Javillac
Since 1908, the American luxury car brand Cadillac adopted the motto of “world standard”. The manufacturer was always at the forefront of the avant-garde, with technological milestones such as the first car with electric start in 1912, or the first car with an automatic gearbox in 1940. 
After the end of World War II, Cadillac, like other American brands, enjoyed a privileged position with respect to the rest of the world's luxury car manufacturers, as its infrastructure was not damaged during the conflict and They were able to continue innovating in design and equipment.
American cars during the 50s were increasingly larger and equipped with larger displacement engines, with consumption only acceptable for the times when a gallon of gasoline was paid for a few cents. The American automobile industry was forced to make changes starting in 1958. That year the first economic recession began after the end of World War II, and with it some of the cheaper and smaller cars that came from Europe had an increase in sales.
In response to this situation, the main American manufacturers developed their own affordable compacts that went on the market between 1959 and 1961. General Motors presented a range of smaller cars with the indispensable and necessary Chevrolet Corvair, Pontiac Tempest, Oldsmobile F-85 and the Buick Special.
Thus, Cadillac was left out of the equation and they would continue to be the gigantic and luxurious kings of the road. But With the arrival of the Oil Crisis in 1973, European and Japanese cars began to gain a lot of ground over American models. American buyers were considering cars like Mercedes, much more economical in the long run than Cadillacs, which at the time had a huge 8-liter V8,2 at the top of the range.
CADILLAC SEVILLE, THE SAME LUXURY IN A SMALLER CAR
Although a Mercedes W116 cost more than many Cadillacs, they proved to be very popular in the United States in the 70s. With this, General Motors realized that sometimes less is more, and they decided to build a car with all the luxury of a Cadillac, but in a more European size, advertising the model as “international size.” With this strategy they sought to attract a younger clientele to a brand associated with a more conservative audience.
Perhaps with their eyes set on Europe they named the car cadillac seville, in honor of the Andalusian city of Sevilla, a name that had already been used by the brand in 1956 for the coupe versions of the Cadillac Eldorado. 
Seville became, despite its size, the most expensive car in the Cadillac catalog in 1975, with a price of $12.479, or about $71.000 today, a figure that was only surpassed by the brand's limousines.
The engine was also of smaller displacement, it was a 5,7-liter, 180 HP Oldsmobile-sourced block which allowed more reasonable consumption. Starting in 1978, a diesel variant of this engine was offered that gave disastrous results and almost caused this type of engine to completely disappear from the country. 
All this made the Seville en a surprising bestseller and even more so when you take into account the high price. Of the first generation of the model, manufactured between 1975 and 1979, a total of 215.659 units were sold, a great popularity for an exclusive luxury vehicle. The name remained in production until 2004 across five generations.
The formula worked and other American manufacturers copied it, such as Lincoln with its Versailles model and Chrysler with the LeBaron and Fifth Avenue. and one's own Cadillac reduced the size of some of its most iconic models like the Eldorado in 1979 and the DeVille, which was already shortened in 1977, reduced its dimensions even more in 1985. 
With this desire to try to attract youth to the brand In 1986, the Cadillac Touring Sedan and Touring Coupé appeared, based on the DeVille model. and that they were little more than an aesthetic kit that added elements such as the rear spoiler.
CADILLAC CIMARRON, A DESERVED FAILURE
If the Cadillac Seville served to meet the sales of luxurious European representation sedans such as the Mercedes W116, Cadillac was now looking for a compact sedan that could compete with cars like the popular BMW 3 Series.
The answer was the Cadillac Cimarron, presented in 1982 and being one of the most peculiar cars in the history of the brand. It was the first Cadillac since 1914 to mount an inline four-cylinder engine and the first to mount a mechanical displacement of less than 2 liters since 1908. Apart from the 1,8 and 2 liter inline four, a 6 liter V2,8. 
Curiously, the car left as standard with a four-speed manual gearbox, perhaps to make it look more European in its driving. An option to mount a three-speed automatic transmission was also available, but it is striking because since 1953 all Cadillacs had been automatic.
The car had a very complete level of equipment, but it was a failure that failed to captivate the public. The main reason for this fiasco, apart from the price also higher than $12.000, was that the Cimarron was little more than a well-dressed Chevrolet Cavalier, one of the most basic cars in the GM range and which shared part of its DNA with the Opel Ascona. 
The production of this model It ceased in 1988 and 132.499 units were sold., a surprising figure for what is considered the worst Cadillac in history.
CADILLAC ALLANTÉ, THROW THE HOUSE OUT THE WINDOW
To the brand now It only needed then to try to compete with the European convertibles as Mercedes SL and the Jaguar XJS that sold very well among the American upper class. Cadillac had been known for years for its convertibles, but if they wanted to compete with the big names in Europe they would have to try a new formula. 
The new car, which received the name Allanté, would be the result of the collaboration between Cadillac and Pininfarina, something that had already happened in the past with the Eldorado Brougham of 1959, and which gave a fairly good result with another American brand with the Nash-Healey in the years 50.
The two-seater was characterized by having the longest production line in the world, since The bodies were manufactured in Turin and were later sent to the United States on a Boeing 747. expressly modified to transport these cars, and their assembly was completed in Detroit. 
This made the price of the convertible in its debut year of 1987 U.S. dollar 54.700, about 141.000 dollars in 2023, with a telephone as the only extra available, since the car came very well equipped.
The front-wheel drive car was always offered with V8 mechanics, first 4,1 liters, between 1989 and 1992 it became 4,5 liters, and in 1993, its last year of production, it fitted the 4,6 liter Northstar engine.
Both the motoring press and the public He preferred other convertibles to the prohibitive Cadillac, which did not end up giving the expected result.. In the summer of 1993, production of the Allanté ceased, with 21.430 units manufactured, although Pininfarina claims to have manufactured 21.395 bodies. 
Photographs of General Motors, Pininfarina.
