1974 Cadillac Coupe DeVille (LHD)

Description

Cadillac has represented the pinnacle of American luxury motoring for the past century and their products have always reflected the mood of the nation - witness, for example, the rise of the fins and other styling excesses in the booming 1950s and the more sober, restrained elegance of the early 1960s as the Cold War era began in earnest. Cadillac's DeVille nameplate remained in use from 1949 until 2005 (indeed it lives on today as the DTS) and generally referred to the mid-range model sitting between the base Series 62 (later Calais) and more upmarket Eldorados. The 1971-1976 generation DeVille were built on a massive 130-inch wheelbase frame (up slightly from the previous model) with low, wide and angular styling featuring a V-shaped grille with quad circular headlamps. Powering the DeVille was Cadillac's standard 472-cid (7.7-litre) V8, rated at 375 horsepower (SEA gross) and 365 lb/ft of torque, coupled with GM's ultra-smooth shifting TH-400 automatic transmission. Cadillac offered two body styles for the 1974 DeVilles, a Sedan and Coupe DeVille, with the latter proving the more popular - 112,201 found buyers that year, making it Cadillac's top seller for the year by a wide margin. The Coupe DeVille featured a new styling gimmick, the 'coach' window treatment, giving the appearance of a thick centre pillar and there was the further option of the Custom Cabriolet treatment, a landau-style top. A newly revised, curved instrument panel had a digital clock as standard (big news in 1974!) and the list of standard equipment was even more impressive, including variable-ratio power steering, power windows, three-speed wipers with electric washers, front and rear armrests, cigar lighters front and rear, side and cornering lights, a remote driver's side exterior mirror and a power front seat adjuster. The DeVille received additional nameplates and rocker moldings to distinguish it from the cheaper Calais. Dual power brakes (discs at the front) with an automatic parking brake release system were also standard. Of the many options available, perhaps the most remarkable was the "Air Cushion Restraint System", a primitive form of airbags but it proved unpopular and was discontinued after 1976.