An ultimate collector's piece, the Cadillac Deville is a signature piece of three iconic decades. The Fifties, Sixties and Seventies models were styled with so much impact that songs and films were titled after it. It was introduced in 1949 as the Cadillac Coupe de Ville, a chrome trimmed marvel with grey leather.

The first three pillarless hardtop coupes were produced in the 1949 model year. The Cadillac Series 2 was one of them, giving buyers a one dollar saving on their second choice of Series 62 convertible. Trim was of optimal importance with every detail achieving grandeur. Even with its leather upholstery and chrome headliner bows, it sold a measly 2,150 units. The Fifties saw its popularity soar until 1956, when the Series 62 Sedan de Ville gave Cadillacs four doors, a hiked price tag and just over 40 000 unit sales.

Drive ins and roadhouses were crowded with 1959 Cadillacs, which were designed for beauty rather than brawn. Their tailfins and bullet headlights are portraits of an era. Horsepower lacked for nothing for its time. The 325 horsepower of the series 7 was adequately coupled with smooth suspension and a comfortable ride. In the Sixties, Cadillacs found subtlety, reducing tailfins and scrubbing the exterior down to a sleeker version of its former self. Power steering and power brakes were standard features for all de Villes and interior leathers were replaced with Chadwick or Cambray cloth with optional leather fusions.

In the swinging Sixties the Cadillac Deville was reintroduced with a slanted back, inclined front panels and graphically lined backlights. The mid Sixties painted the Cadillac Deville in its most elegant style of the decade. A more curvaceous muzzle and absent tailfins gave it a sharper, more confident air. It was now climbing the ladder in terms of mechanics and was equipped with 340 horsepower. Transmission was lowered to allow more interior space and was offered with an optional $121 padded vinyl roof. Chrome siding announced itself more loudly on the 1968 convertible, which represented the pinnacle of the restyling which had begun in 1967.

The Seventies Deville was a retro classic before its time. Restyling focussed on luxury in the cabin with a wider interior than any vehicle preceding it. Its pointed grill was what gave it presence and the 1976 line carried it into subtler territory. The air cushion restraint system introduced comfort that has become a famed aspect of every Cadillac Deville since. The 75th anniversary of Cadillac brought a shrunken coupe that was clearly evolving into the sedan of today. A raised roof with a boxier trunk gave it more head and leg room and a style closer to its Nineties cousins. The Eighties Glamor scene gave it a heavier, more luxurious look inspired by Rolls Royce.

In the Nineties, deVille Concours dropped its retro airs and became a vehicle tailored toward practicality. Between 2000 and 2005, the de Ville lost its reputation as an old man's car and received a revamp for younger generations. Soft suspension made it one of the penultimate comfort-rides of its time. The vehicle sighed its final breath in the middle of June 2005, ever to be remembered as the incarnation of the eras in which it resided.