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Looking back: 1982 & 1983 Cadillac Cimarron Test Drive

10345 Views 67 Replies 36 Participants Last post by  evanstim

It was at the time of the early 80’s energy crunch,gas lines,etc.,and the whole corporation was running scared. Cadillac was the most vulnerable,and so as a last minute idea,they said,”hey,let’s do a Cadillac version of the J cars”! The studio personnel were for the most part horrified. They knew instinctively that you couldn’t sell a Chevrolet as a Cadillac. But that was what they tried to do.The American public could see through the whole thing. Those years also brought us the 8-6-4 engine, the Diesel engined Cadillac, and the downsized ’86 Eldo & Seville.

Video: 1982 & 1983 Cadillac Cimarron Test Drive
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As I looked at the picture I saw the logo on the grill is blurred, I realized if this thread wasn't titled "Cadillac Cimmaron" I couldn't tell what GM division this car belonged to. The beginning of the long path to bankruptcy...
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As I looked at the picture I saw the logo on the grill is blurred, I realized if this thread wasn't titled "Cadillac Cimmaron" I couldn't tell what GM division this car belonged to. The beginning of the long path to bankruptcy...
Not I. Right away, it's like "oh that's the Cadillac Cimarron". Probably because back then I had a real affection for these in spite of what they really were.:) I do have to agree about the bankruptcy part though. This and a host of other issues is what brought on that painful episode.
^^ It almost looks like a Honda Accord from that era... but not as stylish (LOL)

I'm amused how nothing changes... "Cadillac is going after the young BMW and Audi buyer who demands performance"

Mind you they are getting closer with the ATS, you don't hear "quarter mile of 22 seconds at 65 MPH... this car is slow" anymore :lmao:



If only today's Cadihack with some of the worst interior roominess issues in the industry could utilize the space efficiency of the dud Cadillac era while keeping the chassis and engines from today - then all that would be needed is some talented designers with eyesight to take over and to sculpt beauty instead of pre-denting sheetmetal before the customer improves the looks with more dents after the sale.
The '83 models look substantially than the '82 models, mostly in the front.

Sometimes I miss the car.
Fair or not, it's going to take an entire generation or two to completely die off for people to forget how bad the Cimarron, and Cadillac as a whole, was. People chastise the car magazines today for their references to the Cimarron but let's be honest, these cars were that bad and they left that big of a bad mark on the division and the company. Combined with the 350 Diesel, HT4100, and V8-6-4 of the same years, Cadillac will not erase that era from people's memories no matter how good their cars are today.
The '83 models look substantially than the '82 models, mostly in the front.

Sometimes I miss the car.
If you miss that car, you need more range time.
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If you miss that car, you need more range time.
Don't know what you mean by that but bought it in '94 as an '84 model, my first car, and kept it for 4 years. I liked it but was not in love with it, blue on blue.
^^ It almost looks like a Honda Accord from that era... but not as stylish (LOL)
You know, the Chevy Cavalier was actually a really modern-looking competitive car when it came out. People forget that because they kept building them for like 12 years. And they were pretty decent cars which kept running even after they degraded into road-turds.

As a Cadillac (or even some pointless Oldsmobile clone), not so much.
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Don't know what you mean by that but bought it in '94 as an '84 model, my first car, and kept it for 4 years. I liked it but was not in love with it, blue on blue.
If you spend more time at the gun range you will improve your aim and you will no longer miss that car. For a car of the Cadillac Cimarron's caliber - hee hee - may I suggest an M134 minigun?

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If you spend more time at the gun range you will improve your aim and you will no longer miss that car. For a car of the Cadillac Cimarron's caliber - hee hee - may I suggest an M134 minigun?

LOL!!!

I could use that gun to shoot the engine.
There's no point reiterating the failures of the Cimarron here. But what does astound me that Cadillac clearly thought a pushrod engine with carburettors with a 3-speed Automatic/4 Speed Manual was cutting edge in 1982. Or didn't GM understand that this car, in Cadillac guise, should have been more leading edge?
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I remember going to a Pontiac/Chevy/Cadillac dealer in 83 to look at a new Trans-Am. The salesman badgered me pretty hard trying to get me to buy one of these. He said he could not believe I would buy a Trans-Am instead of a Cadillac with the prices so close. It just looked so cheap, I couldn't do it.
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if i found a last model year cimarron in great shape...........i'd buy it!
Most people realized they were a joke when they were launched.

I had two original J cars, Cavaliers, and they were good, reliable cars. Not particularly refined but they got the job done. If this was the early or mid '90s and I was looking for a decent used car, I wouldn't have hesitated to buy a J. And such as they were, these would have been the pick of the bunch (though i preferred the hatchback body offered at the other divisions).
I remember going to a Pontiac/Chevy/Cadillac dealer in 83 to look at a new Trans-Am. The salesman badgered me pretty hard trying to get me to buy one of these. He said he could not believe I would buy a Trans-Am instead of a Cadillac with the prices so close. It just looked so cheap, I couldn't do it.

Wow. That salesman was the type of buyer that GM was targeting.
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The 80s were not a good time for Cadillac.

I'll never forget this guy I used to work with in RI at CVS corporate he was young around the same age as me 19-20ish and he had a gray 80s Brougham that he got from his grandfather or something like that. We used to all talk about how sweet that car was and he loved it but he was by no means a car enthusiast at all. One day it was down pouring hard and I was on the highway heading in and I saw in the distance a car on the side of the road with smoke coming out of it as I got closer I noticed it was my co-worker and his Cadillac and the hood was up and he was standing in front of it shaking his head while smoke was pouring out of the engine bay. Later that day he finally came in and I said to him "hey man what happened out there to your car I saw you on the highway" He responded with "I got the curse of the Cadillac"
Most people realized they were a joke when they were launched.

including the guys responsible for the design :eek:
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