This car has actually aged well. I still see a few from time to time and they turn heads every time. Id definitely want the '93 with the Northstar. They dont scare me like alot of ppl. I currently have a 98 Eldorado ETC. No issues and if it do I'll get it fixed.
@303nitzubishi4 not really. A few minor changes. And the fact that it's already been 26 years tells me I got a good one. Not every single Cadillac had head bolt issues. It's at 90k now and even if it had the headbolt issue I'd get it fixed. It's $2500 at Midwest Cadillac Repair here in Chicago. Try getting any new-ish car fixed......$5-10k easily. For all the sensors and computer issues. Grandfather has a Ford Fusion that needed engine work. Thank God he has a extended warranty as it cost almost $7k.
In the early '00s, as a fair weather, pleasure use only vehicle, I bought a very nice, one owner Caddy DTS with the H.O. version of the Northstar and every option it could have. After two years I sold it for more than I paid for at full asking price it to the first person who came to look at it, a sure sign I should have been asking for more. It was a beautiful car with zero problems and showed very well. The Northstar never gave me any trouble, although Cadillac forums back then made it sound like every NS was a ticking time bomb. It almost ruined the experience of ownership, but I guess it's always that way. People with complaints are the most motivated to post in online forums. If you don't keep it in perspective it can warp your perception of reality.
I'm so glad to be able to watch the 1993 Allante MotorWeek review over the ones from 1987 and 1989. I have a 1993 Allante that I have been driving practically every day since about 2016. People do not give this car the credit it deserves. I get a lot of people stopping me asking about the car many places that I go. Just like the old saying, "Take care of your car, and your car will take care of you!" One of the nice things about the 1993 model year Allante is that mechanical parts, the driveline and other electronics are found in other Cadillac models to include the Eldorado, Seville and Deville. This is definitely a great offering from Cadillac especially of this era with other two-seater cars, this is one of the few that offers a V8.
Remember Kelly Bundy as a spokesmodel on MWC? "The New ...ALLANTE..." There's your old pop culture reference. "Christina, La La Lala, Christina, I love you sooo .."
Honestly thats ALLL i think of when i see or hear this car. Id argue that was a terrible allowance by GM for that scene alone. It did the car a disservice. I mean ppl like us thought it was funny but id bet none of "US" are the target buyer for the car. So that's a fail for the brand.
@@crocglox7797 A lot of interesting car cameos on that show. W140 S-Class being one in "Grey Poupon", a strong contemporary of the R129 SL that slapped this car into irrelevance. GM made a dumb bet against the 1981 380SL and got slapped silly by the 300SL/500SL/600SL by the time this Northstar version came out.
@SantanKGhey1234 this is outstanding for 93 with a 4 speed slush box convertable. A 5 speed hardtop would have ran sub 6 and some suspension tuning would have made it closer to a luxury corvette of the time.
I'll never forget my brother who knows nothing about cars kept telling me for over a month there's this old Mustang someone has for sale and he drives by it everyday and he's thinking about buying it.. So i ask him what year? Late 90s? Or sqaure body? Look up pics of foxbody and he goes Yeah! Yeah! That's the car. One day he's passenger in my car and gets all excited pointing up the road. We're about 100ft away and I can already tell it's not a Mustang. Drive by and all I see is a big Cadillac emblem 😂
Excellent point JimB, one of the smarter commenters on these videos who can actually read! I do feel GM made too many mistakes with this car otherwise, that made it unprofitable though.
@@thewiseguy3529 Yeah it was slightly quicker in the quarter mile than this Cadillac too according to MW - This was still an impressive time for a much heavier 4-speed slushbox convertible too though.
@@thewiseguy3529 Stated 0-60. In reality, it would do that only under perfect conditions, with a manual transmission, and driving it like you were in a police chase. Get real.
There’s a fairly expensive kit they make that addresses the north stars headbolt issues. It’s fairly expensive but you have to weigh that with what’s the car worth to you. If the North Star Allante can perform like that? Definitely worth the money
My uncle owned a Cady with a North Star V8. I rode in the passenger seat and I kept sliding around each time he took fast corners. I can’t remember if it had a front bench-style seat or just a regular bucket type of seat but it had no lateral support. On a positive note, I do remember smooth engine power and very quiet.
I was a big fan of Cadillac's Northstar coming out in the early 90's. The Allante was even more exotic considering it's way of manufacturing between Italy and the US! Later it turned out that the Northstar engines have quite some issues with blown head gaskets.
Love the Northstar in a Allante a bullet to drive! Fast for its time! Best to drive is in my opinion at the autobahn Germany! Full throttle at max top speed! 240km/h
The Northstar was a great motor to drive. Peppy, sounded great, and not bad on gas either. Its really a shame they suffer from that head stud issue into the higher miles.
@@eg1789 For a high-compression V8 from the early 90s, its really not bad. Other cars equipped with the Northstar like the Seville or Deville could get upwards of 16MPG city and 26MPG highway. Other V8 luxury sedans of the era from say BMW, Mercedes, Audi, or Infiniti were rated similarly, or worse. The only one actually that was rated better for city economy was the Lexus LS400, (18 city, 23 highway), but it was also 100 pounds lighter, had 37 cubic inches less displacement, and had 40 less horsepower.
1990 was a VERY bad year for GM finances. The redesigned 1991 Seville got delayed until the 1992 model year and several other vehicles more years. It's pretty clear GM had to cut corners on a lot of early-mid 90s projects through 1991/92. Northstar was one of them.
The Allante was, and still is, a collector’s item, especially with the first and only year with the Northstar 32-valve V8. Needless to say, this also marked the final year for the Allante. Christina Applegate wouldn’t have it any other way.
1993 was the final model year for the Allante, and the Northstar V8 did nothing to help improve sagging sales. The constant head gasket issues that these early Northstar engines were plagued with ultimately didn't help.
They actually took more time than needed, considering this motor was originally going to be named 'the Quad 8'. The problem stemmed from, yet again, GMs inability to see past their own noses. Because using cheap parts to put the motor together killed it.
