Car Show

Coupe de Ville

1958 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (front)

1971 Coupe de Ville (front)

1978 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (front)

1991 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (front)

The Coupe de Ville (sometimes spelled Coupe Deville or Coupe DeVille) was a model of Cadillac from 1949 through 1993. The name has become famous through pop culture, with references in pop songs, movies, and other media.

Model History

The Coupe de Ville was introduced by Cadillac late in the 1949 model year. Part of the Cadillac Series 62 line, it was a closed, two-door coupé, Cadillac's first pillarless hardtop. Intended as a prestige model, at $3,497 it was one of the most expensive models of the Series 62 line. It was luxuriously trimmed, with leather upholstery and chrome 'bows' in the headliner to simulate the ribs of a convertible top. The first-year Coupe de Ville sold 2,150 units, but 1950 sales were more than double, and 1951 more than doubled those of the previous year. By 1961 it was one of the company's most popular models, with annual sales above 20,000.

In 1956 the Coupe de Ville was joined by the Sedan de Ville, a four-door hardtop sedan. The Sedan de Ville would ultimately outlive its two-door predecessor. In 1959 the de Ville line was separated in a distinct Series 63.

The Coupe de Ville, like other Cadillacs, grew substantially larger and more powerful from 1949 through the early 1970s. By 1973 it was 4 in. (101.6 mm) longer in wheelbase, 17 inches (431.8 mm) longer overall, and more than 900 lb (408 kg) heavier, and its standard V8 engine had grown from 331 cu. in. (5.4 L) to 472 cu. in. (7.7 L).

The Coupe de Ville remained a pillarless hardtop through the 1973 model year, but for 1974 was restyled as a pillared two-door with then-fashionable opera windows behind the side windows. The Sedan de Ville remained a pillarless four-door through 1976.

When General Motors initiated the redesign of the B-body and C-body for the 1977 model year the De Ville (and all other full-size GMs) shrank by 9.8 in (249 mm) and about 750 lb (340 kg). The new standard engine was a 425 cu. in. (6.9 L) V8.

In 1985 the De Ville was downsized again, this time dropping some 26.2 in (665.5 mm) in length and another 800 lb (363 kg). It also adopted front-wheel drive.

The declining popularity of full-size coupes eventually led to the discontinuation of the model in 1993. For 1994, The DeVille (now identified on the car with a capital " D") series was comprised of the four-door Sedan DeVille and (Sedan) DeVille Concours. Starting in 1997, it was known simply as the Cadillac DeVille for several years, although the Concours version was available through 1999. Subsequently, Cadillac added a 'DTS' model to the Deville series, an abbreviation for Deville Touring Sedan.

Popular culture

50's models with their extravagant fins are probably the best known versions of the car. Models from this era have commonly appeared in movies and music videos and also on postage stamps.

A movie of this name directed by Joe Roth appeared in the early 1990s.

It sometimes seems that songwriters know no other kind of car. The Coupe de Ville (and more widely: "Cadillac") is simply pre-eminent among cars referenced in American popular music, whether rap, country, pop or blues, and this process is still going on some ten years after the model was discontinued.

Coupe de Ville songs

Neil Young has a song of that title, and the car figures in songs by:

Joe Nichols Brokensheartsville
Suzy Bogguss The Other Side of the Hill
Steve Earle Cadillac Lyrics
Colt 45 The Good Times
OutKast We Luv Deez Hoez
Bachman Turner Overdrive Just for You
Robert Plunkett Sweet Tooth
Meat Loaf Two out of Three Ain't Bad
Ludacris What's Your Fantasy?
Chuck Berry Maybelline
Ice Cube A Gangsta's Fairytale
Beastie Boys Hey Ladies

External links

• '59 Cadillac images, including Coupe de Ville

Home | Up | Coupe de Ville | Sports car | Combi coupé | Coupe Utility | Coupe roadster

Car Show, made by MultiMedia | Free content and software

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.