One slimy thing that unscrupulous junkyard shoppers do is to lock all the doors of a car with interior parts they want to save for themselves on a later visit (presumably after they’ve done a few smash-and-grabs to get the money they need for the parts). They’re banking on the reluctance of more ethical junkyard shoppers to destroy a junkyard car’s window or punch out a door lock, and that’s the case with today’s Junkyard Find. Still, I was able to get some decent through-the-glass shots of the gloriously yellow and nicely preserved interior of this 1987 Cadillac Sedan de Ville.
Just look at those seats! This might be a Touring Sedan, but I didn’t see any badging and a bit of research indicates that the Touring Sedans had rear-seat headrests (which are not present on this car).
The Cadillac de Ville went to front-wheel-drive starting in the 1985 model year, but Cadillac kept some of the styling seen on the older rear-drive models preferred by the marque’s target demographic at the time.
This car is in very, very nice condition, with just a few easily-fixed cosmetic blemishes. Did the notoriously trouble-prone HT4100 engine under the hood give out?
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How positively posh…
Like melted buttah.
One of these (maybe a few model years later) won a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality award. I saw this being boasted about by Cadillac in my father’s stock mailings from GM. Looking at the cars I asked my dad if he saw what was wrong with one of the cars. He did not. I told him to look at the headlights…one was so far out of alignment it was painfully obvious. How that photo made it into a GM shareholder packet without anybody noticing was beyond me.
How can you tell this Cadillac is very low mileage? The leather wrapped wheel is still intact and not worn down to grey suede like every single GM leather wheel until the mid 2000’s when they finally figured out how to make them last.
Rubbish! Mine has 92K miles, and still has all it’s leather and texture on it.
That’s low mileage.
I can confirm that a 1995 LeSabre with 225k miles will have a grey “suede” steering wheel. It’s the only car I have with a steering wheel cover.
Flint H-body love. RIP to Buick City. You have the last vehicle type/body style built there.
Ford had some trouble between 2000 and 2005 with lasting steering wheels. They didn’t become suede, they became gooey mush. Both my 2003 Focus and 2005 Explorer had awful steering wheels by about 120k miles.
How can you tell that this Cadillac has 125k miles on it? It’s easy, it’s written on the windshield.
“Cadillac Style or Nissan Style?”
Nissan has style?
Not anymore.
How can you tell this Cadillac is low mileage? The leather wrapped wheel is still intact and not worn down to grey suede like every single GM leather wheel until the mid 2000’s when they finally figured out how to make them last.
Nope not a Touring because of all the trims. The Touring was rather de-trimmed, and had different seat style, and never said “Sedan de Ville” on the side. I suspect this non-sport color was not available on Touring either – white, blue, maroon, black, red. Also had different rear lights, which did not feature the spear emblems.
Though it has very few flaws (Look at how nice the headliner is, this was garaged!), the ones it does have (cosmetic exterior) combined with the 4.1 make it a no-go. There are plenty of either 4.5 or 4.9’s available – both of which looked less crap than this version. They’re worth $3,000 in top condition with low miles, max.
If this model ever needed anything, it was the 1991 lengthening and refresh.
Interesting thing to note, though they kept the same door handle and surrounding panel for the newer version, they switched the leather on the door pull for wood panel, I suspect to prevent discoloration. I also suspect this lemon frosting color interior option went away before 1991.
How do you know all of this stuff? Bravo. This, along with my research of the first Buick plant in Flint that burned down in 1901 (off the now non-existent Kearsley street in Flint), has really topped off my useless automotive knowledge of the week.
Lol, I like to read about car trim level details. And special editions. And before I buy something I research it extensively.
Corey has a sickness.
It’s important! Someone may randomly ask me what year the crests disappeared from Deville seats, or what the last year was where you could have white leather!
I have to be prepared to answer.
This is true. It’s best to be prepared. I think the Boy Scouts have some sort of slogan about that, but I only made it through one day of that business.
BRUTUS: ’Tis very like: he hath the falling-sickness.
CASSIUS: No, Caesar hath it not; but you, and I,
And honest Casca, we have the falling-sickness.
-Julius Caesar, Act I. Scene II
So you actually own one of these beauties? I enjoy your posts so keep feeding the sickness :)
Haha, yep I do.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B38ULhHiIa2Id1JjS3lHYnRsNGc
Wow. That is incredible. That is one fine automobile.
