Learn more about the 1976 Fleetwood Brougham D'Elegance, the last of the largest Cadillacs!
Пікірлер: 318
@christopherkraft1327 Жыл бұрын
It's amazing just how huge the Fleetwoods, Continentals & Imperials were in the seventies!!! I miss those big tubs!!! 😁
@bobhill3941 Жыл бұрын
I never knew those "bumper fillers" were for mild impact absorption, I thought they were just gratuitous length!
@gillesbueno1153 Жыл бұрын
An American who cannot afford to drive a V8 is NOT an American! - he doesn’t think big !…😂😊
@prof.t.c.pfeiler1280 Жыл бұрын
@@gillesbueno1153 Not only an American!
@gillesbueno1153 Жыл бұрын
@@prof.t.c.pfeiler1280 ☝️ I agree…
@melroze Жыл бұрын
Except they all had terrible leg room in the back.
@markdc1145 Жыл бұрын
This is one car who’s front end styling actually improved in the mid-70s thanks largely to the square lamps. But I agree that the fins on the earlier models were nicer and those flexible fillers always looked a little wavy even when new.
@garysandiego Жыл бұрын
I had always felt opposite. The square lights seemed to me to be uninventive.
@RobertSmith-le8wp Жыл бұрын
I agree, I’ve always been a round headlight guy as well, however, neither one looks bad. I may just be nostalgia from growing up during that era but I absolutely love double square headlights like the 80’s Camaros, Buick Regals, Monte Carlo, etc. heck even the 80’s Audis look cool with the square headlights. My neighbor owns a mint 1990 Chevy Suburban with the double headlights on each side and I think it looks fantastic
@paulparoma Жыл бұрын
*whose
@paulparoma Жыл бұрын
@@RobertSmith-le8wp I like those rectangular headlights, too. They looked quite modern for the time, fit all cars and cost very little to replace.
@HAL-dm1eh Жыл бұрын
@@RobertSmith-le8wp As a Ford guy the fox Mustang deserves a mention here. The "four eyes" as we call them now had a great overall look because the square head lights fit the rest of the design. When Ford tried to round off the front end in 1987 it became somewhat tacky.
@johnbenton9035 Жыл бұрын
I got my driver license in 1976. My parents were comfortably middle-class but not of the Cadillac crowd until a few years later. I remember this car well and "lusted" for it. I eventually got a 76 Eldorado convertible but to this day I look at this Fleetwood Brougham D'Elegance with a certain envy.
@LlyleHunter Жыл бұрын
Wouldn’t they make a perfect pairing?
@waynejohnson1304 Жыл бұрын
I have a 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. When I go for a Sunday drive or on vacation, I leave my XTS, CTS4, and DeVille at home. It floats down the highway like no other car being built today. By the way, there are lights in the fins. They illuminate when the lights are on. I average just 9.9 MPG on mine. Another thing, I can actually get my brother's 10-speed bicycle in the trunk of this car and close the trunk lid.
@rgrndu7 ай бұрын
You only take one car at a time? Odd.
@waynejohnson13047 ай бұрын
@@rgrndu How many cars do you take when vacationing?
@patriciaconlin10613 ай бұрын
wow! what a neat old car!
@DSP1968 Жыл бұрын
These cars look best in black or dark blue metallic -- the D'Elegance interior was quite something, I agree.
@dmzabo3914 Жыл бұрын
I agree 💯. Those sure were the days for gigantic luxury vehicles. As long as you got a Tuesday or Wednesday made car from the factory.
@williamgunn1076 Жыл бұрын
Daddy drove a '76 D-Elegance for years. He had the optional CB radio built in too.
@craigmiller5876 Жыл бұрын
Honest to god, your show is like I died and went to heaven! All my favorite cars and I can’t get enough of the obscure Cadillacs from the 70s and 80s. 1971 thru 1996 are my all time favorites 🙌
@lessbs Жыл бұрын
We had a 1975 that I learned to drive on. I did take my test in the Fleetwood and also parallel parked it with a perfect score.
@michaelcoffey7362 Жыл бұрын
Cool 🥰
@dmzabo3914 Жыл бұрын
Go one wit yo bad self. lol. That wasn't an easy feat . Well done.