@@wsgut123 it was. The Quad 4 was doing so well that GM had originally gotten Oldsmobile to design the motor. It debuted as the Quad 8 at a few motor shows in 1991. But, halfway through 1991, they transferred the project to Cadillac engineers, who promptly destroyed an entire legacy with their terrible engineering. And thus, the Northstar was born. Oldsmobile engineers were later given the task to try to improve the motor for the Aurora sedan, but didn't get much time to do so. And so the Northstar suffered on until the late 90s when most of the issues were finally ironed out.
You obviously didn't do your research well nor bother reading the episode description. Just misinforming others as expected. Nor did you the get the amount right, $59,975 rounds off to $60k flat. This episode aired May 22, 1992, in which May 1992 USD against June 2024 USD per Data BLS GOV equals an inflation adjusted $135k today. Every throwback MW video, you guys lazily do this. Assuming 1993 model year literally equals released in the year 1993 or 1993 video, forgetting next year's model comes out the year before and MW reviews cars before or during launch. It's such ignorant thinking, when MW provides the actual dates in every video. 1992 had a different economic environment from 1993, so you can't lazily substitute it. As an automotive historian, you people posting false information in the comments are ever so annoying when the info is right in front of you and cannot even do basic arithmetic.
@@nwezetx1what a pedantic and obnoxious reply on your part. OP conveys the point adequately, and by your own admission the data is fluid - and you’re flipping out and denigrating the poster? Relax.
@@VideoAmericanStyle I am tired of a repetitive pattern across many automotive videos and other online automotive discussion, regarding historical fact. Misinformation, so I am not going to "relax". This stuff isn't rocket science, so if someone is going to play "fun facts": do it with due diligence and not half-baked. Criticize me in response all you want, but I'll continue to be calling out annoying "fun (false) facts" that err on the side of misleading, whenever I see them.
@@nwezetx1 sure, if you truly feel that correcting minor, inconsequential discrepancies on inflation adjusted pricing in the comment section of vintage car review videos is your noble calling and a great use of your clearly abundant free time, more power to you. Being a jerk to OP on top of it, though, makes you appear petty and sad. Just a piece of inflation-proof advice.
@@VideoAmericanStyle Typical American who never learns from their mistakes versus those of us who learn from them and do much better going forward. We all often see how that goes in reality...
The Northstar does sound amazing under hard acceleration, even with the factory exhaust! Nobody seems to drive them fast nowadays, so you dont really hear the growl much.
Should've? Nope, business case isn't even there for large flagship sedans and coupes, let alone the Camaro. This isn't necessary. The Alpha platform isn't getting anything like that, beyond the dead Camaro convertible.
Speaking of Rocky, the Allante was Sly Stallone's car in Tango and Cash. Tango and Cash was most memorable because of Teri Hatcher's strip club scene!😍😍
"It was held back for further development" Shame that part of the extended development cycle on the first gen northstar engine didn't include upgrading the head fastening assembly from bolts to studs. Doing that would've prevented a decade of lawsuits and government ordered recalls.
except the head bolts are too narrow and it gives the illusion of blown head gaskets, fix it, and it leaks again unless you pull the engine and tap the holes, and change the starter at the same time lol... and the torque converter problems.
I much preferred the earlier Allante that had even more buttons and the electric dashboard. No way I'm spending $60k and getting the same speedo that a Chevy Cavalier was offering.
In a price comparison, my dad bought a Caprice Classic LS in 1994. Sticker was $24,500. I bought a used 87 Celica with 89k for $3k around the same time. It's not cheap to buy a car anymore.
It was as good as dead by this point. A terrible arrangement made by a long since gone CEO in 1983 and a loser since release in 1987. STS and Mark VIII were much different, being from the new school of rounded flush styling, standard passive safety, and late 80s advancements in engineering. I'd call this car "transitional", as it's thought process was very early 80s.
It was peak General Motors. And they ignored the problems with the engine until long after nobody wanted to touch one all the while wondering why their sales declined
Front wheel drive alone wasn't the issue, it was transverse front wheel drive instead. General Motors helped pioneer modern longitudinal front-wheel drive, similar to Audi which uses Quattro. Cadillac had front-wheel drive in the 60s, but the real issue was switching to transverse style front wheel drive for unibody Cadillac cars in 1984. That caused so much damage and the demise of the flagship model in 1996 even more, that Cadillac didn't fully correct course until about 2004 with the STS RWD. The Catera (plus Catera Touring Sedan -CTS) were a good start, but shoddy in execution. It wasn't until the second generation CTS and later that Cadillac sedans could be considered decent. It's too late now, as the CT6 could've been better, as well as a CT8.
Considering that the Mercedes cost more I don't think so. Ppl only balk at American cars costing money because their distorted view of "foreign" is better is really outdated. My barber's BMW 740il from back then he bought new had nothing but issues...costing thousands each time to fix. His American Express surely helped him out.
Nope. Get a better calculator. This is May 1992, so try reading the episode description before commenting. That's almost *$140k ($135k)* in current money vs *May 1992*, not your incorrect estimate off Google, which ignores when this episode aired and how this same car was already at *$59,975* in mid-1992. You guys always do this, like you can't read and cook up irrelevant inflation adjusted numbers. Annoys me as an automotive writer and historian. Stop sharing wrong info, as the price increased later in the 1993 model year to above $60k.
"Specially equipped Boeing 747s departed from Turin International Airport with 56 bodies at a time", landing at Detroit Airport for transport to Cadillac's then new Allante Air Bridge production line, about 3 miles away. [Wikipedia]
What figures are you clowns using? Smh Read the episode description, go to Data BLS GOV, and calculate May 1992 inflation against June 2024 dollars, you get $135k. Not $128k. It's so annoying how many of you think 1993 Cadillac means 1993 video or released in 1993. This is from May 1992, which means higher inflation adjusted amount. A model year is not the actual date. You should know this already.
This car looks older than the El Dorado released the year before. Took so long to develop it was iut od datw by the time it launched. The euro taillights were fun, but totally didnt fit this car.
