I’ve been rereading Cadillac: Standard of Excellence again, and it only goes up to 1980, so the bustleback Seville is the last “new” model shown. That was just before the Cimarron was introduced. I wish there was a 1981 to 2026 part 2. This 1985 Cadillac Cimarron can be found here on Facebook Marketplace in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the seller is asking $2,950 cash, in person. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Zappenduster for the tip!
The seller calls the Cimarron a modern classic, and they may be right. We all define “classic” in different ways, unless it’s the actual CCCA (Classic Car Club of America) definition: “A CCCA Classic is a fine or distinctive automobile, either American or foreign built, produced between 1925 and 1948. Generally, a Classic was high-priced when new and was built in limited quantities. Other factors, including engine displacement, custom coachwork and luxury accessories, such as power brakes, power clutch, and “one-shot” or automatic lubrication systems, help determine whether a car is considered to be a Classic.” The Cimarron doesn’t fit as far as model years go, but it’s certainly distinctive, was built in somewhat limited quanties, and has luxury features.
We all know the Cimarron (1982-1988 model years) was basically a Chevrolet Cavalier reworked with a nicer interior and details. The CCCA would most definitely not deem the Cimarron a “classic” in the spirit of their definition, but in the spirit of modern classics, or social media darlings, such as the Yugo, Pinto, and other cars that create a lot of buzz, I would call it a classic. The Heather exterior has a few issues, and oddly, we don’t see the passenger side at all, not even a glimpse. The interior leather looks appropriately creased, and the seller lists the mileage at 56,000 miles.
The back seat isn’t Cadillac spacious, but it may be nicer than a Cavilier. Just under 20,000 Cimarrons were sold in 1985 and there were a few updates to the exterior, but the 1987 models really had an update. The dash is right out of the Handy Andy toolbox kit of parts, nothing but square edges. The trunk looks tidy and the seller even included several underside photos. Here’s a 1985 Cimarron brochure.
1985 was when buyers could get a new V6, but this is a Chevrolet 2.0-liter OHV inline-four with 88 horsepower and 110 lb-ft of torque when new. Backed by a Turbo-Hydramatic 125C automatic sending power to the front wheels, the seller says it runs and drives great and they wouldn’t hesitate to jump in and drive it anywhere. It’s had recent brake work, a transmission service, a brake system flush, a coolant system flush, a power steering system flush, a tune-up, new belts and hoses, and new tires. Hagerty is at $3,200 for a #4 fair-condition example and $4,000 for a #3 good car. Have any of you owned a “modern classic” like this Cimarron?
The last page of the brochure states….. ” best of all….. It’s a Cadillac “. I remember the very first time I ever saw one of these. It was in a mall. I couldn’t believe it had a manual transmission. The first Cadillac to have one since the 40’s, 1940 I believe it was still “Standard ” no pun intended and the Hydramatic was optional. I know there’s going to be all kinds of different comments on this one, I’ll say its neat to still see one still around. It would be a little more fun with a stick.
In 1986 my wife needed a new car. One car we looked at was a leftover 85 Cimarron with the 2.8 EFI V6 and a 4 speed manual. It was actually a pretty nice little car, basically a 4 door Cavalier Z24.
I don’t remember the sticker price anymore or how much the dealer was willing to take off, but considering they’d had it for about a year, they weren’t willing to discount it enough to convince us to buy it. My wife ended up with a new 4 speed Z24 instead.
Strange thing about the Cimarron (and the Cavaliers), the 2.0 ltr 4 cylinders came with a 5 speed manual, while the manual with the 2.8 V6 was a 4 speed. That was the one weak spot with the Z24 since 3rd was 1.1 and 4th was overdriven.
As a former Z24 owner who still dearly misses that car, at that time the V6 came with a 4sp as the 5sp could not handle the torque. Shocking I know.
Three-speed manual could last be ordered on Cadillac’s commercial chassis (ambulances and such) in 1953; amusingly, by 2013 one could buy a Cadillac with a clutch pedal but not a Ferrari. The irony in the Cimarron’s reputation is it’s better remembered than many cars of the late malaise and while that’s for the wrong reasons (it’s infamous rather than famous), it remains a footnote while many have been forgotten.
Looks to be in good shape. The seller actually put some effort into the ad. If one approaches it simply as a nicely trimmed economy car, it is fine. All for a dirt cheap price.