@garyruark9506 Жыл бұрын
The 1971 - 1976 Fleetwood. The best 70's land yacht! The bumper fillers on this car are replacements and they did a good job installing them. I know someone that had them made in sheet metal and they look terrific. The Fleetwood 75 Limo had an interesting roof. It was higher above the top of the doors and it had that cut into the roof for the rear doors.
@LlyleHunter Жыл бұрын
I remember the way the top of the door cut into the roof without lithe way that the 1983 Thunderbird did but under a dressy tightly grained vinyl roof.
@r.hill.2369 Жыл бұрын
Lovely road car. Imagine driving from S.F. to Vegas for a fun weekend with friends back then.
@jamesmiller7494 Жыл бұрын
I miss over the top! I like poofy pillow seats and suspension that absorbed bumps and rough roads. I wish we could still have this. With the vehicles today we've gone back in time to the horse and buggy riding on a buck board.
@allenwayne2033 Жыл бұрын
Totally agree!
@ralphl7643 Жыл бұрын
With an aging population, you'd think someone would cater to those of us with loose teeth and stiff joints.
@hernandocortez635110 ай бұрын
I remember when automotive journalist started getting excited about cars that had more European handling, allowing one to "feel the road." Great for sports cars, but that was the end of comfortable, long-distance freeway cruisers. Now, rock hard low profile tires and "sport-tuned" suspensions are everywhere.
@dave1956 Жыл бұрын
Back in the late 70’s I was working for a used car wholesaler. We bought a 1976 Fleetwood that was 2 years old. What a beautiful car it was. The owners wife had to use it one day and said that it was just the right size!
@LlyleHunter Жыл бұрын
George Burns once made a joke that cars were getting so long you could get into a collision in two different intersections at the same time.
@dave1956 Жыл бұрын
@@LlyleHunter That’s really cute. I have never heard that one, and I’m older than dirt! I remember my father telling me of a joke that he heard Johnny Carson. He said that if skirts get any shorter women will have two more cheeks to powder and another lock of hair to comb.
@randyfitz8310 Жыл бұрын
We bought one for my friend about 30 years ago. Lovely motorcar!
@stephendavidbailey2743 Жыл бұрын
The Wreath on the headlight knob amuses.
@rgrndu7 ай бұрын
Perfect. That was the original intention.
@robertdiehl9003 Жыл бұрын
I loved the 76 Fleetwood formal series 75 - factory built formal limousine.
@TG-ix9id Жыл бұрын
252.2" long!
@petermartinijr.10127 ай бұрын
Nice. Does it have the cloth seats or leather. Growing up my father owned a limousine company, so I remember the 1976 Limousine when they were new. Then the 1977’s came out, they were so much smaller.
@ralphl7643 Жыл бұрын
The standard Fleetwood seats had big buttons, too, in '76, and IMO looked nicer than both special editions, but they dropped the bordello velour from '75. I had a '74. The footrests are quite functional. It's surprising how sharply these boats could turn, which made them easy to parallel park-- if you could find a 21'+ space.
@1000nevin Жыл бұрын
Wow what a sweet car the epitome of elegance!
@LlyleHunter Жыл бұрын
Oh gosh they were indescribably elegant and sumptuously comfortable like nothing else.
@dmandman9 Жыл бұрын
Brother, I’m amazed at the detail of your knowledge. Who else could remember something as detailed as the position of a spark plug wire hats off to you.
@robertschmalbach9840 Жыл бұрын
Love the long 70s Caddys. My grandfather had a 73 Coupe DeVille in dark blue with a white vinyl top and white leather interior. Remember as a little kid in the early 1980s taking rides to the shore reclining in the back seat. No seat belts, just wasn't allowed to put down the rear quarter windows because they would get stuck.
@MillerMeteor74 Жыл бұрын
I had a 1974 Miller-Meteor Criterion ambulance, which was built on the Cadillac Commercial Chassis. As soon as I brought it home I put it on the scale at our local metal recycling place for curiosity, and it weighed in at 7160 pounds. On my trip from Denver to NJ I wrote down the odometer reading and number of gallons of gas at each fill-up, and it got 14.5 mpg every time. It floated down the road too. That was over 25 years ago though. Oh, and when I got it, it only had about 67,000 miles on it. It ran and drove like new. But the driver's area was very un-Cadillac like. It had manual high-back bucket seats, and air conditioning delete. But that's okay. It was an awesome car. I enjoyed this video.
