Worst Car Showcase: Part II

[buyacargetacheck]

Not if you were a Toyota and Datsun fan. It was a glorious time filled with Turbo Zs and twin cam Supras. Toyota's superiority shined through when their 2.8 liter multi-port fuel-injected twin cam straight six made as much power as the Z28's much larger V8. Plus, no rattles. It was more expensive though.

Too bad there were import quotas in effect at the time. I mean, who other than a kool-aid drinking Cadillac buyer would choose a Cimarron over a Cressida or 810 Maxima?

This was a dark time for anyone who loved cars, the light at the end of the tunnel only showed-up with the debut of the third gen f-bodies in '82 and the Mustang 5.0 GT in '83 (I think it was '83).

[buyacargetacheck]

From the mid to late-70s Mercedes and Cadillac had already begun switching places in the aspirational sense. Mercedes was the thing to drive in Beverly Hills. Remember the 450SL? Remember television from that time period? The very rich characters all drove Mercedes (e.g., Hart to Hart) while only gangsters were seen in Cadillacs (usually very large black Fleetwoods). The Eagles' Hotel California (1976), "Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, She's got the Mercedes Benz." The hot rich girl is driving a Mercedes not a Cadillac.

Cadillacs were in contrast; aspirational, innovative, immensely powerful, cross-country saloons, oozing class & amenities. mercedes' came from the low end of the scale, Cadillac from the top. The magnitude of this perception cannot be overstated : note- there are no slamfests on the 84-MPH mercedes of the late '60s, cars with crank windows & coarse upholstery. They're 'quaint', and 'struggling in the aftermath of WWII'

[Camino LS6]

Too bad there were import quotas in effect at the time. I mean, who other than a kool-aid drinking Cadillac buyer would choose a Cimarron over a Cressida or 810 Maxima?

Who would buy any of those piles?

[Intrepidation]

Who would buy any of those piles?

Someone who wanted a RWD car with a straight six (810/Maxima) instead of a piece of $h! FWD Cavalier with a Cadillac badge?

[Satty]

0-60 in 12.3!

[Blake Noble]

0-60 in 12.3!

I can beat that; the Sonoma will do 0-60 in 16 seconds.

And its agonizing.

[Satty]

I can beat that; the Sonoma will do 0-60 in 16 seconds.

And its agonizing.

Have you tried taking the parking brake off?

[ocnblu]

Spoken like a true Prius owner. They'll try anything, even hopping out to push, but alas, Birkenstocks and Crocs aren't really conducive to such a task.

[Satty]

Crocs.... Shoes for dumb white trash

Jill has a pair of Uggs and I hate them with a burning passion.

And the Prius may be slow, but it can take a Datsun 810 in a race.

Edited March 15, 2009 by Satty

[Croc]

Crocs.... Shoes for dumb white trash

Agreed. Over the age of 8? Shouldn't wear them.

Jill has a pair of Uggs and I hate them with a burning passion.

Gotta disagree with you here, man. Uggs are kinda hot. Though stay away from Malibu, because they're weird out there and the MEN wear Uggs as often as the women do.

And the Prius may be slow, but it can take a Datsun 810 in a race.

It's also quieter and freaks out more vision-impaired people.

[buyacargetacheck]

No doubt the '82 Cimarron with its pushrod 4-cyl would do 0-60 in something like 15 sec. The real difference between the Cimarron and, say, a Cressida or 810 was the refinement in the engine, transmission (auto 4-spd OD or in some yrs 5-spd manual in the Cressida's case), handling and interior. The interiors of both cars were plush.

Back to the Cimarron, its biggest reason for "failure" was its price.

0-60 in 12.3!

[Satty]

I know a few nurses, all of whom wear Crocs. They disgust me.

Uggs are just ugly.

Then you have this combo, the ugliness of Uggs, and the stupid plasticness of Crocs:

[buyacargetacheck]

GM and Cadillac fans are doing themselves no favors by perpetuating this myth. "Standard of the World" was an advertising line. Cadillac since the late 60s-early 70s has been focused on sales, not making some kind of standard. The hard business reality today is that the luxury nameplates of volume manufacturers have to increase their economies of scale by using the bones of their more basic models. I think that's a big reason why it's becoming apparent that automakers don't need any more than a couple of brands because the differentiation process becomes impossible.

Cadillac, since the dawn of its inception until the late 1970s, branded itself as the “Standard of the World.”

