Last of the Breed: 1979 Cadillac Sedan deVille
Cadillac fans have anguished for more than the past four decades about the direction of the brand. Once the “Standard of the World,” Cadillac has produced some great cars and also some real clunkers over that time. While it is hard to pinpoint the last of the great Cadillacs, I have a suggestion. Count me as one of the people who feel that this 1979 Cadillac Sedan deVille for sale on eBay in New Bensalem, Pennsylvania represents a high-water mark for the brand. Why? This was the last year you could purchase a rear-wheel drive Cadillac sedan with Cadillac’s wonderful large displacement V-8 under the hood. With only 68,000 original miles and in excellent shape, this beautiful brown Cadillac is ready to introduce its new owner to just what a Cadillac should be. The bidding starts at $9,000, or you can Buy it Now and drive away for $11,700. Is that a fair price for a great Caddy?
I must admit that I am a bit biased. My grandparents were Cadillac connoisseurs. The first one I remember was a fire engine red 1973 Coupe deVille with a white vinyl top. The second was a beautiful white 1977 Sedan deVille D’Elegance with a pillowy blue cloth interior. My grandfather passed, and the 1977 was traded in on a white 1988 Sedan deVille with a brown leather interior. That pile of garbage soured me on front-wheel drive Cadillacs, but the other two were fantastic automobiles that were always first chosen to take long trips in.
One of my most memorable experiences in a Cadillac was a marathon trip to the fabled AACA Fall Swap Meet in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I was in college at the time, so I ended up driving the 1977 for most of the trip. It was primarily my grandmother’s car, and she kept it immaculate. Well, at least it was immaculate until my grandfather mud-bogged out of one of the former cow field parking lots at Hershey. The short journey was done at a speed that allowed you to feel the car’s centrifugal motion dragging the bottom over high spots in the field, and that forward motion was mostly in a lateral direction. It had rained all day long and had turned the field to a brown substance the consistency of chocolate pudding. Wiser folks had left the field and there were a lot of ruts in the mud (Does anyone remember mud at Hershey?). We returned home with a mud-packed undercarriage. Even the insulation on the hood was slathered in reconstituted hay. He was never forgiven…
Other than the mud fiesta and its lasting marital repercussions, I remember what a spectacular road car that Cadillac was. 19MPG and all the speed you need while riding on a cloud. While this 1979 model isn’t quite as gorgeous as that 1977, this car is exceptionally well preserved. It has a documented 68,000 miles on the odometer and still wears its original paint and vinyl top. The seller tells us that it was first sold in North Carolina to the person who would care for it until 2022. It then changed hands to someone in Pennsylvania.
Inside, the spacious interior is swaddled in brown leather, with brown carpets and trim. Among the standard features are an AM/FM radio, air conditioning, power steering, power brakes, power windows, power door locks, and cruise control. The pictures reveal no damage, and none is mentioned in the ad.
While we aren’t treated to an under-the-hood shot of the 425 cubic-inch Cadillac-specific engine, the seller tells us that its fuel is metered by an eight-barrel carburetor. This is a typo, as you could either have a four-barrel carburetor or an optional fuel injection for this last year of the 425. Not to mention I don’t think I have ever heard of an 8-barrel carburetor. There has been some recent work done to get the car back on the road and to get the air conditioning system and braking system back up to speed. The car is said to start immediately after practicing the lost art of pumping the gas pedal a few times before turning the key all the way.
Sitting here, I can’t help but think back to what a great car that 1977 Sedan deVille was. Perhaps one day I will write a short story about the trip to Hershey. It was a different time, and Cadillacs were different then as well. Hopefully, the new owner has some fantastic adventures of their own in this last-of-the-breed Cadillac.
Do you have any memories of classic Cadillacs? If so, please share them in the comments.
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Comments
My father had a 1979 black sedan deville. Red leather interior. It had a 425 under the hood. Great car. Even had a digital radio with an 8 track player. And a real cheesy 8 track tape to go with it. He traded it for a Chevy caprice in 1983. Mistake.