@rafaelfiallo4123 Жыл бұрын
Air wasn't standard in 1974 except for the Fleetwood 75. The commercial chassis cars had a very basic trim since they were intended to be working vehicles.
@petermartinijr.10127 ай бұрын
My father owned a limousine company, he used to buy the hearses from Miller Meteor. When I was a kid, we flew to their plant in Ohio, and drove home in a new 1972 Miller Meteor hearse.
@MillerMeteor747 ай бұрын
@@petermartinijr.1012 Awesome.
@Tom-mc6fm7 ай бұрын
I was just lucky enough to get a 1975 two weeks ago with 20k miles out of Palm Springs California it is one neck of a car!!! The weather here in Florida has been terrible and I won't drive it in the rain. I can't wait!!. If you can find one get one you won't be disappointed!!
@BigFiveJack Жыл бұрын
This video was another opportunity to be pleasantly entertained and educated!
@v.p.b.2807 Жыл бұрын
When I was a teenager in the mid 90s, a friend bought a '75 Fleetwood in MINT condition. It was white with a light blue crushed velour interior and looked like a new car inside and out. Even the trunk was spotless. It only cost a couple thousand at the time. He loved that car, but it still killed me to see him daily drive it in the Minnesota winters. It didn't stay that nice for long.
@johnz8210 Жыл бұрын
Cool. In their day, when they were new, they were magnificent. How some see them now, 47 years later, a little different perhaps. The low HP 8.2L engine - it didn't feel bad at all, quite torquey, especially the FI version. Smooth quiet power.
@RobertSmith-le8wp Жыл бұрын
A lot of people give them grief for being slow but they were never meant to be a speed demon. They work perfectly for being smooth and for having gobs of torque right off idle and shifting so smoothly. I remember an old Caprice my Dad had that shifted so smoothly unless you really tried hard to tell when it happened you would never know.
@LlyleHunter Жыл бұрын
I had the Caprice and a LeSabre, both in this generation and I loved the way that the Caprice felt like and airplane on a runway when accelerating. It was very smooth and turbine like.
@rafaelfiallo4123 Жыл бұрын
The torque is all down low too, it's like 380 lb-ft at around 2500-3000 rpm
@antonfarquar8799 Жыл бұрын
Interesting that your example was sold by Bob Moore Cadillac which was a downtown dealership in Oklahoma City , which started life as a Greenlease Cadillac dealership I believe in the 1920's (see Greenlease kidnapping case) and subsequently it was Darby Everest Cadillac before becoming Bob Moore which is still in business today.
@charlesb7019 Жыл бұрын
Literally my dream car! With velour of course! I think I like the 1973 model the best.
@craigmiller5876 Жыл бұрын
My grandparent’s 1973 Fleetwood Brougham in phoenix gold with black cloth interior started my Cadillac obsession 44 years ago and it’s still the car I compare all other cars to even today. And it still wins every comparison (at least for me). 😊
@rafaelfiallo4123 Жыл бұрын
I kinda like the 72-73s best too, l like the parking lamps in between the headlights
@olddisneylandtickets Жыл бұрын
Im always on the lookout for those seat belt guides at junkyards, 90% are already faded and broken!
@billh4477 Жыл бұрын
Took my drivers license exam in my Dad’s 73 version. It was a nice car in navy blue, but I liked his 71 Sedan de Ville better. It was light blue with a great multiple hue blue interior. The car that showed me interiors could be more than black spaces.
@426baron Жыл бұрын
The universal black interiors we get today make me so sad.
@edschulhof6303 Жыл бұрын
Great video. These cars were impressive to see and ride in. At 16, I took my driver's license test in a 1968 Pontiac Bonneville. It was longer and wider, than almost every SUV sold today, except for a Chevy Suburban.
@steves9905 Жыл бұрын
Gorgeous. And stately. While the overall length changed somewhat over the years, the Fleetwoods had the 133" wheelbase as a standard...my '58 Fleetwood has that wheelbase although is about 8" shorter
@pcno2832 Жыл бұрын
I believe they dropped the wheelbase stretch for '59-'64, then again for '77-'84 and '85-'86, restoring it for the 60 Special for '87 and '88. I think the extra legroom was what gave the car its identity and that it should have been part of the package in all the model years.
