1977 Cadillac Coupe deVille - Concrete Lion

 

 

Regardless of whether or not they have any, in broadcasting, we refer to people on camera or behind the microphone as "talent". Many of those precious few "talent" that actually have any ability, though, have one thing in common - they don't understand what it is that makes them great. With regards to Cadillac, their product planners years ago clearly didn't understand what made their brand great. Our subject is a 1977 Cadillac Coupe deVille.
 

  

The 1977 Cadillac was no atonement for the transgressions of their recent past. Handsome as it was it in it's downsized glory, it offered nothing more special than what was available at Chevrolet. In many ways, it actually offered less seeing than it's large, heavy and thirsty engine made its handling far more ponderous than the Chevrolet with significantly less miles per gallon.

 

  

Not that people shopping for a Cadillac back then cared much for such things; they never looked at the car as an actual car. More like a concrete lion perched in front of their driveway. "Look at me, I'm rich". Whether you or not is of little consequence.

 

 

What made a Cadillac "a Cadillac", however, was more than just being at the top of Alfred Sloan's famed pricing ladder or offering styling that some perceived as premium or exclusive.

 

 

  

It was engineering and innovative features, that were more than just gimmicks, that weren't offered on "lesser" GM makes and models that elevated Cadillac to the lofty status it once had. Everything else was window dressing. Subjectively tasteful window dressing but nonetheless frills.

 



 

Once features at one time exclusive to Cadillac trickled down to lesser GM makes and models, without Cadillac continuing to pioneer engineering innovations, and Cadillac focused exclusively on design, what made the brand great, the "talent" so to speak, was lost. What's worse, instead of engineering, Cadillac, for decades, had relied on what the brand once meant; how else to explain the horrible "Best of All it's A Cadillac" advertising shtick of the 1980's. Not unlike a "talent" who believes in their talent lies elsewhere from where it actually is.