1976 Cadillac Seville
When the sun comes out, so do the Cadillacs. I saw this car on my way home last week, and I couldn’t help but stop to shoot it. This isn’t the most exciting car, but the light was gleaming off the chrome in a way that made me realize that I needed to stop and snap a few shots.
This is a 1976 Cadillac Seville. Likely, this car rolled off the assembly line in Southwest Detroit. This was the first model year for the Seville, a car designed by legendary designer Bill Mitchell that was meant to combat the rise of the European luxury car and soaring fuel prices in the early 1970s.
This was Cadillac’s first small car; though it wasn’t as small as others to come, like the Cimarron in 1982, it was a vastly different car than people were used to seeing from Cadillac, especially Detroiters, who had been assembling the land yachts for decades.
The Seville was a success, but this era is known by many as the downfall of Cadillac. Once an emblem of status, the automobile company had become too typical, and making a smaller car that looked mostly the same as its more extensive offerings didn’t do much to change that.
Still, I think this is a super rad car. This model has seen better days but appears in pretty good condition. As you can see, it’s for sale and listed at $3,500 firm. According to the handwritten sign, it runs and drives but needs work.
If I had more money, I’d love to get a car like this for the summer. I can imagine there isn’t much else like riding around Belle Isle with the windows down in a vintage Detroit-made automobile. Personally, I’d go for a black Cadillac Brougham, but beggars can’t be choosers, right?
