Decade De Ville: Cadillac’s Bestselling ’70s De Villes

 

In the 1970s, the Cadillac De Ville was not merely Cadillac’s cash cow, but a veritable thundering herd of cash buffalo, sold in enormous numbers at high prices. The ’70s De Ville wasn’t always attractive, tasteful, or especially well-made, but it was an overwhelming commercial success, as popular and as profitable as Cadillac has ever been, or may ever be. Let’s take a brief look at the heyday of the De Ville.

 

Cadillac’s use of the “De Ville” name dates back to 1949 and the original Coupe de Ville, one of GM’s first postwar hardtop coupes. A four-door hardtop Sedan de Ville joined the Coupe de Ville for 1956.

 

Until the early ’60s, the De Ville was still notionally part of the Series 62 line. Exactly when it became its own series is debatable — it got its own VIN code for 1959, and was generally described as a separate model in Cadillac’s dealer data books, although some sources insist that it was still technically a Series 62 sub-series until 1962 or even 1965 — but it gradually became a mainstay of the Cadillac line.

 

Total Cadillac sales increased rapidly through the latter half of the 1960s. Until 1964, Cadillac hadn’t had the production capacity to go much beyond 140,000–150,000 cars a year, but mid-decade factory expansion put volume of a quarter-million or more units within reach for the first time. The entry-level Calais didn’t contribute much to that total — the De Ville series was now Cadillac’s bread and butter.

 

For 1970, Cadillac built 238,745 cars, of which 181,719 were De Villes. This was the last year for the De Ville convertible, which accounted for 15,172 units in 1970, and for the pillared Sedan de Ville. Cadillac had introduced the latter for 1965, but it was always far less popular than the hardtop version:

 

Although two-door hardtops were by far the most popular body style of this era, the four-door hardtop Sedan de Ville still outsold the Coupe de Ville for 1970. However, the margin was narrowing: For 1970, the final tally was 83,274 four-door hardtop De Villes (plus 7,230 pillared sedans) versus 76,043 coupes. The popularity of these models was remarkable given that prices of a typically equipped De Ville ran to more than $6,600, about twice the average new car price at the time. The gold 1970 Sedan de Ville pictured above listed for $7,118 FOB Detroit (a relative worth of about $65,000 in 2025 dollars).

 

The Cadillac line was redesigned for 1971. The restyled De Ville was only fractionally larger than in 1970, but it looked even bulkier than it was. The 472 cu. in. (7,734 cc) V-8 remained the sole engine, but its compression ratio was reduced to 8.5 to 1, cutting output from 375 to 345 gross hp (now also quoted as 220 SAE net hp) in exchange for the ability to run on regular gasoline. Because of the lengthy UAW strike in the fall of 1970, 1971 model year production fell to 188,537 units, including 66,081 Coupes de Ville and 69,345 Sedans de Ville.

 

With the strike over, Cadillac production for the 1972 model year set a new record at 267,787 cars. 1972 Coupe de Ville production reached 95,280 units, while the Sedan de Ville totaled 99,531 units.

 

For 1973, Cadillac set another record with model year production of 304,839 cars. The Coupe de Ville outsold the Sedan de Ville for the first time, 112,849 cars to 103,394. 1973 was the last year the Coupe de Ville was a true pillarless hardtop coupe, and the first year for impact-absorbing 5-mph bumpers.

 

Cadillac facelifted its full-size models for 1974, just in time for the OPEC oil embargo. Both De Ville models were now a gargantuan 230.7 inches long on an unchanged 130-inch wheelbase. The facelifted Coupe de Ville lost its hardtop roof in favor of fixed B-pillars with rear “coach windows” and an optional Cabriolet padded vinyl top that covered only the rear portion of the roof. Stricter emissions standards trimmed the output of the 472 to 205 net hp and 365 lb-ft of torque. Despite the oil crisis, Cadillac still sold 242,330 cars for 1974. The 1974 Coupe de Ville accounted for 112,201 units and the Sedan de Ville 60,419.

 

For 1975, De Ville, Calais, and Fleetwood models belatedly adopted the 500 cu. in. (8,194 cc) engine that had previously been exclusive to the Eldorado. It now had a catalytic converter, requiring unleaded fuel, and was down to 190 net hp with the standard four-barrel carburetor or 215 hp with the new Bendix electronic fuel injection system (which was developed for the Seville, but became optional for all Cadillac models in spring 1975). Automatic climate control, which nearly all Cadillac buyers had ordered for years, was finally standard, as was an AM/FM radio.

