The Seville name was chosen over alternatives including a revival of the LaSalle brand, the GM design staff's preference LaScala, and even the name Leland in honour of one of Cadillac's founders — rejected because most buyers would not recognise the reference and because Henry Leland had also founded rival Lincoln. Seville, the name of a Spanish province and its historic capital city, had already appeared on a two-door hardtop version of the 1956 Eldorado. After extensive consumer research, Seville was selected for the new model over LaSalle (considered to carry a troubled past) and St. Moritz (considered difficult to pronounce).
The Seville was introduced in May 1975 as an early 1976 model, conceived as Cadillac's response to the growing popularity of European luxury brands including Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW. GM planners recognised that the traditional American paradigm of larger meaning better was weakening, particularly among younger buyers, and that European luxury cars had grown both more luxurious and more expensive than the much larger full-size Cadillacs.
The first-generation Seville used a K-body platform, derived from the rear-wheel-drive 1968–74 X-body compact GM platform, with extensive re-engineering including a bolt-on subframe, upgraded front subframe bushings, and rear disc brakes added from the 1977 model year. Styling took cues from the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, with a crisp, angular body that influenced GM design for the following decade. A wide chrome grille flanked by quadruple rectangular headlamps defined the front, with small wrap-around tail lamps at the rear creating a lower, wider appearance.
The powertrain was an Oldsmobile-sourced 350 cubic inch V8 fitted with a Bendix analogue port fuel injection system — a technical distinction that provided smoother driveability than typical domestic cars of the era, when emissions controls had blunted performance. Power output was 180 hp, with fuel economy of 15 mpg city and 21 mpg highway. A 350 cubic inch diesel variant was added in 1978. Performance was rated at 0–60 mph in 11.5 seconds.
At US$12,479 for the 1976 model year, the Seville was the most expensive Cadillac in the standard range — more costly than any other model except the Series 75 factory limousines. This pricing strategy, deliberately inverting Cadillac's traditional approach, attracted imitators including the Lincoln Versailles and Chrysler LeBaron. Total 1976 production was 43,772 vehicles. Production reached 56,985 in the final year of the first generation.
An innovative Tripmaster trip computer was offered as an option for 1978 and 1979, replacing the fuel gauge, speedometer, and clock with gas-discharge digital readouts and allowing the driver to input trip data and monitor coolant temperature, battery voltage, fuel range, and estimated arrival time. It was based on Motorola 6800 architecture and included self-diagnostics. Though the Seville was preceded by the 1976 Aston Martin Lagonda in offering full electronic instrumentation, it was the first American car to do so.
The Elegante appearance package, introduced in 1978, added a black and silver two-tone exterior, perforated leather seats in light grey, and wire wheels. It continued through the third generation in 1988.
A number of custom coachbuilders produced variations of the first-generation Seville, including convertibles, coupes, lengthened-wheelbase variants, and neoclassical 1930s-themed conversions. Florida coachbuilder Grandeur Motor Car Company produced an estimated 600 Seville Opera Coupes with elongated hoods and neoclassical details. From 1978, the Seville was also assembled in Iran under the brand name Cadillac Iran by Pars Khodro, then known as Iran General Motors. A total of 2,653 units were produced there through 1987, making Iran the only country to assemble Cadillacs outside the United States until the Opel Omega-based Catera was built in Germany in 1997.
Despite strong sales, the first-generation Seville had not achieved its primary goal of attracting younger import buyers. Research indicated it was most popular with older women seeking a smaller, more manageable Cadillac. For 1980, the Seville moved to front-wheel drive on the E-body platform shared with the Eldorado, Buick Riviera, and Oldsmobile Toronado, gaining independent rear suspension. The standard engine was a new digitally fuel-injected 368 cubic inch Cadillac V8. The 350 cubic inch Oldsmobile diesel was carried over as a no-cost option outside California.
The second-generation car's defining styling feature was its bustle-back rear treatment, inspired by early 1950s Hooper coachwork designs, combined with a long hood and short deck recalling luxury cars of the 1960s. The design was the work of GM designer Wayne Kady and was the last major project completed under the leadership of Cadillac's outgoing design chief.
The Seville continued into third, fourth, and fifth generations through to the end of 2004, spanning front-wheel drive platforms throughout. It was replaced by the STS for the 2005 model year. The nameplate's history as Cadillac's premium compact offering — and its role in demonstrating that a smaller, more expensive Cadillac could succeed — influenced the brand's subsequent product strategy for decades.
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