His & Hers Broughams at the Oakmont Fathers Day Car Show 2024 – me spinning the tunes
It’s summer here in the Steel City, so that means we get to drive our classic cars that have been hibernating safely all winter away from the salt trucks ‘n slippy roads filled with potholes. While the potholes don’t magically disappear with spring, it is more fun to dodge them in the Brougham than in the Escalade or my wife’s XTS.
With pressing our latest purchase into daily(ish) duty, comes the most common question from admirers at the Giant Eagle parking lot or car shows – “What year is that?! My parents/uncle/pap/gram had one that looked like it!”
And whenever I tell them it’s a 1990, they usually reply “I thought it was a 83 or a 79! They made them all the way up to the 90’s like that?!?”
Yes, the fine folks at Cadillac kept the same basic look from 1980 all the way to 1992, with the only major refresh (inside and out) taking place in 1990 – even if the basic dash still had the 1977 shape. Was Bill Mitchell’s handiwork that iconic, or was GM just lazily taking the full size RWD market for granted? So let’s look year by year at the “not-a-Fleetwood” Brougham.
Classic Caddy in front of a classic Diner
The cynic in me tells me the latter, and that GM just got lucky with keeping an iconic design in continual production. From “The Cadillac Story: The Post War Years”, p126 & 127 – “…all too many of Cadillac’s problems were entirely homegrown. The rear-drive Brougham was so completely de-emphasized when the smaller front-drive DeVilles and Fleetwoods were first announced, that many long-time Cadillac buyers switched over to Lincoln in the mistaken belief that Cadillac no longer offered a traditional-size luxury sedan.” The Roger Smith 1984 reorganization didn’t help, reducing the various divisions “to little more than marketing entities, depriving divisional managers of control over most of the essential elements in creating the cars they were expected to sell.”
I don’t think there’s a bad line on this car
For 1987, the D Body “Fleetwood Brougham” was shortened to just “Brougham” to reduce confusion with the FWD Fleetwood – yes, for 1985 and 1986 it was possible to get a Fleetwood, Fleetwood d’Elegance, Fleetwood Brougham, or Fleetwood Brougham d’Elegance. How little attention was paid to the D body, despite coming back year after year like Bob Hope for NBC specials? The platform isn’t mentioned again in the book until page 167 where Roger Smith and Bob Stemple are noted as hating it, and simply wishing for it to go away – even with it accounting for one fifth of Cadillac sales in the late 80’s.
Exterior changes from the 1986 model year were recycling the 1981 egg crate grille, tweaking the hood molding to have the Cadillac script, turn signal lamps with silver Cadillac crests, as well as exterior color changes. On the inside changes were a new dual DIN “2000 Series” Delco ETR AM/FM Stereo radio with optional “Symphony Sound” cassette player, and a new standard ribbed seat pattern featuring French seams with matching upper door trim in either cloth or vinyl.
The d’Elegance package continued on with 50/50 split front tufted bench seats, in either “Kimbery Cloth” or leather and special “Tampico” carpet mats. Seat belt buckles now had the Cadillac crest instead of “GM” stamped on them. While the catalog shows wheel discs as standard, most came with wire wheel discs, or even genuine wire wheels for those who wanted that look. 1987 was the last year for the optional CB radio, Guidematic auto dimming headlights, and driver’s memory seat. It was also the last year for optional power driver recliner seat until 1990.
1987 Brougham d’Elegance interior – photo from Specialty Motor Cars
Under the hood was the same Oldsmobile sourced 307 cubic inch V8, fed through an electronically controlled four barrel QuadraJet that was shoved under the hood in 1986 with some fanfare – “NEW, MORE POWERFUL” proclaimed TV advertisements and magazine ads. How much? 140 HP with the 5.0 Olds V8 instead of 135 from the HT4100 – more importantly, 255 ft/lbs of torque instead of 190 for pulling hills. Not to mention with cast iron block and heads, less maintenance headaches. But the fact that GM was too lazy to adapt the proven throttle body EFI to the 307 in what was supposed to be a luxury car tells you how much the powers that be thought of the car. Properly equipped, the Brougham could tow up to 5,000 pounds – slowly, but it had the ability. Production totaled 65,504 for the year. Advertisements proclaimed “The Classic Spirit Of Cadillac”, and they were right on the money with this car.