What? The comments on this video are just so uninformed... Did you even pay attention to the video and actually watch it? John Davis at multiple times during this video, makes it known this has been around for awhile at 3:46 and even mentioned how an airbag was added for 1990 (in 1989). The Cadillac Allante debuted in 1986 and went on sale in March 1987 as a 1987 model. It was designed in Italy in 1982-83 and production design finalized by the summer of 1983. Of course it's going to look older than the 1992 model year *Eldorado* (NOT El Dorado), designed half a decade later and completed in 1988 before release in 1991. This car stayed the same from 1986 to 1993, because an updated 1994 model was already designed by 1991 and supposed to debut in late 1993. It instead got canceled this same year from being released.
John Davis is a treasure and love to hear him, but he was terribly biased towards GM in the 1980s and 1990s, excusing so many craptastic vehicles they put out. It's insulting how he attacked so many Asian imports, some non-German imports, and US competition over what GM never even got right either. I'll never forget where he attacked an import competitor for not having two airbags in a 1989 review, which is something GM didn't even offer in that vehicle class until years later. The import ironically introduced such equipment a year later, which GM did not. FWD hackmobile no business being compared with a state of the art RWD 300/500/600SL, but John couldn't leave it alone. Cadillac had this issue in reality, where the initial idea was earnest but lost course quickly. In 1981, they started developing this car for a mid 1980s introduction. At the time, GM was targeting the relatively dated 1982 Mercedes Benz 380SL with *155 horsepower*. The design of this car was done by 1983 and everything set for production start in late 1986. Unfortunately for GM, the planners ignored the budding grey market for imported 500SLs and fell behind with MB's November 1985 introduction of the 1986 560SL to USA. When the Allante came out in March 1987, what they thought to be forward thinking, was no longer. It was vastly inferior and nearly as bad as Chrysler's TC by Maserati. Allante was created by an out of touch CEO in the early 80s, no longer with the company by 1992 when this aired. An updated 1994 model was due within 18 months of this episode, but was canceled merely months later before reveal. XLR tried to get back that lost pride in 2003 and the C6 Corvette even also based on it, but it was still inferior in execution. Particularly in terms of refinement and interior QC. Snob appeal was also lacking for the Cadillac badge. There's no business case for these luxury roadsters anymore, as the SL would've also died after the ugly R230 III (2008-11) and original R231. Mary Barra and GM made do with the C8 Corvette instead, where branding is less of an issue for them.
Man, I can almost feel the cheapness of those plastic buttons on the center stack as he was pushing them. Typical GM whether it was Chevy or Cadillac in the '80s and '90s.
Hope this answers that OP. Cadillac and Oldsmobile helped pioneer modern FWD in the 1960s, but it was longitudinal like RWD cars and not transverse like economy cars, such as the Cavalier. They were seen as leaders with FWD circa 1969. When they started making transverse FWD Cadillacs in 1981 ('82 Cimarron) and changing RWD/LFWD cars to transverse front wheel drive ('85 DeVille), they finally screwed the pooch. These were corporate decisions made between 1979-1981, during the Iran crisis influenced Fuel Shortage. To downsize cars and improve the CAFE across all vehicles, fearing that big, bold, bad Caddies were going out of style by 1985 due to gas becoming scarce. V8s were becoming neutered in response as well. The 1985 DeVille, launched in March 1984, was designed in 1979-80, as were the 1986 Eldorado and Seville in 1981-82. Only Ford tried to hold out and keep RWD around as much as they could, even spending a fortune to develop the 1989 Thunderbird and Cougar based off of the BMW 635si. GM only did well in keeping the Corvette and Camaro RWD circa 1985-86, instead investing in the 1993 F body and C4 Corvette. Chrysler abandoned RWD under Lee Iacocca for the K Car platform, derivatives, and updated versions (see 1987 and 1989 LeBarons). It took Bob Lutz, to push him to approve a return to RWD with the Dodge Viper and LX cars in 1988-89. Many RWD Chrysler 300 concepts were made in response from 1990 to 2000, when it was finally approved for production as a 2004 1/2 model. American automakers trying to win over the public, all got duped by stupid magazine writers pushing FWD in the 1970s and 80s, while European automakers wisely kept investing in RWD and overtook our luxury car market overnight. Ford tried many times to do RWD luxury cars, but had the worst internal politics and timing messing up promising cars. The land yachts of the Fleetwood/Broughams, Town Cars, Caprices, Crown Vics, and Imperials had no business being killed off or ridden out to death. They needed to become more S-Class offerings for Americans of more modest middle class means. Making a RWD, unibody vehicle backed up by a powerful I6 or V8, nice interior, and good technology would have protected Cadillac's and Detroit's legacy instead of using FWD crossovers and warmed over pickups with a rear bedcap, luxury skin & badge. All they succeed with are FWD crossovers and pickup based SUVs. No cars anymore.
*The Cadillac Catera of 1996, Lincoln LS of 1999, Cadillac CTS of 2002, XLR roadster of 2003, and STS and Chrysler 300 of 2004, show American RWD has been weakly acknowledged by American buyers in the luxury segment. The CT4 and CT5 are not enough.
I know it came out in 1987, but Pininfarina went way too boxy with the design. It dated the car quickly. GM was coming out with some rather curvy, forward-thinking designs in the late '80s. Refer to late '80s Cadillac concept cars for inspiration. They should have gone that route. I suspect it would have sold better.