Why thank you. Been driving it all over. Helped me bring home an old 44″ long blanket chest in the back seat last night.
W Kearsley St is still there. I used to work at a building on W Kearsley and Saginaw (Flintown!). I have no idea where the original Buick building was though.
Now I have to go listen to some Dayton Family.
The part of Kearsley that ran through ‘Chevy in the Hole.’ If you look at Google Maps, it was parallel to the old Grand Trunk Rail road. You can still see the road outline and rail road outline in the ‘remediation’ area, even though GM built over it. After they razed the fuel tank / injection molding plant, it somewhat revealed the original 19th century plant’s foundation along with the road. If you drive by today, I’m told it looks more like a park than a decaying industrial site. I remember those plants ‘running,’ then being torn down while I was going to school. The late nineties and early ‘oughts were such a cluster f*ck for GM’s manufacturing landscape.
Ok, I know where you are talking about now. Where Kearsley now turns into Glenwood. I didn’t realize Kearsley used to keep going there. It does look like a park. A park that no one goes too. But that’s three quarters of Flint now.
My family’s company poured the concrete in those plants in the 90s, when they retooled, only to have them close a few years later. I remember going to Buick City in my early teens and seeing H-Bodies being made. That’s a god@mn holy site as far as I’m concerned. GM f@cked Flint raw. Saginaw, Lansing, and Pontiac too. They are like small rural towns with a factory that shut down, except on a massive scale.
That’s crazy to think about that concrete being the last thing left of such a historical site. Depending on the remediation plans, your family’s concrete may end up being there for a century. The concrete around the recreation building at Kettering just had top soil put over it to make baseball and soccer fields. It was too costly to disturb the polluted ground so they just covered it up.
It’s also expensive to break concrete up. A lot of those floors are poured well over a foot deep and reinforced with various materials. None of it is really worth much, and like you said, many of these places are polluted to superfund levels. That’s why Packard has stood so long. It’s all concrete and rebar. No one can make any money on tearing it down to offset demo/remediation costs.
I’m sure my concrete is at Pontiac Truck and Bus and possibly Wixom as well. I haven’t been on the Wixom site lately, but I’d bet money, some of my concrete is still there. Maybe they park RVs on it now.
I believe it was this plant that my friends and I broke into. I’m unsure. It had a complete CMM lab, offices and injection molding machines still in place. We also saw some HAAS six axis mills for some reason which confused us. After we found files with employees and their SS #’s, a buddy of mine let a guerrilla newspaper, The Uncommon Sense, know. Talk about an ensuing sh1t show… GM came down on them for withholding the files and making a huge PR fiasco. They also complained loudly about Kettering students trespassing on their grounds. Campus security started patrolling GM property shortly afterwards.
Kettering students are such trouble makers…
You may have attended the only school that is in a worse neighborhood than my alma mater, Wayne State. $hit, our university police force has a SWAT team.
I found some electronic records of our mischief:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Tsajx5voajEJ:www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2005.08/PT.2005.08.1.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
http://www.autonews.com/article/20050214/SUB/502140745/briefly:-porsche-puts-posh-on-the-golf-course
In the auto news search for Delphi. I’m surprised Farago didn’t jump on this and report it on TTAC at the time. I first started reading TTAC way back then.
I was at GMI in 1984-86 when all of the plants in Happy Valley were all still humming along. Back then, GMI still had a 5-story parking garage (why did they tear it down?) right next to the now-razed GM plant to the east. I used to repair my 1975 Pontiac station wagon up there on the 4th floor of that parking garage.
I had no idea of the history of that area and that I was at ground zero of the sit-down strike until years after I left.
redmondjp-
I can only imagine what Flint was like in the 70s and 80s. I can only remember as far back as the mid-90s. Even then, the Flint area was better off than it is now. I was occasionally working in downtown Flint last year, and it’s bad. It’s even worse now that the biggest anchor, Citizens Bank, has their Flint HQ gutted by the new bank.
redmondjp,
The parking garage had a structural failure in the nineties. One of the floors gave way. It was luckily empty. The recreation center is where that structure used to stand and is an amazing facility.
