The Seville, introduced in May 1975 as an early 1976 model, was Cadillac's answer to the rising popularity of European luxury imports as Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW. GM planners were becoming concerned that the division's once-vaunted image as the "standard of the world" was fading, especially among younger generations of car buyers.

Over time, European luxury cars had become quite luxurious and even more expensive than the much larger Cadillacs. As market share of these imports continued to climb, it became obvious that the traditional American automotive paradigm of "bigger equals better" had begun to falter. The Seville became the smallest and most expensive model in the lineup, turning Cadillac's traditional marketing and pricing strategy upside down and also partially succeeding the Calais as the "smallest, Chevrolet-based Cadillac". Full size design prototypes were created as early as winter of 1972–73 (wearing the tentative name LaSalle, reviving the Cadillac junior brand from 1927 to 1940).[4]Subsequent design prototypes looked edgier (specifically a 1973 named LaScala which forwardly hinted at the 1992 Seville).