Cadillac will offer 4-cylinder sedan in 2010
08-25-08, 03:40 PM
#16
Out of Warranty
The Cadillac Cimmaron was a sales disaster when it first went on sale. Based on the Chevy Cavalier platform, the I-4 was terribly overmatched by the pudgy Caddy and the 3-speed automatic. An available 4M was all but non-existent in the showrooms as it offered from the same graunchy shift performance the earlier small GM manuals suffered. Worse, despite a good deal of effort to achieve a Cadillac "feel", the cabin was a little tight in the shoulders and the engine produced odd body shakes and steering wheel tingles at low speed. High speed wasn't an option.
Cadillac made a bold attempt to introduce a small car to their lineup following the gas crisis of '78-'79, but the Caddy demographic demanded a V8 engine, not a little shaker with a manual transmission. That just wasn't the Cadillac image. The Palm Beach crowd simply wouldn't be seen driving a "little car". That factor may be the death of any current issue of a 4cyl luxury car.
By 1985 Cadillac stuffed a V6 into the little Cimmaron and it transformed the car. The shakes went away, and the relatively powerful engine was reasonably smooth throughout most of the rev range. It actually was pretty quick (for a Cadillac), but with a ton of weight on the front end, thanks to the larger engine, auto tranny, standard AC and a lot of NVH reinforcement, it loaded the front tires to the maximum and steadfastly refused to alter course or stop when orders rang down from the wheelhouse.
Despite these problems, as a small American car, it was a revelation, and I very nearly bought one for my stepmother. The deal breaker was the price. At just over $16K it doubled the price of the Cavalier. I bought a nicely optioned Olds Ciera with a much larger engine (3.8L vs. the Cimmaron's 2.8L V6) instead for nearly $3K less. The Olds didn't have the nice leather interior, but it was considerably larger, it handled a good deal better, and unlike even the V6 Cimmaron, it was a force to be reckoned with at the junior-division stoplight grands prix.
As it turned out, Cimarrons earned a pretty miserable record for reliability, some of which was probably deserved, but when you hang a lot of luxury gear on what was developed as an economy car, that's the risk you take. I hope someone at Cadillac remembers the Great Debacle of the I4. The product cycle running four to six years from first concept to full production, our current gas spike will be long forgotten before a 4-banger Caddy hits the showroom floor. You'd hope somebody in Detroit is listing this time.
Cadillac made a bold attempt to introduce a small car to their lineup following the gas crisis of '78-'79, but the Caddy demographic demanded a V8 engine, not a little shaker with a manual transmission. That just wasn't the Cadillac image. The Palm Beach crowd simply wouldn't be seen driving a "little car". That factor may be the death of any current issue of a 4cyl luxury car.
By 1985 Cadillac stuffed a V6 into the little Cimmaron and it transformed the car. The shakes went away, and the relatively powerful engine was reasonably smooth throughout most of the rev range. It actually was pretty quick (for a Cadillac), but with a ton of weight on the front end, thanks to the larger engine, auto tranny, standard AC and a lot of NVH reinforcement, it loaded the front tires to the maximum and steadfastly refused to alter course or stop when orders rang down from the wheelhouse.
Despite these problems, as a small American car, it was a revelation, and I very nearly bought one for my stepmother. The deal breaker was the price. At just over $16K it doubled the price of the Cavalier. I bought a nicely optioned Olds Ciera with a much larger engine (3.8L vs. the Cimmaron's 2.8L V6) instead for nearly $3K less. The Olds didn't have the nice leather interior, but it was considerably larger, it handled a good deal better, and unlike even the V6 Cimmaron, it was a force to be reckoned with at the junior-division stoplight grands prix.
As it turned out, Cimarrons earned a pretty miserable record for reliability, some of which was probably deserved, but when you hang a lot of luxury gear on what was developed as an economy car, that's the risk you take. I hope someone at Cadillac remembers the Great Debacle of the I4. The product cycle running four to six years from first concept to full production, our current gas spike will be long forgotten before a 4-banger Caddy hits the showroom floor. You'd hope somebody in Detroit is listing this time.
Last edited by Lil4X; 08-25-08 at 03:44 PM.
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