[FloydHendershot]

No doubt the '82 Cimarron with its pushrod 4-cyl would do 0-60 in something like 15 sec. The real difference between the Cimarron and, say, a Cressida or 810 was the refinement in the engine, transmission (auto 4-spd OD or in some yrs 5-spd manual in the Cressida's case), handling and interior. The interiors of both cars were plush.

Back to the Cimarron, its biggest reason for "failure" was its price.

Well, I don't think you designed or built any of those models but that Maxima was the biggest POS I have ever had the displeasure of knowing. The engine sucked, the transmission sucked, the seats and dash were junk and I never had any interest in them again.

In 2000 or so I was in a new altima. Nothing changed.

[Blake Noble]

Have you tried taking the parking brake off?

The parking brake is broken.

[buyacargetacheck]

What year was your Maxima and did you buy it new?

Well, I don't think you designed or built any of those models but that Maxima was the biggest POS I have ever had the displeasure of knowing. The engine sucked, the transmission sucked, the seats and dash were junk and I never had any interest in them again.

In 2000 or so I was in a new altima. Nothing changed.

[ocnblu]

What difference does it make, buyacargetaclue, in YOUR world, a 25 year old Maxima is just as good as a brand new one, and much better than anything GM makes.

[Camino LS6]

:rotflmao:

[SAmadei]

If you ask ME the C!marron is actually charming 27 years

later, and I guarantee the mere promotional shot of a BLS

in two or three decades will still make me want to puke.

I agreed the Cimarron is very charming looking back. In fact, if I had never seen the other J-bodies, I would even say that the Cimarron looked the part of a baby Cadillac... but Cadillac styling DNA was quite weak in the mid-80s. It would have looked even more Caddy-like with some knife-blade shaped taillights.

Everything else about the Cimarron, like the drivetrain, interior and suspension are horribly uncharming.

[buyacargetacheck]

You're only half right.

What difference does it make, buyacargetaclue, in YOUR world, a 25 year old Maxima is just as good as a brand new one, and much better than anything GM makes.

[Blake Noble]

This thread has hit the bottom more times than a frat boy at a college party.

Now, let's all coalesce in a hearty gut laugh at my horrible joke! Ha. Ha. Ha.

[Intrepidation]

Cimarron...CHARMING! :rotflmao:

[FAPTurbo]

Four pages?! I don't think the Cimarron got this much attention ever. This is almost as bad as the dozen page Acura RL thread.

[Croc]

I think all the True Believers™ getting their panties in a bunch because some of us dare to talk about the Cimarron 20 years after its demise is hilarious.

[Regalguy01]

I found the article to be utterly unflattering, belittling and demeaning to Cadillac and General Motors. That is to say, the article was profoundly reflective of the car it was written about. I like the General more than any other manufacturer out there and the times of recent have been down right brutal to GM. But anyone who had the displeasure of even living next to someone who owned this car(I did as a child) will agree this was an abomination to the very roads this car was built to drive/ride on.

[Croc]

Exactly--and frankly I think it says quite a bit that Cadillac has really only had two white elephants in its past--Cimarron and Catera (lesser extent the present STS). The brand has done well, and still has a positive reputation.

Cadillac is my favorite brand, after all, though I do love Oldsmobile and Buick, too.

[Intrepidation]

I wouldn't even consider the STS to be anywhere near the same league. It's flawed yes, but it's a proper RWD performance luxury car.

[daves87rs]

Funny, my first car was almost a 86 Cim.....

And My Js were pretty good...besides the rust....

[knightfan26917]

Heh ... interesting about that Caddy. Funny thing is ... a couple weekends ago, I was out driving and spotted one of 'em. As I came up behind it, I originally thought it was a Cavalier. But, then, I got up closer ... and sure enough, it had the Caddy name and badging. Got up along side it to turn right ... and was surprised ... it was in decent shape....

to irrrevocably tie the current Cadillac product with a 30-yr old entry-level

But, doesn't GM do a good bit of that ... by using older nameplates on new cars that are no where near what the originals were? The Malibu, Monte Carlo and Impala come to mind, particularly by way of taking the Celebrity, replacing it with the Lumina but allowing people to believe it replaced the MC since the Lumina was used in NASCAR ... and then naming the 1995 Lumina coupe "monte carlo" and the 2000 Lumina sedan "impala"....