We had the same exact car in light gray. Took my road test in that car. It was agreat vehicle.
The very first Cadillac I ever rode in was a ’57 Sedan deville or Fleetwood hardtop . It rode like a dream and probably passed everything but the gas pumps ! They were a city block long , and back then bigger was better until the oil embargo hit in 1973 -‘ ’74 . Driving a big Cadillac is okay as long as there’s gas . Happy Motoring !
Nice car! I had a 77 Coupe Deville for 18 years, from 1995 to 2013. It had 57k miles when I bought it from a little old lady who was the second owner, and always kept it garaged. I put around 15k miles on it during my ownership, it was the most reliable car I ever had. I hope this Sedan Deville finds a good home.
Zen… Do you still have it? 🐻🇺🇸
Was that 🎵Little Old Lady 🎶From 🎵Pasadena? 🎶 and was it parked in a rickety Old Garage? 🎵 😉
I really like the color combo in & out.The paint looks fantastic. Last year of a good motor before that V8-6-4 & the 4100 that came along in ’82.
But being in the states it was in, I would like to see the door bottoms & underside.
Oh, I would like to see that 8-barrel carb. That would be the attention-getter at Cars & Coffee or any car show for that matter. Yeah, I know it’s a typo!
Hi Jon. Once again great 🤔 minds drive the same roads to find the Barn 😅 🤣 😂 LOL 👍
Would make for a unique intake manifold for it to mount to. Mentally sketching it out as I type. 🤔
How about a rat rod?😆
Have you ever seen one with the special 24 barrel version? THOSE are super trick! I almost bought one, but turns out I was dreaming. What a RIP! Damn…
Very nice Cadillac. If I was the seller I would have removed the items hanging from the rear view mirror, a bling bling dollar sign and a pistol? They should show the car as stock and not personalized, someone might get an impression from seeing those.
I agree with you, it bothers me to see non factory wheels on classic sedans from the mid century! I have sold tires and am aware that older rim sizes can be challenging to get, but isn’t that’s what corker tire is for? Cars are rolling history lessons, a statement of our collective past and should be treated as such!!
A rapper must have owned it judging by the chain hanging from the rear view. Beautiful car though. Brown must have been a popular color because I saw one for sale just like this in Virginia Beach although not in nice of shape and I regret not looking into it further.
😉 Some people prefer to have something in a plain brown wrapper! 😮 Sometimes I just can’t help myself
Beautiful Cadillac.. the only problem I remember was the headlight adjustment screws would break causing the headlight to go out adjustment. I wish the new owners good luck.. 🐻🇺🇸
Proposed 💍 in the front seat of a 77 Coupe de Ville. Subsequently had 89 Fleetwood Brougham deElegance. Absolutely OTT Cadillac Luxury with tufted velour seats. The engine gave me plenty of power for smooth acceleration. Great car and STILL Standard of the WORLD. My 93 Brougham was a step down. Quality of interior👎. Numerous problems, especially premature rust though of rear wheel openings allowed moisture in trunk and rear seats. Styling didn’t have quite the traditional Cadillac cache. Have since switched to Town Cars. Even those have been replaced by glorified trucks. Almost purchased 80 Fleetwood Coupe and 81 Coupe de Ville with V6. The V6, along with diesel, and V864 were huge factors in Cadillacs descent. Bigger Still was the further downsized fwd Cadillacs AND giving them treasured De Ville and Fleetwood names. Recall a Town Car ad clearly showing how much Cadillac, Buick, and Oldsmobile were easily mistaken for one another. Sad to see what now wears the Cadillac name 😕. Glorified trucks 🚚. 🤮
Cadillac, for a long time now, is trying to be a european sports car, rather than a luxury car. And, of course, SUVs.
That is what a Cadillac should be! The modern crossovers are about as exciting as a vacuum cleaner! When I was a child, I DREAMED of Cadillacs, Now I rather have an Infinity or. A Lexus or even a Mazda! How the mighty have fallen!
See my post. Totally agree. Sadly the Standard of the WORLD is now completely CADILLACKING.
