Let’s face it: GM decided to make a bunch of Seville clones with its 1980 Olds Cutlass and Buick Century sedans, and the LeMans and Malibu joined the fun in ’81 with the same formal C-pillar. While not absolutely identical to the ’75-’79 Cadillac Seville, they were very, very similar, and it was clear the General was copying from its own homework. So why stop there? As the saying goes, if you’re gonna rob, rob a bank, not a grocery store!
As you can see in this photo of the stock versions, the Cutlass’s nose is longer, its rear deck is shorter, and the wheelbase appears to be shorter, though all of the extra length on the Seville appears to be hood. My resulting Seville Supreme Brougham, shown at the top of the page, is even closer to the Caddy. But I forgot the longer hood!
There we are. Nothing like a little more hood and a little extra rear legroom when you’re paying for a Brougham, right? If the gen2 Seville had looked more like this, maybe Cadillac would have gotten more sales. Instead, they abandoned the smaller, Euro-style Seville, instead introducing the bustle-back version, which fell out of the Brougham tree and hit every branch on the way down. Of course, the “what-if” Seville would still have been riddled with the 4.1L V8 after 1981…
The Seville is better-looking than the Gutless because its wheels seem enormous. I don’t think that’s just the effect of those steelies and dirty blackwalls. The top of the rear wheel well looks about a foot closer to the c-pillar on the Cad. Stretched or not, the Olds looks like a front-driver on casters.
Indeed, it does look like it’s front drive. Which is interesting, because it’s rear drive.
Ugh, I hated the A/G body sedans. Ditto on the ’78-’80 coupes. The proportions are all wrong, with hackneyed styling elements from bigger cars. To me, these are worse than the second wave of over-shrunken, FWD GM cars in the mid ’80s. I think I’d rather have one of those stupid Fox-based Granadas.
The reskinned ’81+ coupes are a better effort.
The Seville is sitting on 15″ wheels with probably oversized 235/75/15 tires on it,
The Gutless is sitting on 14″ wheels of a probable 195/75/14 size tire.
I worked at the Olds dealer in 1982-83. We had some as service loaners. As the parts dept runner, I’d use a Cutlass all the time. Great looker, esp in brougham form. I’m a sucker for all that trim, chrome and pillow seats. They even had some great color combinations. The 3.8 V6 was BAD. When you floored the accelerator, it made more noise and was slower than a slow progressive ease in acceleration.
I wonder how many failed or dangerously close calls these cars/engines made when passing. I found it bad on Central Florida’s flat roads.
Well I stepped up to my Cutlass with a 307 V8 from a Celebrity with the Iron Puke, the 307 was a revelation of torque and smoothness. Although both engines ran out of steam around 65 mph the 307 addicted me to those qualities only a V8 has.
I took another crack at distorting the Cutlass into Seville proportions. I think the main difference in the look of the cars wasn’t so much that the “G” hood was longer, but that the axle was placed so much further back (giving it a front drive look as mentioned above).
One more thing to remember about these “little limousines” is that, even though they were a “copy” of the Seville, at least GM waited until the 2nd-gen “bustleback” Seville came out to give the lesser cars the 1st-gen’s “hand-me-down” styling.
I hope that telephone pole doesn’t fall on it.
Oops, I forgot to correct that pole!
No worries!
That looks better.
After working with my friends ’84 Monte Carlo SS, and realizing that front overhang is just goofy on that short 108″ WB. The car is too big for that wheelbase.
It’s 8″ shorter than my ’77 Chevelle, and while my Chevelle is no prize in the styling department, it at least looks a tad more proportioned than these cars did despite the mile long hood.
Now I tried making the wheels larger like the Seville. It’s a little more like it, but still more of a FrankenBrougham!
Proto-DONK!
Pimptastic!
Love it!
Ick, Give me the long front overhang thank you!
that looks good, i’ve never understood why more companies didn’t follow Mercedes’ lead when they lengthened the W126s (IMHO the W126 SEL looks better than in SE length).
I’m going to have to pass on this one. Something about it reminds me of the K-car limos of yore.
200.1 inches on a 108″ wheelbase works just fine for me, thank you very much 🙂