It's a godsend to see you in the comments, commenting with sense and not uninformed bluster most people here do. I've seen the internal design proposals from 1982 and they were reasonable, being quite similar to other cars released by GM in 1986-88, but they were insultingly passed over by some Roger Smith and some dumb execs who had a craving for some Italian. IMO Italian automotive design houses were terribly overrated during that period. Too many of their car designs released in the late 1980s up until about 1995 were woefully outdated in thinking and too boxy. Even the original Italdesign Lexus GS, looked positively ungainly and overwrought with tacky detailing compared to the rather trim looking Gen 1 LS 400 and ES 300s (pre-2001). Problem with the Italian efforts truly was, designs were drawn up and finalized extremely early. What was done in 1987, barely appeared in dealers in 1992. MB almost ran into the same issue, but had much better designers who saved the day. BMW in example, had the final E36 3-Series designed by September 1986, but it didn't go on sale until January-Feb 1991 and June 23, 1991 ('92 325i for USA). E46 design finalization was late 1994 for April 1998 intro, E90 was March 2002 for March 2005 introduction. F30 3-Series was March 3, 2009 against February 2012 release, while the current G20 was November 30, 2015 finalization against February 2019 arrival. See how it gets shorter and shorter? Cadillac already had this same design, sitting at Pininfarina in August of 1983, identical to the example in the video, but made of fiberglass and not production metal. I hate many Italian designs from this era for that reason, as they're inferior to stuff designed internally. The Peugeot 406 was the exception to this rule, but was based on the inhouse design from 1991 and itself borrowing from the 405. It's magazine racers and silly journalists who overhype everything European as without fault. GM finished the 1992 Seville in 1987 and the Eldorado version in 1988. Renault had the same issue, until they hired a new design director in 1988 and started getting better designs by 1993. Most French, Spanish SEAT and Italian new designs were awful until 1995ish
EDIT: *Peugeot 406 coupe by Italdesign was the exception to this rule, because the sedan was designed by inhouse Peugeot team in 1991 and itself an evolution of the 605 and 405, originally developed as the "506 sedan".
It was that kind of boxy, because the Merc.SLs (R107 and maybe proposals of R129) were too. John Manoogians proposals looked more like that, what becomes Buick Riviera and Reatta later on.
@@Romiman1 The R129 didn't exist when Cadillac designed this car... The *R107* 380SL with 155 hp was the benchmark, but as usual the TH-cam comments are...
@@nwezetx1 Yes, but Mercedes' way of Design (by Bruno Sacco) was already visible (W124...), so Cadillac appearantly knew, the Buick Reatta look wouldn't compeed... (Cadillac surely knew about the true age of the R107.)
Look at their channel on their Retro Review playlist and see but I’m quite sure it’s on there. Any vehicle they reviewed for the show is on their channel so you got to figure you’ll find it. Good luck 👍🏼🍀
This car has actually aged well. I still see a few from time to time and they turn heads every time. Id definitely want the '93 with the Northstar. They dont scare me like alot of ppl. I currently have a 98 Eldorado ETC. No issues and if it do I'll get it fixed.
I had a 98 etc, too. Wonderful car! So gorgeous.
The Northstar in your 98 is VERY different than the 93-95 Northstar be aware
@303nitzubishi4 not really. A few minor changes. And the fact that it's already been 26 years tells me I got a good one. Not every single Cadillac had head bolt issues. It's at 90k now and even if it had the headbolt issue I'd get it fixed. It's $2500 at Midwest Cadillac Repair here in Chicago. Try getting any new-ish car fixed......$5-10k easily. For all the sensors and computer issues. Grandfather has a Ford Fusion that needed engine work. Thank God he has a extended warranty as it cost almost $7k.
In the early '00s, as a fair weather, pleasure use only vehicle, I bought a very nice, one owner Caddy DTS with the H.O. version of the Northstar and every option it could have. After two years I sold it for more than I paid for at full asking price it to the first person who came to look at it, a sure sign I should have been asking for more. It was a beautiful car with zero problems and showed very well.
The Northstar never gave me any trouble, although Cadillac forums back then made it sound like every NS was a ticking time bomb. It almost ruined the experience of ownership, but I guess it's always that way. People with complaints are the most motivated to post in online forums. If you don't keep it in perspective it can warp your perception of reality.
I'm so glad to be able to watch the 1993 Allante MotorWeek review over the ones from 1987 and 1989. I have a 1993 Allante that I have been driving practically every day since about 2016. People do not give this car the credit it deserves. I get a lot of people stopping me asking about the car many places that I go. Just like the old saying, "Take care of your car, and your car will take care of you!" One of the nice things about the 1993 model year Allante is that mechanical parts, the driveline and other electronics are found in other Cadillac models to include the Eldorado, Seville and Deville. This is definitely a great offering from Cadillac especially of this era with other two-seater cars, this is one of the few that offers a V8.
The Allante was JR Ewing's car in the last few seasons of Dallas.
Remember Kelly Bundy as a spokesmodel on MWC?
"The New ...ALLANTE..."
There's your old pop culture reference.
"Christina, La La Lala, Christina, I love you sooo .."
“The Bundy Bounce”
Honestly thats ALLL i think of when i see or hear this car. Id argue that was a terrible allowance by GM for that scene alone. It did the car a disservice. I mean ppl like us thought it was funny but id bet none of "US" are the target buyer for the car. So that's a fail for the brand.
I came here to say that very thing!
The new....ALLANTE"
(Kelly bundy)
@@crocglox7797 A lot of interesting car cameos on that show. W140 S-Class being one in "Grey Poupon", a strong contemporary of the R129 SL that slapped this car into irrelevance.
GM made a dumb bet against the 1981 380SL and got slapped silly by the 300SL/500SL/600SL by the time this Northstar version came out.
Classy car, it deserves some love now.
Cadillac Allante, american car desing italian (Sergio Pininfarina)
That's impressive power and 0-60!
Meh…. Medicare at best
For sure...That was Mustang\Camaro 0-60 times. Impressive for the time, Such a shame the Northstar was so unreliable
@SantanKGhey1234 this is outstanding for 93 with a 4 speed slush box convertable. A 5 speed hardtop would have ran sub 6 and some suspension tuning would have made it closer to a luxury corvette of the time.
@@SladderyBut that was never the idea, or the planned competition. This was a luxury car, like the Mercedes SL, not a sports car.
I'll never forget my brother who knows nothing about cars kept telling me for over a month there's this old Mustang someone has for sale and he drives by it everyday and he's thinking about buying it.. So i ask him what year? Late 90s? Or sqaure body? Look up pics of foxbody and he goes Yeah! Yeah! That's the car. One day he's passenger in my car and gets all excited pointing up the road. We're about 100ft away and I can already tell it's not a Mustang. Drive by and all I see is a big Cadillac emblem 😂
Omg.... some non- gear heads make my head hurt!! 🙄
😂😂😂
Oil pressure AND volts - no wonder John has a soft spot for it.
