Junkyard Find: 1982 Cadillac Cimarron

[cawimmer430]

why is Wimmer even bothering to defend this atrocity? besides being a piece of crap, it's a slap in the face to H&H. it's like Daimler rebadging the Smart car as a Maybach, and then trying to defend it

I'm not defending it at all.

[JWC]

"Under twenty seconds....impressive",  I said, as I started the engine and drove off in my 1974 VW Beetle.

[cawimmer430]

"Under twenty seconds....impressive",  I said, as I started the engine and drove off in my 1974 VW Beetle.

Makes the Cimarron look like a supercar.

[93JC]

I understood the article perfectly. I read the review, too.

My point is, all cars during that era were slow from what I gather. I'm sure the average American sedan did 0-60 in 11-12 seconds in those days due to woefully detuned engines, gearing, weight etc.

So don't you see the problem with a car that was only capable of 0-60 in 16 seconds? Particularly a car whose explicit competition was the much quicker BMW 320i and Audi 4000?

The Cimarron was SUPPOSED TO BE QUICK! It wasn't just 'small', it was supposed to be the quick, agile, sporty, 'European' Cadillac. It was none of these things. It was a "tin can". It was a crappy car wrapped in a cheesy '70s rendition of what 'luxury' was supposed to embody.

Bear in mind this was the E21 3-series it was compared to, which came out seven years before the Cimarron; the Cimarron was already hopelessly outclassed by its older competition. A year after the Cimarron debuted BMW released the E30, leaving the Cimarron even more behind.

Everybody had detuned engines. Everybody had long gearing for fuel economy. The Cimarron's 1.8 L engine was garbage. It didn't run properly even when it was brand new. "American cars" of the time weren't particularly overweight either. The Chevy Caprice for example weighed about 3500 lbs (~1600 kg; that's about 500 kg lighter than a W123 300D). The Cimarron only weighed 2675 lbs (1213 kg). Even then, like I said earlier, it only got 22 mpg in testing. That's 10.7 L/100 km. From a car with only 85 hp!!

[Laconian]

And this was considered crappy even by those low standards! Stop being deliberately obtuse and start understanding beyond the tired tropes of "Americans want low low 0-60 timez, lol"

[93JC]

Precisely.

[cawimmer430]

So don't you see the problem with a car that was only capable of 0-60 in 16 seconds? Particularly a car whose explicit competition was the much quicker BMW 320i and Audi 4000?

The Cimarron was SUPPOSED TO BE QUICK! It wasn't just 'small', it was supposed to be the quick, agile, sporty, 'European' Cadillac. It was none of these things. It was a "tin can". It was a crappy car wrapped in a cheesy '70s rendition of what 'luxury' was supposed to embody.

Bear in mind this was the E21 3-series it was compared to, which came out seven years before the Cimarron; the Cimarron was already hopelessly outclassed by its older competition. A year after the Cimarron debuted BMW released the E30, leaving the Cimarron even more behind.

Everybody had detuned engines. Everybody had long gearing for fuel economy. The Cimarron's 1.8 L engine was garbage. It didn't run properly even when it was brand new. "American cars" of the time weren't particularly overweight either. The Chevy Caprice for example weighed about 3500 lbs (~1600 kg; that's about 500 kg lighter than a W123 300D). The Cimarron only weighed 2675 lbs (1213 kg). Even then, like I said earlier, it only got 22 mpg in testing. That's 10.7 L/100 km. From a car with only 85 hp!!

Ok, ok. I get it. 

[sportyaccordy]

I understood the article perfectly. I read the review, to.

My point is, all cars during that era were slow from what I gather. I'm sure the average American sedan did 0-60 in 11-12 seconds in those days due to woefully detuned engines, gearing, weight etc.

Christ you are an idiot, seriously

[hotrodalex]

16 seconds from 0-60 is acceptable in the real world. As in, you might accelerate that leisurely from time to time. However, in that crappy Caddy, you'd have to be flooring it all the time just to keep up with an Accord's half-throttle acceleration.

[cawimmer430]

Christ you are an idiot, seriously

You need to stop with the personal insults. This is like the third or fourth time I've been called something from you.

No need to make this fucking personal.

[MrH]

I dated a girl by the same name (spelled differently though).  Right when I met her and saw where it was going, I though "FUCK!  There's no way this lasts.  The car was just too horrible..."

Made it almost a year.  I couldn't tell her she shared a name with one of the worst cars in US automotive history until about 3-4 months into the relationship.  I don't think she grasped the psychological impact that had on me.

[93JC]

You knew a human being named Cimarron?



Her parents are assholes.

[2o6]

I dated a girl by the same name (spelled differently though).  Right when I met her and saw where it was going, I though "FUCK!  There's no way this lasts.  The car was just too horrible..."

Made it almost a year.  I couldn't tell her she shared a name with one of the worst cars in US automotive history until about 3-4 months into the relationship.  I don't think she grasped the psychological impact that had on me.

Was she black?

[Rich]

I don't think she grasped the psychological impact that had on me.

lmao

[MrH]

You knew a human being named Cimarron?



Her parents are assholes.

Hippys in a kind-of cult.

Was she black?

No, white.  Not even a hint of sista in her.

[Cookie Monster]

You need to stop with the personal insults. This is like the third or fourth time I've been called something from you.

No need to make this fucking personal.