 

The OPEC embargo (which ended in early 1974) really didn’t do much to dampen the enthusiasm of Cadillac buyers. Total sales for the 1975 model year were up to 264,731 cars. Sedan de Ville sales remained depressed, at 63,352 cars, but the 1975 Coupe de Ville was again a robust seller, at 110,218 cars.

 

Cadillac sales set a new record of 309,139 cars for the 1976 model year. The 1976 Coupe de Ville remained the bestselling Cadillac model, at 114,482 cars. 1976 was the last year for the true four-door hardtop Sedan de Ville, which sold 67,677 units in its final season.

 

The De Ville, like all GM C-body cars, was downsized for 1977, reducing its exterior dimensions from “gargantuan” to merely “very large”: 221.2 inches on a 121.5-inch wheelbase, with an overall width of 76.4 inches, meaning the De Ville was now a bit smaller than the Eldorado, although trunk space and rear seat room were better than before. Engine displacement was reduced to 425 cu. in. (6,970 cc), giving 180 hp in carbureted form or 195 hp with fuel injection, while curb weight fell by more than 800 lb. Coupe de Ville sales swelled to an all-time record of 138,750 cars, while the Sedan de Ville recovered to 95,421 units. Cadillac production for the model year reached 358,488 cars.

 

Cadillac built another 349,684 cars for 1978, with the 1978 Coupe de Ville accounting for 117,750 units and the 1978 Sedan de Ville a further 88,951 cars.

 

Although the De Ville was overshadowed for 1979 by the arrival of the newly downsized Eldorado, it remained the backbone of Cadillac sales. The 1979 Coupe de Ville sold 121,890 cars, the Sedan de Ville 93,211, about 56 percent of model year production that totaled a whopping 381,113 units (including commercial chassis) — the highest sales and biggest domestic market share (about 4.2 percent) that Cadillac would ever have.

 

By the 1980 model year, the party was abruptly over. The shock of a second oil crisis, sharply rising interest rates on new car loans, and a weak economy characterized by worsening “stagflation” (stagnating wages and high inflation) saw Cadillac production slump to 231,026 units, essentially erasing all of the gains of the previous decade. De Ville tumbled to 55,490 for the 1980 Coupe de Ville and 49,188 for the 1980 Sedan de Ville.

 

Sales perked up a bit in the mid ’80s, but not to anything like their ’70s height — by the mid-’80s, cars like the De Ville were no longer in fashion. The De Ville sedan lingered through 2005, but the Coupe de Ville faded into irrelevance and was dropped in 1993. While it lasted, though, the De Ville had a spectacular run. Here are the production totals for the 1970s:

1970–1979 Cadillac De Ville Production

• Coupe de Ville: 1,065,544
• Sedan de Ville: 831,805
• De Ville Convertible: 15,172
• Total De Ville: 1,912,521

By almost any standard, 1.9 million cars was an impressive tally, and it was astounding for a big, expensive luxury car. One could of course argue that Cadillac had sacrificed far too much of its former luster to achieve such volume, but even if De Ville was in debasement when it came to quality or taste — exclusivity having long since left the building — it was making money by the cartload.

 

Obviously, making scads of money didn’t put the De Ville above criticism, but Cadillac’s spectacular if ephemeral profitability in this period makes it easier to understand the division’s choices, and why they were so slow to respond even after it became clear that the old golden goose had well and truly flatlined.

Related Reading

Automotive History: 1949 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe de Ville – From Image Leader To Standard-Bearer For The U.S. Industry (by me)
The Inflation Adjusted Prices Of New Cadillac Coupe DeVilles (1949-1993) And In Price Per Pound – The True Cost Of A Cadillac Over The Decades (by Paul N)
1968 And 1969 Cadillac Coupe De Ville: Were These The Tipping Point For Cadillac Quality And Style? (by me)
Vintage Comparison Test: 1971 Cadillac DeVille versus 1971 Chevy Caprice – Rise of the Chevrollac (by GN)
1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham D’Elegance And Talisman – Go Brougham Or Go Home (by me)
Vintage Review: Car and Driver Tests The Downsized 1978 Cadillac Coupe De Ville (by Paul N)