Hi guys. I believe the Escalades for the last 22 years have been great cars. Cadillac cars today sure aren’t what they used to be. I have rented a couple newer small ones, they good. Not what the old ones were. I had a 1976 Cadillac deville, fun car to have. Don’t buy Japanese tho. Buy American. All my cars are American and are great. All mopars and a Corvette. Have a good day!
My Caddy story fwiw. Never owned one myself but my parents did. My father was in the Parks and Rec for our county and though he had risen the ranks to district supervisor, he was not in the “new Cadillac” tax bracket. However, sometime in the late 70s he decided he was in the used Cadillac bracket and came home with a Sedan de Ville in a color similar to this one but I think it had a darker roof.
This was about the time I was getting into cars and when I saw 500ci under the hood I was amazed. (BTW, one of my car dreams is to build a hot rod around that engine. Would hardly need to modify the engine at all)
A few years later when I started to drive I was actually scared to floor that beast from a start. Well, I was for a little while. :)
It, like most of them, died from rust, even in our S. Fla home. It was replaced with a late 70s or maybe 1980 Monte Carlo which was nice but not the same.
Jeff Bennett, boy do I remember the mud of Hershey….aaaaaand Carlisle. Every year the weeks prior we would watch the weather and wonder if we would need sneakers or hip waders…lol. I never had one of these but drove and sadly scraped many by the late 80s. I did put the 425 from one in a 78 wood sided Cutlass wagon back then. My love was 59 to 76 and by the 90s I had the ones I wanted and considered these just cars, like the square Caprice I still drive. In fairness these were the last of the greats of this body style. The world would turn cold and grey as the 4100 disease would kill off most of the population. That coupled with V6s and metric 200 transmissions would leave the beltway battle lost to the Empire of Lincoln during the Malaise dynasty. In one last attempt reinforcements from the Chevrolet clan would deliver one last great contender to exit the final of this body style from the beltway with style and grace. From there a star from the north would ….depending on who you ask,… shine but all for not as the Empire in the east rose to overrun the beltway with nondescript electronic jellybeans and giant gargantuan boxes would rein supreme. The great ones like here would fade to distant memories in time domed to the automotive tar pits.
Definitely never considered an import (with exception of ROLLS-ROYCE which was out of my reach). Dad would haunt me! 45 years at Inland Steel! 👍. Foreign names are FOREIGN to me even if built here! 🇺🇸 USA 🇺🇸 strong 💪. God did bless America with cars like this!
I arrived from Cuba in April, 1969. My father at the time had a baby blue 1961 Ford Galaxie 4 door sedan. We were driving north on U.S. 1 just before the entrance to I-95. As I looked out from the back seat, a black 1959 Cadillac Sedan DeVille passed us and drove up to I-95. I fell in love with the car. Many years later I wanted one but never followed my desire to have one. Now, unless I hit the lottery, they’re unattainable to me. I don’t care for the newer Cadillacs, either.
Tomas
In my opinion Cadillac is now at the bottom of all. It’s a shame that the American luxury quality and ingenuity has all but disappeared.
It’s all about bigger,flashier & faster. But they don’t hold up the challenge of car driving.
I never lease and always buy my car. I like my car. It’s my car. My butt fits the seat perfectly all my settings are set to me. I despise having to buy a new car either used or new. It’s not my car. It’s a stranger surrounding me.
It takes a good year to get a car broken in just right. In today’s world people no longer respect the other and have no issues with banging,pinging or scratching your new car. And honestly once some lil lady has let her shopping cart do its parking lot Hula dance up against my car. I no longer care to keep it pristine.
I remember when people were actually afraid to park too close to what was considered high end automobiles.
Was absolutely the demarcation point for Cadillac. 67 yrs old now, meaning I’m the correct age to have owned a dozen of these when they were used and cheap and relatively pristine and always under 2500 bucks. Fav was my 79 white, white top ….light blue leather interior, split seat Brougham with 70 k. Absolutely quiet inside but the doors never shut on first slam. Always had to slam because of air lock. Great road cars but looking back it’s the 74 to 76, far larger, that I miss. Down to 1 car on road now. Sold my 2006 SRX with Northstar few months ago. Kept my 2006 Town Car Designer. Old habits die hard.
