1982 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham – Where Were You in ’82?

Some people love Corvettes. Others are really into Civics. And in certain parts of the country, there are fine folks who will accept nothing less than a diesel F250 King Ranch. But for me, it’s Broughams. Fine, wire wheel-covered, opera-lamped Broughams. With soft Corinthian leather, d’Elegance button tufted seating, St. Regis landau tops, and chrome. Chrome everywhere! Why? Well, my grandparents had Lincoln Continentals, LTDs and Thunderbirds, and they made an impression on me. I was also unduly influenced by my dad’s root beer brown 1979 Pontiac Bonneville during my pre-kindergarten years. Fleetwood Brougham, Cougar Villager and Mark IV toy cars I received as a kid also were a factor. But despite also loving Volvos (I drove them for nearly twenty years) and Porsches (Dad had them before I was born), it always comes back to the Broughams.

Anything with heraldic crests on the C-pillar and a stand-up hood ornament will catch my attention, be it a Cordoba, Ninety-Eight or Marquis. But my real soft spot is Cadillacs and Lincolns. Of course, my grandparents had the Lincolns, but I always loved Cadillacs too, despite the fact that none of my parents’ friends or relatives, near or far, had one.

But as a kid growing up in the ’80s, I watched a lot of TV, and in shows like Knight Rider and Magnum, P.I. I was not interested in the Corvettes or Firebirds or Ferraris the heroes drove. Well, I was, but when push came to shove I wanted the black Town Cars, Continentals, and Fleetwood Broughams the bad guys drove!

Remember, back in the early 1980s it was still okay to order cars in actual colors-and order cars! Yes, most dealers want to sell you their silver, black or white in-stock combover-oops, I mean crossover-or 4×4 pickup or midsize sedan.

But many, many more people ordered their cars thirty-five years ago, because, unlike today, where people fret over the resale value of their beige beigemist Anonodyne LE Plus SE, people actually ordered what they wanted. Red, green, blue, oh, the colors! And let’s face it, when you trade in your 2003 sedan or minivan, how much more do you really think you are going to get for it than if it had been, say, red or orange or green. Maybe twenty-five bucks? Big whoop!

And by the way, I fully realize that I am extolling the virtues and styling of a silver and gray Cadillac, while complaining about the lack of imagination in people’s car color choices in 2017, but I don’t care. Full steam ahead, ha ha! But let’s face it, a 1982 anything was more interesting in silver than the lozenge-shaped average 2016-17 motor vehicle today.

And despite the new addition of the wheezy HT4100 V8 on all Cadillacs in 1982 (unless you wanted a 350 Diesel, or the Buick V6), there was still a lot to like over at the local Cadillac dealer. The 1980 restyling was still holding up, and just as attractive as it had been since autumn 1979 when it debuted.

The interiors were still super plush, and available in a myriad of colors. Instead of black, dark gray tan only, you could get slate gray (as shown on our featured Brougham), dark redwood, dark gray blue, saddle tan, dark brownstone, yellow, black and burgundy. Such choice!

I have always been partial to the light yellow leather that was offered on most Cadillacs from the late ’70s to the early ’90s. With matching Colonial Yellow or Cameo Ivory paint and vinyl roof, of course! I don’t know why, but I’ve always had a thing for triple yellow Caddys. It must be my inner Brougham…

But wait, you may be asking, Klockau, didn’t you write up an ’81 Coupe de Ville on here a couple months ago? Well, yes. Yes I did. But to be frank, I LOVE these Cadillacs, so I will use any excuse, flimsy or not, to write up another one. Said flimsy excuse was this time capsule Sterling Silver 1982 Fleetwood Brougham with slate gray interior and silver top. I spotted it on ebay recently. You can check it out here. It has not yet sold as of this writing, but the last time it ended it got all the way up to $15,400-not bad. But then it is in remarkable shape. I mean, it only has 6,507 original miles! This is not your typical $750 craigslist ‘ran when parked’ garage ornament with four flat tires and toasty vinyl top.

And these cars always make me flash back to my childhood, when they were new. Sure, they had their faults, and the savvy person who really, really wants one of these would be better off finding a 1980-81 with the 368 V8 or a 1986-92 version with either the Olds 307 or Chevy 350. But it’s so darn sharp!

 

16 Replies to “1982 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham – Where Were You in ’82?”

    • christian

      so i seen this vehicle a few days ago on ebay and didnt meet reserve.
      how much is wanted to let this cadillac go to a new home?

      Reply
  1. Bigtruckseriesreview

    I was born in 81.

    It’s amazing how much better the interiors of these cars were. Seats were couches rather than seats.

