In my opinion, when GM sped up the Cadillac assembly lines in the early 1970s, it really let both interior and exterior quality go downhill. Cadillac was done with being the "standard of the world". Ever since then, they've just been expensive cheaply made cars. Outside of the Escalade, Cadillac currently offers nothing for me of interest. Yes, even the Blackwings. They are excellent performance cars, but they're not Cadillacs. The 1996 Fleetwood Brougham was, in my opinion, the last TRUE Cadillac. Big, full framed, simple, quiet, and with enough goodies to keep me interested in going on a long road trip in comfort, with little worry. Yeah, the Optispark is a mild concern, but with proper maintenance, no biggie at all.
@@tn18977 As did the Eldorado's main competitor, the Lincoln Mark VII. It blew the Eldorado's doors off (not withstanding a very poor running '88 Motorweek tested), and was just a better overall car period (and I'm not hating on these, even though I'm a Lincoln person). But that power was not overly common in cars like that in 1988...a Town Car had 150hp (with a bit more in dual exhaust cars). Mototweek recently put up a vintage review of an '87 BMW L7, and this Eldorado was faster. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by such a good 0-60 on this car, and great brakes.
Crazy thing about GM in those days... my parents had an 88 Buick LeSabre with the 3800 3.8L V6, and it made 165 hp. But I remember my grandparent's generation were turned off by GM going to V6s in "high end" cars. Leaving them with few options.
Both Seville and Eldorado resembled the Cutlass Calais, which is why sales plummeted for 1986 and 1987. Only when Seville/Eldorado got the rushed face-lift for 1988 did sales start improving for this generation.
@@BrianHornak supposedly they actually were quite similar but Cadillac made the car a few inches wider and longer but they basically developed the K chassis and the N chassis simultaneously
I think the E/K-cars (Toronado, Riviera, Eldorado/Seville) were supposed to debut first, earlier in the '80s, to be followed by the N-cars. But GM's 1984 reorganization created a lot of chaos and they got delayed. So the mini-me, aspirational clone N-cars (Grand Am, Calais, Somerset Regal) actually beat them to market. Since GM pretty much invented the concept of having styling cues "trickle down" the lineup they should have known doing it backwards would make the E/K-cars dead on arrival.
And to think; all Cadillacs today focus on beating BMW and Audi and Mercedes so its Recaro seats, analog gauges, side bolsters, firm handling, and 660hp monster v8 engines in the V-series Blackwing. All the things John Davis, and other reviewers complained about 30 years ago which forces Cadillacs hand, and Cadillac is no better off really. Luxury has long been gone since the demise of the dts and xts. Sure, they get respect in the horsepower community but we wish for a soft riding Eldorado or Fleetwood Brougham with cushy seats that can take the pressure off aging spines and backs.
Even as a sports car guy, if I can't have that, I want something with a seat that's actually comfortable to sit in for hours on end, a suspension that floats effortlessly along even if it means it can't put in a good Nurburgring time, and an open feeling inside. The SUVs that effectively replaced these kinds of cars don't ride terribly well (there are probably some that do, but all the ones I've been in from different manufacturers have been disappointing and it makes sense as they need to be stiffer to counter the high center of gravity in turns, plus they put elastic band tires on everything no matter how inappropriate) and often have overly hard seats (I rarely have a complaint about the seat backs, but the bottoms are mostly mediocre or terrible in modern cars, either unnecessarily constricting bolsters-and I'm not a wide guy-as if everyone is pulling turns at over a g in every corner or they turn to stone after a couple hours or both) with interiors that feel cramped thanks to enormous center consoles and bank-vault-thick doors (which, OK, the latter is for safety, but it doesn't help the situation with the giant console).
@@mitchkelleher7972agree. I hate how uncomfortable modern cars are. When I was in my teens and early 20s, I allowed myself to be convinced I wanted something sporty. I’m guilty of bashing on comfy cars. Didn’t take long for comfort to go to the top of my priority list though.
It's pretty crazy to me that the Quad 4 was putting down more horsepower than a v8 caddy at the time. No wonder so many people opted for that option. Even the 3800 v6 in the toronado was putting down better numbers with less cylinders. For shame.
Had a 90 Eldo in that champagne color with a brown cloth carriage top. My aunt ordered it that way. I drove it from 25k miles when I got the car from her and ran it to almost 190k miles and sold it. Wasn’t a bad car except I was never the biggest fan of the smaller Eldo. Ran great and everything worked well. That review was a throwback for me.
What a rich did, being given a Cadillac. I had to buy the two Caddy's I've owned - and I certainly wouldn't ever give anything to my nephew, will just make him lazy.
