Cadillac Models & History 1996
- The Northstar, in either its 275 or 300 horsepower variation, now powered all front-wheel drive Cadillacs.
- The Arlington, Texas-produced Fleetwood (and optional Fleetwood Brougham package), the lone front-engine, rear-drive Cadillac, was in its final year of production.
- Introduced in early 1996 as a 1997 model was the all-new rear-drive Catera. This midsize luxury sedan was a joint venture between Cadillac and Opel, assembled in Germany, and powered by a 3.0-liter dual overhead cam V-6.
- All US 1996 Cadillacs received daytime running lamps (standard on Canadian Cadillacs since 1990) and a new remote keyless entry fob in dark gray with light gray buttons and white icons.
- The fob functions were: lock, unlock, trunk open and fuel door open. The fobs were identified on the back with a “one” or “two” indication, allowing two separate drivers to personalize seat position that adjusted to the driver when the key was placed in the ignition.
- Additionally, all front-drive Cadillacs featured an ignition key anti-lockout feature that protected the driver from accidental lockout by disabling the driver’s power door lock if the key was left in the ignition.
- Also, all front-drive Cadillacs received the new communication-based electronics architecture called Class 2, a new designation for an electrical communication protocol on 1996 vehicles that also provided common emissions diagnostic capability in connection with federally mandated On-Board Diagnostic II requirements.
The 1996 Cadillac had a 17-symbol vehicle identification number (VIN) stamped on a metal tag attached to the upper left surface of the cowl visible through the windshield. The code was as follows:
POSITION |
DIGIT |
MEANING |
1 |
1 or 4 |
manufacturing country (United States) |
2 |
G |
General Motors |
3 |
6 |
Cadillac |
4 & 5 |
car line series |
D/W |
Fleetwood |
E/L |
Eldorado |
E/T |
Eldorado Touring |
K/D |
DeVille |
K/F |
Concours |
K/S |
Seville (SLS) |
K/Y |
Seville (STS) |
|
6 |
the body style: |
1 |
two-door coupe |
2 |
two-door |
3 |
two-door convertible |
4 |
two-door station wagon |
5 |
four-door sedan |
6 |
four-door |
8 |
four-door station wagon |
|
7 |
the restraint code |
1 |
active (manual) belts |
2 |
active (manual) belts w/dual airbags |
3 |
active (manual) belts w/driver’s side airbag |
4 |
passive (automatic) belts |
5 |
passive (automatic) belts w/driver�s side airbag |
6 |
passive (automatic) belts w/dual airbags |
7 |
active (manual) belt driver and passive (automatic) belt passenger w/dual airbags |
|
8 |
the engine |
P |
LTl 5.7L V-8 |
Y |
LD8 4.6L V-8 |
9 |
L37 4.6L V-8 |
R |
L81 3.0L V-6 |
|
9 |
check digit |
– |
10 |
model year |
T = 1996 |
11 |
the assembly plant |
– |
12-17 |
the production sequence number |
– |
- Cadillac’s model year production totaled 174,406 compared with 200,577 the year previous.
- Based on sales at 170,379 automobiles in 1996 (vs. 180,504 the year before),Cadillac’s share of the U.S. market was 2.0 percent compared with 2.1 the year previous.
- The 1996 sales figure listed included 1,676 early launch 1997 Catera sedans sold in the 1996 model year.
- John F. Smith replaced John O. Grettenberger as general manager of Cadillac.
- In September 1996, faulty computer chips forced the recall of 587,000 Cadillacs.