Cadillac Seville First Generation 1975-1979

The First Generation of Cadillac Seville was produced from 1975 to 1979. The Seville, introduced in 1975, was Cadillac's answer to the rising popularity of luxury imports in the U.S. from Europe, such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Historically, these imported luxury cars had been cheaper, less luxurious and significantly smaller than Cadillacs. Over time they had evolved, becoming quite luxurious and even more expensive than the much larger Cadillacs. As the market share of these imports continued to climb, it became obvious that the traditional American automotive paradigm of "bigger equals better" was no longer in full effect in the marketplace. The Seville became the smallest and most expensive model in the lineup, turning Cadillac's traditional marketing and pricing strategy upside down. Initially based on the rear-wheel drive X-body platform that underpinned the Chevrolet Nova (a unibody with a bolt-on subframe, common to both GM X and F bodies), the Seville's unibody and chassis were extensively re-engineered and upgraded from that humble origin and it was awarded the unique designation "K-body" (rather than "X-special" following the format of the A-special Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Pontiac Grand Prix and B-special Buick Riviera). Cadillac stylists added a crisp, angular body that set the tone for GM styling for the next decade, along with a wide-track stance giving car a substantial, premium appearance. A wide chrome grille flanked by quadruple rectangular headlamps with narrow parking and signal lamps just below filled the header panel, while small wrap-around rectangular tail lamps placed at the outermost corners of the rear gave the appearance of a lower, leaner, and wider car. The wrap-around taillights might have came from a design sketch of a rejected Coupe DeVille concept. Seville engineers chose the X-body platform instead of the German Opel Diplomat in response to GM's budget restrictions—GM executives felt reengineering an Opel would be more costly than the corporate X-car. Another proposal during the development of the Seville was a front-wheel drive layout similar to the Cadillac Eldorado. This proposal also met with budget concerns since the transaxle used for the Eldorado was produced on a limited basis solely for E-body (Eldorado/Toronado) production, alongside the GMC motorhome of the mid-1970s (which has a derivative of the E-platform drivetrain).