And with that NorthStar engine you get to see that oil pressure gauge in action ! 😂.
Those acceleration numbers are impressive, especially for a car released 32 years ago.
93 honda prelude was the same 0-60 time.
Excellent point JimB, one of the smarter commenters on these videos who can actually read!
I do feel GM made too many mistakes with this car otherwise, that made it unprofitable though.
@@thewiseguy3529 Yeah it was slightly quicker in the quarter mile than this Cadillac too according to MW - This was still an impressive time for a much heavier 4-speed slushbox convertible too though.
Yet behind it's #1 competitor. See how matterless that is?
@@thewiseguy3529 Stated 0-60. In reality, it would do that only under perfect conditions, with a manual transmission, and driving it like you were in a police chase. Get real.
I can hear the head bolts loosening up from here
There’s a fairly expensive kit they make that addresses the north stars headbolt issues. It’s fairly expensive but you have to weigh that with what’s the car worth to you. If the North Star Allante can perform like that? Definitely worth the money
We may be ugly and unreliable, but we're expensive!
-Cadillac
My uncle owned a Cady with a North Star V8. I rode in the passenger seat and I kept sliding around each time he took fast corners. I can’t remember if it had a front bench-style seat or just a regular bucket type of seat but it had no lateral support. On a positive note, I do remember smooth engine power and very quiet.
I was a big fan of Cadillac's Northstar coming out in the early 90's. The Allante was even more exotic considering it's way of manufacturing between Italy and the US! Later it turned out that the Northstar engines have quite some issues with blown head gaskets.
Love the Northstar in a Allante a bullet to drive!
Fast for its time!
Best to drive is in my opinion at the autobahn Germany!
Full throttle at max top speed!
240km/h
I remember being a tween and seeing these out on the road- I always liked the look of this Cadillac.
I remember this car being in a episode of married with children
JR Ewing had one in later episodes of Dallas.
The newwwwww Allante
Pininfarina did a remarkable job on this car. Gorgeous, despite the limitations of front-drive proportions.
The Northstar was a great motor to drive. Peppy, sounded great, and not bad on gas either. Its really a shame they suffer from that head stud issue into the higher miles.
14 miles city is horrendous...
@@eg1789 For a high-compression V8 from the early 90s, its really not bad. Other cars equipped with the Northstar like the Seville or Deville could get upwards of 16MPG city and 26MPG highway. Other V8 luxury sedans of the era from say BMW, Mercedes, Audi, or Infiniti were rated similarly, or worse. The only one actually that was rated better for city economy was the Lexus LS400, (18 city, 23 highway), but it was also 100 pounds lighter, had 37 cubic inches less displacement, and had 40 less horsepower.
Everyone at my junior high remembers this car due to Christina Applegate on Married with Children and her "Bundy Bounce", "The neeeeeeew Allante!"
Did you hear John? “It was held back for further development." GM knew the engine had problems...but still put it out.
1990 was a VERY bad year for GM finances. The redesigned 1991 Seville got delayed until the 1992 model year and several other vehicles more years.
It's pretty clear GM had to cut corners on a lot of early-mid 90s projects through 1991/92. Northstar was one of them.
@4:36 I don't think I've ever seen an Allante with analogue gauges before this one. They only must've been for that last '93 MY.
Few upgrades, and it would sell today. Was always a sharp looking car.
The design aged well though, imo they looked better than the XLR
The Allante was, and still is, a collector’s item, especially with the first and only year with the Northstar 32-valve V8. Needless to say, this also marked the final year for the Allante. Christina Applegate wouldn’t have it any other way.
Oh Christina, and Alyssa Milano. My adolescent guidance counselors.
Lo tuve en Matchbox plomo y era hermoso soñaba con verlo en la vida real
@3:14 Why did they zoom in on the rear wheels while talking about traction management while launching the car?
Funny, I was thinking the same thing.
Also the passenger seat somehow flipped forward on the hard braking test.
The cameraman may have assumed it was RWD and that was the only such footage the editors had to work with
"But its got the NORTHSTAR... " he shouted, "But I don't think I even use it" he replied. 🤣 priceless 😂
I remember this “Mercedes fighter” had $40,000 market value adjustments added to them.
Really? That's a killer for sure. Always nice to learn something new, explaining the failure of this car.
1993 was an extended model year, beginning in January 1992 and running to end of production in July 1993.
I will never forget Kelly Bundy announcing the new Allante with her Bundy Bounce! 1973 Olds Delta 88 2:00 ✌💖☮
The neWWWWWWW ALLANTE!!!
Kelly Bundy, 1990
1993 was the final model year for the Allante, and the Northstar V8 did nothing to help improve sagging sales. The constant head gasket issues that these early Northstar engines were plagued with ultimately didn't help.
Too bad GM didn't take a little more time developing that engine.
Imagine if it was rear wheel drive with an LS motor.
They actually took more time than needed, considering this motor was originally going to be named 'the Quad 8'. The problem stemmed from, yet again, GMs inability to see past their own noses. Because using cheap parts to put the motor together killed it.
They did continue development and got it right by 2004. Thanks for test piloting, customers.
@@LrulestheworldM8wasn’t Oldsmobile originally in charge of development?
@@wsgut123 it was. The Quad 4 was doing so well that GM had originally gotten Oldsmobile to design the motor. It debuted as the Quad 8 at a few motor shows in 1991. But, halfway through 1991, they transferred the project to Cadillac engineers, who promptly destroyed an entire legacy with their terrible engineering. And thus, the Northstar was born. Oldsmobile engineers were later given the task to try to improve the motor for the Aurora sedan, but didn't get much time to do so. And so the Northstar suffered on until the late 90s when most of the issues were finally ironed out.
$59,000, adjusting for inflation comes to $128,000 in 2024
You obviously didn't do your research well nor bother reading the episode description. Just misinforming others as expected.
Nor did you the get the amount right, $59,975 rounds off to $60k flat.
