“The Cadillac of tomorrow is here …”
Along with its sedan sister, the Cadillac Coupe de Ville was all-new for the 1985 model. Introduced in April 1984, it moved to front wheel drive and lost significant length, width, and weight compared to its immediate predecessor.
The Coupe de Ville’s powertrain was Cadillac’s 125 bhp HT-4100 4.1 liter/249 ci V8 with throttle body fuel injection paired with a four-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy was 17 city/26 highway by the standards of the day (15/24 by today’s measures). Since the engine and transmission remained essentially the same and the Coupe de Ville was smaller and lighter, performance improved but still not very impressive: 0-60 improved to a little under 12 seconds.
The 1985 Coupe de Ville’s base price was $18,355—about $57,700 in today’s dollars, or about what a loaded 2026 Cadillac CT5 Premium Luxury sedan goes for. Standard exterior and mechanical equipment included Soft Ray tinted glass, power front disc/rear drum brakes, power rack-and-pinion steering, and P205/75R14 white stripe all-seasons steel-belted radial tires on 14-inch wheels. Inside, a front notch bench seat, electrically powered door locks, electronic climate control, and an ETR AM/FM stereo signal seeking radio with scanner and digital display were included.
Options & Period Reception
Options included firemist paint ($235), aluminum alloy wheels ($429), cruise control ($185), Twilight Sentinel ($79), automatic door locks ($162), and the all-conquering Delco-GM/Bose Symphony Sound System ($895).
The challenge—of course—with downsizing the de Ville was that the target market did not appreciate downsizing. Many thought that the previous downsizing—in 1977—had been quite enough. Reviews from the “buff books” were a general “huh?”. Car and Driver wrote “Could it be that Cadillac is trying too hard to turn its efficient new sedan into an old-school luxocruiser?”
The View From 2026
According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, a 1985 Coupe de Ville in #1/Concours condition is $18,100, while a far more typical #3/Good car goes for $8,200. Coupe de Villes of this age come up for sale regularly in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and Bring a Trailer, so folks are saving them.
Make mine Corinthian Blue Firemist, please.
Other Cadillacs from the second half of the decade that I have written about include the 1986 Eldorado coupe, the 1986 Fleetwood Brougham sedan, the 1988 Cimarron sedan, the 1988 Eldorado coupe, the 1989 Allanté convertible, and the 1989 Sedan de Ville.
Eighties Cars 