1978 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegace 7.0L 425cid V8 from North America
Summary:
A classy luxury liner
Faults:
The carb was sticky and the secondaries wouldn't open, so I had to rebuild it.
General Comments:
This thing is big. Not quite as big as the 75-76 models, but still 222" long and 76" wide, and a healthy 4314 pounds.
This model has the velour seats and they're very comfortable. I still say the 75 DeVille I had with cloth seats was slightly more comfortable because of its sheer size, but this car has to be the second most comfortable car ever.
It sips a lot of gas. It averages about 11mpg in the city and 14 highway. It's low compression so it can run on 86 octane cheap gas.
The 425cid V8 is neutered, but it still gets the car moving. I'm either swapping in a 500cid engine or selling the car.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 2nd November, 2003
15th Mar 2020, 22:36
I sat in one of these last year, at the junkyard. It was obviously a top of the line Caddy even with some digital buttons on the dash. But what got my attention were the front seats. Just like in the review above, it had dark red velour seats with a double 'padding' - just like a top pillow like in this picture https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/387168899189906189/
I sat in several modern luxury cars, BMW 7 series, Audi 6 series, Volvo, and even a Range Rover. The Caddy had the most comfortable seats.
18th Mar 2020, 20:46
My dad who owned Lincoln Town Cars and Cadillac’s bought a mid 70s full size pillarless Chrysler with double seats and said it was the most comfortable. Looked like a sofa. I love the 18 way optional leather seats in my 911. Perfect alignment to my spine.
7th Sep 2008, 06:07
At age 16, the 1978 Fleetwood Brougham was the car I learned to drive in. It was about a year old at the time. 30 years later, I can honestly say that I have yet to drive in or ride in a more comfortable car. Nor have I seen anything since that matches the luxury and ride of that car. When it was new, the 425V8 had real spunk from a dead stop and the handling on tight curves was pretty impressive for two and a half tons of rolling living-room, and I don't have to tell you how a 16 year old boy drives a car. I used to swear that the car drove itself.