@@GS-zc4sk northstar was a 4-cam 4.6L that came on larger El Dorado around 92-93 , 4.9 was the standard engine in 1990 for all modeles except the large full size Cadillac,,those had the vortec 5.7L
I always like this model Eldorados, especially in a custom build rare convertible ones. We as H-town houstonians in S.L.A.B culture. We take this 1988 Eldorado, put a burgandy candy paint, wired 30 spokes wheels with vouge tires, leather peanut butter interior with a custom sound system and a screen two din radio setup, a prominent grille with a lady ornament on top, and a fifth wheel continental kit on the back with chrome belt buckles on the trunk.
Thank you so much for this GM review. GM was going through some lean times back then. They upgraded this generation to add a little length to make it appear longer. The 1992 upsized Eldorado was in the works at that time. The 4.5 liter V8 was a vast improvement over what came before. The 4.5 went to 4.9 liters and gained more power. Sadly, the Northstar V8 was a let down. All the E Body cars were redesigned by 1992. Eldorado got the slight upsizing in 1988, the Buick Riviera grew 12 inches loner in 1989, Oldsmobile Toronado was redesigned and made much longer for 1990. I own a 1992 and it is longer and wider. The Eldorado got the Touring Coupe with the seats John mentioned. Eldorado was redesigned for the 1992 model years where it was longer and wider. It actually stopped Cadillac from producing Coupe DeVille because they were too similiar in size. The 1992 redesin does not use the Northstar V8. Some of the 1993's do not either. You can find a 1992 or 1993 without a Northstar V8.
I fell in love with that version Eldorado 1989 was even better, I dreamed of having a bright red and white Biarritz coupe, but my father wasn't going to spend thirty-two grand which was what it was going for at the time.
5:13 the odometer mileage is 666. Lmao The seats lacking side bolsters is weird imo. The soft padding (which makes it comfy) is nice however. You can have seats that are comfy and hold you in place in corners. It already rides like a cloud over crappy surfaced roads which is the best thing yet.
Ahh yes, the Roger & Me era of GM. They allowed Cadillac to just phone it in. The Brougham kept the traditionalists coming in, but the cars overall were just so underbaked and not deserving of the Cadillac nameplate, especially if you grew up like me and your old man had a REAL Caddy. Funny, the brand certainly struck gold with the Escalade and their V-Series performance sedans, but they never seemed to recapture their top-dog status in the flagship sedan or coupe market.
Cadillac has been chasing BMW since the early 2000s. They lost their opulence and distinctive traditional American luxury flavor in favor of chasing after younger buyers.
Look at 7:01, big, generously sized side window, but there was no money left for the rear window, so sadly, due to cutbacks, the company had to cheap out and put a slit of a window in the back. Hopefully no one will notice.
I was in high school when this generation of the Eldorado hit the streets. One day at lunch some of my gearhead friends and myself were talking about the new cars and one of us said the new Eldorado was basically a Pontiac Grand Am with leather seats and a Cadillac badge. Traditional Cadillac customers really seemed to hate this generation. But, I will say that this tiny Cadillac was and is much better made than anything with a the Cadillac crest on it right now.
As a kid in my late teens when this car came out, I wasn't the typical Cadillac buyer but I did love the way that generation of Eldorado looked. To me, it's the best looking Cadillac ever and I would buy one today if I could find it in a good shape, which is next to impossible where I live (Toronto).
I briefly owned a 1990 Seville STS. I gotta say the mechanical bits of that car were pretty good, it was quiet, smooth, steering was tight, rode great(no float), power was decent, handling was decent. It was also really well built, beautiful pearl white paint, leather smelled great, everything worked even after 12 years, it didn't rattle/sqeak and was tomb silent. GM just totally missed the boat on styling and size of the car, it was UGLY, back seat was cramped. Dash was also ugly with those stupid green digital gauges that showed zero info.
back in the 90's when I was in high school one of my friends had a 87 Coupe Deville and it was a totally different driving experience than what i was use to. really smooth and plush. although it's a different car I'm sure they are pretty similar in the way they ride and comfort..
Nary a word about how it was just slightly larger than a Pinto. GM's 1986 downsizing was a total disaster. This update gave it far better styling but it was still very cramped inside.
My dad bought a used 88 sedan deville 4.5 with 20 k on it and in about 6 months the freeze plugs started leaking the tech said it rusted out and they all do it..really from such a nice car
I bought an '88 SDV, with the 4.5. Used, with 59k. Except for the starter, it was anvil reliable. It helped to have a dealer tech in my circle do all my maintenance. Sadly, at 161k, it was stolen, and that was that.
