When the Seville debuted in 1976, it was the smallest Caddy on sale, which is really saying something since it was still classed as a mid-size luxury car. Seville is derived from the name of a Spanish province that's renowned for its rich history and art culture. You can see where Cadillac was going with this, especially when you cast your eyes upon the opulence that this 1978 Cadillac Seville Grandeur Opera Coupe exudes. With just 63,000 miles on the odo, it's quite lightly used and ready to serve its next owner with grace and dignity.

Exterior and Interior

Sporting a mid-blue paint job and white vinyl-wrapped top, this 1978 Cadillac Seville Grandeur Opera Coupe does exude a bit of an over-the-top persona, particularly with the twin spare wheels nestled on the front wings. It may be small, but it's still a Caddy, with those quad headlamps, sheer chrome grille, and lovely wire wheels wearing white-striped tires. This Caddy may be small in size, but it's super-large in persona and presence. Why go for the humdrum when you can have this and turn heads wherever you go? Inside, it's a rich labyrinth of white leather and proper wood trim that looks and feels as real as it is, free from the multiple layers of varnish or lacquer that today's wood trim comes with. Being a Caddy, creature comforts abound, including climate control, power door locks, power windows, and power seats. There's a period-correct AM/FM radio as well, replete with a power antenna, and you'll even find cruise control to make highway driving that little bit easier.

Engine

It may be a small Caddy in a relative sense, but this 1978 Cadillac Seville Grandeur Opera Coupe still sports a proper, American, grumbly V8. It's a 350ci Oldsmobile unit that delivers 180hp to the rear wheels via a column-shifted 3-speed THM400 automatic transmission. If the power output sounds low, blame the Seventies and the Malaise Era for that. That, plus the significant weight meant that zero to sixty was an 11-second affair when new. Still, you don't want a car that'll shake you out of its plush seats each time you breathe on the gas, but something that'll carry you in a comfortable and stately manner.