The Olds 307 – photo courtesy of Specialty Motor Cars
1988 brought only minor detail changes overall. The 307 Olds received a new electronic spark control system as well as a numerically higher axle ratio (2.93:1 vs 2.73:1). Inside a new light switch lens with ISO-light symbol gave a more international flair, while rear seat passengers could feel safer thanks to new three-point rear seat belts with integral shoulder belts. Outside revised drip moldings, five new exterior and three new interior colors, along with the new “Premiere” roof option helped keep the look competitive. The “Premiere” roof treatment included a revised backlight (rear window), vinyl top colored drip molding, vinyl top material-covered center pillar applique (with opera lamp), rear door quarter window closeout trim and new backlight (rear window) garnish molding. Our 1988 Brougham had this treatment, with a full write up here.
Previous options made standard for 1988 included a 25.0 gallon fuel tank (in place of a 20.7 gallon unit), tilt and telescope steering wheel, heavy-duty battery, and puncture-sealing tires. This was also the model year and vehicle to be produced at Clark Street Assembly in Detroit with production moving to Arlington Texas. Sales were down for 1988, with only 53,130 finding homes.
To close out the decade, 1989 brought a revised “waterfall” grille and front header panel molding. The header molding no longer had an embedded script, moving the Cadillac script to the grille. The Premier formal padded roof option was offered in five new colors for a total of 12 choices. The Brougham interior included Cadillac’s new carpeted and reversible floor mats with a retention device, and the color keyed insert on the doors below the close handle with the Cadillac crest was now plastic wood to match the upper part. New standard features consisted of the controlled cycle wiper system, cruise control, electronic level control, electrically powered chrome outside mirrors, trumpet horn, 100 amp generator, and a power trunk lid release. The full line brochure touted the 5.0 V8 as “the largest Cadillac offers” and its ability to detect substandard fuel and adjust spark timing for “smooth engine performance”. Production total slipped further to 41,138.
1990 brings us to our featured car, and the latest purchase here in the Lawler household. With Lincoln releasing the all new aero Town Car, Cadillac had to do something to keep the Brougham competitive. Euro cladding, composite headlamps, revised tail lamps, and making the Premiere roof option standard freshened the “Formal Look” on the outside. Inside, door mounted seat belts satisfied the “passive restraint” US requirements without having to add airbags, drivers had standard digital readouts for fuel/speed/mileage, passengers had the seat controls moved to the armrest removing the ashtray and lighter, and the plastic wood was now “American Burled Walnut” with a strip of it going across the top of the dash – specially made so that warning lights would shine thru. Where the fuel gauge resided now stood another piece of plastic wood with the Cadillac script in chrome. Front door sills now proclaimed “Brougham” in elegant script instead of “Body By Fisher/Interior By Fleetwood” as Fisher Body ceased to exist.
The center stack was modified to fit the new radio, Electronic Climate Control panel, and passenger mirror control. Sound systems were upgraded with the amp and tuner module tucked in the dash –new features included a 5 preset EQ, C-QUAM AM Stereo, and if you ordered the CD player, speakers mounted indoor pods with separate amplifiers were included. Electronic Climate Control now included more fan speed modes like “LOW FAN AUTO” & “HIGH FAN AUTO” instead of LOW, AUTO, or HIGH. Center dash vents were now vertical instead of horizontal, but still chromed.
