Classic Cars Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Classic Cars Wiki
0421363E-D316-4674-9C49-C82DB776F60B

1992 Cadillac Brougham custom at the London Motor Museum

The Cadillac Brougham is a line of luxury cars manufactured by the General Motors corporation from the 1987 through the 1992 years.

Early History[]

Originally used for a single horse drawn enclosed carriage for 2-4 people, the “Brougham” owes its name to a British statesman, Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, whose second claim to fame is having given to the sea-front drive, in Nice in the South of France, the nickname of Promenade des Anglais (the "promenade where the English stroll"). Cadillac first used the name in 1916 to designate an enclosed 5-7 passenger sedan body style. In the thirties, the name was given to a formal body style with open chauffeur compartment and enclosed rear quarters, metal roof and often "razor-edged" styling. When Cadillac started offering Fleetwood bodies on some of its cars in 1925, the Brougham body style was Fleetwood bodied every year with the exception of 1926. After 1937 the Brougham name was not applied to any Cadillac for the remainder of the pre-World War II period.

The Brougham name would eventually reappear on the 1955 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham show car which preceded the 4-door Eldorado Brougham hardtops of the 1957 to 1960 model years. The 1957 Cadillac Series 70 Eldorado Brougham joined the Sixty Special and the Series 75 as the only Cadillac models with Fleetwood bodies although Fleetwood script or crests did not appear anywhere on the exterior of the car, and so this would also mark the first time in 20 years that that a Fleetwood bodied car was paired with the Brougham name.

After a five year absence the Brougham name reappeared as an option package on the 1965 Cadillac Sixty Special. The following year the Brougham moved up to becoming a subseries of the Fleetwood Sixty Special. This continued through 1970.Starting in 1971 the Sixty Special was only available as the well equipped Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham. When the Sixty Special Series was retired in 1977, the Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham took its place as Cadillac's most luxurious owner-driven large sedan model through 1986.

The Brougham finally became a separate model from 1987 through 1992. This was the last Cadillac to be produced with no airbags.

Description[]

The 1987 Brougham was built at the Clark Street Cadillac Assembly Plant in Detroit, Michigan, as the Fleetwood Brougham had been in 1985-86. Before the shift to the Arlington Assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, some early model year 1988s were produced at Detroit Assembly in late 1987 and construction continued at Arlington through 1992. The 11th digit of the VIN indicates plant assembly. A "9" as the 11th digit indicates a Detroit Brougham; a "R" indicates an Arlington Brougham. Many of the Arlington assembled examples also had a state of Texas/GM Arlington decal on the rear side quarter glass.

VIN "9" Broughams were actually produced in 1987-1990 (and in 1986 as well), and, although rare, can be found as "commercial chassis" vehicles, and generally have a higher output Oldsmobile 307 LG8 Engine and different transmissions (typically the TH400 three speed), depending on the use. Generally speaking, minor differences between 1987 and 1988 (VIN 9 and Y) can be found, such as carburetor assembly. While these cars all used Rochester Quadrajet Electronic four-barrel carburetors, differences include an electronic (Detroit) versus vacuum (Arlington) Idle Load Compensator, as well as an electronic (Detroit) versus climactic (Arlington) choke system. The vin "9" engine is the high output version of the base LV2 307 vin code Y and shares most parts with it. The HO engine is the same engine that was used in the rear wheel drive Oldsmobile 442. While the engine was not powerful, it proved to be a reliable engine with proven, but dated, technology.

The Brougham wore a cross-hatch grille in 1987 and 1988 which was an identical re-cast of the 1981 grille. The Brougham received a new vertical-slat grille for 1989, which was equal to the 1982-86 with 3 horizontal sections. A 1990 facelift, the first one since 1980, was necessitated by a redesigned Town Car from rival Lincoln. For 1990, Brougham received a new digital dash cluster inside, and composite headlamps, contemporary taillamp lenses, flush bumper moldings, and an optional Chevrolet 350 V8. Additionally that year, door-mounted front seatbelts became standard in order to meet federal safety standards as no driver's side airbag was available.

For 1991, the LV2 V8 was replaced by a Chevrolet FI V8 that produced 170 hp (127 kW; 172 PS), while the Chevrolet 350 produced 185 hp (138 kW; 188 PS). The 1992 models received no major changes, as it was its final year. The fuel injected engines proved to be reliable contenders and provided a tremendous power improvement over the Oldsmobile 307 carbureted engines.

"Premier Formal Vinyl Roof" option[]

In 1988, the "Premier Formal Vinyl Roof" option became available which gave the standard Brougham a very formal look. Though costly at US$1,095, it altered the overall appearance greatly. It included a vinyl covering of not only the entire roof of the car but also the B-pillar and the rear quarter window surround. This option was available in 1988 and 1989. For 1990, a variation of roof treatment became standard in conjunction with the model's restyling that year.

Advertisement