Hard to teach Old dogs new tricks. But we KNOW what is a bone us 😉 when it comes to Traditional OTT American luxury. Like you, I will cling to my 2007 Signature Limited as the last gasp of traditional American Luxury.
Owned a 1978 like this in college, very cheap quality, but dependable
My lawyer bought a ‘79 Sedan de Ville d’elegance. Dark blue with light blue velour pillow top interior. Oh, how I loved that car.
When it turned 100,000 miles he sold it to me for $1,000. I drove it another 100,000 miles and my lawyer asked to buy it back. (He had ordered a car that was way out in delivery). I took $1000.
Later, he sold it to a client for $1,000.
Bottom line- best car I ever had. Prejudiced me against leather interior.
Again, Great car.
Hi Jon i once had a 1978 DE’ELAGANCE White body, powder blue top, powder blue interior man what a car drive that car for years!!!!! Really like have this one ASAP 216-372-7403
100% agree with Jeff ,on this being the last of the truly great Cadillacs.I would argue that there have been many VERY GOOD ones since ,but I digress.Sprinkled in with my mainly muscle car collection , are a few luxury liners including what I consider the pinnacle of this series of Devilles;
!979 Coupe Deville “D’ Marchand Edition (also known as the “Chicago Deville” Only a couple hundred built -all in two tone black and silver, with red pin striping, inside and out .The car looks like Chip Foose did a mild custom,but more tasteful than most of his stuff lol.I just thought I would add a tidbit of Caddy trivia ,as I know most have never heard of the D’ Marchand.
I have rarely driven in ANYTHING that absorbs everyday bumps in the road like an old fullsize Cadillac .Unfortunately manufacturers and enthusiast magazines have chosen to ignore the ratio of bumps and holes in the road to corners and twisty canyons .
I had a D’ Marchand in the late 80’s. Made it to the local 10:00 news when they had a clip of me driving up to the main post office in Milwaukee on April 15th to drop off my taxes.
Greatest interior ever! Black leather with silver inserts, and red piping between the colors.
Thought I was the only one who recalls the Magnificent DMarchand. 👍
One way to know a 79’ Cadillac any model is by the interior wood it’s swirled.
I’ve owned several over the years. My first was a 1956 4 door sedan de ville with factory air.(plastic tubes in the back) It was 1965, I was in the Navy and stationed in Pensacola. The old girl was priced at 195.00 kind of ratty interior, power windows that worked (at least the front ones) I offered 125 and bought it . From that grew my lifetime love affair with big Cars. 77,79, both awesome,bought used, I’m not now nor was I ever wealthy. Two El Dorados 97 and 2002 both great. Current ride,a 2006 DeVille 88k miles. My point is an old full sized Cadillac is the best ride ever. I’d sure jump on this one but my wife………nuff said
My second car was a ’78 Sedan de Ville. All dark green with leather. I bought it usedf rom Hertz with 20,000 miles on it. It replaced my ’72 Olds Delta 88 that was hit by a kid who ran a stop sign on a rainy day and sent me into a tree. I was fine, but the Olds, with 116.000 miles, was history. The Caddy was great until about 55.000 miles. First, the carburetor needed rebuilding, then the transmission needed rebuilding. I then bought an ’80 Coupe de Ville with 11,000 miles on it and sold the ’78 privately.
My favorite Cadillac was and is in memory the Seville 76 to 1st of 1979. The Seville elegante!!
My Aunt bought one of the very 1st off the assembly line in 1976. I remember my grandfather saying to her. I thought you were buying a Cadillac? That’s no caddy. It’s a joke.
He of course was into the land yacht style. Even sitting next to his 74 Deville you could see it was more compact. Which at that time was the point.
It was the gas crisis and GMs attempt to attract the younger audience. It offered the safety of a Cadillac and more fuel economy (supposedly) but it most certainly did not skimp on the luxury element.