New for 1990 center stack – post radio replacement
Under the hood was either more of the same, or if you sprung for the trailer towing package, much more exciting. Cadillac hedged their bets and finally gave owners what they wanted – more power thanks to the L05 throttle body injected 350 Chevy V8. But you had to pay the one time gas guzzler tax as well as get the trailer towing package. In addition, you also got the 4L60 transmission (aka 700-R4) instead of the 200-R4, 3.08:1 axle ratio, heavy duty suspension/cooling, and a 140 amp alternator with trailer wiring harness. Plus the cool “5.7 LITRE” badge on the trunk!
DTS vs Brougham
If you opted for the d’Elegance package but not the 5.7, you were treated to a 2.93:1 axle ratio instead of the standard 2.73:1 unit. All Broughams now had the stopping power of Bosch II anti-lock brakes as standard equipment, even if the rears were still drums instead of discs. Production total was down yet again to 33,741, even with all the changes and new engine available.
Spruced up dash with even more “wood” trim
This particular example was purchased new from Dave Towell Cadillac in Akron Ohio in June of 1990, but built on Feb 28th 1990 with an MSRP of $31,222. Based on the inventory list that came with the car, the original owner Keith (a local veterinarian) was looking for a Sable Black 5.7 car with option package 1SB or 1SC and the auto day/night mirror (now electrochromic for 1990). Shame that the car on the list with genuine wire wheels came in at $31,938 – I guess he figured the wire wheel discs were flashy enough.
$31,222 in 1990 is $75,051.05 for 2024
When Keith passed and his property sold off, the Brougham went with it. The new owner didn’t want the car and had a friend of his sell it via FB Marketplace. My wife and I went to look at it and arrived just as the price was being lowered $500 the listed price. I didn’t notice some of the paint issues as it was raining, but it was pretty rust free for an Ohio car with only a few spots in the usual places for these cars along the lip of the trunk lid and along the driver’s rear door bottom. The rear bumper fillers were original and still intact, proof this car had to be garaged as they degrade if left in the sun for any amount of time. Even the lacquer paint was in good shape for being 34 years old and shined up nicely with some Topcoat F11.
Took it for a test drive, and it didn’t show any signs of being neglected. Ran it through all the gears, no lights were on the dash, and aside from a malfunctioning blower control module and weak A/C, every power accessory worked down to the power antenna. With those things in mind, and no outside markings on the tires to show age, we said we would think it over and get back to them.
175 throttle body injected horsepower under this sticker
After thinking it over and realizing how much I missed having a black Brougham, I decided to roll the dice and purchase the car. Thankfully they took my offer, as being in a relatively rural part of Ohio they had few offers and wanted the car gone. Originally I wanted to trailer it back to Pittsburgh with the Escalade, but time and other issues had me white knuckling the car back home two and a half hours from Ohio. I later found out the tires were 20 years old when my brother in law replaced them and found the date code on the inside – I guess Pap or Dad were looking out for me as there was no hint of them coming apart.
Fillers are intact, but showing age
One of the features that drew me to the car was the non leather wrapped wheel with the wood trim inlay – this would be the final year for that, as a leather wrapped wheel became standard in 1991. Unfortunately due to some carelessness on the part of the upholstery shop that replaced the headliner, the plastic on the wheel was scuffed and I had to put a steering wheel cover on to keep it from bothering me. I’m also not thrilled about the material he used to replace the headliner and the sail panel material, but “it is what it is” as my least favorite saying goes.
Cavernous rea passenger space, and the droopy original headliner
After throwing 3 cans of R-134A into it the A/C works great, and thanks to my parts guy Carlos I was able to replace the blower control module and keep the motor from running all the time. I replaced the coolant temp sensor as there was an issue restarting when warm. Only other item on the list to replace is the water pump as it’s leaking slightly.
I am “The friendly stranger in the black sedan”
Much more of a pain to fix was the radio – it didn’t decode FM stereo (but would decode C-QUAM AM stereo), and two of the four speakers were dead. The rear speakers are relatively easy to replace as they are 6×9 units in the trunk, however the small 4 inch front speakers require gently removing the dash pad and working up against the windshield to replace. That new for 1990 tuner module tucked in the dash requires small hands, lots of dexterity, and patience disassembling the lower dash to remove the module and access the wiring harness.
