Forty years ago, what made a Cadillac a Cadillac? If nothing else, the size of one.
That said, it's hard to imagine this massive 1976 Cadillac would have gotten any larger had it not have been downsized along with all the other GM B and C bodies in 1977. The Cadillac this 1976 Coupe was based on, which was new in 1971, was already a formidable 225 inches long before the government mandated "safety bumpers" were tastefully bolted on. Actually, GM did a nice job of being government compliant. At least with these full size cars. Those massive bumpers, which were added to the front in 1973 and the back in 1974, added a total of five additional inches to the car pushing overall length to a parking lot maneuver challenging 230 inches. To put that sheer length into perspective, if Cadillac's new sedan flagship due in 2016, the CT6 (gorgeous car, hideous name) is 204 inches long and looks massive at that, imagine a car that's just under two and half feet longer. In case you're wondering, the enormous new Escalade, which some would argue is Cadillac's flagship, is a tad shorter than the CT6, if you can believe that. This 1976 Cadillac Coupe de Ville was big. Really big but back then, the size of a Cadillac was literally a big part of what made a Cadillac a Cadillac.
It's only been recently that Cadillac's have not been "big" or relatively big compared at least to what else was on the road. While the new CT6 comes on board next year, Cadillac's "flagship" sedan at the moment, at just 196 inches long, is the relatively diminutive CTS. Before the CTS was crowned GM's top drawer sedan, the de Ville or "DTS" was the "big" Caddy and that car never got longer than 207 inches long. By the way, drive one and you'll come away with the feeling that it's the biggest thing ever made. Not even close. Pundits of large Cadillacs say that the last "real" Cadillac was the B body based Fleetwood Brougham that was discontinued after 1996. At 225 inches long, it was, at least in sheer size, more in tune with Cadillacs or yore than anything available today.
What's ironic is that despite the bulk, Cadillacs these big old Cadillacs never had any more leg, hip and shoulder room than even mid size cars of its vintage let alone other big cars. In fact, when the downsized Cadillacs came out in 1977, GM bragged that the new Cadillacs had more interior room than the cars they replaced.
Another part of the (old) Cadillac mystique was their big V-8 engines. The new CT6 won't even have a V-8 engine when launched next year. In 1949, Cadillac introduced an over head valve V-8 engine that was revolutionary and, save for Oldsmobile who also introduced an OHV engine that year, unique to Cadillac. Technological advancements in addition to luxury amenities were part of the allure of Cadillac after the war. However, by 1976 most if not everything available on a Cadillac was available on just about everything else GM offered. All that Cadillac could crow about was this 500 cubic inch engine being the largest V-8 engine in the world. Seeing that it was just a couple of years after the crippling gas crisis of 1973-74, again, bigger was not better. Also, there was no discernable increase in the car's ability to accelerate quickly given this large engine.
My late parents who were both born in the early 1920's and were of the "Greatest Generation", were of the notion that there was truly something special about a Cadillac. Shame that by the time this car was brand new, what made Cadillac Cadillac was a thing of the past. By 1976 Cadillacs sold on what they represented as opposed to being anything that was any better than a Chevrolet Impala.
Then again, I'm of the generation that has challenges with accepting that Cadillacs of today are the equal if not better of anything from Europe. If I had the money to spend on an expensive car I'd certainly look at a Cadillac but given that Cadillacs are just as expensive as a comparable Mercedes, I'd go Mercedes. Or BMW or Audi. Luckily for Cadillac, many millennials, aka tomorrow's buyers, have no such notions and think Cadillac in the same light as anything from Europe or Asia. Size of the car be damned.
"these big old Cadillacs never had any more leg, hip and shoulder room than even mid size cars of its vintage let alone other big cars"?? That's a bit of an exaggeration. All of GM's full-size cars, Cadillacs included, had a few inches more hip and shoulder room than their midsize offerings, and the "C body" full sized cars (Deville, 98 and Electra) had 3" more legroom than B body cars like the Impala and Delta 88. The 1976 Fleetwood had another 3" in addition to the 3" stretch of the C bodies, giving it 6" more legroom than an Impala. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it makes a big difference on a long trip. Sadly, for 1977, the Fleetwood lost its longer wheelbase and became a dressed-up Deville. The next owner-driven Cadillac with anywhere near the legroom of he 1976 Fleetwood was the 1987 Sixty Special, which had a 5" wheelbase stretch over the FWD Devilles.
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