I of course was used to the large models and the luxury of. But in my opinion the Seville was more so much more in the way of luxury somewhat Sublime and understated elegance.
It was a solid car and yes I know that all the new technology put into it made it impossible to maintain. But let me tell you. That car was a dream ride. Smooth as silk and the most comfortable and beautifully appointed.
Hers was firemist silver with leather. It made you feel safe and ever so rich. I adored it. Of course I was 13 years old at the time. But it lived in my heart and head forever,in fact still does.
So in 1983 when I saw one on a used car lot for the meager price of just 5.000. I had to have it. Not exactly the car of my dreams but close enough. It was a 1978 beautiful dark blue with light blue vinyl roof and a velour interior and an upgrade velvet carpet. Basically a close woven low pile shag. So no leather.
But trust me. I lived with it wonderfully!!!
The lines of it were perfection the handling exceptional I was 20 years old when I bought that car!! I am now 61. And that car haunts me every single day.
I have never treated a car like that. It was washed twice a week,waxed once a month. The windows were never dirty. You were not allowed to eat or drink in the Seville and even though I was at the time a heavy smoker nobody including me ever smoked in the Seville!!!! If it was raining I even critiqued friends shoes😂😂.
Unfortunately the catalytic converter went out on it and the Cadillac dealership here in Durham Nc. Did not and would not supply parts. I was informed that you were unable to get parts for them. It was easier to get parts for a 1950 than a 1978 Seville. Makes no sense but that’s the way it goes.
But nothing has ever made me feel the way that car did. The way it glistened in the aftermath of rain. The gleam of it and watching myself pass every single plate glass window I passed. To the point I was always in the right lane slowly driving so I could see it float from window to window.
The shear joy of those heavy doors closing. The hum of the electronic antenna slowly rising and the sweet sound of those power windows.
The luxurious feeling from the auto dimmer??and intermittent wipers.
I truly think that was the last great Cadillac.
In my opinion if they brought that car back in the same box shape 4 door sedan with all the original bells and whistles plus all the new inventions WOW.
Cadillac would bank a fortune. Imagine that car in a convertible!!!!
Id rob Fort Knox to get one with a perfect 0 mile odometer.
For me the first (and most) Sevilles were a CATACLYSMIC disaster. Give me the GREAT AMERICAN LAND YACHTS, let the peasants eat dust! 🏰. On to VERSAILLES! 😉
Mechanically yes. But the elegance was unbeatable in my opinion. I think it was too much unknown innovation they did not understand. Dealerships hated working on them.
The FIRST Sevilles were fabulous. Just ask any Eldorado in the 50s and early 60s with a steel roof. I drove a 60 for over a decade and still have it tucked away. The Seville Nova of the late 70s ….well in all fairness nice for the time. I knew people that loved them and by the late 80s I was stacking them like every other car. Seldom seen today. There was one at the u pull it a year or so ago and not one piece left it while it sat in death row.
Yes Chris. I agree. And you are totally correct you never see them anymore. You can but it’s rare. Typically rich men who bought 1 simply because they could and kept it garaged.
I remember the very 1st movie the Hitcher in like mid 80s featured it. A red one. I remember as they passed the Volkswagen on the ride and the kid driving it from the west coast to the east coast. Again for a rich collector. Said to whatever his name was. Do you think we should help them? The killer said I have,oh he said? How ? And he said I cut off their arms their legs and their heads. And I’m going to do the same thing to you!!
Chilling!!! I never picked up a hitchhiker after. But it was the door ajar light that saved him.
He just screamed no you’re not and pushed him hard against it and out he went.
Of course my thoughts were please don’t hurt the car. Next was in a movie called Jade. There was 1 prominently displayed street parked in front of the house a murder took place.
Then we have Betty Whites that her husband bought for her. I think it’s going up for auction. But it’s in my opinion that canary yellow was the most god awful color!!!
Elvis still has his in his collection and I think that I saw on here where he had bought the security team brand new ones I think 1 was up for auction on here.