I think everyone is tired of the 'ZOMG OLD AMERICAN CARZZZ ' and 'LOL AMERICANS WITH THEIR 234823509342834 HP V8' trolling, so if you stop trolling so hard, the personal insults will also stop...

[Morris Minor]

There are a few cars that are so bad... that their awfulness, and the cynicism that brought them to fruition, holds a fascination for us. So I can totally see why somebody would do a ground-up full restoration of the Cimarron, a pure expression of automotive kitsch.

In the English context, I'd put the Morris Marina in this class, and the badge-engineered Rootes Arrow cars.

[cawimmer430]

I think everyone is tired of the 'ZOMG OLD AMERICAN CARZZZ ' and 'LOL AMERICANS WITH THEIR 234823509342834 HP V8' trolling, so if you stop trolling so hard, the personal insults will also stop...

Personal insults shouldn't be occurring on a messageboards, especially if there are disagreements because of something as silly as cars.

I have ignored the personal insults and provocations from Sporty in many threads in the past.

[ifcar]

I think a lot of people would appreciate if you would stop the repetitive irrelevant comments about your well-known thoughts on 1980s American cars, and if you would stop the repetitive often-irrelevant attempts at humor about horsepower, RWD and the like. Please do so. Incessantly imitating a troll is the same as trolling.

[cawimmer430]

I think a lot of people would appreciate if you would stop the repetitive irrelevant comments about your well-known thoughts on 1980s American cars, and if you would stop the repetitive often-irrelevant attempts at humor about horsepower, RWD and the like. Please do so. Incessantly imitating a troll is the same as trolling.

Are we on a Lexus forum here? What happened to PASSION?

I am passionate about certain cars that others label as POS. I am passionate about classic cars (that don't do 0-60 in 4 seconds or are track capable). That's all. 

[ifcar]

Are we on a Lexus forum here? What happened to PASSION?

I am passionate about certain cars that others label as POS. I am passionate about classic cars (that don't do 0-60 in 4 seconds or are track capable). That's all. 

And it doesn't serve anyone to have a reminder of that in every possible thread.

[cawimmer430]

And it doesn't serve anyone to have a reminder of that in every possible thread.

Well I'll tone it down from now on...

[giant_mtb]

Well I'll tone it down from now on...

[cawimmer430]

[Eye of the Tiger]

Lettuce, indeed

[Colin]

There are a few cars which that are so bad that their awfulness, and the cynicism that brought them to fruition, holds a fascination for us. So I can totally see why somebody would do a ground-up full restoration of the Cimarron, a pure expression of automotive kitsch.

In the English context, I'd put the Morris Marina in this class, and the badge-engineered Rootes Arrow cars.

Marina, yes, absolutely......... the badge engineered Rootes Arrow cars were not bad at all in their day, apart from their propensity to rust even faster than a lot of other contempory vehicles. My father had 4 Hillman Hunters, and the last one when very elderly and tatty served as my daily driver until I got a shiny new company car.

As to the Cimarron, the piece I struggle with is this: the J cars in the UK were well regarded as best in class. The 1.6L Cavalier with its Family 2 ohc 90 bhp engine was by some margin most powerful and best to drive of its competitors and the 1.8 SRi and later 2.0 CD models with 130 bhp were extremely aspirational cars for the up and coming in the early 1980s....... so why those excellent raw materials were jettisoned for the old tech ohv engine in the Cadillac is a mystery known only to GM's bean counters and/or product planners.

[Laconian]

Well I'll tone it down from now on...

Thanks.

[93JC]

As to the Cimarron, the piece I struggle with is this: the J cars in the UK were well regarded as best in class. The 1.6L Cavalier with its Family 2 ohc 90 bhp engine was by some margin most powerful and best to drive of its competitors and the 1.8 SRi and later 2.0 CD models with 130 bhp were extremely aspirational cars for the up and coming in the early 1980s....... so why those excellent raw materials were jettisoned for the old tech ohv engine in the Cadillac is a mystery known only to GM's bean counters and/or product planners.

The crying shame here is that the Buick Skyhawk and Pontiac Sunbird were available with the OHC versions of the same engine. Why Cadillac decided to keep the craptacular engines from the (Chevrolet) Cavalier is a mystery.

The Skyhawk and Sunbird were later available with a 165 hp turbocharged 2.0 L, as far as I know the most powerful engine ever used in a J-car.

The Cimarron (and Cavalier) added a 2.8 L V6 (130 hp) as an option in 1985. After 1986 the Cimarron dropped the four-cylinder engine altogether and was only available with the V6.

[Mustangfan2003]

Wasn't the 2.8 a crap engine too?  I know a number of GM engines had a lot of problems with head gaskets. 

[93JC]

You're probably thinking of 3.1, 3.4 and 3.8 L engines from the late '90s and early 2000s which had problems with intake manifold gaskets, not head gaskets. It was caused by switching from an aluminum manifold to a plastic composite. Saved a lot of money and simplified assembly, but usually ended up warped and leaking.

The 2.8 engine, the Chevrolet 60° V6 (as opposed to the 90° V6), dated to the X-cars from '79. It had been in all sorts of things over the years, from its original transverse front-drive application to the Fiero, F-bodies, S-10/15 pickups, and even the Jeep Cherokee (). When it came out it was pretty gutless (~115 hp), but by the mid-'80s it had fuel injection and made more power (130-140 hp).