• This year marked the first time since 1988 (when the underachieving V-6-powered Cimarron was discontinued) that Cadillac offered something other than a V-8 engine.
• The all-new Catera used a 200-horsepower dual overhead cam V-6.
• The DeVille ranks were bolstered with the addition of the d'Elegance sedan joining the existing DeVille and DeVille Concours sedans.
• All DeVille and Catera models now featured side airbags as standard equipment and the exclusive-to-Cadillac OnStar communication system also debuted as an option on all front-drive models in 1997.
• All Cadillacs also received improved anti-lockout protection.

I D DATA

The 1997 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	V/R Catera E/L Eldorado E/T Eldorado Touring K/D DeVille K/E d'Elegance 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	2 active (manual) belts w/dual frontal airbags 4 active (manual) belts w/dual frontal and side airbags
8	the engine	Y LD8 4.6L V-8 9 L37 4.6L V-8 R L81 3.0L V-6
9	check digit	-
10	model year	V = 1997
11	the assembly plant	-
12-17	the production sequence number	-

HISTORY

• Cadillac's model year production totaled 159,820 compared with 174,406 the year previous (this figure does not include the 25,411 imported Cateras).
• Based on sales of 182,624 automobiles in 1997 (vs, 170,379 the year before), Cadillac's share of the U.S. market was 2.2 percent compared with 2.0 the year previous.
• In May 1997, Cadillac announced the Catera would be produced domestically at its next redesign.

PREVIOUS: History of the 1996 Cadillac NEXT: History of the 1997 Cadillac Catera NEXT: History of the 1997 Cadillac DeVille NEXT: History of the 1997 Cadillac Eldorado NEXT: History of the 1997 Cadillac Seville NEXT: History of the 1998 Cadillac

Sign My Guestbook View My Guestbook

Books about Cadillac	History of LaSalle	Books on other automobiles

1994	1995	1996	1998	1999	2000