Prior to government-mandated Corporate Average Fuel Economy or "CAFE" standards, the old adage about a Cadillac being able to pass everything except a gas station was met with a chuckle and their owners got a slap on the back "attah boy". Miserable gas mileage was as much a part of the Cadillac ownership experience as was the pride of ownership felt when the valet at La Grenouille parked it out front. The notion, then, of a fuel efficient Cadillac made as much sense as a low-calorie menu at that French restaurant; if you can afford a Cadillac you can certainly afford the gas it's going to use. However, because of CAFE, Cadillac was painted with the same hard brush the rest of GM's divisions were.
CAFE, or "Corporate Average Fuel Economy", a direct result of the 1973 OPEC embargo that doubled the price of a gallon of gas, requires even to this day that The Big Three literally have a gas mileage average for all vehicles sold in the United States. If they don't achieve a certain number they face hefty fines. Prior to CAFE fuel economy was a concern of some buyers and The Big Three had "economy models" but there were no government edicts regarding mileage. Beginning in 1978 the government's CAFE requirement was 18 miles per gallon, 19 in 1979, 20 for 1980 and a seemingly unobtainable 22 miles per gallon for 1981. CAFE for new models sold is currently 39 miles per gallon for cars. Hence the number of electric vehicles and hybrids sold today.
As the CAFE standards increased, Cadillac resorted to some drastic measures. For 1979 Cadillac's were offered with an Oldsmobile built diesel V-8, in 1980 they downsized the gas V-8 they built that was exclusive to Cadillac and then fitted it with fuel injection and displacement on demand (V8-6-4) for 1981. Additionally for 1981, as a "credit option", Cadillac offered a Buick built, 252 cubic inch, or 4.1 liter, V-6 engine. A credit option meaning that Cadillac would literally pay customers to buy a car with the V-6.
Ironies of ironies, while the Buick V-6 was offered as a means to improve gas mileage it actually was the best engine you get in a Cadillac those two years. At least in terms of reliability and lack of returns to dealership service departments for recalls. The "V6 4.1" offered in 1981 and 1982 Cadillacs, a long stroke version of the venerable Buick 231 cubic inch or 3.8 liter V-6 that had been around in some form or another since 1962, was also used on a number of Buicks, Oldsmobiles and even some Pontiac models. Our Cadillac subject is a 1981 Coupe deVille.
To say I hated these cars when they were new is a bit of an overstatement, it was more like they made me sad because they were not what I wanted them to be. That being traditional Cadillac's with big, powerful albeit thirsty "Cadillac V-8" engines.
I also felt these V-6 Cadillac's were prime examples of the America that I was coming of age in. An America that was punch drunk from the Vietnam War, Watergate, two gas crisis's, and a double dip recession. It was an America that seemingly couldn't do anything right or get anything done and underpowered Cadillac's, to me at least, personified everything that was wrong or going wrong. What with the rocky childhood that I experienced, I didn't just agree with President Carter's "Malaise Speech", I was living the dream.
While things did improve for the country, it's taken decades for Cadillac to even appear to be improving. Cadillac discontinued offering the Buick V-6 after 1982, debatable that that was a good idea or not seeing that left buyers with only the unreliable Olds "350" diesel or the HT4100. Cadillac did make a step in the right direction in 1986 when they dropped the diesel and HT4100 for the Oldsmobile 307 gasoline V-8 in their "traditional" rear wheel drive sedans. A little too little too late.
However, by 1986, Cadillac's reputation had been pulverized by the Olds diesel and HT4100. To say nothing of offering makes and models seriously out of step with what (then) young, affluent buyers wanted to drive. In many ways they're still digging out from crater they dug for themselves back in the 1980's. Again, quite ironic that off all the things Cadillac did wrong years ago, offering the Buick V-6 was one of the few things they actually did right.
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