Looking at the 1990 brochure, you can clearly see where Cadillac planned to move the antenna from the front fender to the rear where there would be ample room for the module. But they kept it as is, and just jammed it in the dash. It was easier to run the amp bypass cable in my 1994 Fleetwood Brougham than lying on my back trying to get to the tuner module in the Brougham. Worth it however, as I now have RDS, HD Radio, Bluetooth, and can charge my phone. Car trips are much better when I can blast the tunes distortion free.
Gold Key Delivery card
And car trip I did! After getting the tires, A/C, and radio sorted I headed for Boston Massachusetts on a work trip. The car did fantastic, averaging 22 MPG across the trip there and back. Not the easiest car to navigate around the city, but it was better than whatever economy rental I would have been stuck with due to company policy. With the heavy duty suspension included with the trailer towing package, the car actually handles nice and has much less wallow in the turns. It’s no canyon carver, but on the Interstate it cruises effortlessly. Miles fly by as the Cadillac wreath & crest lead the way in comfort, as long as the tank is full.
Replacement “Gold Keys”, and a spare set with the Cadillac crest
After work one day, I got to show the car off to Anthony & “Papa Bear” Paul Gozzo of Specialty Motor Cars in Pellham New Hampshire. If there is a guru of these cars, it is Anthony. His shop is like heaven for those of us who love full size domestic luxury cars – and I always love seeing what he is working on and what the new inventory is. Plus he and his dad are just great people, and I am thankful to have become friends with him over the years. Even got to take him for a ride, which was different for Anthony as he’s usually the one behind the wheel.
Anthony, “Papa Bear” and me at Specialty Motor Cars in NH
Before leaving Boston, I stopped by the Hebert Candy mansion for an All GM car show. Didn’t plan on winning any prizes, but I wanted to see the historic mansion and see what New England classic car shows were like. I had a blast, especially since the weather held out and Anthony came with his 1990 Brougham d’Elegance. Also had to get some candy for my wife, who couldn’t get time off work to make the trip with me. Always helps to come home with chocolate!
1990 vs 1974
As Casey Casem used to say “and now, on with the countdown.” 1991 brought more standard features to the Brougham with rear sail panel reading lamps, passenger seat power recliner and six-way power seat adjuster, central door unlocking. automatic door lock system, and leather-trimmed steering wheel on the base model. New standard features included electronic variable orifice steering system in which steering effort was reduced during low-speed driving and increased during high-speed maneuvers to improve stability, and a new ride package. This package consisted of deflected disc shock absorbers, new body mounts and high-rate front and rear springs.
Euro-cladding for a then ‘modern’ look
Finally after five years, the 307 Olds V8 was retired in favor of the L03 TBI 305 small block Chevy V8 as the standard powerplant. Torque was the same at 255 lbs/ft, but horsepower was up 30 to 170 and throttle response was improved. Cadillac finally relented and made the 5.7 a $250 standalone option, still included with the trailer towing package. Roller valve lifters and exhaust manifolds contoured for minimal flow resistance increased horsepower to 185 and torque to 300 lbs/ft. Standard axle ratio was now 3.08:1, helping with off the line acceleration.
Outside, the Brougham received clearcoat paint as standard, with two new colors added for 12 total: Victorian Red and Dark Antelope, the latter being a one year only color. Eleven vinyl top color choices were available. Production total was down again to 27,231.