This episode aired May 22, 1992, in which May 1992 USD against June 2024 USD per Data BLS GOV equals an inflation adjusted $135k today.
Every throwback MW video, you guys lazily do this.
Assuming 1993 model year literally equals released in the year 1993 or 1993 video, forgetting next year's model comes out the year before and MW reviews cars before or during launch. It's such ignorant thinking, when MW provides the actual dates in every video.
1992 had a different economic environment from 1993, so you can't lazily substitute it.
As an automotive historian, you people posting false information in the comments are ever so annoying when the info is right in front of you and cannot even do basic arithmetic.
@@nwezetx1what a pedantic and obnoxious reply on your part. OP conveys the point adequately, and by your own admission the data is fluid - and you’re flipping out and denigrating the poster? Relax.
@@VideoAmericanStyle I am tired of a repetitive pattern across many automotive videos and other online automotive discussion, regarding historical fact.
Misinformation, so I am not going to "relax". This stuff isn't rocket science, so if someone is going to play "fun facts": do it with due diligence and not half-baked.
Criticize me in response all you want, but I'll continue to be calling out annoying "fun (false) facts" that err on the side of misleading, whenever I see them.
@@nwezetx1 sure, if you truly feel that correcting minor, inconsequential discrepancies on inflation adjusted pricing in the comment section of vintage car review videos is your noble calling and a great use of your clearly abundant free time, more power to you. Being a jerk to OP on top of it, though, makes you appear petty and sad. Just a piece of inflation-proof advice.
@@VideoAmericanStyle Typical American who never learns from their mistakes versus those of us who learn from them and do much better going forward. We all often see how that goes in reality...
2:33 "...short long..."
Car looked very good when they came out. One was parked in the Vegas Sands Casino inside a few were looking at it a convertible. Early nineties.
Oh man, if John only knew what was coming down the road with this engine.
4:36 John: OUR CARS PLAIN ANALOGE GAUGES WERE LARGE AND EASY TO READ! LOL
Looks good sounds amazing, sweet car!
The Northstar does sound amazing under hard acceleration, even with the factory exhaust! Nobody seems to drive them fast nowadays, so you dont really hear the growl much.
Es demasiado gasto de combustible
$59,000 in 1993 is around $128,000 in 2024 dollars.
Cadillac should have brought this back on the ATS platform. It would have been a nice rear drive convertible.
Should've? Nope, business case isn't even there for large flagship sedans and coupes, let alone the Camaro. This isn't necessary. The Alpha platform isn't getting anything like that, beyond the dead Camaro convertible.
I would've loved to see a Cadillac actually try rebuilding the Allanté as a RWD luxury convertible.
Allante means forward in Spanish😮
Remember Tommy Morris from the movie "Rocky V" drove one
Speaking of Rocky, the Allante was Sly Stallone's car in Tango and Cash. Tango and Cash was most memorable because of Teri Hatcher's strip club scene!😍😍
@@donaldwilson2620
tango and cash man I remember that movie
"It was held back for further development"
Shame that part of the extended development cycle on the first gen northstar engine didn't include upgrading the head fastening assembly from bolts to studs.
Doing that would've prevented a decade of lawsuits and government ordered recalls.
The front of this car reminds me of the Volkswagen Scirocco.
Attractive car. Northstar had issues.
Kind of surprising to see an all analog gauge cluster on these. I don't know these cars well, but was kind of expecting some spacey digital display.
They had that too
The Northstar V8 is such a good engine!
Cadillac almost had it!. Just needed RWD, a power top and a reliable power plant...
The XLR of the 1980s/early 1990s era Cadillacs
If You Remember The Episode Of Married With Children Kelly Bundy Said The New Allante She Should Have The New Cadillac Allante.
except the head bolts are too narrow and it gives the illusion of blown head gaskets, fix it, and it leaks again unless you pull the engine and tap the holes, and change the starter at the same time lol... and the torque converter problems.
i still cant believe they planned a power top for 94 and dropped the car.
I love that it’s being compared to a Merc SL Lololol
In typical GM fashion, they finally fix the car and discontinue it
I hindsight, you would have been much better off with the previous 4.5L V8.
I have a 1989 Allante with the 4.5, and it works great.
It’s a wide car, some angle the Allante looos squarish/ungainly. Side view looks best, clean lines.
That goddamn engine could’ve been a world beater. The bean counters sent out a ticking time bomb. Damn shame
By the time the kinks were ironed out of this engine it was already obsolete. No different than so many other GM endeavors
The only Allante year worth owning. Non-Northstar Allantes are somewhat lacklustre to drive.
Merging in front of Ash Williams there at 2:00.
I much preferred the earlier Allante that had even more buttons and the electric dashboard. No way I'm spending $60k and getting the same speedo that a Chevy Cavalier was offering.
I can here the cylinder head bolts failing from here!
14 miles city mpg is insane
Movie "Cadillac Man" 🎬
In a price comparison, my dad bought a Caprice Classic LS in 1994. Sticker was $24,500. I bought a used 87 Celica with 89k for $3k around the same time. It's not cheap to buy a car anymore.
50000 was a huge amount of money back then!!!
Nice car, but I would opt for an STS or a Mark VIII, back then.
It was as good as dead by this point. A terrible arrangement made by a long since gone CEO in 1983 and a loser since release in 1987.
STS and Mark VIII were much different, being from the new school of rounded flush styling, standard passive safety, and late 80s advancements in engineering. I'd call this car "transitional", as it's thought process was very early 80s.
Is it just me or the passenger seat reclined on the brake test?
We need to see some more Chevys
The 2024 equivalent just a hair shy of $131,000
I still dig it
Wow, $60k and a manual top. And the Northstar 😬😬😬
14 mpg in the city is insane for a car
Final year. GM took a bath on these cars.
Looks like it was styled by the Accounting Department
If only they knew the future significant problems with the Northstar engine.........
That starter motor in between the cylinder banks 😂😂😂 stupid GM
Overall, I prefer the old 4.1 litre.
Logistically, the way this car was produced was completely stupid. Plus that horrifically unreliable motor.