Actually the lengthening and refresh occurred in 1989. Then again in 1995. The smaller boxey ones seem more appealing to me for some reason. Also, is there ANY engine put in these cars that it truly any good? The 4.1 came out when the V864 was a joke. So I supppose the 4.5 or 4.9 has no issues? I just cant be sure. I do know NORTHSTAR was a disaster…I can’t believe they used it in so many products. Just give me a Lincoln Towncar…I know they will last the test of time.
Forgot to mention there was no Touring model until the 1991 re-refresh.
@Kmars, your dates are off. Yes it got longer in 89, but new hood grille bumpers and slight interior modifications and improvements in 1991, along with electronic ride controls.
1994 was the new K-body Deville, from the previous C-body. Facelifted for 1997.
Sorry…it was changed in 89. I know, I was actually driving to Ft. Lauderdale on I75 when one passed me in fall of 88. Ot was the first “all new” one I had seen. Much bigger than the previous. Google it my friend. Check tje images of the 89 DeVille. In addition, I have attended the NAIAS Since 1985. I think I know my cars…even gawd awful Cadillacs. They tried to beat the premiere of the restyled 90 Lincoln Towncar. They did pretty good, then the Towncar stole the sales. Then it was a matter of if you wanted a FWD Cadillac or old RWD Brougham, or very new Towncar. I do remember my car history quite well.
By 91. I was living in Phoenix…the first time. 90-94…left then came back in 15. Even living in Phoenix, I flew back each year for the Detroit show.
@kmars
You do realize that I did -not- disagree with you, yeah? Reading comprehension and all that.
4.5 is known to be good in MY88, and 4.5/4.9 from MY89-95 and that’s about it. Supposedly the 4100s in MY86-87 where better per rumor.
They’re so… not powerful that I don’t think I’d bother with anything but the 4.9 unless I -need- a particular model.
The 4.9 IS most reliable, and most efficient, and has most HP (200).
and you have a really nice example! I would enjoy riding around in that
The 4.9 will pull you along, slowly but smoothly, forever.
Forever? Hey not to impugn 4.9 but we’re not talking about 3800 here.
The 4.9 and 3800 are kindred spirits.
Blasphemy!
I can’t recall seeing the lemon yellow Cadillacs after MY91, but they did exist as refreshed MY89s and 90s. I’m thinking it was a 70s trend held over through the 80s.
Prior to Hurricane Rita, I worked at a synthetic rubber plant that was built when Japanese captured in the rubber plantations in Indonesia during WWII. Half of it had been shut down in 2000; and the plant’s boiler house back in the 70s, I think. That half and the boiler house was torn down in 2005.
The boilerhouse had some Babcock and Wilcox boilers with huge brass nameplates that had 1917 build dates on them. There were also some steam driven fuel oil pumps inside. Once the asbestos was removed, I took pictures of everything inside, then removed a set of boiler nameplates and arranged to have the steam pumps removed for preservation; one of them is holding down a cart on my carport while two others are in a private collection up north.
Anyway, I was told that if there was enough salvageable materials, they would pay to tear it down; while if it was mostly concrete; you had to pay to have it torn down. That was the case with our plant; but laws passed after all the plant shutdowns in the 80s and 90s no longer allow you to leave such buildings up, so it had to be torn down.
Someone took pictures of them tearing the boilerhouse down; it was very substantially built along with the brick and mortar boiler fireboxes. The boilerhouse put up a good fight; but today’s machinery made it pretty routine to tear down even such a massive structure; the attachment that looks like an overgrown version of Edward Scissorhands or a pair of wire cutters, and a jackhammer attachment soon brought it down; leaving just the slab behind.
I didn’t catch this yesterday. Thank you for sharing. There is an old cotton mill in Cateechee, SC that has a hydro electric GE turbine still intact. The mill was the Norris Cotton Co if I remember correctly. It is half torn down but the powerhouse still stands. I photographed the h3ll out of it. It’s a beautiful part of the structure. Gorgeous high ceilings, ornate wood work, and the casting of the enormous generators is very intricate. At the turn of the 19th century, industrialization was considered to be the high point of society. Construction and manufacturing of the infrastructure is evidence to it.
Could see that yella down the golf club.
“This car is in very, very nice condition, with just a few easily-fixed cosmetic blemishes. Did the notoriously trouble-prone HT4100 engine under the hood give out?”
I’m guessing owner (who usually had it parked in his/her garage) died and kids decided to just junk it versus going through the hassle of selling it.