“All The Comforts of Brougham” proclaimed the Cadillac brochure for our swan song year of 1992. The Brougham sedan retained its distinction as America’s longest production vehicle but was not subject to “gas guzzler” taxes in 1992. Exterior color choices were down to 10, with a new more durable base coat/clear coat paint process. A 3.73:1 axle ratio and heavy-duty rear drums with the trailer towing package bumped up the weight limit to 7,000 pounds. Strangely enough, the brochure calls for premium unleaded fuel to be used, while the owner’s manual states 87 octane is recommended. The 1990 & 1991 brochure doesn’t mention it, so I am sure someone just copied and pasted from the deVille/Fleetwood section and called it a day. Once again, production slipped to a low of 13,761 cars. Cadillac would finally do something about this for ’93 with the completely new RWD Fleetwood/Fleetwood Brougham body and interior, but that design isn’t considered as timeless and by 1996 the Arlington plant switched to producing trucks instead of cars.
90 vs 92 Brougham
This excerpt from the Dec 1990 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine shows just how slow sales had become for the Brougham:
Of course, sometimes classics aren’t recognized as such until years later – “Don’t Worry Baby” by The Beach Boys was a B-side when released and only made it to #24 on the Billboard Hot 100, but regularly makes lists of “greatest songs in history” and remains of the more played Beach Boys songs. Looking at values for these cars over the last few years, you can see the transformation from just another old car to something of a collectable for low mileage mint condition examples as Millennials like myself have come of age to collect and afford 80’s & 90’s cars of our youth.
Pap, Me, and Dad’s 1990 Brougham limo
For me, these cars are a family affair. My first car was a 1984 Sedan deVille, but with Dad having the limo business I grew up crawling all over them as he had a black 87 Brougham and a white 90 in the fleet. It is crazy to me that I’ve been driving some form of the C/D body for 20 years, but there is a sentimentality to them that has me coming back over and over again.
Dad behind the wheel of his 87 Brougham limo “Igor”
If it seems like I am a bit hard on GM, it’s because I look at the constant care and feeding the FWD Cadillacs got and ponder “what if” – what if Smith/Stempel didn’t hate RWD car platforms? Would they have stuffed a version of the TPI 5.0 under the hood, spruced up the interior, and added features like ABS, premium audio systems, and keyless entry that other GM luxury vehicles had, let alone competition like the Town Car? They didn’t of course, but it might have given the car a fighting chance instead of just relying on a certain demographic to buy repeatedly until assuming room temperature.
When you need the world to know how big your motor is…
But there is no denying these cars have presence, especially in darker colors – my wife and I went out to dinner the other night at a restaurant that valet parks with the triple black 90, and the valet was kvelling over it like it was a Benz or BMW. The owner of the restaurant even asked about it, and as usual guessed the age to be older than it actually is. Something the car and I have in common, much to my wife’s amusement.
Whatever deficiencies the car has fade away as soon as I slide behind the wheel, crank the AC, and set sail in the SS Brougham. People stare as we drive by because of just how out of place it looks on the modern road, and you do truly feel special working the overboosted steering and thin wheel looking out over the mile long hood. Truly for me, the only way to travel is Cadillac style…
Only way for Otis to travel as well
My coworker at Wisconsin Coach Lines bus company won one of these in a McDonald’s restaurant contest! He couldn’t have been happier! I can still see it now parked near the bus garage in Kenosha! He was so proud of that car!
Interesting read, though too big for Europe I can see the appeal of this type of car in the US and would probably do the same and use it as much as possible.
It still functions as a comfortable mode of transport and I bet it works out cheaper to purchase, run and maintain than something much more modern that suffers from depreciation. Up in the year second hand cars in the US do seem a bit expensive to me, do cars depreciate faster in Europe?
I have a 1960 Rover P4 with overdrive that I imagine gives me the same sort of feeling that you have driving your Cadillac, out of step with today but who cares when it glides down the road.
Sixth photo:
Were there enough underhood cross braces in this thing?
Ha! Didn’t notice that.
Absolutely beautiful car. I’ve always admired these and I’m glad they kept making them as long as they did.
I used to hang out in my city’s main library, reading the old car magazine stacks when I was a kid. The cut and paste job in the Broughams manual likely reflects old Cadillac philosophy. One article I read from the early mid 60’s said one of Cadillac’s goals was to make all the car, along with it’s accessory controls, so simple and intuitive, that a customer would never need to consult a manual. Busy executives have no time for such mundane tasks. Nor a hired driver should ever require any special training, unlike Rolls Royce or Benz 600.