Sales disaster that really hurt the brand. They thought they could downsize the Eldorado again and thought gas prices would be higher also.... Bad decision GM. 1985 sold 77k units and was killing the Lincoln mark series, 88 was the best year and sold only 33k units and Lincoln mark series which hadn't changed since 84 outsold it, by 1991 it was down to 16k units...
The downsized era at GM 1985-1990 was indeed a rough and lean time. All GM brands suffered because of it( Chevrolet Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac). They spent the late 1980's upsizing cars and fighting to get market share back.
@@OLDS98 yea, the first downsize effort from the late 70s by GM, (Seville, 79-85 Eldoardo) were very successful for GM and a dismal failure for Lincoln (Mark VI, Versallies). Go figure. It's amazing that with the GM failures that they remained in business.
The gaps on that hood though 🤦 they didn't even bother to adjust the little rubber bumpers before they sent the car out to the press wtf gm. That said these cars did last a while if you serviced them at the dealer or at least to a shop that had access to the hundreds of TSBs that piled up over the years
@@rodmunch69 I owned a Seville around this time and never had a major issue with it either, bought it two years old and kept it another 3 years, traded it in with around 85-ish thousand miles for an Audi 100 in 1992 - Some of the interior materials in the Caddy didn't hold up particularly well and the power trunk pull down and power antenna both quit one after the other towards the end, no mechanical break downs though.
Ford loved GM during these years because Cadillac, Buick and Oldsmobile were all producing Cookie Cutter, Dog Ugly vehicles! This car is less exciting than a piece of Burnt Toast!
0:31........................WHY can't we have that Cadillac back, GM?!!!!! WHY?!!!!!I must go on record & confess that this was always my least favorite body style of the Eldorado. I understand that the name of the game in the 1980's was efficiency, & this car DID have a gorgeous interior, but you could literally park it next to a Buick Skylark/Somerset, Oldsmobile Calais, or Pontiac Grand Am of the same year & people would be very hard-pressed to tell the difference.
this is what happens when the gov't tells you how to build a car...anemic V8s...and now we have nothing but gross nasty, front drive suv boxes, and too big pickup trucks that cost what a house did then..
starting in 1979, the eldorado, riviera, and toronado were essentially identical triplets...i'd like to be surprised that it took gm management 9 model years to realize that was damaging caddy's prestige, but i'm not...the 1992 eldorado couldn't arrive soon enough
um go back in time to 1984, and 1985, that was the beginning of the end of the full-sized rear wheel and front wheel drive caddy's, by 1990, the only big rear wheel drive Caddy that was left was the Brougham
um go back in time to 1984, and 1985, that was the beginning of the end of the full-sized rear wheel and front wheel drive caddy's, by 1990, the only big rear wheel drive Caddy that was left was the Brougham
The buying public thought so too. The downsized era at GM 1985-1990 was a lean and diffcult era. The issues was not only the styling of the cars from GM at the time, but the downsizing of the cars that impacted all its brands. The 1990's upsizing could not come fast enough. This car in the video was redesigned and upsized for 1992.
On one hand, GM must be given credit for trying to reaffirm an industry styling lead; they calculated the public was finally ready for "downsized vehicles" across the board, on all fronts. On the other hand, just how did they manage, with all their "professional prowess," to miscalculate so badly?
Cadillac Style! Amazing, 4.5L V8 engine producing only 145HP! A cheap Nissan or Hyundai is faster of course and 2X the gas mileage! Vehicles have improved!
Chrysler had a 175hp t4 available that same year (Turbo II) also GM had an same hp n/a 4 (Quad 4). GM released a 280 hp v6 that was toned down to 210 in '91..
@@user-sk1eh3pg6j Though only 200lb-ft. The Taurus SHO was still faster of course. Later improvements to the HT4500 were able to get it up to 200hp and 270lb-ft, in the Allante for the 89 model year.
These mini El Dorados were overpriced GM junk compared to the previous generation. Numbers don't lie. Sales tanked between the '85 and 86-89 model years.
Huge miscalculation. Maybe if this was 1/4 a size larger, maybe. Or better yet, this should have been a Cimarron type product and the Eldo should have moved slightly upmarket, skip the Allante
GM has been “reorganizing” for the past 50 years😂
😂 Underrated comment
@@timswanson2431 I don’t know how many MW videos over the past 40 years that mentioned they were reorganizing lol
@@austinfrazier7325 not to mention all the other automotive news sources that mentioned it.
