Cadillac Cimarron

The Cadillac Cimarron car was first introduced by General Motors for model year 1982.

Although GM had experimented before with "smaller Cadillacs" such as the Seville models, the Cimarron was by far the smallest and, in many opinions, the least distinguished Cadillac model ever produced, before or since.

General Motors had originally planned on revealing the Cimarron model in the mid-80s. However, a rising demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient cars and GM's desire to compete with BMW and Mercedes-Benz helped to hurry the production.

The Cimarron was part of General Motors' "J-Car" line, which was an economy car concept (similar to Chrysler's K-Car) that spread over each GM marque. Each GM division had their version: the Buick Skyhawk, Pontiac Sunbird, Oldsmobile Firenza and the Chevrolet Cavalier. Of these models, only the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire are still in production but are scheduled to end with the 2004 model year. Each of these models were essentially the same basic car, with minor differences in features and major differences in price. This was the first and only time in history that General Motors produced a common model that spread over each GM division.

While some motoring press critics had high praise for the car and Cadillac's first manual transmission since the early 1950s, the car buying public saw the Cimmaron as a ruse. Consumers thought it was absurd to pay twice as much for what essentially was a well-optioned Chevy Cavalier with Cadillac emblems, and thought General Motors should have developed a compact model specially for Cadillac. Even though woodgrain trim and high-grade interior upholstery fabrics were included, buyers had to pay extra for such options as power windows (which had been standard on other Cadillac models for years). Other points of criticism included a standard four-cylinder engine (a V6 engine was standard later) and the extra-cost automatic transmission.

Even though the Cimarron had grown comparatively more refined by the end of its production run, buyers stayed away, and the car was discontinued after 1988. Oddly, the same strategy applied to an SUV , the Escalade, some 15 years later proved a sales success.