According to the book _Chevrolet: The Complete History_ [copyright 1996 by Publications International LTD], on page 348: "With the new Lumina coupe and sedan effectively replacing their Celebrity counterparts...." And, on page 359: "Taking the place of the aging Celebrity sedan was the Lumina sedan ... a coupe version followed in the fall."

Also, the Lumina shared types (Eurosport), dashboards (flat/horizontal), tail lights (3 square on each side, across the back panel, more or less) and FWD with the Celebrity.....

In addition ... the Monte Carlo was the only one of the cousin names (Buick Regal, Olds Cutlass Supreme, Pontiac Grand Prix) to NOT be slapped on a FWD car IMMEDIATELY after the RWD versions ended in 1987/1988.

*shrugs*

link

Heh ... interesting stuff there.

Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker ...MidW Event = 04/04/09

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"Just when I think that I can make it without you, you come around & say you want me now" ... Rosanne Cash ... 'I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me'

[Blake Noble]

You know what? I really need to get back into writing stuff like this again. If I can yank 4 pages worth of responses -- both positive and negative -- out of people, then I think I'm doing my job here.

And I'm going to bash the L-Bodies, like I intended to.

[Croc]

You know what? I really need to get back into writing stuff like this again. If I can yank 4 pages worth of responses -- both positive and negative -- out of people, then I think I'm doing my job here.

And I'm going to bash the L-Bodies, like I intended to.

DO ITTTTT!! Just seeing *ahem* certain members get their fangirl panties all in a knot makes it worth it.

[The O.C.]

But a 1970s S-class could do 120 mph with the inline 6, or 130 mph with the V8, and up to 140 mph with the 6.9 liter V8. But what does it matter what Mercedes built in the 60's and 70's when the Cimarron was an 80's car? Mercedes has always had a solid reputation for tank-like well engineered cars, they had it in 1909 and still have it in 2009. Cadillac doesn't have the reputation now that they did 50 or 100 years ago because of junk like the Cimarron, Catera, and old geezer sedans of the 80s and 90s.

VERY good and true post re: Mercedes' heritage......and Cadillac's......

As much as I love my CTS......I simply was astounded that when I had my 1994 E320 Cabriolet with 100,000 miles STILL felt more solid, tight, rattle-free, and had a much smoother, quieter, and more energetic engine than my Caddy.....

UGH....

And I'm a big fan, still, of my CTS at 50,000 miles......but it's nowere nearly as well engineered as that old Benz......truth be told.....

[Intrepidation]

Thing is that newer Benzes aren't as well engineered as your old Benz either.

[The O.C.]

You know what? I really need to get back into writing stuff like this again. If I can yank 4 pages worth of responses -- both positive and negative -- out of people, then I think I'm doing my job here.

And I'm going to bash the L-Bodies, like I intended to.

Yeah....you can bash the L's.....but you could do that to almost all of GM's entries during that time period.

I had a Beretta once.....I forget what year, but it was when I was working at GM......it was one of the later years.....new interior, 2.8V6, 5-speed......base model but ordered up with the engine and things like the sunroof, etc......I even remember the Eagle GA tires (!) were like a $70 option......

I remember liking the car.....the base exterior, without all the GT model add-ons seemed pretty to me....and the redesigned interior was light-years ahead of the absolute $h!ty interior they first introduced the cars with....

BUT.....the car was an absolute piece of $h!. I don't ever remember having another car in my life that, in the year I owned the Beretta, had as many problems as mine did. One.....thing....after....another.....mechanical, flaking paint, you name it.

My best friend in college also had a Beretta for awhile.....a GTZ....and he had just as bad of a time reliability-wise as I did.....

[The O.C.]

Thing is that newer Benzes aren't as well engineered as your old Benz either.

I tend to really agree with you.

Certainly they are fine cars.....having been in plenty of them......but none of the newer Benzes tend to have that rock-solid feel.....the chassis that made it feel like a complete tank, but that actually drove well.....the interior plastics and leather that felt tough as nails....but somehow luxurious because of the attention to detail.....(no one has been able to make vinyl feel as luxurious somehow as Benz with the old MB Tex...LOL)

In regards to the two Germans.....I tend to be a fan of older Benzs....and newer Bimmers......

[balthazar]

Pontiac had a fantastic vinyl in the '60s they called Morrokide- mine has often been confused with leather (tho I can tell the diff), and it wears incredibly well decades later. Great stuff- don't kno why they changed to something else, but by the early '70s it was notably downgraded.