In my opinion, when GM sped up the Cadillac assembly lines in the early 1970s, it really let both interior and exterior quality go downhill. Cadillac was done with being the "standard of the world". Ever since then, they've just been expensive cheaply made cars. Outside of the Escalade, Cadillac currently offers nothing for me of interest. Yes, even the Blackwings. They are excellent performance cars, but they're not Cadillacs.
The 1996 Fleetwood Brougham was, in my opinion, the last TRUE Cadillac. Big, full framed, simple, quiet, and with enough goodies to keep me interested in going on a long road trip in comfort, with little worry. Yeah, the Optispark is a mild concern, but with proper maintenance, no biggie at all.
Right.
Remember when 155hp out of a V8 was “healthy”? How times have changed.
It was weak in 1988, the Mustang had 225 hp that year.
@@tn18977 As did the Eldorado's main competitor, the Lincoln Mark VII. It blew the Eldorado's doors off (not withstanding a very poor running '88 Motorweek tested), and was just a better overall car period (and I'm not hating on these, even though I'm a Lincoln person). But that power was not overly common in cars like that in 1988...a Town Car had 150hp (with a bit more in dual exhaust cars). Mototweek recently put up a vintage review of an '87 BMW L7, and this Eldorado was faster. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by such a good 0-60 on this car, and great brakes.
Imagine them driving the 840hp AMG GT 63s e hybrid sedan? Or the 1234hp Lucid Sapphire sedan? They'd shit themselves lol...
Crazy thing about GM in those days... my parents had an 88 Buick LeSabre with the 3800 3.8L V6, and it made 165 hp. But I remember my grandparent's generation were turned off by GM going to V6s in "high end" cars. Leaving them with few options.
They could have had all the V8's pushing 250hp back then. They didn't to give it more mpg and it was cheaper to build them that way.
Ah, the fringe on that jacket. I remember those days
That generation Eldorado looked like a dressed up Cutlass Calais
Both Seville and Eldorado resembled the Cutlass Calais, which is why sales plummeted for 1986 and 1987. Only when Seville/Eldorado got the rushed face-lift for 1988 did sales start improving for this generation.
I agree reminds me alot of the calais
@@BrianHornak supposedly they actually were quite similar but Cadillac made the car a few inches wider and longer but they basically developed the K chassis and the N chassis simultaneously
I think the E/K-cars (Toronado, Riviera, Eldorado/Seville) were supposed to debut first, earlier in the '80s, to be followed by the N-cars. But GM's 1984 reorganization created a lot of chaos and they got delayed. So the mini-me, aspirational clone N-cars (Grand Am, Calais, Somerset Regal) actually beat them to market. Since GM pretty much invented the concept of having styling cues "trickle down" the lineup they should have known doing it backwards would make the E/K-cars dead on arrival.
@@iluvcamaros1912 ah yes just like the Maserati TC and 1987 Lebaron. The TC was supposed to arrive first.
And to think; all Cadillacs today focus on beating BMW and Audi and Mercedes so its Recaro seats, analog gauges, side bolsters, firm handling, and 660hp monster v8 engines in the V-series Blackwing. All the things John Davis, and other reviewers complained about 30 years ago which forces Cadillacs hand, and Cadillac is no better off really. Luxury has long been gone since the demise of the dts and xts. Sure, they get respect in the horsepower community but we wish for a soft riding Eldorado or Fleetwood Brougham with cushy seats that can take the pressure off aging spines and backs.
Even as a sports car guy, if I can't have that, I want something with a seat that's actually comfortable to sit in for hours on end, a suspension that floats effortlessly along even if it means it can't put in a good Nurburgring time, and an open feeling inside. The SUVs that effectively replaced these kinds of cars don't ride terribly well (there are probably some that do, but all the ones I've been in from different manufacturers have been disappointing and it makes sense as they need to be stiffer to counter the high center of gravity in turns, plus they put elastic band tires on everything no matter how inappropriate) and often have overly hard seats (I rarely have a complaint about the seat backs, but the bottoms are mostly mediocre or terrible in modern cars, either unnecessarily constricting bolsters-and I'm not a wide guy-as if everyone is pulling turns at over a g in every corner or they turn to stone after a couple hours or both) with interiors that feel cramped thanks to enormous center consoles and bank-vault-thick doors (which, OK, the latter is for safety, but it doesn't help the situation with the giant console).
@@mitchkelleher7972agree. I hate how uncomfortable modern cars are. When I was in my teens and early 20s, I allowed myself to be convinced I wanted something sporty. I’m guilty of bashing on comfy cars. Didn’t take long for comfort to go to the top of my priority list though.
They should launch an oversized rear wheel drive sedan with a relaxed under stressed V8 with a cushy ride. Happy to sacrifice handling for that.