Where a Cadillac badge won’t get you an airbag. I couldn’t accept a car with door mounted seatbelts – the motorized ones were bad enough.
Great write up! While I may have scoffed at these cars back in their day, I absolutely cannot deny the attraction I have for them now. Your love of them and attention to your own shines through in your writing.
I love the line about “coming back year after year like Bob Hope for NBC specials.” Perfect.
Pelham, NH is virtually up the road from me. I should stop by and see what the Gozzos have on the lot.
Excellent write-up and glad you’re happy with the car – you should be!
I recall maybe in 1996, a friend of my mom’s stopped by in a big, beautiful 1990-92 Brougham. She took an interest in my dad’s 1991 Seville and maybe jokingly but offered to trade. I don’t think my dad is an opportunist at all but I recall him saying to me privately that her car was worth a lot more and smiling. Of course, no trade took place.
One of my greatest regrets is letting my 89 Brougham deElegance go. IMO, it was truly a Standard of the WORLD. Classic formal styling with plush velvet interior. Especially loved the front fender mounted light indicators. I don’t believe any other car featured them. The shift of the FLEETWOOD name to FWD downsized models was a slap in the face for long time Cadillac buyers. My subsequent 93 Brougham was a disappointment. So many issues. CD player stopped working, overall quality of materials was bad ( back of bonded leather drivers seat peeled), worst of all was premature rust though of rear wheel openings. IMO this was the beginning of Cadillacs long slide into mediocrity. Then I switched to Lincoln Town Cars and have been driving those ever since. Now, unfortunately, the luxury market is composed of SUVS, crossovers and melted jelly beans masquerading as Luxury vehicles. My 2007 Town Car Signature Limited is the last gasp of traditional American Luxury sedans. I will not let this one get away! BTW, my first Cadillac Crush was the 58 Sixty Special. OTT excessive chromed luxury! .
It seems like a much higher percentage of these survived compared to the high-selling ’77-79 models. The significantly better mpg was probably a factor.
Just last night, in a completely different context, I was thinking about how much the world has changed since I got married in the late eighties. And I don’t really feel old. Apartheid, the Berlin Wall, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia were still around then. I guess I’ll add big RWD GM cars to the list. Not my thing to own, but I’m glad some people are still caring for them. Unlike that geopolitics, definitely something to preserve.
Had a 1991 Brougham D Elagance as my only car from 2009 to 2011. Loved riding around in “Cadillac style” as the cheesy ad jingle proclaimed lol.
Mine was black sapphire metallic, silver cladding, navy roof, navy leather. That was a really pretty color, dark navy metallic, kinda flip flopped to black depending on the lighting. Those tufted D’elegance seats were divine and you didnt slide all over the place like in some old cars with bench seats.
Had the 350 TBI/trailer tow package. Kind of a dumb decision to lock you into the HD tow/suspension package if you wanted the bigger engine. It didnt ride like a Cadillac, might have been due to the previous owner putting too stiff shocks on it, just might have been the nature of the beast. Did handle great for this type of car though, I could hustle it way faster than my 1995 Fleetwood.
Had that car for 3 years and put 30,000 trouble free miles on it. Only things I had to do were brakes, blow out a clogged heater core, and the headliner. Always joked that it was a Chevy truck wearing a tuxedo from a mechanical perspective. Easy to service, cheap to fix when it did break, suprisingly good on gas(18 in town, 24-25 on many road trips doing 75) Really miss that car but doing a needed cosmetic restoration wasnt in the cards at the time. It still looked good but paint was starting to show its age and it was rusting under the top.
I lived with an 89 as my DD for four years in the mid 00s. I still have mixed feelings about them. The cars absolutely looked like a Cadillac should. But. Why in creation would GM NOT replace that horrid dash design over its 16 year lifespan? I remember noticing how so many Cadillac crests were slathered all over the interior.