It was peak General Motors. And they ignored the problems with the engine until long after nobody wanted to touch one all the while wondering why their sales declined
If this was peak General Motors, the General Motors was completely doomed. The only valuable part of this was done by Pininfarina.
@@777jones you do recall they went bankrupt sometime after this
0:36
The fact that the engine was "held back for further development" really kills me.😂 I mean, just how bad was it before?!😅
That motor is great.
Cadillac kind of blew it when they switched to all FWD in the mid-80's.
Front wheel drive alone wasn't the issue, it was transverse front wheel drive instead.
General Motors helped pioneer modern longitudinal front-wheel drive, similar to Audi which uses Quattro.
Cadillac had front-wheel drive in the 60s, but the real issue was switching to transverse style front wheel drive for unibody Cadillac cars in 1984.
That caused so much damage and the demise of the flagship model in 1996 even more, that Cadillac didn't fully correct course until about 2004 with the STS RWD.
The Catera (plus Catera Touring Sedan -CTS) were a good start, but shoddy in execution. It wasn't until the second generation CTS and later that Cadillac sedans could be considered decent.
It's too late now, as the CT6 could've been better, as well as a CT8.
🔥🔥🔥
59k in 1993 is 128k today. Way overpriced even back then.
Considering that the Mercedes cost more I don't think so. Ppl only balk at American cars costing money because their distorted view of "foreign" is better is really outdated. My barber's BMW 740il from back then he bought new had nothing but issues...costing thousands each time to fix. His American Express surely helped him out.
Nope. Get a better calculator.
This is May 1992, so try reading the episode description before commenting.
That's almost *$140k ($135k)* in current money vs *May 1992*, not your incorrect estimate off Google, which ignores when this episode aired and how this same car was already at *$59,975* in mid-1992.
You guys always do this, like you can't read and cook up irrelevant inflation adjusted numbers. Annoys me as an automotive writer and historian. Stop sharing wrong info, as the price increased later in the 1993 model year to above $60k.
"Specially equipped Boeing 747s departed from Turin International Airport with 56 bodies at a time", landing at Detroit Airport for transport to Cadillac's then new Allante Air Bridge production line, about 3 miles away. [Wikipedia]
It was a 7000 mile production line in reality. Biggest nonsensical blunder, by some misguided execs in 1983.
The engine was a huge let down they should have used the LT1 out of the Vette just alightly detuned
Inflation would put this ar $128000 today. Should have put the 4.9 in and called it a day.
What figures are you clowns using? Smh
Read the episode description, go to Data BLS GOV, and calculate May 1992 inflation against June 2024 dollars, you get $135k. Not $128k.
It's so annoying how many of you think 1993 Cadillac means 1993 video or released in 1993. This is from May 1992, which means higher inflation adjusted amount. A model year is not the actual date. You should know this already.
This car looks older than the El Dorado released the year before. Took so long to develop it was iut od datw by the time it launched. The euro taillights were fun, but totally didnt fit this car.
What? The comments on this video are just so uninformed...
Did you even pay attention to the video and actually watch it?
John Davis at multiple times during this video, makes it known this has been around for awhile at 3:46 and even mentioned how an airbag was added for 1990 (in 1989).
The Cadillac Allante debuted in 1986 and went on sale in March 1987 as a 1987 model.
It was designed in Italy in 1982-83 and production design finalized by the summer of 1983.
Of course it's going to look older than the 1992 model year *Eldorado* (NOT El Dorado), designed half a decade later and completed in 1988 before release in 1991.
This car stayed the same from 1986 to 1993, because an updated 1994 model was already designed by 1991 and supposed to debut in late 1993. It instead got canceled this same year from being released.
@@nwezetx1 youre such a pissy nerd replying to every comment on here 😂
✊😪🤏 OHhhh what the Northstar could've been .... such a sexy lookin Smooth Runnin S0B ....... so sad
Let’s get real..Mercedes Benz after all these years..still makes a SL Does Mary Barra’s still make an Allante? Ok..I thought so.
John Davis is a treasure and love to hear him, but he was terribly biased towards GM in the 1980s and 1990s, excusing so many craptastic vehicles they put out.
It's insulting how he attacked so many Asian imports, some non-German imports, and US competition over what GM never even got right either.
I'll never forget where he attacked an import competitor for not having two airbags in a 1989 review, which is something GM didn't even offer in that vehicle class until years later. The import ironically introduced such equipment a year later, which GM did not.
FWD hackmobile no business being compared with a state of the art RWD 300/500/600SL, but John couldn't leave it alone.
Cadillac had this issue in reality, where the initial idea was earnest but lost course quickly.
In 1981, they started developing this car for a mid 1980s introduction.
At the time, GM was targeting the relatively dated 1982 Mercedes Benz 380SL with *155 horsepower*.
The design of this car was done by 1983 and everything set for production start in late 1986.
Unfortunately for GM, the planners ignored the budding grey market for imported 500SLs and fell behind with MB's November 1985 introduction of the 1986 560SL to USA.
When the Allante came out in March 1987, what they thought to be forward thinking, was no longer. It was vastly inferior and nearly as bad as Chrysler's TC by Maserati.
Allante was created by an out of touch CEO in the early 80s, no longer with the company by 1992 when this aired. An updated 1994 model was due within 18 months of this episode, but was canceled merely months later before reveal.
XLR tried to get back that lost pride in 2003 and the C6 Corvette even also based on it, but it was still inferior in execution. Particularly in terms of refinement and interior QC. Snob appeal was also lacking for the Cadillac badge.
There's no business case for these luxury roadsters anymore, as the SL would've also died after the ugly R230 III (2008-11) and original R231.
Mary Barra and GM made do with the C8 Corvette instead, where branding is less of an issue for them.
Man, I can almost feel the cheapness of those plastic buttons on the center stack as he was pushing them. Typical GM whether it was Chevy or Cadillac in the '80s and '90s.
Why front wheel drive ?
For backing up slippery hills.
Hope this answers that OP.