155hp from a 4.5 liter. But a big wallop of torque for wafting along.
This man got a helmet on for a 17.9 sec 1/4 mile
👋😂👍
seconds were shorter back then
😂😂😂
Well, he was going almost 80 MPH!
It's pretty crazy to me that the Quad 4 was putting down more horsepower than a v8 caddy at the time. No wonder so many people opted for that option. Even the 3800 v6 in the toronado was putting down better numbers with less cylinders. For shame.
The 3800 went on to become legendary for its power, fuel economy and reliability.
Nice, but the 1991 is the best choice for this series..🇺🇸
I had a 91 with the 4.9 and a drivers airbag. What a great car.
In this price range in 1991 a Lexus was a much better choice
Especially the ETC with all the leather & wood veneer.
4:47 John: MAYBE CADILLAC WILL GIVE US A COUPLE OF SEAT SIDE BOLSTERS NEXT YEAR! LOL
Had a 90 Eldo in that champagne color with a brown cloth carriage top. My aunt ordered it that way. I drove it from 25k miles when I got the car from her and ran it to almost 190k miles and sold it. Wasn’t a bad car except I was never the biggest fan of the smaller Eldo. Ran great and everything worked well. That review was a throwback for me.
What a rich did, being given a Cadillac. I had to buy the two Caddy's I've owned - and I certainly wouldn't ever give anything to my nephew, will just make him lazy.
Never said I got it for nothing
The 90’ models with the 4.9L were beasts. More than enough power.
Was that the North Star? Or did it actually come with a optional engine in the '90s?
@@GS-zc4sk northstar was a 4-cam 4.6L that came on larger El Dorado around 92-93 , 4.9 was the standard engine in 1990 for all modeles except the large full size Cadillac,,those had the vortec 5.7L
I always like this model Eldorados, especially in a custom build rare convertible ones. We as H-town houstonians in S.L.A.B culture. We take this 1988 Eldorado, put a burgandy candy paint, wired 30 spokes wheels with vouge tires, leather peanut butter interior with a custom sound system and a screen two din radio setup, a prominent grille with a lady ornament on top, and a fifth wheel continental kit on the back with chrome belt buckles on the trunk.
I would still get the Lincoln Mark VII LSC.
By far the better vehicle. Less baroque styling and in proportion to the stretched Fox platform, 5.0 HO, and not overpriced when new.
Thank you so much for this GM review. GM was going through some lean times back then. They upgraded this generation to add a little length to make it appear longer. The 1992 upsized Eldorado was in the works at that time. The 4.5 liter V8 was a vast improvement over what came before. The 4.5 went to 4.9 liters and gained more power. Sadly, the Northstar V8 was a let down. All the E Body cars were redesigned by 1992. Eldorado got the slight upsizing in 1988, the Buick Riviera grew 12 inches loner in 1989, Oldsmobile Toronado was redesigned and made much longer for 1990. I own a 1992 and it is longer and wider. The Eldorado got the Touring Coupe with the seats John mentioned. Eldorado was redesigned for the 1992 model years where it was longer and wider. It actually stopped Cadillac from producing Coupe DeVille because they were too similiar in size. The 1992 redesin does not use the Northstar V8. Some of the 1993's do not either. You can find a 1992 or 1993 without a Northstar V8.
I fell in love with that version Eldorado 1989 was even better, I dreamed of having a bright red and white Biarritz coupe, but my father wasn't going to spend thirty-two grand which was what it was going for at the time.
Love the Pointer sister. LOL. 😀
Yesssss it's Ruth Pointer!!
Big Mike.
Yes the transmission is, Automatic.
HHHHHHHHHHAAAAAA!!!!!! 😂😂😂
I see what you did there. 😂😂
5:13 the odometer mileage is 666. Lmao
The seats lacking side bolsters is weird imo. The soft padding (which makes it comfy) is nice however.
You can have seats that are comfy and hold you in place in corners. It already rides like a cloud over crappy surfaced roads which is the best thing yet.
I have a Cadillac Deville 89 sedan 89,000 miles rides better than my new CTS 2014 V6
of course....
The last Cadillac I rode in was a 2010 CTS. I was shocked at how uncomfortable it was. It did not convey a sense of luxury.
Unfortunately luxury makers put sport suspensions in their cars now, aping the Germans. Regretful.
I to have a 89 sedan deville. Have been driving it for 20 years now. It's a dependable vehicle.
@@palebeachbum The CTS is a sports sedan. If you want a boring car with no road feel, don't buy a sports sedan.
In a vacuum these were nice cars, and they were better much better performing cars than what they replaced.
Those small V8 engines ran great. Much more reliable than the Northstar engines that came after..