@MrSpartanPaul Жыл бұрын
I own a 76 Fleetwood which I have added dual exhaust to as well as 10.5:1 compression pistons a mild cam and some cylinder head porting. It’s got more than enough power. Hit the gas at 80 mph and you’re at 100 in the blink of an eye.
@DesMck36 Жыл бұрын
I took my road test in my Dad's 76' Sedan DeVille !!!!!!! Big ol' boat !!!!!!!
@salninethousand2496 Жыл бұрын
The fuselage Mopars are my favorite dreadnoughts but these Cadillacs are a strong second. Warm up the 500 V8 with a bit more CR, heads and roller cam and drop in a 3.08 or 3.23 posi rear, and you'd have quite a cruiser! Would love to do that some day.
@mrluckyuncle Жыл бұрын
Do you think GM ever did market research to find out whether people would pay to get real wood - or other improvements in quality?
@MrZdvy Жыл бұрын
Back when cars were actually comfortable👍👍👍 nowadays even expensive cars have seats made out of concrete it seems like. I will never understand that trend.
@gene978 Жыл бұрын
Love this series you are showing. I loved those 4 reading lamps as part of feeling like a king driving this car at age 17. I forgot to mention my Uncle bought the car new and had that Huge Chrome hood extension with the Flying Goddess. Which made the hood so much classier and heavier. :)
@thejeepdoctor Жыл бұрын
My 73 Fleetwood Brougham De’Elegance had one of these. It made the hood want to fall down whenever I was under it. I sold it to a friend and reinstalled the factory hood spring loaded emblem.
@maddywendall2980 Жыл бұрын
This and the Lincoln Town Car were the ultimate in American luxury cars of the 70s
@douglasthrelfall5318 Жыл бұрын
I loved these big boats back in the day. As long as you were going in a straight line on a interstate, you were in heaven, just don’t ask it to change direction too quickly… Cadillac coined the term “Road hugging weight” for a reason!
@Healthliving1967 Жыл бұрын
Those seats should be in large cars today,they are so comfortable and great for long distance driving. My dad had a ford galaxy coupe and i remember the seats were so comfy like sitting in sofa.
@ddellwo Жыл бұрын
Cadillac, Cadillac - long and dark, shiny and black! Open up your engines let’em roar, Tearing up the highway like a big ol’ dinosaur! 🎶
@superkeef1 Жыл бұрын
I don't know how Adam provides Such GREAT car reviews and SO many! wow, these are all very insightful and interesting. This is my favorite channel and I watch streaming on my TV so dont have the opportunity to press the "like" button but I am doing that on my computer now, so Im doing this for all the videos Ive seen lately haha
@RareClassicCars Жыл бұрын
Glad you like them!
@ZGryphon Жыл бұрын
My grade school music teacher had one of these, in this exact color scheme. It had a bumper sticker on it that said MAFIA STAFF CAR.
@Jason-xb3jh Жыл бұрын
LOVE this car!! 👍✨
@whitsundaydreaming Жыл бұрын
This is the Official Boss. It’s as near ‘70’s Cadillac perfection as it got. I’d give a body appendage for this one.
@OLDS98 Жыл бұрын
I recall someone where I grew up that owned this car. It was dark blue. I used to think that car is long. I now know why. I often wondered what the reading lamps on the doors were. I now know why. They used to pay so much attention to detail in the interiors. Just looking at the dials and knobs they have a rich look. You compare the 1993-1996 Cadillac Fleetwood to this Fleetwood, you can see something was lost in the interior in terms of luxury. The 1975 new front end styling was preparing for the 1977 model year. The 1989-1992 Fleetwood was trying to recapture what this car had. I will say the 1989-1992 Sixty Special had better seats. You are correct these car moved. This was not a bad looking car at all. I laughed and appreciate the Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight story as well. Score one for Oldsmobile. I just do not understand why interiors go so cheap looking over time. That is a big factor. Thank you Adam.
@althunder4269 Жыл бұрын
Man that's a nice car. I could live in that thing.
