With the introduction of the 1998 Seville, Cadillac wasn’t just launching a new car, it was attempting to regain its once-lofty standing among the world’s top performance luxury cars.
Promises promises. Cadillac billed Seville as an import-fighter ever since the nameplate was introduced back in 1975. But, its traditionally domestic design did little to crack the market segment dominated by European and Japanese brands like Lexus, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
To most it may have been difficult to see much new in the Seville, this car was completely redesigned and re-engineered for 1998. Cadillac engineers used Mercedes and BMW as their ride and handling role models and Chief Designer Dennis Little called the result “a muscle car in an Armani suit.”
Of course, some domest-o-phobes dismissed the Seville without even looking at it. It was a front-wheel-drive car competing against a field of superb rear-wheel-drive performance luxury sedans.
But there were plenty of things that played in Seville’s favor. If any American luxury car had a chance at winning over jaded, import-oriented Baby Boomers, this was the one.
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