1993 Cadillac Allante | Retro Review

I much preferred the earlier Allante that had even more buttons and the electric dashboard. No way I'm spending $60k and getting the same speedo that a Chevy Cavalier was offering.

I'm so glad to be able to watch the 1993 Allante MotorWeek review over the ones from 1987 and 1989. I have a 1993 Allante that I have been driving practically every day since about 2016. People do not give this car the credit it deserves. I get a lot of people stopping me asking about the car many places that I go. Just like the old saying, "Take care of your car, and your car will take care of you!" One of the nice things about the 1993 model year Allante is that mechanical parts, the driveline and other electronics are found in other Cadillac models to include the Eldorado, Seville and Deville. This is definitely a great offering from Cadillac especially of this era with other two-seater cars, this is one of the few that offers a V8.

Allante means forward in Spanish😮

Oil pressure AND volts — no wonder John has a soft spot for it.

That starter motor in between the cylinder banks 😂😂😂 stupid GM

I hindsight, you would have been much better off with the previous 4.5L V8.

The only Allante year worth owning. Non-Northstar Allantes are somewhat lacklustre to drive.

Oh man, if John only knew what was coming down the road with this engine.

except the head bolts are too narrow and it gives the illusion of blown head gaskets, fix it, and it leaks again unless you pull the engine and tap the holes, and change the starter at the same time lol... and the torque converter problems.

Man, I can almost feel the cheapness of those plastic buttons on the center stack as he was pushing them. Typical GM whether it was Chevy or Cadillac in the '80s and '90s.

I can hear the head bolts loosening up from here

That goddamn engine could’ve been a world beater. The bean counters sent out a ticking time bomb. Damn shame

I love that it’s being compared to a Merc SL Lololol

The 2024 equivalent just a hair shy of $131,000

The Northstar V8 is such a good engine!

Car looked very good when they came out. One was parked in the Vegas Sands Casino inside a few were looking at it a convertible. Early nineties.

The Allante was, and still is, a collector’s item, especially with the first and only year with the Northstar 32-valve V8. Needless to say, this also marked the final year for the Allante. Christina Applegate wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Northstar was a great motor to drive. Peppy, sounded great, and not bad on gas either. Its really a shame they suffer from that head stud issue into the higher miles.

The design aged well though, imo they looked better than the XLR

1993 was the final model year for the Allante, and the Northstar V8 did nothing to help improve sagging sales. The constant head gasket issues that these early Northstar engines were plagued with ultimately didn't help.

Few upgrades, and it would sell today. Was always a sharp looking car.

Final year. GM took a bath on these cars.

I remember being a tween and seeing these out on the road- I always liked the look of this Cadillac.

Kind of surprising to see an all analog gauge cluster on these. I don't know these cars well, but was kind of expecting some spacey digital display.

I can here the cylinder head bolts failing from here!

59K? What junk...

Everyone at my junior high remembers this car due to Christina Applegate on Married with Children and her "Bundy Bounce", "The neeeeeeew Allante!"

The neWWWWWWW ALLANTE!!!

Kelly Bundy, 1990

Then the car was axed after 1993

Too little- too late- too unreliable 😮😢

Pininfarina did a remarkable job on this car. Gorgeous, despite the limitations of front-drive proportions.

I still dig it

Wow, $60k and a manual top. And the Northstar 😬😬😬

✊😪🤏 OHhhh what the Northstar could've been .... such a sexy lookin Smooth Runnin S0B ....... so sad

The Northstar was a shit engine like the LS is. They should have kept the 4.5L they had!

I was a big fan of Cadillac's Northstar coming out in the early 90's. The Allante was even more exotic considering it's way of manufacturing between Italy and the US! Later it turned out that the Northstar engines have quite some issues with blown head gaskets.

If only they knew the future significant problems with the Northstar engine.........

The XLR of the 1980s/early 1990s era Cadillacs

The front of this car reminds me of the Volkswagen Scirocco.

We may be ugly and unreliable, but we're expensive!
-Cadillac

i still cant believe they planned a power top for 94 and dropped the car.

1993 was an extended model year, beginning in January 1992 and running to end of production in July 1993.

"It was held back for further development"

Shame that part of the extended development cycle on the first gen northstar engine didn't include upgrading the head fastening assembly from bolts to studs.

Doing that would've prevented a decade of lawsuits and government ordered recalls.

$59,000 in 1993 is around $128,000 in 2024 dollars.

Cadillac almost had it!. Just needed RWD, a power top and a reliable power plant...

Is it just me or the passenger seat reclined on the brake test?

In the early '00s, as a fair weather, pleasure use only vehicle, I bought a very nice, one owner Caddy DTS with the H.O. version of the Northstar and every option it could have. After two years I sold it for more than I paid for at full asking price it to the first person who came to look at it, a sure sign I should have been asking for more. It was a beautiful car with zero problems and showed very well.

The Northstar never gave me any trouble, although Cadillac forums back then made it sound like every NS was a ticking time bomb. It almost ruined the experience of ownership, but I guess it's always that way. People with complaints are the most motivated to post in online forums. If you don't keep it in perspective it can warp your perception of reality.

14 miles city mpg is insane