@wmennisny Жыл бұрын
Hey, don't knock those rear-seat footrests, that's a CADILLAC you're talking about! :) For me this is absolutely the epitome of what true excessive and yet glorious American luxury is all about, this 76 is the true epitome body style for me of what it meant to be successful in America during my childhood. I adore it in all it's opulence! And PS: I have always adored that dash, I love that steering wheel, the idiot lights hidden above the cluster, the gas gauge in the middle of the dash, as well as the fiber optics on the front fenders. It's just everything I remember as being special as a kid (my uncle had one) and it STILL looks special and rich! And finally I even like the wiper control - yes, I'm nostalgic, what can I say.
@user-ys2wp4cr9g9 ай бұрын
Perhaps THE most comfortable cars ever built.
@markharkey248011 ай бұрын
Great video Adam! This was one of my favorite cars. My parents had a 1972 Fleetwood Brougham, and it was awesome.
@gregharvie3896 Жыл бұрын
Hi Adam, in my Aussie RHD '74 Fleetwood, there are little lights in the "circular bulge" in the outer rear reflectors units, AND, if these reflectors are unscrewed and kept 'factory" clean they are quite bright, they are strange little "bottle" bulbs and you can buy brighter ones. If this is done the whole reflector unit works to project quite a bright red glow, again I feel this was to appease the ADR (aust design rule) authority. As the Aussie delivered GM-H Aust cars have a unique brochure, AND service manual, as we have an entirely different wiring harness, there are many differences. eg, the Aussie low/dip beams legally to be ADR compliant are brighter that the US high beams, additionally at the rear from May 1974 we needed to have an amber turn indicator at the outer edge of the car, so the Aussie rear lights have amber panels at the outer ends of the light units, and NO clear reverse lens, as the rear amber units were standard fitment to all cars from July 1959. Reverse lights could be amber or clear. Rear Turn indicators 1959 mandate ONLY AMBER. So our GM-HAust built cars have Hella Aust cast rear light units to be compliant. As an aside, some friends in the Aussie Cadillac La Salle club were unaware the outer reflectors actually illiminated with little lights, as due to age, dead bulbs, filth ingress and bad earths they were not working . However I had cleaned up a few guys cars so they now work, plus have fitted brighter little bulbs & now you can get little LED ones that are even brighter. ALSO, the wiper mechanism, if it suddenly starts raining, kill 2 birds with 1 stone, just push WASH, as wipers start IMMEDIATELY on medium speed, and both commence eradicating the rain, and wash any crap of the screen too. Here in Australia the GM pulse wash system was not deemed acceptable by the federal Aust' Design Rule authority (for cars) so our GM Holden, Aust built RHD Fleetwood's also have an second additional normal type full pressure pump including a whole separate water bottle, an additional set of final left & right-side nozzles with twin jets apiece, the fluid bottle is from Holden Torana from the early '70's, and the twin nozzle jets from the Holden Statesman's, so EIGHT jets of water flush the screen, quite impressive. This is the same on both my 1972 & 1974 RHD Fleetwood's SO when you hit wash you get the US pulse action, and the Aussie pressure squirt action, there is so much pressurized water hitting the screen any crud is gone in moments AND, no glass scratching due to so much bulk water. New passengers to my 1972. or my 1974 Fleetwood's are amazed at the "show". 20years ago a cousin in the states bought for me a new set of 5 rear body filler panels, hermetically sealed in a box , never opened in sealed plastic bags ALL the new ones were useless, even in the dark in a box in a warehouse they were commencing self-destruction. Disappointed, as a keen surfer when young I was used to fixing mates surf boards , so I made quite a good temporary set, then in 1995 in a Hemmings magazine there was a COLOR two page spread by a company with GM's approval who was making them in super dark grey resin with some kind of agent in the mix which gave a reasonable amount of flexibility also they were prepped in some kind of special undercoat to allow the flexibility factor. Upon receipt, I wondered how they would fit. They were PERFECT 100% & I was seriously impressed, I painted them black to match the car, and now in March 2023 28 years later they are still perfect, all the holes were drilled, or, cast in them in entirely the correct spot and lined up perfectly. That company made ALL the GM fillers, even the giant nose cones for some Pontiacs & the Stingrays with the flexible nose cones. A mate bought one of the Corvette Stingray ones and again it was perfect, I saw it fitted & it was stunningly correct.
@ralphl7643 Жыл бұрын
US cars have a bulb in the outer "fin," too (required front and rear since 1968). The rest is the required reflector. Good thing you got good fillers when you did. In '82, I hit another car on ice in my '74, and my front corner was crushed, but the bumper itself was unharmed.