@ whynot: I am assuming that you are correct.
@ coreydl: thanks for the insight.
For myself I do not consider these to be true Cadillacs. This is the era during which GM destroyed the reputation and prestige which Cadillac had built up for many decades. A pox on the houses of the senior executives and bean counters responsible for this.
The Fleetwood Brougham still existed! But by the early 90’s they were de-emphasizing it even in the brochure – all the way at the back. FWD was the way to be for traction, stability, and security.
http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Cadillac/1992-Cadillac/1992-Cadillac-Full-Line-Prestige-Brochure/1992-Cadillac-Full-Line-Prestige-02
It says “salvaged” on the windshield, along with the mileage, runs, and stuff. My guess is it was probably in a minor accident, got totaled, went to auction, and no dealers were interested so the junkyard bought it.
I’m guessing some type of water damage. Those bench seat cushions are drooping in an unnatural way. I used to sell these cars, so I should know.
That front bench seat needs to be turned into furniture stat.
For no logical reason, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for that car.
Definitely a Hardly Together 4100 failure. What a worthless pile of junk that motor was. V6 power with horrible reliability!
They were much better by this point, especially if one followed the service recommendations. The power output was rather low at only 130 HP and 200 torque but they did run really smooth and provided decent off the line grunt in these light weight FWD cars. The 4.5 and 4.9 were better still and much peppier.
I thought it had gotten bumped up to 155 before being replaced by the 4.5, but that just turned out to be the output of the initial 4.5. 1990 4.5 with 180hp is definitely the way to go with that one.
O.K. Cory ;
When and why did the ducks disappear from Cadillac emblems ? .
This is a pretty car , too bad about the engine .
-Nate
1999 was the last model year to feature ducks, before a modernized logo with plain “interior blocks” on it appeared for 2000 model cars. The logo had been essentially the same 1964-1999.
It was a bigger overall attempt to shed a geezer image! The wreath was smoothed and modernized that year as well, and it no longer featured individual branches, but one continual branch. The crown atop the logo was also lost in 2000.
Now I will have to check the logo on the never worn black leather Cadillac coat that The Old Man got with one of his mid’90’s STS’s. Black leather with a small Cadillac logo on the left ‘breast’. They couldn’t get a coat that would fit him so he gave it to me. It has been hanging in a closet, inside a suit bag for around 20 years.
Betsy was enjoying her morning coffee. The three turquoise rings she had on her right hand scraped a bit against the waxy insulated paper cup – she lifted it for the sixteenth time in the past ten minutes. Watching the passersby at her favorite Café, it was a relaxing morning. The red clock on the wall hummed as electrons flowed through the old display: 07:39.
Occasionally one of those passers would notice her. A young child tugged his mother’s hand and pointed, only to have it slapped away quickly. “Stop that!”
Tamisha came into work, running a bit late, but never too late to give Betsy a little wave and a nod. It seemed like she was always here on Mondays – she never stopped to wonder why. Shaking her head a little bit to clear the friendly thoughts and mildly interested musings, she toddled off to the break room to put away her purse.
An hour went by, and Betsy had finished her coffee. Thoroughly relaxed, she pressed her feet into her old teal slip-ons, pulling a faded Estee Lauder compact from her purse and making sure her the whispy grey and white hairs atop her head looked alright. She had plenty of blush on already – the light pink powder high up on her cheeks, where her cheek bones once rested when Nixon was in office. “Oh, little touch up.” she muttered, proudly applying more blush across the large lines and valleys of her face.
In the parking lot, bony fingers found her keys, which had slipped down into the lowest part of her heavy vinyl purse. They were amongst four pennies, a nickel, Sacajawea dollar, and three loose Tylenol PMs. Pulling them out, her head jerked up as she heard a short screeching sound and a honk.
“Watch it you crazy old bag!” yelled a paunchy woman at the wheel of a gold 4Runner. Betsy looked up over the tall hood, past the rust bubbles and at the woman’s face. Bringing up a hand in apology, she waved slowly and shuffled out of the middle of the parking lane, still making her way towards the yellow square in her line of sight.
Finding the door lock, she leaned in for closer inspection so she wouldn’t nick a gold tone key against the yellow paint. “Here… we go.” Forty-nine seconds later, the door was successfully unlocked, and she slid behind the soft yellow seats. They cushioned her ample rear while she adjusted her skirt; swishing silk-facsimile fabric noises were the only sounds inside after she’d pulled the heavy door firmly closed.
