The 1975-79 Cadillac Seville was a milestone car for General Motors (GM).
It was the start of GM’s downsizing program that stretched across its entire range of cars.
It was also Cadillac’s first “small” car, if you can call a car on a 114-inch/2900mm wheelbase “small”.
The Seville owes its genesis to the oil supply crisis of the early 1970s and the growing popularity in the USA of smaller luxury cars from Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar.
Back then the European import trio were finding success with those who craved, and aspired to, a discrete and stylish prestige four-door sedan that was solidly built and handled well.
They were at least decade younger than the usual Cadillac buyer and could not see the point of spending their money on a hulking, thirsty Cadillac.
GM’s market research had highlighted this trend, especially with women, who found the Cadillacs too cumbersome for everyday use.
At the same time, major Cadillac dealers were agitating for a smaller car, saying that if it was not delivered, they would have to think about opening BMW or Mercedes franchises in order to remain competitive in that area of the market.
That was something GM wanted to avoid at all costs.
Planning for a “small” Cadillac began in late 1971.
Executives grappled with the very notion of what “small” really meant and what “small” ought to look like.
Smaller cars from all of GM’s divisions were considered, but none were considered appropriate.
Not invented here played a big part.
Cadillac management finally decided that a three-inch/80mm stretch of Chevrolet’s budget-priced Nova sedan would be the best approach.
Meantime, the styling team was developing proposals.
One of the variations had a near vertical rear windscreen.
This design was preferred by consumer focus groups and became the production car.
Cadillac’s adverting agency had the unenviable task of developing a campaign that ensured all the attributes which defined a Cadillac were retained, but in a smaller package.
That is space, luxury, quietness, isolation from the road, effortless ease of operation, power assistance for everything, a big V8 engine and prestige styling.
They succeeded in compressing the message to less than 20 words.
“Seville is a new expression of Cadillac. International in size. Timeless in styling. Cadillac in craftsmanship.”
And, by the way, don’t mention the word “small”.
This word was banned from utterance in every Cadillac dealership.
Was the Seville as success?
Research showed that it never appealed to those who wanted a luxury European sedan.
What it did achieve was to stop traditional Cadillac owners exiting the brand.
Had the Seville not been available, they would have moved to Mercedes/BMW/Jaguar.
The smartly tailored design also gave buyers confidence that small did not equate with less.
Plus, it made significant profits for GM and its dealers.
Seville was Cadillac’s second most expensive model at the time and 216,000 exited dealerships between 1975 and 1979.
Not bad for what was really a Chevrolet economy car underneath all the bling.
David Burrell is the editor of retroautos
CHECKOUT: Pioneer Fairlane led the way
CHECKOUT: Merc 300SL and 190SL: 70 years of style