@pattschetter Жыл бұрын
I can thank the '08 financial crisis for me learning about these cars. At the time I worked for a contract engineering firm, usually assigned 100% to one or another local construction equipment manufacturer, but due to the turmoil there were suddenly gaps in my usual work. One of the gap-filling projects had me looking into requirements for a bumper-hitch car trailer to be made of aluminum, and my thought process went to something like "my dad's collection of Austin-Healey Sprites are quite small; the '72 Ninety-Eight my grandfather had when I was a kid was quite large. What are the biggest and smallest cars someone might want to put on this trailer?" and it led me to cars like this, the Series 75s and the Imperial on the larger end.
@retroguy9494 Жыл бұрын
I have one of these cars; the D'Elegance model. Ironically, it, too came from Bob Moore Cadillac in Oklahoma City. I bought it off the original owners nephew who had inherited her estate and she lived in Oklahoma. It has 38,000 original miles. These are awesome cars. I remember them when they were new. My 6th grade teacher had one and I remember asking her to sell it to me when I was in college, but she would not. So I had to wait close to 30 years before I got one! LOL The '73 Chrysler Imperial may have been the longest car by an inch, but this Cadillac had the largest post war production engine ever put in a passenger car. 500 cubic inches, or, as he said, 8.2 liter. I'm not sure what he meant about the fins not illuminating. They do! On the sides. They function as the tail lamps. You got good mileage on yours. I never got more than around 10/11 MPG on the highway with mine.
@pcno2832 Жыл бұрын
5:30 One interesting video topic would be an early-production 1977 Fleetwood, made when they were still installing footrests. I assume the footrests made it a little more comfortable for very short people in the rear, but from what I've read, owners complained that the new body, now lacking the 3" wheelbase stretch, didn't have enough legroom to justify the footrests, and that they just got in the way. I've always thought GM should have delayed the downsized Fleetwood and given it a higher roofline, slightly higher seats, and power adjustable thigh-bolsters in the rear (instead of the footrests) to differentiate it from the Deville and preserve its reputation as a car with room for 6 large adults.
@markmoore236 Жыл бұрын
I had owned a 73 sedan Seville, a1970 Imperial, and a 73 Lincoln,paid a 100 dollars for the Lincoln back in1993 sat in a garage for many years,had it towed home got it running and the ac still worked
@donclemons76374 ай бұрын
My favorite car of all time! Love the Black!
@tassotrohatos8391 Жыл бұрын
One of the best Cadillacs ever in my opinion. I grew up with these cars and currently have 2 of them, both d’Elegances.
@errorsofmodernism7331 Жыл бұрын
This car is fitting for any mob boss. It's got that La Cosa Nostra vibe
@Sedan57Chevy Жыл бұрын
It might be the longest but it's still probably half a ton lighter than the modern Escalade.
@jamesengland7461 Жыл бұрын
That Escalade ESV goes as high as 6,407 pounds! Wow!
@keelay1977 Жыл бұрын
Adam, do you think the rear lamps were mounted inboard in 1974 to more easily meet the 5 mph rear bumper impact standard?
@RareClassicCars Жыл бұрын
Could be
@ralphl7643 Жыл бұрын
I seem to remember there were some years the bumper was supposed to be able to take an angled hit, or maybe it was just proposed but not enacted, like the rollover standards that killed convertibles and hardtops. It makes you wonder why they went to the expense of moving the lights back to the fins and adding a fender side light for just the '77-8 Eldorado, but the Mark IV was eating its lunch.
@aWoofy Жыл бұрын
Adam, have been following you for quite some time. but this is my first comment post I beleive I have seen all of your videos, some several times. Really appreciate the detail you provide as well as the inside scoop. Your voice is very easy to listen to and I find your presentations relaxing to watch. Keep em coming. I am such a fan of vintage cars, especialy 60's and 70s when it was possible to distinguish between makes and years unlike today.
@stevelinwood8362 Жыл бұрын
Enjoying you're teaching me of these beautiful cars I grew up with!😊
@desertmodern7638 Жыл бұрын
I remember the reading light on the front passenger door of my 1974 Fleetwood d'Elegance, but not the driver's door. I wonder if that is reflective of a model year change or fading half-century-old memories. Regardless, it was wonderfully special car.
