I like to think our brains are wired to enjoy contrasts, especially in pairs. Be it size, age, character or otherwise. You know what I mean; Laurel and Hardy, Harold and Maude, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.
And now, thanks to images by roshake posted on the CC Cohort, we have such an odd pairing. A study of contrasts between two cars that couldn’t be more different; in size, age and character. A 1968 Cadillac DeVille convertible and a 1997 Fiat Cinquecento, found in Budapest. One, a flagship American luxury cruiser, ready to glide on the open highways of the US and do so with presence. The other, a product created by Fiat and built in their Polish factory, and particularly popular in Eastern European nations. A space and cost efficient tiny thing, greatly suited to challenged economies joining the West in the 1990s.
This will reek of American bias, but for today, I’ll get started with the DeVille. After all, it’s clearly the big, stylish fish out of the water in this scenario, since Caddys were not the norm in 1960s Hungary.
As such, this is either a later arrival, or less likely, an embassy/official car from those days. And if you wonder about the latter situation, a recent post covered examples of American cars in the Soviet Union, so yes, a few did ride behind the Iron Curtain back then.
Did I say 1960s Cadillacs have presence? That’s a sculptured and forceful face in this Deville, and it shouts “1960s Cadillac style”. Do notice the tombstone radiator opening, which harks back to earlier Cadillac styling. So, 1960s styling, with homages to tradition.
And do I see a 1960s California license plate beneath the new Hungarian one? The seven figures seem off for that, though.
Well, whenever this DeVille may have arrived in Budapest, we know it did so for one reason: to offer that presence only a 1960s Caddy can provide. Some of GM’s best styling hits came from that decade, and there’s hardly a Cadillac that’s a miss from those days. In the ’68, that’s clean flanks, with enough sculpting to give a sense of motion and drama. All in a sophisticated way.
In all, it’s large, looks imposing, and seems ready to command the roads.
Of course, the “Standard of the world” motto entered some challenging years not long after this ’68 came off the assembly line. And there’s a discussion as to when Cadillac’s powers began their decline (which, one could argue, was somewhere around ’68).
But still, I rode on one of these years ago, in far shoddier condition. Few things feel like a large ’60s open top Cadillac when it’s going down the road, and the experience leaves a lasting impression.
This DeVille’s setting may deserve some attention too. It’s clearly a recently developed area of Budapest, but it’s imbued with the modernist clean styling of postwar industrial thinking. The glassy boxes that became the norm the world over, and originally dreamed by European architects in the early 20th Century.
A school of thought around industrial purity that is now commonplace and familiar to us all. If I didn’t know otherwise, if you told me this structure was in Chicago, Brazil, or even San Salvador, I would have no way of knowing.
Purity of functionality, with a modicum of industrial style. A rational mantra that would be adopted by Fiat and many European makes by the ’60s-’70. This ’91-’98 Cinquecento may not be a prime example of that school, but it’s certainly an heir. Boxy little things, created with rational thinking rather than drama, and meant to serve and improve people’s lives by offering function at an accessible cost.
Conceived in the early ’80s, and in keeping with Fiat’s tradition of offering great interior packaging, the Cinquecento was one in a myriad of such models by the maker in the ’80s-’90s. Over a million of these tiny city cars sold in Europe between ’91 and ’98.
Roshake didn’t shoot many images of the Cinquecento next to the DeVille, but there are a few more of the same car in his feed. In any case, mechanically speaking, I would think most can assume the specs on this one. It’s, after all, another econo box built to the then-standard mold: a FWD compact, with independent suspension back and front, brake discs all around, and a choice of fuel saving engines. In this case, either a 704cc, 899cc, 903cc, or 1108cc, powering a light vehicle of about 1400 to 1600 lbs.
Clearly, the Cinquecento’s driving experience is the opposite of the DeVille’s. Tiny, tossable and responsive, and likely tiring on a highway. Understandably, the pair shows that each was built for very different realities. Realities that couldn’t seem more different at the time of their conception.
However, we know that the rational school of design took over the auto world in the 1980s, and that GM (and Cadillac) styling struggled to fit in within those constraints; used as they were to drama. Then again, overwrought dramatic styling has decorated the industrial styling of the SUVs/CUVs of the 2010s. So, what goes around comes around. Origins and realities may differ, but it’s a smaller world than we like to admit, and what goes around, comes around. Sooner or later.
Related CC reading:
1968 And 1969 Cadillac Coupe De Ville: Were These The Tipping Point For Cadillac Quality And Style?
Curbside Classic: 1968 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham – Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
1968 Cadillac De Ville Convertible – One Memorable Ride In A Clunker Cadillac, Back In The ’90s
As a Baby Boomer, I’d go for the Cinquecento for my first few cars were VW Beetles. A little noisy on the highway, but FUN to drive and assembled in Poland. What more could you ask for?
I’d put the Cinquecento in the trunk of the Caddy in case I need to drive through narrow streets.
I’m a bit confused with all the different cars Fiat has called Cinquecento or 500. Beyond that they were all tiny.
FRANKLY, I wouldn’t give a cinquecento 😉 for that little POS. The CADILLAC looks like it’s ready to eat it up and blow it out the exhaust, as befitting a Standard of the World.
I see a bit of a Tom & Jerry thing going on here. The clever little one will run into its hole while the one in pursuit will bash it’s nose on the wall. I suspect the FIAT has more usable interior space than the Cadillac too, other than the width.
Amazing to consider how far the so called Standard of the World has fallen.
Somewhere on the cohort page is a shot of a Cadillac next to an Austin 7 Ruby, the bigger 7, its absolutely dwarfed by the Caddy, it was seen at a classic car yard in Hastings NZ, I actually stopped to look at the 56 Buick coupe on the other side of the Cadillac, same m,del a mate had decades ago but no not his old one his had done more mileage in the 70s than this one had done yet, Oklahoma plates this one had hardly been driven at all since new.
I had Cinquecento in the late nineties early two thousands, other than a couple of hiccups eighty thousand economical trouble free miles. No trouble keeping up to motorway speeds ( eighty was comfortable, ninety five to a hundread all out). Nimble on small curves roads and great for parking. Women loved the cuteness of it too. One of those cars you look back on fondly.
Not that it matters much, but the Caddy has Finnish registration, not Hungarian.
I can respect that someone with the means may want to drive that Cadillac around Hungary, but gawd, take that awful thing off of the steering wheel!!
In my corner of the world, almost all Cinquecentos have disappeared. I don’t know if that’s something to be sorry about. They were mostly driven by housewives and students. At least it was clean styling.