Cadillac and Oldsmobile helped pioneer modern FWD in the 1960s, but it was longitudinal like RWD cars and not transverse like economy cars, such as the Cavalier. They were seen as leaders with FWD circa 1969.
When they started making transverse FWD Cadillacs in 1981 ('82 Cimarron) and changing RWD/LFWD cars to transverse front wheel drive ('85 DeVille), they finally screwed the pooch.
These were corporate decisions made between 1979-1981, during the Iran crisis influenced Fuel Shortage. To downsize cars and improve the CAFE across all vehicles, fearing that big, bold, bad Caddies were going out of style by 1985 due to gas becoming scarce. V8s were becoming neutered in response as well.
The 1985 DeVille, launched in March 1984, was designed in 1979-80, as were the 1986 Eldorado and Seville in 1981-82.
Only Ford tried to hold out and keep RWD around as much as they could, even spending a fortune to develop the 1989 Thunderbird and Cougar based off of the BMW 635si.
GM only did well in keeping the Corvette and Camaro RWD circa 1985-86, instead investing in the 1993 F body and C4 Corvette.
Chrysler abandoned RWD under Lee Iacocca for the K Car platform, derivatives, and updated versions (see 1987 and 1989 LeBarons). It took Bob Lutz, to push him to approve a return to RWD with the Dodge Viper and LX cars in 1988-89. Many RWD Chrysler 300 concepts were made in response from 1990 to 2000, when it was finally approved for production as a 2004 1/2 model.
American automakers trying to win over the public, all got duped by stupid magazine writers pushing FWD in the 1970s and 80s, while European automakers wisely kept investing in RWD and overtook our luxury car market overnight.
Ford tried many times to do RWD luxury cars, but had the worst internal politics and timing messing up promising cars.
The land yachts of the Fleetwood/Broughams, Town Cars, Caprices, Crown Vics, and Imperials had no business being killed off or ridden out to death. They needed to become more S-Class offerings for Americans of more modest middle class means.
Making a RWD, unibody vehicle backed up by a powerful I6 or V8, nice interior, and good technology would have protected Cadillac's and Detroit's legacy instead of using FWD crossovers and warmed over pickups with a rear bedcap, luxury skin & badge.
All they succeed with are FWD crossovers and pickup based SUVs. No cars anymore.
*The Cadillac Catera of 1996, Lincoln LS of 1999, Cadillac CTS of 2002, XLR roadster of 2003, and STS and Chrysler 300 of 2004, show American RWD has been weakly acknowledged by American buyers in the luxury segment.
The CT4 and CT5 are not enough.
So you experience torque-steer
Hardtop is an option ...??
I know it came out in 1987, but Pininfarina went way too boxy with the design. It dated the car quickly. GM was coming out with some rather curvy, forward-thinking designs in the late '80s. Refer to late '80s Cadillac concept cars for inspiration. They should have gone that route. I suspect it would have sold better.
It's a godsend to see you in the comments, commenting with sense and not uninformed bluster most people here do.
I've seen the internal design proposals from 1982 and they were reasonable, being quite similar to other cars released by GM in 1986-88, but they were insultingly passed over by some Roger Smith and some dumb execs who had a craving for some Italian. IMO Italian automotive design houses were terribly overrated during that period.
Too many of their car designs released in the late 1980s up until about 1995 were woefully outdated in thinking and too boxy.
Even the original Italdesign Lexus GS, looked positively ungainly and overwrought with tacky detailing compared to the rather trim looking Gen 1 LS 400 and ES 300s (pre-2001).
Problem with the Italian efforts truly was, designs were drawn up and finalized extremely early. What was done in 1987, barely appeared in dealers in 1992. MB almost ran into the same issue, but had much better designers who saved the day.
BMW in example, had the final E36 3-Series designed by September 1986, but it didn't go on sale until January-Feb 1991 and June 23, 1991 ('92 325i for USA).
E46 design finalization was late 1994 for April 1998 intro, E90 was March 2002 for March 2005 introduction. F30 3-Series was March 3, 2009 against February 2012 release, while the current G20 was November 30, 2015 finalization against February 2019 arrival. See how it gets shorter and shorter?
Cadillac already had this same design, sitting at Pininfarina in August of 1983, identical to the example in the video, but made of fiberglass and not production metal.
I hate many Italian designs from this era for that reason, as they're inferior to stuff designed internally. The Peugeot 406 was the exception to this rule, but was based on the inhouse design from 1991 and itself borrowing from the 405.
It's magazine racers and silly journalists who overhype everything European as without fault. GM finished the 1992 Seville in 1987 and the Eldorado version in 1988.
Renault had the same issue, until they hired a new design director in 1988 and started getting better designs by 1993. Most French, Spanish SEAT and Italian new designs were awful until 1995ish
EDIT: *Peugeot 406 coupe by Italdesign was the exception to this rule, because the sedan was designed by inhouse Peugeot team in 1991 and itself an evolution of the 605 and 405, originally developed as the "506 sedan".
It was that kind of boxy, because the Merc.SLs (R107 and maybe proposals of R129) were too.
John Manoogians proposals looked more like that, what becomes Buick Riviera and Reatta later on.
@@Romiman1 The R129 didn't exist when Cadillac designed this car...
The *R107* 380SL with 155 hp was the benchmark, but as usual the TH-cam comments are...
@@nwezetx1 Yes, but Mercedes' way of Design (by Bruno Sacco) was already visible (W124...),
so Cadillac appearantly knew, the Buick Reatta look wouldn't compeed...
(Cadillac surely knew about the true age of the R107.)
Then the car was axed after 1993
…the dreaded NorthStar V8
That is still better than todays China crap!
59K? What junk...
I can save you some time. This car has no redeeming qualities.
Dampening? 2:47 Who wrote this copy?
Damping, right?
Have you guy’s at motor week ever reviewed a Honda cr-z? I would like to see that review
Look at their channel on their Retro Review playlist and see but I’m quite sure it’s on there. Any vehicle they reviewed for the show is on their channel so you got to figure you’ll find it. Good luck 👍🏼🍀
According to Schlabubvvo soon All Gas cars will be illegal