***Classic Cadillac Fans - Fetch Your Diapers!***

[2o6]

I wasn't around for the 80's, but I always thought that this car was an odd prospect.


If the Quad 4 actually lasted long enough, 190HP in a small compact seems like a good idea.

[Hachee]

The thing I hated the most about these Eldorados (and Sevilles) was that they looked a lot like an N-body Pontiac Grand Am:



The proportions and lines were eerily similar.

Totally agree.  I always thought the same.  Made them even worse.

[Madman]

I was just wondering about one thing though: that grille upfront looks like a Lincoln rip-off (which itself was said to have been "inspired" by a Rolls Royce grille).

The grille on this car is an aftermarket accessory, just like the dummy spare on the back and the fake cabrio roof.  Some of these roofs had landau bars on the sides, but the worst looking ones were the ones that had the real sunroof set in the middle of the fake cabrio top.  Talk about excess!  I see Mr. Cadillac Man also has the wire-spoke wheels and the whitewalls, too.  Tell him the whitewalls need to be wider for that true 1980s pimp look. 

I've seen worse.  All the chrome could have been plated in gold. 


Madman of the People

[the Teuton]

If Germans like our old shitty Cadillacs, why don't they actually like the nice ones on sale today?

[2o6]

If Germans like our old shitty Cadillacs, why don't they actually like the nice ones on sale today?

There's no reason to buy one over a BMW or MB.


And the engines are too big.

[Jon?]

There's no reason to buy one over a BMW or MB.

And the engines are too big.

Sure there is.  I cross-shopped all three and got more car for the money.

[2o6]

Sure there is.  I cross-shopped all three and got more car for the money.

Germans.


You can get a 316 and a C200. The smallest engine in the CTS is a fuel-sucking 2.8L.

[Jon?]

Germans.

You can get a 316 and a C200. The smallest engine in the CTS is a fuel-sucking 2.8L.

Ah.  I never looked at the smaller powerplant.  I wanted the decent sized 6 which for the year I bought was the 3.6.

[Vinsanity]

Sure there is.  I cross-shopped all three and got more car for the money.

lol, I did the same thing and ended up with the same car

Ah.  I never looked at the smaller powerplant.  I wanted the decent sized 6 which for the year I bought was the 3.6.

there's no point in buying the 2.8 anyways; they're just as fuel-inefficient as the 3.6. 2.8's, however, are much cheaper in the used market, but also much less common.

[3.0L V6]

^That is hot.^   

Wasn't there also a THM-400 transmission that was mated to the diesel Cadillac's which was one of the worst tranny's ever made?

The THM400 was one of the strongest transmissions GM ever made. You're probably thinking of the THM-200, 200-R4 or 700R4, the later, weaker TurboHydramatics and early 4-speeds made by GM.

As for the Olds diesel: it was not a gasoline engine block - the diesel's block was significantly stronger (in fact, drag racers liked to use them cause they were that strong), but the Achilles' heels of the design were the weak head bolt design (they would stretch or snap and damage the headgasket) and the lack of a water separator - letting incompressible water into the combustion chamber. I think Car and Driver drove an Olds diesel in their Diesel Beater article - IIRC the engine had ~120,000 miles on it.

The Cadillac HT4100 was another mediocre engine -details of some of the problems it had here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_V8_engine#HT-4100

[cawimmer430]

The THM400 was one of the strongest transmissions GM ever made. You're probably thinking of the THM-200, 200-R4 or 700R4, the later, weaker TurboHydramatics and early 4-speeds made by GM.

As for the Olds diesel: it was not a gasoline engine block - the diesel's block was significantly stronger (in fact, drag racers liked to use them cause they were that strong), but the Achilles' heels of the design were the weak head bolt design (they would stretch or snap and damage the headgasket) and the lack of a water separator - letting incompressible water into the combustion chamber. I think Car and Driver drove an Olds diesel in their Diesel Beater article - IIRC the engine had ~120,000 miles on it.

The Cadillac HT4100 was another mediocre engine -details of some of the problems it had here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_V8_engine#HT-4100

Great info. Thanks.