I may have missed your mention of it, but the 1990 model had the ride height raised, and I never thought the car looked quite right after 1989. But I will say that your triple black version is as pretty as I have seen in a long time.
I don’t mean to be such a downer, but my contact with Cadillacs 25 – 30 years older than these forever jaded me on the company’s 1980s efforts.
You’re not wrong – Cadillac really took their market for granted and learned the wrong lessons chasing volume in the early 70’s. Even my 84 was a bit of a letdown from the look and feel of my pap’s 74 Sedan deVille.
I need to do a little digging to see if all the 90-92 cars have higher ride height, or just the ones with the trailer towing package. The 90 is higher in the rear, but our 1992 with the standard suspension looks/feels the same as our 88 was.
It’s unfortunate that GM and Cadillac were just phoning in occasional updates on what should have been treated as one of Cadillac’s core models (as evidenced by strong sales of Lincoln Town Cars during this car’s run). Instead, we got a proper Cadillac engine (the 425/368) replaced by the underpowered and unreliable HT4100, and later whatever old Olds or Chevy V8s they had extra capacity to build. Styling updates were seemingly random, like re-using old grilles, and increasingly heavy-handed like all the cladding and opera windows on early-90s editions. And technical updates like airbags or EFI either took too long to arrive or didn’t arrive at all. So much about these cars seemed to scream “we don’t really care”. That they continued to sell, albeit in shrinking numbers, was testament to the basic goodness of the 1977 C body design. Still, I find earlier 1977-81 models more satisfying than later models due to the big-block engine and simpler styling and trim.
You’re so right about the classic-ness of “Don’t Worry, Baby”; the Beach Boys had an insane number of great songs that were relegated to the B sides of 45rpm singles. A partial list: “409”, “Shut Down”, “Little Deuce Coupe”, “In My Room”, “She Knows Me Too Well”, “The Warmth of the Sun”, “Please Let Me Wonder”, “Kiss Me, Baby”, “Let Him Run Wild”, “Girl Don’t Tell Me”, and “You’re So Good to Me”. What in the Lord’s name (literally) was “God Only Knows” doing on the B side of a single?
I’m not a Cadillac man – I suppose growing up with a Mercedes in the household (even if just an old 300D) and nothing but missteps in that timeframe from GM/Cadillac meant it was a make I completely ignored. But it’s remarkable that in some ways, the last of the big, rear-drive Caddis have aged better than their front-drive successors. Of course, the disaster that was Northstar means that these cars tended to easily outlast their successors.
I’ve got to touch on the powerplants. I didn’t realize these used an Olds engine (!) instead of a belly-button 350, or that GM still sold a carbureted car in 1990, and it was a Cadillac (!!). At least with Lincoln, carburetors disappeared by the mid-80s. I’ve always thought it was a lazy choice for Lincoln to only offer the 5.0 – and a low-power version – in the Town Car instead of just dropping the 351 from the F-series in, at least as an option. But I can’t blame Lincoln for thinking “if a carbureted slug is all Cadillac is offering, we’re winning just by having EFI.” With the big mark-ups and minor differences in production costs, you’d think just making the 350 and 351 the only engine on the Brougham and Town Car (respectively) would be obvious. I guess it speaks to how much of an afterthought the big, rear-drive platforms were in Detroit in the 80s.
Speaking of, I have to say this is a car that shouldn’t have existed in 1990. It was massively outclassed a decade earlier by the likes of the Mercedes W126, and to respond by keeping your closest platform coasting virtually unchanged for a whole decade speaks to the hubris of GM at the time. Well, maybe hubris isn’t all: they may have just thought they’d keep it around as long as sales weren’t in the toilet, and were caught off guard when people kept buying them over the C-body Cadillacs. Those buyers weren’t completely blind though: they flocked to the new-fangled Town Car in the early 90s, which forced Cadillac’s hand and brought the capstone to GM’s Brogham epoch – the mid 90s Fleetwood. I guess they finally succeeded in shunting the blue-hair Cadillac buyer to front-drive, because the Fleetwood only sold 15-16k the last couple years, and rear drive was dead until Cadillac noticed that everybody under 50 was buying BMWs.
