My most expensive shite EVAR...

[wuvvum]

Bought this today.

 

 

 

I remember sitting in one of these at the Earls Court motor show in about 1998 and being in awe at the sheer number of gadgets it contained. I remember thinking at the time "I can't wait till I can afford one of these". So when this one came up I had to go for it. It was over twice as expensive as the 166, over three times more than the Celsior and 50 quid more expensive than the previous record holder, the Volvo S40.

 

It's a nice thing to drive, with a V8 that acttually sounds like a V8, unlike the one in the Toyota which sounds like a turbine.

 

 

It has a fair bit more character than the Celsior too. It's actually surprisingly tame to drive considering it's got 300 brake going through the front wheels. And it's tempting to use most of those horses too as the Northstar does make rather a nice noise when thrashed. And use rather a lot of petrol.

 

The interior's a very nice place to be. All pale leather and wood - makes the Celsior seem drab by comparison.

 

 

It's not got quite as many gadgets as the Celsior (no massage function on the rear seats for example - which bizarrely decided to start working today on the Toyota) but it has a vey clever computer which spent most of the early evening suggesting to me that I put my headlights on as Iw as on sidelights and the sensors detected that it was dark enough for headlights to be warranted. I disagreed. But I digress. It's so civilised in there that I was in two minds as to whether it could be counted as shite or not. That is until I saw this.

 

 

Any car that comes with a minidisc player as standard automatically qualifies, in my book. I can't remember the last time I saw a minidisc for sale in the shops. The system also has a CD multichanger (in the front centre armrest, bizarrely) and sounds awesome.

 

I'm not sure how long I'm going to keep it - if anything goes wrong with it it's going to be prohibitive to put right. I might keep it for a few months though as it's actually better to drive than I was expecting. And it's an unusual vehicle, and I do like unusual vehicles.

[Guest]

Very snazzy! Often see one of these in a shopping centre car park near work with Confederate flag in the rear window, etc.Chrome arches are vile, though!

[wuvvum]

Chrome arches are vile, though!

They are, aren't they? Which is exactly why I'm going to leave them on there.

[Guest]

I reckon you should go full on line-dancer spec - apply a very unironic "I LOVE THE USA" type bumper sticker and drive around with a cowboy hat on whilst playing Duelling Banjos out of the MD deck.

[Ratdat]

Does that share any underpinnings with any european GM stuff? I kind of like it but feel I shouldn't

[STUNO]

Absolutely fantastic wuvvum. Who died? Or did someone give you a closed down petrol station with full tanks !.A Lexior AND a Cadillac plus a whole fleet of mundane transport just does my head in

[outlaw118]

Splendid!!Stuart Hall has/had one of these I believe.need we say more?

[r.welfare]

Heroic. Northstar V8 is probably the least-shite part of the whole car. I prefer the looks of the previous model, but they were never RHD.EDIT: Just found the eBay ad...the guy appeared to have an Allante in his garden! Bargainous barge anyhoo.

[Spottedlaurel]

Awe inspiring! You could always rip the chrome arches off and use them to tidy up those on your Transit that I have here.

 

 

Love this shot, where virtually everything in the near distance is yours.

[garethj]

Fantastic thing! I was sorely tempted by one of these because I reckon it's one of the few cars (not MPVs) you can get 3 baby seats in the back.The aircon / radio panel is styled just like the Cadillac Catera which was the Opel Omega in Europe. I designed some bits of the Catera aircon, don't recall it having a minidisc in the radio though.Keep us posted how it runs

[seth]

I can imagine depreciation on these in this country has been astounding. Great purchase!

[reallyloud]

Quite an attractive looking motah. I have a similar admiration for the current 300C. Whats the interior materials quality like? Is the build quality as bad as the reputation suggests?

[pogweasel]

super chintzy northern nightclub owner ride!great work, how many pfennigs did that set you back?

[wuvvum]

Whats the interior materials quality like? Is the build quality as bad as the reputation suggests?

It's patchy. The dashboard plastics are the best of any Yank I've owned, but they're not up to BMW/Audi standards. But then most of the interior is covered in either leather (very nice and soft) or wood, so it's not such an issue. Some of the minor switches feel a bit cheap, but then they do in the Celsior too. The window switches do feel flimsier in the Caddy though. The worst bit I've found is the pop-out cupholder in the rear centre armrest, which feels like something you'd find in a late-'80s Proton. Oh, and the rheostat switches for dimming the lights on the sun visor vanity mirrors feel like something you'd get from the 99p shop. Overall though it's probably better than I was expecting - the good bits more than compensate for the few dodgy bits.

[Jazzy Jeff]

Is it FWD drive?? Cos forgive me If I am mistaken, but isn't that Engine transversely mounted??

[pogweasel]

Yeah, FWD.Don't forget that Cadillac were building 8-litre land-yachts with FWD in the 60's/70's. NOT GR8 4 DRIFTN.

[Richard]

I think nearly all American saloon cars have been fwd since the early 1980s.

[seth]

I'm sure there was a Ford (Crown Vic maybe?) that was not only rear drive until recently but was on a separate chassis until an obscenely late year.

[Guest]

Probably the Crown Vic, though their dated design is owed to the fact that they're not particularly aimed at the public.Well, unless you're running from the police, in which case you may well find a Crown Vic aimed at you.

[wuvvum]

The Lincoln Town Car was a similar proposition - it was heavily based on the Crown Vic and was also built on a separate chassis for a long time. It's still RWD - which makes me wonder what the propshafts on those silly stretch limos must look like...

[garethj]

I have a sort of hankering for a Crown Victoria. But a deep lust for an early 90s Chrysler Concorde

[r.welfare]

Random fact - the Chrysler LH platform that underpins the Concorde (and the other models) is a development of the Renault 25's, apparently.I've seen a few on the Bay but they all seem to have borked engines. Well-known for sludging up the narrow oilways, those V6s. Lovely-looking cars though. Will never forgive my dad for not upgrading our rented Dodge Spirit to a newly-released Inteprid when we went to Florida in the autumn of '92...

[outlaw118]

Not seen one of these old barges for blummin' ages then I saw a BRG one in Brentwood. (being driven by a giffer, it has to be said....)

[mk2_craig]

Argh! I was sorely tempted by the only Seville STS on Jersey which was advertised in the local rag for the whole of last August at £2.5k. Fancied chopping in the Mundano for a bit of serious wafting, but common sense prevailed and the owner exported the damn thing back to the UK

[nigel bickle]

Mad -just mad.Marvellous -I've missed this nonsense

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Welcome back NB! Whereve you been!?

[Rocket88]

I've got a '94 Eldorado [the 2 door coupe version of these] that will be up for sale shortly...mint condition, 38,000 miles from new.....form an orderly queue.........

[nigel bickle]

Hiya Mr B. Lifes been 'difficult' recently. Just spent 4 weeks in Italy when I went over for 3 days! New employer lying about the issues/workload etc.Only back cos the wife lunched/rolled a Saab and hurt herself (not as much as expected thankfully) and to look for another jobbie!!Nice to be back -lots of 'posts' to come. Cheers

[Cheggers]

You were on telly last night - rerun of "Deals on Wheels"