@michaelpfaff6009 Жыл бұрын
Our 1973 Fleetwood Sixty Special had those map lights on both front doors.
@ralphl7643 Жыл бұрын
My '74 base Fleetwood was one-side only, too, but there was a light in the middle of the dash. I guess it was like so many cars didn't have an over-door handle for the driver--his hands should be on the wheel. The '77 Fleetwood had light strips between all door handles and armrests--one year only--plus the 2 swivel ones in the sail panels.
@ralphl7643 Жыл бұрын
@@michaelpfaff6009 Not in this photo: ipocars.com/imgs/a/h/d/k/p/cadillac__fleetwood_1973_14_lgw.jpg
@The_R-n-I_Guy Жыл бұрын
I miss velour seats 😢
@stangslayerws6 Жыл бұрын
Adam, While your on "longest" car kick I wish you could please set up a chat with Wayne about GMs longest 4dr hardtop ever produced (1975/76 Buick Electra) Which was even longer than Cadillacs own 4dr hardtop at the time. The Sedan Deville. Especially since Wayne was chief designer for those particular years of Buick Electra
@Richard4point6 Жыл бұрын
Another great presentation...
@davidallen5776 Жыл бұрын
This was something that was well worth having even when the masses were lusting after all the Toyotas, Nissans and Mazdas of the world!
@filthyanimal874 Жыл бұрын
Absolutely beautiful automobile!!! ❤🇺🇸
@edwardpate6128 Жыл бұрын
My grandfather had a 1976 Brougham and it was very luxurious. I will say that I always felt that the interior room was not totally reflective of the overall size, especially in the front seat. He had previously had a 1960 and 1965 Cadillacs and they for some reason felt much more roomy. My favorite among my families vehicles for room was my other grandmothers 1963 Electra 225 6 window sedan which I later inherited from her in the late 70's.
@NorlandBoxcar Жыл бұрын
Epic sized classy car. Hard to believe it actually existed but it did. Nice..
@markharkey2480 Жыл бұрын
Great video Adam! This was one of my most favorite cars back in the day. It was like a personal limousine.
@Docdug Жыл бұрын
This was the car in which I learned to drive in 1979. From that experience I can parallel park anything! And it was soo comfortable on our yearly trips to FL. This was my mom's car, as my dad drove an Old's 88 (which was large too). Ours had a leather interior which in the summer was grossly hot!
@tombrown1898 Жыл бұрын
The 1969 Cadillac was also a restyle of the rear appearance, squared-up, bulkier. The '69s had a one year only taillight, a red plastic lens, visible on three sides. They sold, but the rear quarter had an unfinished look. That, combined with the less-than-luxurious plastic dash panel, sent Cadillac back to the drawing board for 1970. The taillights returned to a more traditional look.
@antonfarquar8799 Жыл бұрын
you may think I am nuts but to me the last really well made fit & finish Cadillacs were between 1966 & 1968.
@allenwayne2033 Жыл бұрын
@@antonfarquar8799 yep, I think youre right!
@AbcDef-iq4no Жыл бұрын
Saying that the plastic/rubber bumper fillers on these vehices "tended to crack" is quite an understatement. "Tended to completely disintegrate" would be a lot more accurate. The same could be said of all the GM vehicles of this era which utilized these dubious bumper fillers.
@JonathanMoosey Жыл бұрын
This Cadillac was so long that it had to also come with a long name.
@michaelcoleman6090 Жыл бұрын
Probably one of the best automotive channels on KZfaq
@soxlearning Жыл бұрын
I would love to drive those again. Beautiful car!!
@toshiojohnston3732 Жыл бұрын
Loved the lincolns caddys and imperials used to see it on mannix and mission impossible.ah! The 70s.
@ravisriram6746 Жыл бұрын
I remember this one! The heyday of the American automobile.
@georgeballow7028 Жыл бұрын
Great video Adam. Love this last generation of real Cadillacs except for the rear end styling. Had thoughts of putting a 1973 bumper on instead. Looks like it might almost work. Maybe.
@ralphl7643 Жыл бұрын
The end of the fender was redesigned in '74 (squared off), so you'd have to make your own filler, plus rewire the lights and add a side marker light to pass state inspection.