The Northstar engine ruined the great looking lean body coupe of the '90s
@@GS-zc4sk The Nortstar is big engine V8 of Cadillac Eldorado from 1988
I have 1992 Eldorado with the 4.9L, it's absolutely bulletproof
Ahh yes, the Roger & Me era of GM. They allowed Cadillac to just phone it in. The Brougham kept the traditionalists coming in, but the cars overall were just so underbaked and not deserving of the Cadillac nameplate, especially if you grew up like me and your old man had a REAL Caddy.
Funny, the brand certainly struck gold with the Escalade and their V-Series performance sedans, but they never seemed to recapture their top-dog status in the flagship sedan or coupe market.
Cadillac has been chasing BMW since the early 2000s. They lost their opulence and distinctive traditional American luxury flavor in favor of chasing after younger buyers.
I always liked how the deck lid cut into the C pillar, looks like a big 70’s Caddy from the rear
The trunk bumper and tail light configuration on this is mint.
The girl demonstrating the interior features looks like Belle from Fright Night 2 which came out that year lol😂
Same thing I thought lmao or one of the women from the girl group Klymaxx 😅
I was thinking she's one of The Pointer Sisters!😂 "I'm So Excited"!
Russel Clark? I checked out IMDB 😂
@@brentm.871 Yup!
Yes!!!!
I had this car. It was a complete piece of crap, but I still loved it and miss it. So many memories of young adulthood.
Dang that ladies got some smokin style ❤❤❤
It's funny how many people comment on her. Being a teen of the '80s It all looks everyday cool to me.
Bring back the serviceability ratings 😂
"...Except that cars began being made so small, that you can barely fit into them!"
Look at 7:01, big, generously sized side window, but there was no money left for the rear window, so sadly, due to cutbacks, the company had to cheap out and put a slit of a window in the back. Hopefully no one will notice.
This Cadillac Eldorado looks like it was drawn by a 8th grade middle school student in art class.
Hahaha. The odometer. Awesome.
Love the manual controls.
Absolutely. Analog controls with a sane amount of electronic displays.
After her mid-80s music career died down, Sheila E found follow-on work with MotorWeek!
She looks more like Chaka Khan 😂
I was in high school when this generation of the Eldorado hit the streets. One day at lunch some of my gearhead friends and myself were talking about the new cars and one of us said the new Eldorado was basically a Pontiac Grand Am with leather seats and a Cadillac badge. Traditional Cadillac customers really seemed to hate this generation. But, I will say that this tiny Cadillac was and is much better made than anything with a the Cadillac crest on it right now.
Electronic ride control worked well, very smooth
That chicks hair is wild. I love it.
The 80’s good times
Still looks great now.
I still see several of those today. Nice taillights.
As a kid in my late teens when this car came out, I wasn't the typical Cadillac buyer but I did love the way that generation of Eldorado looked. To me, it's the best looking Cadillac ever and I would buy one today if I could find it in a good shape, which is next to impossible where I live (Toronto).
Crazy to think that the 80s caddi was considered powerful at a trap speed in the 70s and now caddi has a race car that traps more than double.
I briefly owned a 1990 Seville STS. I gotta say the mechanical bits of that car were pretty good, it was quiet, smooth, steering was tight, rode great(no float), power was decent, handling was decent. It was also really well built, beautiful pearl white paint, leather smelled great, everything worked even after 12 years, it didn't rattle/sqeak and was tomb silent. GM just totally missed the boat on styling and size of the car, it was UGLY, back seat was cramped. Dash was also ugly with those stupid green digital gauges that showed zero info.
back in the 90's when I was in high school one of my friends had a 87 Coupe Deville and it was a totally different driving experience than what i was use to. really smooth and plush. although it's a different car I'm sure they are pretty similar in the way they ride and comfort..
I miss traditional American luxury, even from these downsized Cadillacs. Everyone is trying to be a sports sedan now. Luxury is dead.
😂 thought they had a guest appearance from Rick James for a second !
The engines became slightly larger, 4.1L in 86, up to 4.9L in the end.
Nary a word about how it was just slightly larger than a Pinto. GM's 1986 downsizing was a total disaster. This update gave it far better styling but it was still very cramped inside.
Agreed about the downzing era at GM 1985-1990. They had upsized everything by 1992 model year.
The tear I graduated high school…a few fathers had this model we thought they were on top of the world .lol
My dad bought a used 88 sedan deville 4.5 with 20 k on it and in about 6 months the freeze plugs started leaking the tech said it rusted out and they all do it..really from such a nice car
If I had to choose this bodystyle Eldo , I'll get a '91 STS with the 200hp 4.5..