Thanks SG.
Get the popcorn, this will be good. The Cimarron was every traditional Cadillac buyers worst nightmare. Everything about it was wrong. Probably the nicest Cavalier to come along, but Cadillac? Not likely. Media jumped all over GM for “ruining” the Standard of the World, at probably the worst possible time with imports taking the lead. The Cimarron was considered a “knee-jerk” reaction to imports. You know, I don’t think Cadillac ever did recover its former glory. Once again, the price. These, I read, cost almost $12,000 new, which was almost TWICE what a Cavalier cost( $6585), and few went for it.
Now,,,,fast forward to today, with the way Caddy went, the SUV route, and still a heck of a car, this is actually a pretty nice car for today. Won’t have the “right foot response” Caddy owners may be used to, but still a nice car.
“Angel” in a Cimarron? This I have to see,, :)
Cadillac lost its glory? You mean the same Cadillac that makes two of the most coveted sedans in the entire world? Or the SUV that defines luxury SUV’s (they have a Blackwing of that too).
Champagne on a beer budget
Old does not equal “classic”. A classic has appeal beyond just existing.
Steve R
So says Steve R….. again.
These are a part of GM history. This one is really nice and it would certainly draw a crowd at any show.
It takes more than drawing a crowd at a coffee and cars to make it a classic. That’s what people say when a car doesn’t stand on its own merits.
Bearded lady’s used to draw crowds at carnivals too. Both fall into the category of oddity.
Steve R
I tend to agree with Steve R. A traffic accident draws a crowd, but nobody wants to be part of it. A Cimarron is a curiosity, an oddity, an exercise in corporate hubris, and a cautionary tale, but for the majority of us, it’s pretty far down on the “gotta have it” list. Without that desirability aspect, it isn’t much of a classic.
Dude. Nothing personal, but you need to find some better car shows.
I agree. I would walk up to this first at any car show over all the belly button Camaros, Corvettes, Mustangs, Chargers, Challengers and street rods. That’s why I do not even waste my time with car shows anymore. Always the same belly button cars brought to the same shows year after year.
Steve R has car bona fides. You?
Some people find it interesting simply because it’s such a cheesy car. Count me in as part of that camp. I’d absolutely put one in my theoretical lottery-winner collection of misfits and oddballs.
I do believe i would drive a pinto, vega, maverick or mustang II, before i would drive a cimmaron
Mustang II might be pushing it just a bit! 🤣😆🤣
A built 302 in a Mustang II hatchback is the best ride in the park. Thrust to weight ratio!!
Whatever it’s failing, the Cimarron was actually a really nice little car. It had the highest repeat customer sales in Cadillac.
It just wasn’t good enough to be a Cadillac
Had an 83. Simply a badged up Cavalier. What was GM thinking?!?Managed to get 135k miles before a cylinder went “dead”.
Might be okay with a tricked out
V-6 with a turbo unit running a 20% boost. And to make it more
fun, add a 4 or 5-speed tranny for
good measure. As for Angel, you’ll never see her driving one. Unless I build it, and it might still be no. But compared to what
Cadillac has become today, sorry
to say it, but this car gets more
likable every time I see one.
If anything, it would be a really cheap fly in/drive home type deal.
$3K? Why not! Would make a great story for BF and a YouTube
video. Derrick Bieri, your car is waiting.
Thats funny. Heaven help us if he raises the hood and says lets see what’s under the Power Barn!! 😆
Its still a neat car to see.
Ya’ll are so funny.
When these first came out I hated them. A small Cadillac? Never! GMs knee jerk reaction from the imports was unnecessary. But thats what GM does. Instead of actually studying the imports a designing a car from scratch, they simply take something that already exist and try to pass it off as “competition.” Trying to get SOMETHING out there in a hurry instead of researching and building for three years later.
As others have said, these were awful when they came out, but time has a way of changing opinions. Ya’ll think I wouldn’t be caught in one. Actually, it would have to be a heavily modified Chevrolet Cavalier. Take a 2 door Cavalier convertible, graft a Cimmeron front clip on it and taillights, wheels, etc., etc., etc., to make it look like a Cimmeron, add the same touches to the interior. Drop in a V8 with auto and poof, you have a Cadillac/Chevrolet Cimmaron/Cavalier 2 door convertible with some actual power. Expensive? Probably. Worth it? Probably not. But I think that would be fun.
