32% Of People Said This Is The Worst Looking Cadillac Model
As one of the longest-operating automakers in history, Cadillac is well known for making cars that are aesthetically pleasing to most gearheads. No one is going to look at a 1970s Cadillac El Dorado and think it's a bad-looking car. The car may be large, inefficient, expensive, and unwieldy, but is absolutely not ugly, that's for certain. Cadillac's current lineup is much of the same, and although the recent addition of GM's EV technology used in the new bespoke $300,000 Celestiq, has at least mitigated the gas-guzzling land yacht stigma of the past, Caddys still put off the aura of being large and in charge.
But for every El Dorado and Celestiq, there are a few cars that don't exactly capture the eye of the car-buying public. After all, Cadillac has the same parent company as Pontiac, the maker of the infamous Aztek, a car considered classically ugly. It bears asking the question: Over Cadillac's long history, which Caddy is the worst looking? What models have betrayed the brand's track record of producing one of the longest-lasting status symbols?
Cadillac's stylistic mishaps
SlashGear surveyed 607 people in the United States asking for honest opinions on the Cadillac lineup's aesthetic decisions over the years and the respondents came up with five models with faces that only Henry Leland, the founder of Cadillac, could love.
Two models are tied for fourth place, each garnering 11.70% of the vote. Those unfortunate Cadillacs are the Cadillac ELR and Cadillac SRX. The SRX was a bizarrely proportioned SUV that failed to inspire most people with its adequate V6 that was a carryover from other GM SUVs. According to Edmunds, the car sold relatively well despite its looks but that was partly due to the badge on the front and the fact it was generally inoffensive as long as you were sitting inside the car.
The Cadillac ELR looks like a coupe styled by a Gothic architect who went wild with Photoshop's "skew" tool. Mechanically, the ELR was a Chevy Volt hybrid that had two fewer doors and leather seats. It also cost $65,995 at the time (via Car and Driver). Needless to say, it didn't last long.
Aesthetic foibles
The Cadillac EXT clinches third place with 15.16% of the vote. The EXT beat out other luxury trucks and truck-like vehicles from the era. But in 2022, the design has aged about as well as an avocado. It looks like a regular Escalade that Cadillac just neglected to finish building. The pickup bed (if you can call it that) was only marginally useful and reviewers from the time weren't exactly sure what to make of it.
In second place is the Cadillac Allante built from 1987 to 1993 at 28.83% of the vote. Readers really did not like the Allante. Cadillac actually put effort into styling the Allante, going as far as hiring Pininfarina to handle the styling, the legendary Italian styling house responsible for multiple Ferraris. Pininfarina designers must have been having a bad week/month/year as the resulting car was a boxy stylistic mishap that looked more like a grandmother's convertible than a classic Italian cruiser.
But even those aesthetic disasters from Cadillac pale in comparison to the first-place entry.
They can't all be winners
At 32.62% of the votes, the 1980-1985 Cadillac Seville wins the "honor" of worst looking Cadillac according to SlashGear readers. The Seville from the 1980s follows the same trend as the aforementioned EXT. From the front, it just looks like a normal Cadillac. The back half of the car is where styling gets a little wacky, to say the least. The Seville features a back trunk (or trunk-like feature) that starts at the rear window and takes an immediate steep slope downwards towards the rear bumper, making the car look like a luxury sedan that was in a hastily covered-up production accident. There was even a special trim of the Seville called "Elegante" in what was either a cruel joke at the Seville's expense or a vain attempt to save face.
The people have spoken. For the most part, Cadillac has made some fantastic-looking cars. But they can't all be winners. Occasionally, even the best car designers in the business put out a model that makes the public wonder what Cadillac is up to.