Surprisingly Unsafe: The 1985-1988 Cadillac deVille

It’s safe to say, no pun intended, that the 1980s were Cadillac’s dark ages. From the diesel engines to the Cavaliers with leather seats to the Allante, Cadillac seemed to make one screw-up after another in the decade.

Much has been said about the 1985 redesign of the Cadillac deVille, which landed with a resounding thud in the marketplace. Billed as “The Cadillac of Tomorrow”, its safety was more like yesterday’s. NHTSA tested the similar Buick Electra, and said results also applied to the deVille, in its 35-mph full frontal crash test. The risks of severe injury were 65% for the driver and 11% for the passenger. For comparison, the average American 1979-model vehicle’s severe injury risk was 33% for the driver and 36% for the passenger – meaning this deVille, a brand-new design trumpeted as tomorrow’s luxury sedan, couldn’t even compete with then 6-year-old cars on safety.

A 1988 Electra did almost as bad – 60% risk for the driver, 14% for the passenger. It’s safe to say that all 1985-1988 Electras – and by extension, deVilles – have the same low level of driver protection.

What makes these performances even more disappointing is the fact that the first Cadillac NHTSA ever tested, the 1980 Seville, was the best performing vehicle tested that year, with risks of only 13% for the driver and 8% for the front passenger. In terms of safety, the 1980-1985 Seville truly was The Cadillac of Tomorrow.

Luckily, the facelifted 1990-1993 deVille, aside from being a far better car, provided Cadillac-worthy levels of safety. Those deVilles have a standard driver airbag, and it seems to have been just the thing to make it a much safer vehicle. A 1990 model had a severe injury risk of just 7% for the driver in the same 35-mph full frontal crash test (there was a data failure for the passenger, but after reviewing the test report it’s likely the passenger would have also done well).