Here's a '78-'79 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham in Colonial Yellow.
The late Seventies were a dark time for Cadillac, much like they were for the rest of Detroit*.
The '77-'86 Fleetwood Broughams were the first time the Fleetwood name was used as a separate model designator, rather than a trim level on the most upmarket Caddies.
Still, the Fleetwood Brougham is hard to distinguish from a contemporary Sedan DeVille without looking at the badges. Most of the difference is in the plushness of the interior.
Along with downsizing the car, Cadillac also came out with a new, smaller engine. The new 425cid V8 shared the same basic architecture and bore centers of the older 472/500, but had a reduced bore and a lighter block. It was available with a 4bbl carb as the L33, putting out 180bhp, or with electronically-controlled port fuel injection as the 195bhp L35.
This early electronic port fuel injection system was developed with Bendix and was a weird platypus of a system, being analog controlled and not having an oxygen sensor or any other kind of feedback device. It wasn't entirely a success and was replaced in the early Eighties with a digitally controlled throttle body system. There's a good description of it at this Curbside Classics piece.
The '77-'86 Fleetwood Broughams were the first time the Fleetwood name was used as a separate model designator, rather than a trim level on the most upmarket Caddies.
Still, the Fleetwood Brougham is hard to distinguish from a contemporary Sedan DeVille without looking at the badges. Most of the difference is in the plushness of the interior.
Along with downsizing the car, Cadillac also came out with a new, smaller engine. The new 425cid V8 shared the same basic architecture and bore centers of the older 472/500, but had a reduced bore and a lighter block. It was available with a 4bbl carb as the L33, putting out 180bhp, or with electronically-controlled port fuel injection as the 195bhp L35.
This early electronic port fuel injection system was developed with Bendix and was a weird platypus of a system, being analog controlled and not having an oxygen sensor or any other kind of feedback device. It wasn't entirely a success and was replaced in the early Eighties with a digitally controlled throttle body system. There's a good description of it at this Curbside Classics piece.
*The Eighties were even worse for Cadillac, with the disastrous V8-6-4 engine, and some really weak badge-engineered variants on other GM cars. It wasn't till the Fourth Generation Seville debuted in the early Nineties that Cadillac experienced anything like a renaissance.
