUXURY vehicles. Fortunately, currently have 2OO7 Lincoln Town Car Signature Limited, which I will drive forever! Electrics? Don’t even get me started!!! 😎
What was your favorite between the ’89 and ’93? I want an ’07 – ’10 Signature Limited. Reliable as hell and plentiful parts for the rest of my life.
89 Brougham deElegance was much superior to 93 in quality, especially carpet and trim. Leather seats in 93 peeled. Also premature rust though of rear wheel openings allowed moisture in trunk and rear seats! As for Town Cars, was fortunate to get my 2007 Signature Limited. Had looked at
89 Brougham deElegance was much superior to 93 in quality, especially carpet and trim. Leather seats in 93 peeled. Also premature rust though of rear wheel openings allowed moisture in trunk and rear seats! As for Town Cars, was fortunate to get my 2007 Signature Limited. Had looked at another 2007 but took it to trusted repair shop and found it had multiple problems! Most Town Cars are given great care,but beware! Recently saw beautiful 2006 Designer Edition on line from a apparently respected dealer, specializing in upscale old school Luxury vehicles! LINCOLN, what a Luxury car should be! 🏆👍 😎
A buddy had the Cadillac. He inherited a block of money from his Dad & Mom and wanted something flashy. The car would wallow over bumps and handled so poorly.
Thinking about it, I would go for the MGB GT, Not fast, noisy as hell, but a hell of a lot more fun to drive.
That would be a great pair of vehicles to own around here. MGBGT for summer and early fall, and Cadillac as the sacrificial anode during the winter.
Interesting that the MGBGT has two windshield wipers, I think at that point the roadsters had three.
MGB roadsters had a lower windscreen compared to the GT.
Never owning a BGT is a great regret of mine. That one looks just perfect- driver quality fun.
DougD- The roadsters had 3 wipers because the windscreen on them is about 4″ shorter than the GT’s- so they needed 3 shorter blades to clear enough of the surface. I don’t think the GT’s ever got 3.
That Cadillac is the doppelganger of the one owned by my next door neighbor in the mid 90s when I bought my current house. Curley was in his mid 90s and twice a day that Cadillac would head up the street for Curley and his ailing wife to get a bite to eat. He once confided in me that he was disappointed in it, and that it had caused him a fair amount of trouble.
I would pick the MG all day long if I could only have one. In fact, I might take just the MG if someone offered them both to me.
Not surprised Curley was disappointed in his Cadillac! ( see my post)! Especially if he had previous old school Cadillacs! Old timers were used to Cadillac quality! Now, this Old dog 🐕, carefully drives my 2007 TOWN CAR SIGNATURE LIMITED with pride in comfort, hoping and praying it lasts me for the rest of my life 🙏! Money spent would be well spent and cheaper than buying something I did NOT enjoy! 😎
I had a ‘91 Deville and it had a persistent ground issue that would intermittently make it impossible to start. Even the dealer refused to try to diagnose it, likely because of the space shuttle amount of wire looms. Pleasant cruiser when it started and sturdy enough to take out a deer at 60 with only a cracked grill and a missing hood ornament.
Looks like one of these vehicles would (almost) fit in the trunk of the other one!
I’ve had 3 MGB/GTs and 9 MG Tourers (the correct term), used to buy, drive and flip Brit cars, but especially these. A funner (is that a word?) car for the money does not exist, you can drive them at 10/10s and they will entertain you. More fun than my ’69 E-Type, Mark II or many TRs. Simple, strong & solid (if rust-free-ish) and quite durable. Would take that GT in a heartbeat. I regret never transplanting a Buick 215 into one, but the factory finally got wise and did it (in the UK only).
I read years ago that now-King Charles has a MGC (V8), I think it’s called, in his collection. Like Jay Leno still being on TV, you wonder when these old rich guys have time to drive more than a small fraction of their cars.
The MGC was a straight 6 engined car, and Prince Charles did indeed have one.
Thanks Paul for posting these pictures. I was on the way to an appointment, but saw these two out of the corner of my eye as I drove past and couldn’t help myself, I had to take a couple of minutes to snap these photos.
One of the things I got a kick out of was the MGB GT had, on the front seat, a replacement part (a cable of some sort) still in the plastic bag waiting to be installed, and right next to it a note, presumably left on the windshield, by some person wanting to buy the car. Another funny thing was the Chilton’s owners manual prominently displayed through the glass trunk hatch.
Another thing I noticed – even though the two cars are radically different in size and engine capacity, the hoods are approximately the same length.
Nice pair! Boy, I’ve put a lot of miles on those DeVille’s and always liked them. BTW, it’s not pink but think it was called light antelope firemist. Actually a light champagne like color that was quite popular in the day and we sold a lot of those. I’m always surprised on this site when people talk of how bad those cars were. We actually saw few problems with the 1987 on up and people liked them. In 1989, they made the car larger and thus more in line with what Cadillac’s would be and they began to add more tech. I noticed someone above said about these cars wallowing over bumps and poor handling. These were not designed for carving corners, but for total comfort on interstate driving. But in (I think) 1991 is when they began to offer the Cadillac CCRS self adjusting shocks. The system worked quite well and was simple, which allowed the cars to handle much better. It was really a pre-curser to the MRC in which Cadillac and GM have perfected. The week points on these front drive DeVille’s and Fleetwoods were the door armrests that would crack, drivers seat that would become too soft and lose comfort and the radios would develop electrical issues. Many of them no longer have the factory radio.
Back in the ’70’s I wanted a MGB GT, the ads made the car look like a lot of fun. I think that my 280Z filled the same need with more power and better reliability. Small hatch backs can be very practical every day cars, though it’s been fifteen years since I had cars like that.
The ’89 Cadillac got the FWD platform right. It was big enough to look like a real Cadillac, and it had a huge rear passenger area. From what I’ve read, Cadillac was really worried about gas prices in the early 1980’s and had anticipated using V6 and even four cylinder engines. (We’ve got those now!)
I thought that the ’85 Cadillacs were a good attempt to downsize their cars, but their reliance on traditional design cues made them look a bit like a shrunken head. By ’87 and ’88 the styling was pretty well worked out, but still a bit too boxy. The 4.5 and 4.9 engines were also a great improvement.
I still harbor a desire for a Triumph Spitfire, but I wisely refuse to dock in that port!
Love such contrasts.
And, especially the MGB-GT.
— Former owner of:
’67 MG Midget
’64 Austin-Healey Sprite
I love them both…
A well sorted BGT is a joy. If I ever get another one, I’ll do a 5 speed conversion and convert it to fuel injection. Maybe do a few things to coax a few more HP out of it. I loved the one I had for a while in the 90s. The best of the small fastbacks IMO is the Triumph GT6, though. They are quite quick, have an ok amount of room inside, and are even more rare than the BGT. Here is a pic of my 1973 GT6 I currently have. Also it’s a good prop for pic shoots sometimes.
Sacramento and Parker looks familiar.