As for me in an actual Cadillac 4 door hard roof sedan? Probably not. I might own one in a collection just because it’s part of Cadillacs history.
It would be an absolute hoot to have one of these. Teenage me saw right away that the emperor had no clothes, and evidently everyone else did as well. Was there no one at GM who had a little kid at home that could have told them?
But that’s missing the point – owning a Cimmaron is like having a prime exhibit in the “Bad idea but not fatal so we can laugh” museum.
Friend had one given to him by his father, so it was worth what he paid and he hated it.
I had at the same time a Coupe DeVille I loved that was worth every penny I paid.
I owe an apology to the Seville posted a few days ago. THIS is the worst and most embarrassing Cadillac ever produced. Yuck.
You can bring as much lipstick as you like, but it is still a Cavalier.
best
bt
The least Cadillac Cadillac ever sold. GM could’ve duct-taped the badges to this, and it wouldn’t have changed the perception of it, one bit.
Not sure what the top minds at the GM headquarters were thinking attatching this onto their flagship and most prestigious brand badge 🤔
they shudda just called it the Cinnamon, a “spiced up” version of the Cavalier.
Hi honey 🍯! Would you settle for a 300HP 3800 V-6 built with
innards from a Chevy Impala police interceptor topped with a
turbo running 20% boost? Sure, if I had a place to work and access
to the right tools and the right young people to help me out, I could more than likely build you a
really nice Chimarron convertible.
And no, there’s no way in hell you’re gonna fit a V-8 into that engine bsy so a souped up V-6 is the
only game in town here. Then, I’d
make things fun by mating that
engine to a 4 or 5-speed tranny just for grins and giggles. And yes dear, I can just see you right
now, rowing through the gears like you own them. The speedometer cable snapping and
the unit popping out of the dashboard as you hit a guestimated 140+MPH in a quarter mile pass that would make the Camaro and T/A guys
crap their pants and say WTF?!!!
The only weak link in that plan is
the hydraulic clutch these cars came with. They come with a slave cylinder just to the left of, or
right above the master cylinder. Once they get air bubbles in there, you’ll have the devil’s own time trying to purge the system to
everything working as it should.
I gave away an ’85 Cavalier sedan
to a young man who needed a car
and said he could fix the problem.
himself. A week later, he came back to thank me driving the car
with his young wife with him. They thanked me again and drove
off for their honeymoon. So yes dear, I think I could build you a
nice Cavillac.
Although I was way too young to drive a car at the time, I remember cars like the Chevy Cavalier and the Cadillac Cimarron. I don’t get why the Cimarron was such a disaster for Cadillac. What the hell happened? Was it timing? Was it poor build quality? Given how similar the two cars were, it doesn’t seem right.
HAHAHA…. I was 33 then.. sat in one on the showroom floor…. laughed…
ridiculous car. Roger Smith’s solution for people who just HAD to have a Cadillac….
This is an example of Roger B Smith and his attitude and actual statement to the press saying that people will drive the cars they give them to drive.
This car represents desperation, it’s an affront to everything that Cadillac represented, even through the difficult 70’s.
It’s not about the engine
It about GMs failed philosophy of duplicating lesser brands models, typically at the expense of individual market share, allowing rival brands to slap a new badge on the same car. From a business perspective it was and is sad.
But worst of all was that this car took a proud brand and made it ordinary.
GM suffered because of this car.
The public was duped
It remains an embarrassment to the brand and a testimony to the flawed corporate policies of GM.
Doesn’t take much to find a nerve around here. Were these great cars and deserving of the Cadillac name? By the time they were introduced, maybe they were. Standard to the World and Mark of Excellence had both taken a beating. Do I like these? As a car, sure. Would I pursue ownership, probably not. But this one makes a good argument for purchase. A cheap driver that’s good on gas should be all I really need. My dad and stepbrother got around 250,000 out of the same drivetrain in a Cavalier. There’s your potential.
Dealers’ wives loved them ! Something they could park !!
Modern classic!?!?! Oh, bless your little heart! These little roaches used to sound as though someone had tossed a handful of ball bearings into the oil pan. My brother’s now ex-wife owned one and was granted conjugal visits at the auto repair shop where it spent much of its time.
