This week the old car that drew my attention on the Finding Future Classic Cars group was this silver over red 1986 Cimarron available in Middletown, CT for a mere three grand. Yep. A Cimarron. And I like them. So buckle up.
Yes, yes, the Cimarron. That low-hanging fruit for cantankerous coots. Yes, it was the smallest Cadillac in decades, perhaps the smallest ever. It was also the first in decades with a stick shift. Available with either the standard 2.0 four (shades of 2021) or optional 2.8L V6, it was meant as an ‘importy’ choice for sporty Cadillac buyers who might have been eyeing certain BMW, Ovlov or Mercedes saloons.
By ’86 the car was much better looking, with a new nose with flush headlamps, new, more Cadillac-like grille and larger taillamps. The 2.0 four produced 88hp at 4800 rpm; the V6, 129 also at 4800 rpm.
An ’87 BMW 528e produced 121, by the way, though the 535i and 535is were much more lively. And I doubt anyone cross shopped the two!
One thing that gets conveniently omitted on the many bilious posts on Cimarrons is that Cadillac really didn’t want a J-car variant. But the dealers leaned on Cadillac to the extent that they finally said, fine. We’ll build the damn thing.
Now, Cadillac Division could have told the dealers to pound sand, but many were threatening to abandon their franchise if they didn’t get the J-Caddy. (UPDATE: It wasn’t their threatening to abandon their Cadillac franchise, they were threatening to add a foreign marque to their dealerships, which Cadillac did not want at all. Thanks Carmine, it’s been some time since I read the Automobile Quarterly Cadillac history.)
So it went into production. And recall the early ’80s were a pretty screwed up time, not just for the General, but for the entire car market.
All the downsizing, all the inflation, all the worry about gas prices, CAFE, you name it. And it was in the middle of all this crazy crap that the Cimmy was born. It was a different time.
So anyway, I like them. It’s probably due to my seeing a brand new one at the 1988 Chicago Auto Show.
Burgundy with silver cladding and burgundy leather, it just appealed to me-I was an impressionable second grader at the time. I wanted to sit in it, but it was one of the few cars locked. Under the wiper was a note: Car sold. So that was that. But I still remember it, thirty odd years later. The great colors, the nice size, the attractive alloys.
As for the featured car, per the seller: “Up for sale is a 1986 Cadillac Cimarron, runs and drives great. 1 owner only 47,000 miles interior is very clean, no rips in seats, there is no rust on the car, asking $3,000 OBO.” For three grand it looks nice. If it was closer I might do something stupid. I think it’s that amazing cherry-red leather. I miss real interior colors.
And yes, I get why the car has had plenty of internet warriors heaping scorn on it. But, I love ’em, especially the 87-88s with the baby Sedan de Ville nose and cladding. And the V6 of course. Lexus loved them too, just look at the original ES250. Bwahahahahaha!