The car was started, and a 4100 sitting several feet away from the driver was chirping slightly as a belt tensioner protested another day’s use. But Betsy didn’t reach for the metal bar which would put the old yellow cake box into drive.
“Now… what was that place?” asking herself cautiously, slowly. Her mind seemed to be gummed up suddenly. “Was this on my list today – when…” speaking out loud seemed to help some, but the information just wasn’t there this time. “Okay, four…four six…b-.” Heart picking up a bit, her ringed fingers tightened around the thin yellow steering wheel, though old skin produced no perspiration.
Time went by with the car warmed to an uncomfortable degree. Betsy kept it on 80 degrees all winter long. Econ mode, she always remembered econ mode. Gerald had told her those years ago “Don’t use the G-D auto, it’ll run the car outta gas in a hurry with the AC on!”
In front of her, a sensor noticed something. A signal was sent around the car, and the lights came on both inside and out, with a slight click. Twilight Sentinel remembered faithfully, as it had done for the past 28 years, to light the way ahead.
“Oh.”
This activated a sensor for Betsy, too. The lights coming on meant it was dark soon, and she didn’t like driving in the dark. Didn’t want to drive when she couldn’t see. Her eyes welled up a little as her mind latched onto a lecture a couple months ago from her daughter. The anxiety grew while she recalled the event – a chastising about driving carefully, driving at night, calling them to pick her up instead.
She burst out inside the chiffon yellow interior, as a tear landed on floral fabric “Nobody needs to help me!” Eyes closed and her foot found the pedal on the right, and pressed down. Though the gauges showed no reaction, the 4100 roared into compliance, racing itself at 5000RPM. Minutes passed, though Betsy’s internal agony made it feel like hours.
The door opened, a stern voice of a man was there. “Ma’am! Ma’am! Stop that now.” as a blue sleeve reached across the steering column, gentle green digital light blocked momentarily before the ignition was switched off, and everything died.
Betsy slumped over onto the passenger seat, howling and covering her face. Her knee-length floral skirt was soaked in urine. She slowly pulled the green nightgown she had tucked into the waist of the skirt up to dry her eyes.
A small crowd had formed by now to bear witness – some light Monday afternoon entertainment in the K-Mart parking lot.
Someone found inspiration.
Killed it!
Corey, this is great.
Thanks all! :)
You need an alternating spot with Crabspirits, except with maybe a ‘Down on the Rustbelt Street’ flair.
Perfect. I’d replace gold 4Runner (I assume 2nd gen judging by rust and color description) with some flavor of equally dilapidated domestic SUV: Blazer, Explorer, or Grand Cherokee. I hardly see 2nd gens on the road anymore, rust wiped them out plus they’re all atleast 21-25 years old now. Around here it’s all domestic SUVs (with the odd BOF sorento, Montero Sport, or Rodeo) in the poorer parts of town. 1st-2nd gen Expedition/Navi, 2nd and 3rd gen Explorers, ZJ-WJ grand Cherokee, GMT330 Blazer/Jimmy, GMT360 TrailBlazer, GMT400-800 Tahoe/Suburban. Some better-to do Hispanics and African immigrants have 3rd gen 4Runners, but much rarer.
In 1985 my old man bought a yellow ’77 Cadillac Fleetwood with gold leather interior. When he was growing up, he always wanted a Caddy, so he bought this low-mileage one from a cousin who was a car dealer.
Riding in that monstrous yellow car always drew attention. Sitting in the back seat would bring on immediate car sickness as the ride was so floaty.
When I got old enough to drive, I sometimes had to borrow it when the Nissan truck was being used to haul wood. It always got plenty of stares when I drove through the more ghetto-ey parts of town to get to my girlfriend’s house.
One last Caddy memory: When I got my first car – a rusted out ’68 Firebird – my dad and I raced against each other down the main drag of our suburb (I won – no surprise). Afterward he said, “Don’t tell your mother about this…”
“Some people want more, not just a little bit”
These lyrics are clever.
