1983 Cadillac Cimarron Promo & Dealer Training Video
To understand how far Cadillac has come, lets revisit the Brands Rock-Bottom moment. This footage, particularly the first clip of the design studio was actually sent to me by a GM design team member that worked on this project and briefly featured in the video. He noted that the whole program was an absolute last minute effort, and was never part of any corporate strategy with the other 4 J-cars set to launch. At the time he was the new kid in the studio ,everyone else was busy, so he was the one that had to do it.
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. Not exactly high points for the once “Standard of the World” . The team was told to only change the front fascia ,rear bumper, bodyside molding., wheels, taillights, etc. In the footage Cadillac notes the design was functional, easy to park and economical, at the same time distinctively Cadillac, thick cut pile carpeting that exemplifies a Cadillac interior. I call it all ‘borrowed’. To call this car badge engineered is a bit cliché, but calling a Cavalier a Cadillac is a move that can only be described as , well, cavalier.
1982 Cadillac Cimarron Dealer Training Manufacturer Promo Video
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Man, listening to the people in the videos almost had me believing Cimarron wasn’t a colossal dud… almost. I’m so glad this happened nearly three decades ago and Cadillac is well on the path to greatness.
Great post, BajaBusta!
I LIKE CADILLAC CIMARRON IS KIND LIKE CTS 😀 AWESOME
If anything, it’s more like the ATS.
ATS and CTS don’t look like ANY Chevy made… This was blatantly passed off as a Cadillac when it was clearly a gilded Cavalier; body and all…
Did he use the word “sport” in describing it? That’s laughable all by itself. THIS was GMs Edsel.
Getting flak from my friends over the Cimmaron but it wasn’t THAT bad of a car. Maybe it wasn’t a “Cadillac” per se but they tried to fix that with branding of Cimarron by Cadillac. the last ones were GR8, almost bought one at 17 yrs old.
Yes it was, it almost single handedly killed caddy, and KLEARLY they were ashamed by it if they made it the “Cimmaron by Cadillac”.
“Klearly” you would be wrong as Cadillac had also previously marketed the Eldorado and Seville as “Eldorado by Cadillac” and “Seville by Cadillac.”
Not entirely true, the Rivera was the “Riviera by Buick” “Aurora by Oldsmobile” Scorpio by Merkur”….just marketing
I’ve had 2 Cimmarons, an 84 and now an 88. They are nothing like the Cavalier other than shape. Suspension, instrumentation and interior are extreame contrasts. The rush production left out the climate control and Driver information Center. Also a 2 door and Convertable would have helped.I also have an 05 CTS and 98 Caterra, neither of which resemble the Cimmaron in any way. The 88 does do what it was designed for, It gets better MPG than my other 8 Caddies; and they get better MPG than alot of Hondas.
Oh dear. I’m sorry, sir, but these things *are* Cavaliers. You have to love them with irony. Embrace it!
Great find. I am one of those few that likes the Cimarron. I do agree, however, that it was rushed into production and it surely showed… but it did get better as the years went on.
Does anyone notice in the sideview sketch of the Cimarron a resemblance to the 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 4-door? I can certainly see the inspiration for the oldsmobile model used almost a decade later.
Oh my. This is brilliant I haven’t had this many LOLs in a while…
Its a dressed up Chevy Cavalier, but the interior is quite nice. Its a used car bargain today (if you can find a nice one)
Its a Cavalier on steroids! Best Cavalier ever made if there this is a such thing!
I may be in the process of buying an 87 Cimarron D’oro with 38k og miles. I love hated cars!
you know, as much of a failure as this car was, GM actually kind of jump started the compact luxury market with this car. if it had actually had a bit more design time and refinement, this car probably would have been a good investment, instead just like typical GM of the 80’s, they just cobbled some stuff together and put lipstick on a pig and tried to make something out of nothing.
My grandparents owned a few of these. They were 1982, 1983, and 1988 models, if I can remember correctly.
My Family was a GM Family (workers) for decades. My paternal grandfather bought the first or second year Cavalier. I asked about the different versions of the J car platform (not in those terms, of course) and he liked them, rather than Japanese or German offerings in the class, but he laughed about Cadillac having one and thought the dollar premium for the same car was a joke.
If you follow the front ends between both cars, well the Chevy version grew more into Cimarron styling that it started with its funky headlights.