One of Looney Tunes’ most famous cartoons is 1950’s The Rabbit of Seville, a short that pits Bugs Bunny against Elmer Fudd to the tune of Rossini’s opera buffa. Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Cadillac Seville might not be quite as zany, but we’ll still have to decide if its price bugs us.
The 2000 Bentley Arnage T Red Label we looked at yesterday was born during the custody battle between Volkswagen and BMW over Bentley’s ownership. At $29,999, our Arnage proved as appealing as weekends at Dad’s post-divorce apartment, earning a not-so-upper-crust 60 percent No Dice loss.
While old-school British luxury at the cost of a Camry didn’t prove all that popular, let’s see how even older-school American luxury fares at a far lower asking.
When new, today’s 1976 Cadillac Seville was General Motors’ answer to cars like the Jaguar XJ6 and Mercedes S Class. The exterior design even aped the slab sides and upright roof treatment of the contemporary Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.
Cadillac described the Seville as being “internationally-sized,” debuting the Seville as a smaller and less ostentatious companion to the brand’s more traditionally sized and outfitted models. That didn’t stop Caddy from pricing it at the top of its lineup, ensuring buyers knew it was intended to compete with the European rivals.
Our Seville, in Firehorn, over a luridly red leather and vinyl interior, still looks as good today as it did upon its debut in America’s bicentennial year. There’s still enough chrome on the outside and faux wood on the inside to ensure people know this is an American luxury car, but its size and overall look are toned down from other high-end models of the era. One extremely on-point touch is the wheel and tire treatment, consisting of fake wire covers and white sidewall Hankooks.
Under the hood sits a 350 CID (5.7-liter) OHV V8 sourced not from Cadillac but from Oldsmobile. Caddy did add Bosh fuel injection to the engine, giving it improved driveability over the carburetor-equipped edition and the opportunity to add “Fuel Injection” badges on the flanks. Power from the Olds mill is a respectable 180 horsepower and 275 lb-ft of torque.
Managing all that is a three-speed TurboHydramatic 400 transmission with column shift. Front disc and rear drum brakes provide stopping power, and the car rides on coil springs all around.
According to the ad, everything on this Seville works as it should. It comes with just 42,000 original miles and has been garage-kept between its odometer-advancing adventures. The seller describes it as being in “good condition,” but the pictures show a car that appears to be better than that.
There don’t appear to be any issues with either the paint or the vinyl top, and the interior is in even better shape. It even has a set of Cadillac-crested floor mats that look to be in excellent condition. As far as 1970s Cadillacs go, these are about the most interesting, too. A clean title means that adding this classic Caddy to the driveway won’t be too big a hassle. All it will take is $7,500.
Should anyone in the market for some old-school American luxury pay that much for this Seville? If not, why not? And if so, where should they show it off?
You decide!
Baltimore, Maryland, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up on email and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.
