1989 Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance

**DopeStar 156** · #1 (**permalink**) 01-18-05, 06:41 PM

1989 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance

Love at first sight.

Interior: Gorgeous, covered in wood, leather, chrome, and those little tiny Cadillac emblems strewn all about the interior tastefully along with the "Cadillac" and "Brougham d'Elegance" chrome script on the dash and the "d'Elegance" embroidery on the doors. The d'Elegance pillow seats are the most comfortable seats I've ever sat on, not even the seats in a new Cadillac are as comfy and relaxing as these. The only thing is with all that wood and chrome, there's a few rattles. That and the rear window doesn't permit too much rear visibility.

Exterior: Once again, gorgeous. I particularly love the rear and front of the car. I love the taillights and the shape of the back of the car, and the huge trunk, I'm also a huge fan of the rear fender skirts that are really more lowered wheel wells that cover a little bit of the top of the rear wheels creating a skirt-like illusion with still giving 100% access to the wheels. The front is another great part of the car. The hood features two chrome lines coming to a point in the front running right into the pointed grille passing the standing hood crest. The hubcaps are also pretty cool in the sence that they lock to the rim so it's pretty difficult to lose one on the highway. The only exterior flaw would be the mirrors, although very nicely decorated with a "Cadillac" script and done in chrome, are pretty small for a car of this size. They take some getting used to, but they'll shock you at first glance.

Ride: I would rate the ride very good. The suspension keeps things smooth without that waterbed on wheels feeling and finally, level shocks done correctly! Being a former Lincoln owner, I was skeptic about buying another car with air ride but rather than having four wheel air shocks like a Lincoln, Cadillac has only given you two level shocks that are in the rear and supported by coils so if there's ever a problem, your chassis doesn't hit the pavement. Mine has also never given me an inch of trouble.

Engine: With a 4,000+lb. weight, and a 5.0 Liter 307 under the hood, you'll be able to get around, but don't expect to leave any rubber marks behind at green lights. I wouldn't call it underpowered when compared to the HT4100 Broughams and the 307 is a great replacement, but it could've used the 5.7 Liter 350. However if the 307 ever needs servicing, there's lots of room and parts are cheap since they're Oldsmobile parts. With a four barrel carburetor winter starting might take a few cranks and pumps of the accelerator, but offers very good performance being able to just dump gas into the engine. All in all, it's an a-ok engine.

Comments: If you're a fan of the older Cadillac stylings and don't want to have to restore one, the '89 still carries the same late 70's and early 80's styles Cadillac is famous for with the dependability of a newer car. Even in a high mileage state, the car still proves to be reliable. If you're looking for a Fleetwood Brougham, shoot right for the d'Elegance packaged ones. You'll thank yourself later when you sink into those seats.

My Rating: With many pleasing aspects and some minor flaws, I'd give it 90%.

**I~LUV~Caddys8792** · #2 (**permalink**) 10-08-05, 08:58 PM

Very good review, i agree with about 90% of what you said, but i wouldnt trade in my '92 Sedan deVille for one of these with a 307...If it had a 350, was lower mile (less than 120k mile), and preferably a d'elegance model.

**I~LUV~Caddys8792** · #3 (**permalink**) 10-08-05, 09:05 PM

i wouldnt trade for a 307 cuz its way tooo slow for my tastes

settlepa · #4 (**permalink**) 03-13-06, 01:52 PM

I dont understand why people say a 5.0 is to slow, sure a 5.7 may be better but its a luxary car, not a race car. My 5.0 goes fast enough for me. You want a fast car, buy a sports car, not a caddy.

My 2 Cents.

**I~LUV~Caddys8792** · #5 (**permalink**) 03-13-06, 05:14 PM

Alright so lets say you're on a two lane road, behind a semi truck doing 15 under the limit, and you're in a hurry. You go to pass the semi and when doing so, a car comes around the bend and you're in it's lane, and due to the 307, you're not gonna be able to pass the truck before the car gets to you.

See what I mean?

Cadillacboy · #6 (**permalink**) 10-09-06, 02:41 PM

That's horrible to think of . I guess if I have to buy a '89 Brougham D'elegance , I might replace the engine with NStar or LT1 . (also tranny has to be changed I guess ).
Also, those cars wouldn't go faster than 85 mph ? I have yet to find 40-60 mph acceleration for 307 .

Benzilla · #7 (**permalink**) 10-09-06, 09:31 PM

Almost all of them went faster than 85, thats just the highest the speedos went, I've had my '79 way above 85, the speedo just gets lost in the dash... then again that has the 425.

**I~LUV~Caddys8792** · #8 (**permalink**) 10-09-06, 11:39 PM

I bet a 307 Brougham could pull to 107...heck, a HT4100 Brougham can pull to 105, it'll just take days and days!

Benzilla · #9 (**permalink**) 10-10-06, 02:30 PM

According to Rick, the 425 is good for 115, so that sounds about right.

creeker · #10 (**permalink**) 10-10-06, 05:04 PM

I just got back from a 4 day trip with my 80 cdv. 6.0 ltre. (368 cu.") the trip involved some mountain areas, the car performed really well, but I dont think I would want anything less than the 368.

**I~LUV~Caddys8792** · #11 (**permalink**) 10-10-06, 09:08 PM

What kinda mileage did you get Creeker?

MachX · #12 (**permalink**) 12-06-06, 08:59 AM

Not to nitpick, but my dad has a '92 Town Car, and I have two Devilles so I can verify this: Lincolns only have two wheel levelling as well. The reason that they sink to the ground when there's a problem is that the Linc's use air bag SPRINGS with standard shocks, while Caddy's use standard coil springs with air injected SHOCKS for load levelling.

dp102288 · #13 (**permalink**) 12-06-06, 09:54 PM

Oooh. Nice review Dope!

**DopeStar 156** · #14 (**permalink**) 02-13-07, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MachX

Not to nitpick, but my dad has a '92 Town Car, and I have two Devilles so I can verify this: Lincolns only have two wheel levelling as well. The reason that they sink to the ground when there's a problem is that the Linc's use air bag SPRINGS with standard shocks, while Caddy's use standard coil springs with air injected SHOCKS for load levelling.

Town Cars maybe, but my Continental Mark VII had 4-Wheel air ride.....

**I~LUV~Caddys8792** · #15 (**permalink**) 02-13-07, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DopeStar 156

Town Cars maybe, but my Continental Mark VII had 4-Wheel air ride.....

Precisely. The 1980+ Town Cars only had air springs in the rear, and the 88-97 Continentals had four wheel air bags, along with the Mark VII and VIII, and when the Continental got a facelift in '98, the front air springs were optional, otherwise the usual McPherson struts were used.