I thought 91 was first year for 4.9
4.9 but I agree.
@@MPMeterman Yes, correction the 4.9..
1:10 Look at the fit and finish, the gaps between hood, lamp, fender or the panel below the lamp...
And this was called "the standard of the world"...
Yes that's it. I didn't like the front for some reason. But the rear ensemble looks great to me. Especially The trim prominent tail lights.
The only 2 things Cadillac was missing back then was trans Am acceleration and Vette like handling.
There's nothing more prestigious and rewarding than a 1988 Cadillac Eldorado.
I bought an '88 SDV, with the 4.5. Used, with 59k.
Except for the starter, it was anvil reliable. It helped to have a dealer tech in my circle do all my maintenance.
Sadly, at 161k, it was stolen, and that was that.
Sales disaster that really hurt the brand. They thought they could downsize the Eldorado again and thought gas prices would be higher also.... Bad decision GM. 1985 sold 77k units and was killing the Lincoln mark series, 88 was the best year and sold only 33k units and Lincoln mark series which hadn't changed since 84 outsold it, by 1991 it was down to 16k units...
The downsized era at GM 1985-1990 was indeed a rough and lean time. All GM brands suffered because of it( Chevrolet Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac). They spent the late 1980's upsizing cars and fighting to get market share back.
@@OLDS98 yea, the first downsize effort from the late 70s by GM, (Seville, 79-85 Eldoardo) were very successful for GM and a dismal failure for Lincoln (Mark VI, Versallies). Go figure. It's amazing that with the GM failures that they remained in business.
The gaps on that hood though 🤦 they didn't even bother to adjust the little rubber bumpers before they sent the car out to the press wtf gm. That said these cars did last a while if you serviced them at the dealer or at least to a shop that had access to the hundreds of TSBs that piled up over the years
I saw that too. 😂 Typical GM of that era.
😂
I printed out the service bulletins for an 89 Buick and it took 2 reams of paper and a 5" binder to hold them all 😂
@@303nitzubishi4 typical press car lol
I had this exact car --- everything went wrong ... the engine .... Great ride and comfort when it was running . I would never buy another GM car .
I've owned multiple Caddy's, literally never had any issues with them. Sounds like a you problem.
@@rodmunch69 I owned a Seville around this time and never had a major issue with it either, bought it two years old and kept it another 3 years, traded it in with around 85-ish thousand miles for an Audi 100 in 1992 - Some of the interior materials in the Caddy didn't hold up particularly well and the power trunk pull down and power antenna both quit one after the other towards the end, no mechanical break downs though.
@@rodmunch69 Caddy's are poorly made in USA of China
I had an '88 Chevy Beretta. Same problems. Thanks GM! 😏
@@trevorgwelch7412 oh I see, you're one of those bores who repeats bumper stickers like they're original thoughts.
Went to my sophomore Homecoming in one of these.
155 horsepower 4.5L V8. Insane. My dad looked into these, but we became a Lincoln family.
Still much nicer than inline 3 1.4l turbo with 160 hp
I like the styling
Had 1987 Cadillac Seville. I never liked the car. Traded a year after buying.
$80k adjusted for the fully loaded (at time of upload)
Wow, $24,891 base price in '88? I was just reviewing the '91 GMC Cyclone pickup that was approximately the same base price, though 3 years later.
Mafia starter car 😉
Jody Watley made it into the back seat but come on, there's zero room back there.
Love retro reviews!!!
In 88 I was driving a 68 Dodge;) I did like that little Caddy though.
Ford loved GM during these years because Cadillac, Buick and Oldsmobile were all producing Cookie Cutter, Dog Ugly vehicles! This car is less exciting than a piece of Burnt Toast!
As a GM person, I have to agree with you. It is true. The downsized era at GM 1985-1990 were some hard and lean times.
0:31........................WHY can't we have that Cadillac back, GM?!!!!! WHY?!!!!!I must go on record & confess that this was always my least favorite body style of the Eldorado. I understand that the name of the game in the 1980's was efficiency, & this car DID have a gorgeous interior, but you could literally park it next to a Buick Skylark/Somerset, Oldsmobile Calais, or Pontiac Grand Am of the same year & people would be very hard-pressed to tell the difference.
This video features two awesome jackets!
Eldorado (AKA) my little Cadillac ❤❤❤.
Better than the Cadvalier....err Cimarron
You mean like My Little Pony? 🤔😂
Liked the 2nd shrink, only thing was that they left the V8 out of the Toro and the Riv, And that wasn't nice.
Even better if it had the 200 hp 4.9L. The Northstar V8 that came later was only good on paper, too many issues.
