Cadillac Coupe de Ville
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The prestigious Coupe de Ville name (sometimes written Coupe Deville or Coupe DeVille) entered the Cadillac line in 1949 on the new pillarless hardtop coupe bodystyle.
The four-door hardtop Sedan de Ville was unveiled to complement its two-door stablemate in 1956, and the two were mainstays of the Cadillac lineup for decades. The 2 deVille models were grouped within the expansive Series 62 line until 1959, when the deVilles were separated into a distinct series coded Series 63.
When General Motors initiated the redesign of the B- & C-bodies for the '77 model year, the move coined the term 'downsizing' and the deVilles (and all other full-size GMs) shrunk by approximately a foot in length and a half-ton in weight. The deVille moved to a front wheel drive chassis for '85.
The declining popularity of full-size coupes eventually led to the discontinuation of the model in 1993. The four-door was thereafter known simply as the Cadillac DeVille for several years. More recently Cadillac added a 'DTS' model to the Deville series, reportedly an abbreviation for Deville Touring Sedan. Currently Cadillac naming system points to a near-future official moniker of 'DTS' only.
The Car in Popular Culture
50's models with their extravagant fins (http://delivery.gettyimages.com/comp/1896925.jpg?x=x&dasite=POD&ef=1&ev=1&dareq=4C061E5F41594A454953465F425F) are probably the best known versions of the car. Models from this era have commonly appeared in movies and music videos and also on postage stamps (http://www.car-nection.com/yann/Dbas_stp/STPGMBI2.JPG).
A movie of this name directed by Joe Roth appeared in the early 1990s.
It sometimes seems that songwriters know no other kind of car. The Coupe de Ville (and more widely: "Cadillac") is simply pre-eminent among cars referenced in American popular music, whether rap, country, pop or blues, and this process is still going on some ten years after the model was discontinued.
Coupe de Ville Songs
Neil Young has a song of that title (http://www.lyricsdomain.com/14/neil_young/coupe_de_ville.html), and the car figures in songs by:
- Joe Nichols Brokensheartsville (http://www.musicsonglyrics.com/J/Joe%20Nichols/Joe%20Nichols%20-%20Brokenheartsville%20lyrics.htm)
- Suzy Boggus The Other Side of the Hill (http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/bogguss-suzy/the-other-side-of-the-hill-4745.html)
- Steve Earle Cadillac Lyrics (http://www.metrolyrics.com/lyrics/195829/Steve_Earle/Cadillac/)
- Colt 45 The Good Times (http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/afroman/the_good_times/colt_45/)
- OutKast We Luv Deez Hoez (http://www.div.ca/outkast/lyrics/love_deez.html)
- Bachman Turner Overdrive Just for You (http://www.lyrics007.com/Bachman-Turner%20Overdrive%20Lyrics/Just%20for%20You%20Lyrics.html)
- Robert Plunkett Sweet Tooth (http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Delta/2541/blrplunk.htm)
- Meat Loaf Two out of Three Ain't Bad (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/meat-loaf/91283.html)
- Ludacris What's Your Fantasy? (http://songlyrics.co.nz/lyrics/l/ludacris/whats_remix.htm)
- Chuck Berry Maybelline (http://www.kbapps.com/lyrics/jam/maybel.html)
External links
- '59 Cadillac images, including Coupe de Ville (http://www.car-nection.com/yann/Dbas_txt/59_misc.htm)