“One slimy thing that unscrupulous junkyard shoppers do is to lock all the doors of a car…they’re banking on the reluctance of more ethical junkyard shoppers ”
This one really got me thinking. First, could you lock all the doors of an 87 caddy without the keys? Second, as far as I’m concerned the junkyard is as close to the jungle as one can get. I wont block others or hide parts, but if there’s an interior piece I need in a locked car, I’m going in
Yes, all had powered locks. It’s the big black button next to the door handle. Rear doors have lock buttons as well, but will only lock all doors and do not have unlock function. Safety feature for kids.
But the battery is gone, so no power locks? I assume either they found the keys inside, or planned on using one of those devices the wrecker truck drivers use to unlock doors.
That’s a good point. Can still lock all doors by hand though, to sco’s question.
Maybe he found a key under the seat or something. I highly doubt that the power locks had power to operate. Many cars (not all) will not let close the door prevent you from latching the door if the door is opened and locked. This is to prevent locking keys from being locked in.
Not GM cars of this era. Lock your keys in all you want, they no care.
And if you lock your keys in the trunk, the trunk button inside won’t work assuming you’ve had a door open to the car – so you’re screwed there too.
The second I saw the picture I knew this thread would bring Corey back from his absence of the last few days.
Ha, I have been seeing the emails for new articles, just not had time to comment. I had seminar and meetings on Monday and Tuesday, and drive all over town yesterday after work!
Wow! I must admit, I am a Cadillac fan. Their older stuff. Yanno, when they still looked like Cadillacs. Actually, I like older cars in general, because you had a choice in colors and options. Like red? Even inside? Ask for it, and you shall receive. Want yellow? Done. White outside, black leather seats? Yup.
This one seems like it had to have died due to the horrid 4.1 warping a head. Poor thing. If only they just went straight to the 4.5 and skipped the 4.1….
The 4.5 was a “fixed” 4100.
Man this brings back memories. I drove a light blue 86 DeVille in high school. It was floaty and comfortable, as you’d expect, and plenty stylish. Would lose to my friend’s Maxima at stoplight drag racing. 100 HP from a 16 MPG V8. Tons of engine pinging, lots of brittle plastic trim parts inside and out. At 60K miles it was falling apart despite my family taking good care of it. I don’t miss it much.
I had a ’90 Sedan DeVille. It had plenty of power. I never complained about power. Takeoff from a light was a measured process, put your foot on the gas too quickly (not even attempting to floor it) could get a chirp from the fron tires. But that was the 4.5. Did it have seemingly low horsepower numbers? By today’s standards, yes. But it had gobs of low end torque. I loved the caremel colored leather seats in that thing. Perfect amount of room for me and my friends. Ahh…my youth.
The 4.1 was a horror story. Too bad, as the cars they ended up in weren’t bad looking most of the time. They just had a terrible engine.
I had several including an MY85 Coupe de Ville (white/padded white), an MY92 Sedan (white/blue roof), an MY91 Coupe (silver/black roof) but the most memorable was the MY89 white/grey two tone without a rood.
This was a HEAVY car. Could tell just by trying to open the hood after the struts gave out. Rear springs also retired early, so it always sagged in the back. But damn did this car exude a certain kind luxury.
The 4.1 did powerful suck. Horribly unreliable and woefully under-powered. GM fixed the problems with the 4.5, but it was still a dog. They finally punched it out to 4.9 where it had enough grunt so you could pull away from a 76 Maverick at a stop light. Instead of tweaking a kind of good engine, GM decided to try their hand at an over head cam mill, the 4.6. They should have just bought modular 8s from Ford.
I’ve wondered before how Cadillac would have done if they stuck with the 4.9L instead of going for the Northstar.
Judging by the power gains GM pulled from the 3800 and 4.3L V6 over the years, the basic 4.9L would have ended at about 250hp/300lb-ft.
GM definitely would have been smarter to copy Ford and go from OHV to SOHC and then to DOHC, rather than skipping a step.
The SOHC 4.6 does have some issues (namely issues with oil burning thanks to valve seals and issues with plastic manifolds on some years) but nothing compared to the failure rate of the Northstar!
The Deathstar’s problems were compounded by the fact that the most common repair….bad head gaskets….could not be repaired with the engine in the car. To do cylinder head service on a Caddy equipped with a 4.6, the entire engine/transaxle assembly had to be dropped from the bottom of the car! This made repairs very EXPENSIVE. Unless the car was newish/low miles it wasn’t worth having it done. Because the repair was generally too difficult for the DIY crowd, when the head gaskets let go, the car was done.