@DanEBoyd Жыл бұрын
This rivals the contemporaneous Lincoln Town Car in size, but the Lincoln still seems closer to being a limousine than the Fleetwood Brougham.
@jetsons101 Жыл бұрын
Drive In's must have hated cars like that, think of how many friends you could get in that trunk --- and snaks..... Thanks Adam for your time and work.....
@noduh736 Жыл бұрын
It's got a 6 body trunk
@Zickcermacity Жыл бұрын
11:34 - EIGHT point two litre??? That's 4 times the size of the 4 cylinder under the hood of my 2010 Honda!
@kc9scott Жыл бұрын
Yep, that’s the size it was.
@Zickcermacity Жыл бұрын
@@kc9scott That's a truck engine, lol! Now we have smaller engines - and truck-size wheels with no-sidewall rubber bands for tires!
@THROTTLEPOWER Жыл бұрын
Very cool!!!!! 😎 👍
@braddietzmusic2429 Жыл бұрын
My parents had an all gold (paint, vinyl top, interior) 1973 version of this. I was the designated car washer. And waxer. Yay me. I don’t recall it being fun. Lol.
@mistert7958 Жыл бұрын
My brother raced a 70's Sedan de Ville on a 1/3 mile dirt track in the 90's. He won his division, The Hales Whales division, min 118" wheelbase.
@Oldgunguy62 Жыл бұрын
I have a 1973 fleetwood and it is a enormous car. Good Video
@neilouellette3004 Жыл бұрын
Don't know if this qualifies? Owned a Mint 1983 Fleetwood Brougham D' Elegance Black/Red Leather. Bought it in 1985 w/only 30,000 miles. Gorgeous w/all the comforts of home.
@ricardoflot27879 күн бұрын
I had one of those in NY back in '91, ALL 5213 LBS of it! 😆
@dan-berladyn Жыл бұрын
We had one. I grew up getting toted around in the car. I would love to drive one some day.
@alterdonkmandirk3166 Жыл бұрын
Stunning Caddy, yet the longest production passenger car ever was the owner-driven '74-'76 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 75 Sedan - if the divider window equipped Limo version is too formal(?) - while the most luxurious production Cadillac was the Fleetwood Talisman of the same vintage. Except for the Chevy Nova-sized Seville, all '75 and '76 Cadillacs came w/the biggest standard V8 ever, the 8.2L 500
@joeseeking3572 Жыл бұрын
Having spent a fair bit of time in the back seat of one of these - acres of room, but those footrests were completely superfluous. (And the latching mechanism went out). Never through the front seat travel was quite enough however, given how huge these things were. Guideamatic (and similar systems at Ford, probably Chrysler too, but never drove one with that) was popular but felt like a gimmic. Occasionally tricked by streetlights, but more to the point, who tools around with their brights on? Maybe on a country road, but even around a blind corner you'd the see the other guys lights in the trees and switch down. I liked the old button on the floorboard :) Presumably my present cars have something similar, but I've got 130k on one of them and have never knowingly used it. I do however love the delay off and interior illumination feature.
@paulravitsky8085 Жыл бұрын
My grandfather owned the twin to that car. So huge and luxurious, but guzzled so much gas. Great car.
@alexsteel8592 Жыл бұрын
Nice I had a 72 sedan Deville with the 472 ci v8 back in the day, I remember about 8 mpg from that.
@johnplovanich9564 Жыл бұрын
Adam,I enjoy your informative posts.The automotive knowledge you have is off the charts.I would have loved to see the trunk in this video.Obviously it's enormous. Other than that great video.
@bluesharp59 Жыл бұрын
Nice car and a thumbs up.
@MisterMikeTexas Жыл бұрын
Now, THAT'S a Cadillac! Beats any Chevy Tahoe in drag with a wreath and crest tacked on any day! 😊👍
@cowboytim9882 Жыл бұрын
A Fleetwood BRO-HAM of elegance! Yessirree Bob! They don't make'm amywheres like that anymore!
@dougw3436 Жыл бұрын
Bring back "The Hog"
@bobhill3941 Жыл бұрын
Was "the hog" Boss Hog's triple white convertible?
@davidkastin4240 Жыл бұрын
@@bobhill3941 😂
@jimmiesmith5811 Жыл бұрын
@@bobhill3941 That was just the nickname that people used for cadillacs back then