No, it is not a classic, a special interest car at best. I spent a lot of time in friend’s cars who bought them. It is almost funny to me that when these cars were introduced, they were welcomed at something different and received many compliments. But after a few years, Cavalier based cars were attacked by many. I accepted it for what it was…a newer platform with trim marketed to different price points. I was 21 when it came out. Dad had just bought a Deville. The dealer we went to was AMAZING and for that reason and I could get a manual I almost bought one. Instead I bought a 5 speed loaded Mercury Topaz. Another small, well finished car from the United State in a world of gigantic land ships and trucks.
The entire world saw the Cadillac Cimmaron has nothing more than a reworked Chevy. This was badge engineering. The car was a joke.
If it runs ok, then this is a “classic” college kid’s car. The thing is a tank.
Instead of spending $10k on a used late model something-or-other, you buy the kid this, let him run it until it stops, and the kid has Cadillac status in the dorm.
I was a 30 year old living just outside of Detroit Michigan when this ‘thing’ was new. I had a lot of friends that worked for GM at the time. As a Ford employee myself, I enjoyed their collective description of this Chevrolac. They all called it the Shi… tarron🤣
I would call it a “Special Interest Vehicle,” a nice little car that is an interesting footnote in1980s carmaking, but not a “Classic,” a term generally preserved for the best of an era, not the forgetable.
GM/Cadillac management were absolutely aware of the limits and compromises of this product. After the second fuel crisis of 1979, all consumers were fixated on MPG and the manufacturers were dealing with Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards passed in 1973.
Cadillac’s dealers were screaming for a fuel-efficient offering TODAY. And if they didn’t get it, they would drop Cadillac and pick up a Honda or Mazda franchise. (Our local Lincoln dealer switched to Honda, and the Oldsmobile dealer to Mazda.)
Cadillac’s designers were given one year and a very limited budget for the project. Just enough to cover the grille treatment, tail lights, and the cushy new interior. They asked for a bigger budget and more time to make a car worthy of the Cadillac brand. CAFE and Dealer defections won the day.
One thing I have learned from following cars is that quite often, the designers and engineers are more than aware of a car’s failings well before launch. The business people are playing chess, placing their pieces to maximize profits depending on the political and economic pressures of the minute.
Sometimes, the results make you wonder
This is a cute car, fun to own, but those plastic body panels are unobtanium.
There’s always a lot of haters here for GM products after 1973 ish. “That was the last GM I ever bought” says the guy/girl that drives an appliance with a Toyota badge.
These cars did their job. Somebody probably felt good about it when it was new – Cadillac access at an affordable price, and MPG too. GM made money. Shareholders made money. Probably the only unhappy people couldn’t afford one or don’t know any better.
No, I didn’t have one. I was in the Army and probably couldn’t afford it, but they looked pretty cool at the time.
People forget how desperate the 80s were for the American automobile industry.
The oil embargoes were a neutron bomb hitting Detroit, they had to reinvent the automobile in a situation of high labor cost, high inflation, new regulations and a rising tide of imports
Gussied-up Cavalier. Nothing classic about it.
I worked at a Cadillac dealership in the mid 90’s when the Catera was introduced. It soon replaced the Cimmaron as the worst Cadillac ever. The joke in the shop was, Catera was an anagram for
Can Another Tragedy Ever Replace Allante, which was bad at first but became a decent ride once it got the Northstar.
I had a 1987 Allanté of course it was 30 or 40 years old when I bought it, but it was actually a remarkably good car
It was vastly more comfortable than an R107. Not even in the same universe. It was far more practical, too with a huge trunk that was only possible because the front wheel drive.
The suspension tuning was really superb and the steering was direct and precise.
I always found the Allanté to be beautiful, a pleasure to drive and sublime to be inside. If there were a modern version with a power top, I would buy it today.
People go nuts about the motor, but this car simply did not have the dreaded HT 4100.
That is a major misunderstanding. It was part of the same development program, as were the later Cadillac 4.5 and 4.9 L engine engines, which were both superb.
The Allantè 4.1 shares its displacement with the ill-fated milkshake miter, and came out of the same development program, but it profited from four years of experience and had new heads, an improved block, multi-Port fuel injection, different cams, different intake and exhaust manifold and a
host of refinements
It simply made it a good motor.
modern classic? how about modern mistake. General motors big FU.
