The Return of the Cadillac Cimarron

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Believe it, kids . . . the Cimarron is back! According to a Motor Trend “Scoop,” GM has acknowledged that it doesn’t have the resources to compete in Europe’s tough luxury market, build an RWD Alpha-platform “baby CTS,” or really do much of anything besides bringing another Epsilon II-based whip to the US market. Can you feel the excitement? The project, codenamed “GM 166,” will reportedly be positioned between the Buick LaCrosse and the Cadillac CTS. How? By costing more than the LaCrosse, of course. Because who doesn’t want a warmed-over FWD midsize starting at $35 grand?

To be fair, this neo-Cimarron may not be as cynical as its 80s inspiration. After all, GM doesn’t exactly have a raft of Epsi2 products in the US ready for a quick ’n’ dirty rebadge. With the next-gen Saab 9-5 crying alone somewhere in Sweden ( or not?) and Opel-as-Saturn plans gathering dust, only the LaCrosse is left to rep the Epsilon II “revolution” stateside. Regardless, it’s hard to understand why GM would cut down to three car brands only to move its putative “luxury brand” downmarket in a cannibal strike on its “entry-level luxury” brand. Unless of course this foreshadows the death of the entire Buick/Pontiac/GMC channel . . . .

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Akear Akear on Apr 29, 2009

    Nobody is really against FWD, as long as it is not a travesty like the Cadillac Cimarron 2. Cadillac will cancel it when they only sell 10,000 of them. It has already flopped in Europe.

  • Mpresley Mpresley on Apr 29, 2009

    A is A : I liked the 9-3, but I could see where it was taking me, and, therefore, we had to part. Where it was taking you?. Were repairs so bad?. I'm not sure what "so bad" is...any repair is bad. But a 9-3 with 70K was not where I wanted to be. Two of the four window motors replaced, the water pump went south, and it had a strange quirk: sometimes the key would not engage the switch and turn the motor over. Then, I Googled 9-3 / sludge, thought about the expense of a new turbine, and realized it was time to pull the trigger. Nevertheless, my black SE hatch was a very enjoyable car, and I will remember SAAB fondly. Thanks, GM.

  • Kkt Kkt on Apr 29, 2009

    Kristjan Ambroz, like practically all PhD dissertations, the author owns the copyright. You can order copies for download or printed and mailed to you from: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/default.shtml Many colleges negotiate unlimited downloads for their students, faculty, and staff. If you're not affiliated with such a college, at the moment it's $41 for download. Some pennies of that eventually make their way back to Dr. Karesh. Or you could probably go to the University of Chicago Library and read it there.

  • Daddyof2 Daddyof2 on May 06, 2009

    Well, they were doing a good job of chasing BMW with the CTS...and then they chose FWD. One more thing. FOR THE LOVE OF LITTLE BABY JESUS...KILL OFF BUICK!!!!!

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