    I recently did Cadillac’s Truth + Dare event. Took my mom to drive the CTS-V, ATS-V and (her next car) the XT5-AWD. She walked away from it HATING THE NEW transmission shifter – a monostatic shifter similar to the one in the Jeep that cost Anton Yelchin his life.

    I got to drive the new CT6 Plug-in Hybrid.

    I walked away from it liking it more than the CT6 V6, but disappointed it is imported.

    In order for Cadillac and Lincoln to stand out – they truly need a special gimmick that makes them stand out. The ability to plug in the CT6 for 30 miles range is awesome.

    When I look at this car, it makes me wonder what the competition was doing at the same time. That’s the only way I can judge it.

    It would be nice if you could do some comparos when you talk about older models.

    Reply
  2. Tomko

    We share three things in common:

    1) A given name;
    2) An affection for Cadillacs (mine a factory ordered 2008 DTS in the rare one-year-only Cognac Frost Tricoat); and,
    3) A love of yellow (my favourite being the ultra-rare Pearl Flax Tricoat, only 88 cars ever built).

    Reply
  3. Carmine

    I always associate this vintage Cadillac with The Gipper, since his limousine was based on this bodystyle.

    Reply
  4. ArBee

    Just beautiful. These Cadillacs are so much better looking than those that came immediately before. The silver and grey color scheme, although terribly overdone today, suits this car well.

    Reply
  5. Dean

    I have such a soft spot for this era Cadillac. When I was 10 my parents bought a ’77 Fleetwood Brougham from a neighbor down the street. He owned a small but successful company that refinished and sold chrome bumpers. He would buy a new Cadillac every 3 years, in 1980 when he was ready for the next one, my parents were looking for a replacement for their ’71 Electra 225. The Fleetwood was real luxury at the time, ours was Cerulean Blue Firemist with a light blue leather interior. A/C, automatic climate control and power seats were a big step up from the old Buick with its AM radio and vinyl. Ours still had the carburated 425, not much HP but torque all day. If I were to get one today I would probably go with a ’77-78 to keep the 425 but the later ones do look a bit cleaner to my eye. We only had the Fleetwood for 3 years – his next car was a ’80 Seville, which we bought in ’84.

    Reply
  6. DirtRoads

    Don’t like the lined aluminum block V8 in those Caddys, but I love riding in them. Super comfortable. My ’94 Eldo was pretty plush back in the day, but the interior started falling apart by ’98 and I sold it.

    Reply
  7. CJinSD

    These cars weren’t as slow as I remembered them being, as I knew owners who compared them unfavorably with Mercedes-Benz diesels. Consumer Guide saw 0-60 in 14.8 seconds, the payoff being observed fuel economy of…14.8 mpg. Even in 1982, 14.8 seconds was a long time to reach 60 mph from a standstill. You pretty much needed something else from GM to go any slower with spark ignition, like an automatic 4 cylinder X or J car. How did they take the ridicule for putting iron heads on the Vega 2300’s aluminum block for a decade and then build another car with the same feature?

    If the author is a fan of broughams and Volvos, why not combine the two and get a 262C? The PRV6 had its share of problems, but nothing compared to every Cadillac engine built since 1980.

    Reply
  8. John @ SpeedSportLife

    I was > < this close to having one of these as my first car, but somehow ended up with a 1987 Olds Delta 88 instead. I've since moved on to a endless string of Japanese, German and American sports cars, but these still hold an oddly special place in my heart.

    Reply
  9. Sean

    1982? I was 9 years old being chauffeured around in a triple blue 1976 LTD Brougham. These were way off Dad’s radar as far as new cars went at the time. I cried the day it was traded in for an 83 Mercury Lynx. The pain was eased a lot when we got home and I found a brand new Schwinn Predator waiting in the garage. LTD? What LTD?

    I hate to sound like a broken record. But.. This is another car that’s one engine swap away from perfection. A blown Buick 4.1 would probably work really well.

    Reply
      • Sean

        Ha! There is a nice 4-6-8 Cad rolling around up here. I caught the owner once and all he could do was gripe about how the local car show was limited to pre 1973 cars only. East Dubuque, Il and Dubuque, Ia are having a car show war this year. Thursday nights should be interesting.

        Reply
        • Tom Klockau

          Pre-’73 only? That’s dumb. However I would like it if some shows had like pre-2000 only. So many old, fat guys just have to bring their brand new Corvettes to the shows here. And Whoopty doo! So rare, just like the fifteen Corvettes sitting out front at Green Chevrolet…

          Reply
  10. dukeisduke

    Triple yellow? My aunt and uncle (both RIP) owned a ’78 Eldorado Biarritz, Colonial Yellow with yellow top and interior.

    Reply

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