Just to chime in here…not about the Cimarron but it’s sister the Cavalier. We bought a used 84 Cavalier wagon when we needed some better mileage than the 80 Monte Carlo we were driving at the time. 4 cyl 5 speed, would give you 34-36 mpg rather than 16-18 from the Monte, not to mention the 4 door convenience with 2 kids in car seats. Surprisingly it was really fun to drive! Peppy! You could easily break the front tires loose taking off and get a good squawk hitting 2nd…once a hot rodder always a hot rodder! Then the 3rd child came along and it had to go. Unfortunately a Celebrity wagon with an Iron Duke auto took its place. Nowhere near as much fun although we had it many years and pretty much drove it into the ground. Memories…
This ad is like Clickbait. Just Why? Horrible car when it was new, and even more so now. Again, Just why?
Because just like the car show, not everyone is here to see another Camaro, Chevelle or Mustang. Plus, it got you to look and comment. That’s at least three clicks:)
As I said, clickbait and nothing else.
The GM equivalent of the Lincoln Versailles 🤣‼️
They share the history of having been rushed into production. And neither was sufficiently differentiated from their plebeian
origins
However, I would argue that the Granada/Monarch were already “upscale looking,” by design, and in terms of luxury and performance, it was at least the equal if not better than the Seville, both of which probably out performed Rolls Royce in every measurable parameter except prestige
The Cavalier based Cimarron was a total mess in terms of its target, the Bmw 320i
Two embarrassing products from two once proud companies…..
Ridiculous then and ridiculous now.
“Modern Classic” that’s an oxymoron if I ever heard one.
Okay, either I’m losing what’s left of my sanity, OR I smell a good
compromise here. Like everyone
else here, I’d love to own at least
one more Cadillac BEFORE I leave this world someday. And as many of you know, I have a serious eye condition that keeps
me from owning a car/truck that
I’d really love to own. It just so happens that my SIL and neice
absolutely despise Cadillacs as
they both say that they’re way too
big for them to drive. So this car
here would strike a balance between my wanting a Cadillac and a vehicle that they could easily drive and would get fairly
good gas mileage. That way, this
fat old blind man could own a
Cadillac while the girls would have a small easy to drive car that’s good on gas and vastly different than anything else on the road today. And always being
the doting uncle, I could hand my
neice the keys and tell her to have
a nice date with the young man of her choice. And to cap it all off, it’s partially Angel approved!
These are actually decent little cars. Beautifully trimmed in the interior. They were reliable, and reasonably pleasant to drive.
The problem was that it was not sufficiently differentiated from the Chevrolet, as hundreds have already commented.
Its body structure had nothing like the rigidity of the 320i that was that was it target. With the four-cylinder, its performance was fairly anemic.
It’s sold reasonably well, mostly to middle-aged women who might otherwise have bought a larger, more profitable Cadillac. It had the highest repeat purchased numbers of any Cadillac.
The Cimarron was rushed into production to meet the difficulties of the times.
@GeorgeB
And that was the major downfall of GM and Cadillac. The RUSH to get a car out there to compete with the imports. Had they taken the 3 years it usually takes to design, develop and manufacture a new car they might have had something to compete with. Instead they cheated and took an existing car and badge engineered it. Saving lots of time and money. Plus destroying their already in jeopardy reputation. By the mid 1980s and 1990s GM had a reputation of bringing out wonderful cars, only to have them severely underpowered. Plymouth did the same.
Angel,
GM’s entire business model is about sharing platforms and components; the Seville is a beautiful car, but it’s a stretched Nova with an Olds engine. But they had several years to develop it
The Cimarron was a rush job because it was an urgent reaction to the second fuel crisis. Consumers and dealers were not going to wait a couple more years
The poem “Good Enough” by Edgar A Guest sums it up well.
https://appleseeds.org/Good-Enough_Guest.htm
The mid to late 1970s Seville was a huge Cadillac success, IMO and although it may have been an upgraded Nova, however the Cimarron was based on a Cavalier platform and was an ultimate Cadillac failure.
how can i reach the owner of this car to see if its still available…..my number 402-604-0160
Sold, sold, sold! Which one of you Cimarron lovers grabbed this one?!
There are actual Cimarron lovers out there, Scotty? 🤣👍