1974 Cadillac Sedan de Ville: Vivid in Victorian Amber Firemist

If you’ve been following my posts here the last few years, you know that I’ll occasionally throw in a BMW 2800CS or a Porsche 356 or Vega every now and then, but I always, always come back to the 1970s American land yachts I love so dearly. While many in the ’70s were disdaining how massive and fuel-guzzling the new Cadillacs, Lincolns, and Imperials were getting, I see them as their marketeers likely saw them: sumptuous, mind-bogglingly roomy, and totally awesome.

The American favoritism towards long, low, and wide was still alive and well when the 1974 Cadillacs debuted in Cadillac showrooms on September 16, 1973. The usual assortment of Caddys, naturally all full size, included the base model Calais two-door coupe and four-door sedan, flossier Coupe and Sedan de Villes, top-of-the-line “owner driven” Fleetwood Brougham (with d’Elegance and Talisman packages available for even more blatant Broughamage), the swank personal-lux Eldorado coupe and convertible, and last but most certainly not least, the Series 75 Sedan and Limousine, the only factory-built limousines in production.

But while the extra-fancy models got all the glory, it was really the Coupe de Ville and Sedan de Ville that kept Cadillac in gravy. Fancier than the rather-plain Calais series, but less expensive (please don’t call them cheap) than the Fleetwoods and Eldorados, the de Villes were “just right” for many luxury car buyers.

In 1974, Cadillacs were mildly but still noticeably restyled, incorporating the new 5-mph rear bumper that was required on all new ’74s sold in the U.S. Inside, a new instrument panel was prominent, with the expected new colors and fabrics. There was no beige or dark gray, only color choices. No sirree, Bob! Want green, blue, red, white, or amber (as shown here)? No problem!

One cool feature, at least to me, was that all 1974 Caddys had a brushed-metal, silver-hued gauge cluster. It was a one-year-only feature, though later Buicks had them several years in a row. I always liked that.

One thing the new 5-mph rear bumpers did was make Cadillacs look even longer, not that the ’73s were skimpy. The 1974 Sedan de Ville was 230.7 inches long, with a 130-inch wheelbase. Curb weight was 5032 pounds.

As the middle-tier Cadillac, these were pricey but not too bank busting—for a Caddy, anyway. The ’74 Sedan de Ville had a base price of $8100 ($48,083 today), and 60,419 were produced for the model year. Its sibling, the Coupe de Ville, was far more popular, as coupes ruled the roost for the most part in the ’70s. A total of 112,201 Coupe de Villes were made and were slightly less expensive at $7867 ($46,700) a pop.

Of course, that was before options were added. Cadillacs came well equipped, but as you’d expect there was a long list of extras for people so inclined. As a Cadillac, however, there were plenty of standard features, including Dual Comfort front seats, digital clock, cornering lamps, power windows, simulated distressed pecan wood-grain vinyl trim in interiors, variable ratio power steering, Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic transmission, and the 472-cubic-inch Cadillac V-8, which in ’74 produced 205 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and breathed through a four-barrel carburetor.

But what about extras? Gadgets, gizmos, and the like? Oh, there were plenty. As the brochure extolled, “Cadillac offers an inviting array of luxury features, equipment, and accessories you can order to individualize the Cadillac of your choice …”

Things like a stereo radio with built-in 8-track player, an electric sunroof, turbine-vaned wheel discs, Twilight Sentinel, tilt/telescope steering wheel and Track Master, an early version of skid-controlled braking. If that wasn’t enough, you could get the expected leather interior (standard only on the Eldorado Convertible), a heavy-duty trailering package, Firemist paint, lamp monitors, and a security system.

I could go on about how the gas crisis in late 1973 brought a sudden shift in the minds of a lot of people to go smaller and was responsible for Cadillac’s resulting shrinkage for 1977. But I really dislike jumping on the oil crisis schtick and loathe the “Malaise” terms bandied about by bloggers who should know better. But suffice it to say that Cadillac sales did take a hit.

While 1973 sales tallied up to 267,787, the ’74 results were assuredly lower, to the tune of 242,330 Cadillacs built for model year. Not necessarily devastating, but a downward trend is a downward trend. But after a recession in ’75, the national economy bounced back and GM made a lot of hay in 1976 with everything from the Impala taxicab-grade sedans all the way to the vaunted “last convertible” 1976 Eldorado.

I spotted this remarkably nice example at the annual Trains, Planes, and Automobiles car show in historic downtown Geneseo, Illinois, in September 2016—just a stone’s throw from my favorite restaurant wihin a 50-mile radius, The Cellar. It’s always a terrific show and brings a ton of people into the small town to gawk at the classics.

There was some debate as to the color of this car. Cadillac had a vast assortment of wonderful colors in 1974, and there were no less than THREE orange hues available: Mandarin Orange, Andes Copper, and Victorian Amber Firemist. After some debate on Facebook at the time, I posted this car on my page, and Brougham guru and pal Dave Smith confirmed it was Victorian Amber Firemist.

The Cadillac Firemist colors were extra sparkly and really nice, so nice that if you selected a Firemist color for your new 1974 Cadillac, it ran you an extra $132 on the bottom line. But what the heck! Life is short, youth is fleeting, and you might as well get exactly what you want, am I right?

This car was just like new, and I loved the Mardi Gras striped velour interior. It’s soooo 1974. And so much more lush and impressive than many alleged luxury cars in 2023.

Manufacturers take note: Not everyone thinks black leather is the bee’s knees. Injecting some color into your life can be most beneficial. And whoever ordered this ’74 SDV definitely took that into account. As the ’74 Cadillac brochure said of the Sedan de Ville, it was “a perennial favorite.”

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