Anyway, it’s still a very cool car, and in some ways, people guessing it’s a decade older than it is adds a certain cachet. It’s ironic though: I have a Mercedes 560SEL of the same vintage, and most people guess it’s newer than it is – despite it being in the penultimate year of the platform. I hope my saying “this car shouldn’t have existed in 1990” comes across as criticism of GM, not the car itself. It’s a 1990 that could almost be a 1980, and in some ways shows how Cadillac was losing its way in that I find it more interesting than the FWD Cadillacs that supposedly rendered it obsolete. It is a shame Cadillac didn’t at least spend a little money on things like an exterior refresh and real wood on the dash, but at the end of the day, it’s still a real Cadillac.
“This car should not have been made in 1990” is very valid, and does speak to the dysfunction of GM in the Roger Smith era. These RWD vehicles aged much better than the FWD replacements, both from an aesthetic and reliability point of view. The HT4100/4.5/4.9 powered cars were more reliable than the 82-84 HT4100’s due to improvements, but still not as bulletproof as the 307 Olds or SBC V8. The 1985 C Body cars (Olds 98/Buick Electra/Cadillac Deville) tried to have a big car look, but on a much smaller scale and just ended up looking confused. Not to mention looking too much like each other, something that wouldn’t be corrected until later.
Hubris, cynicism, laziness or a combination of the three based on everything I could read about GM/Cadillac in that era.
They did try and right some of the wrongs with the 1993-1996 RWD Fleetwood (LT1 V8, air bags, traction control, split bench seats), but by then it was too little too late. And still not up to par quality wise to even the Town Car, let alone a Lexus LS400.
They certainly have great presence and a charm of their own, one can understand the attraction. They were unique throwbacks at the time, but have to agree with Jim C, one who grew up in the ’50s and ’60 used to Cadillac at it’s zenith is spoiled forever.
All those under-hood braces to attempt to stiffen the floppy chassis are incredible, what a kluge job. One would think GM wold have had the engineering talent to do it right, and they certainly did, so it must have been the bean-counters at work, the undoing of GM. Pathetic.
The 1980 restyle removed about 120 lbs from the car with the same engine block and overall size. That weight had to some from somewhere.
Well-written article with a comprehensive walk to the final year, made extra special by personal recollections and feelings about the car. Thank you!
Sounds like the brass hated the car but loved the profits, the tooling having long since been amortized. But the car’s very existence in these years pointed to the sub-optimal design of the FWD ‘85s. Maybe a lengthened version of the ’79-85 FWD BoF E-body chassis was the way to go for Cadillac’s mid-80s 4-door. But without a share with B/O, Cadillac didn’t know how to exist, so those brands would have needed to get on board too.
One hardly expects Detroit automakers to cleave closely to dictionary definitions when choosing names for their models—but GM has in this case drifted pretty far afield when selection “brougham” for this series of Cadillacs ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brougham_(car_body)
This is the best looking post 1970 Cadillac save for my favorite the 94-99 DeVille, It’s big and brash but not cartoonish. It’s not trying to be a Mercedes or anything else.
I have always been into cars but only going on these sites did I find out these were made up until 1992. The 85-93 FWD DeVilles were pretty common and promoted, I feel like these became almost invisible.
The subsequent 93-96 was nice but the larger aforementioned DeVille and a changing market made the Fleetwood irrelevant as the 90s went on. Indirectly, the Escalade replaced these in the same factory space and as the big brash vehicle that everyone knows is a Cadillac.
Would love to have a ’92 Brougham, but I just can’t stand the door-mounted seatbelts up front. They ruin the view.