I can’t remember, whether the 4.1 or 4.5 were bulletproof engine. One of them is gem the other is garbage…can’t remember going back 40 years ago…
4.5 and 4.9 were. It was the 4.1 people call a boat anchor among other things.
HT4100 = Hook & Tow
this is what happens when the gov't tells you how to build a car...anemic V8s...and now we have nothing but gross nasty, front drive suv boxes, and too big pickup trucks that cost what a house did then..
starting in 1979, the eldorado, riviera, and toronado were essentially identical triplets...i'd like to be surprised that it took gm management 9 model years to realize that was damaging caddy's prestige, but i'm not...the 1992 eldorado couldn't arrive soon enough
Can you imagine a 4.5 L engine producing a 150 hp boy have times changed remember those cars.
There's certainly no Mark 7
0:17 “progress of GM’s reorganization”
The progress meant GM failing to the point of asking Congress for taxpayer help in 1992 and again in 2009.
I'll take the Lincoln
The Lincoln Mk XII LSC has aged much, much better. RWD too.
I bought one of these at auction for $1300 and flipped it for $1600. Good times
This Is a keeper 🤩🤩
Isn't it a bit small for being called an Eldorado? 🤨
Apparently you are ignorant of the downsizing of cars that happened after the ‘70s models??
um go back in time to 1984, and 1985, that was the beginning of the end of the full-sized rear wheel and front wheel drive caddy's, by 1990, the only big rear wheel drive Caddy that was left was the Brougham
um go back in time to 1984, and 1985, that was the beginning of the end of the full-sized rear wheel and front wheel drive caddy's, by 1990, the only big rear wheel drive Caddy that was left was the Brougham
The buying public thought so too. The downsized era at GM 1985-1990 was a lean and diffcult era. The issues was not only the styling of the cars from GM at the time, but the downsizing of the cars that impacted all its brands. The 1990's upsizing could not come fast enough. This car in the video was redesigned and upsized for 1992.
From my European view i always wondered how did the Americans cope with the shrinkage of these once imposing and powerful (
Those shoulder pads are built in safety features 😂😂😂
RIP Wrally Konopaki, this was his car
Hilarious how they make it appear there is so much power that the front wheels would be going sideways. lol!
1988 Eldorado classic Cadillac lines, but smaller.
Imagine they come up with a 2026 version of El Dorado limited edition where they only making a few
On one hand, GM must be given credit for trying to reaffirm an industry styling lead; they calculated the public was finally ready for "downsized vehicles" across the board, on all fronts. On the other hand, just how did they manage, with all their "professional prowess," to miscalculate so badly?
The Mark VII was a superior car to this Eldo in nearly every way.
nice car.
Those baby Cadillac,s were stylish and elegant but was sorely lacking under the hood, which plagued their entire front wheel drive line up.😮
Cadillac Style! Amazing, 4.5L V8 engine producing only 145HP! A cheap Nissan or Hyundai is faster of course and 2X the gas mileage! Vehicles have improved!
GM is still GM 😂
Wow that’s some jacket!
Buying one of these was like putting money into an oven and burning it. GM's of this era were notoriously unreliable and the depreciation was huge.
Lovely malaise era.. 4.5v8 with 155HP.
😂😂😂😂. Nissan released a 3.0L V6 with 160hp the very next year. Insane!
@@user-sk1eh3pg6j That was a Yamaha engine. Japanese.
Chrysler had a 175hp t4 available that same year (Turbo II) also GM had an same hp n/a 4 (Quad 4).
GM released a 280 hp v6 that was toned down to 210 in '91..
@@user-sk1eh3pg6j Though only 200lb-ft. The Taurus SHO was still faster of course. Later improvements to the HT4500 were able to get it up to 200hp and 270lb-ft, in the Allante for the 89 model year.
@@user-sk1eh3pg6jFord wanted to use its short block with Yamaha heads but Yamaha refused. Yamaha did a clean sheet design of their own. Look it up.
The first thought that comes to my mind with that car is leaking oil and the heat doesn't work.
These mini El Dorados were overpriced GM junk compared to the previous generation. Numbers don't lie. Sales tanked between the '85 and 86-89 model years.
Huge miscalculation. Maybe if this was 1/4 a size larger, maybe. Or better yet, this should have been a Cimarron type product and the Eldo should have moved slightly upmarket, skip the Allante
I have a soft spot for the touring version later in the run but this car was junk.
Nice chevy
WTF
WTF
Yeah it’s a Chevy Celebrity rebadged as a Cadillac lol
@@bahamutsix5765 more like a cutlass calais