Boise Street Sighting: Cadillac Cimarron

GM has always been known for lame rebadges, and in the era where each brand had its own distinct identity, that wasn't much of a problem. Back in the 1980s, most consumers couldn't really be bothered to figure out which GM vehicles were similar to each other. In the 1970s, the introduction of the Nova (Nova, Omega, Ventura, Apollo) took the idea of rebadging to new (and indistinguishable) heights. Carrying into the 1980s, GM had this same mentality for the X-car (RWD version) replacement. Called the J-body, this new lineup of cars would replace the venerable Nova line, and once again be available in four-door sedan, two-door coupe, three-door hatch, and convertible models.

While the other bodystyles were fairly different, it was the sedans that suffered the most from GM's cost-cutting—I mean platform sharing. Take away the front clip and the rear fascia, and that midsection is pure Cavalier—or Sunbird for that matter. Point is, a cheap Chevrolet is not a Cadillac. Then again, you could apply the same logic to the Tahoe versus Escalade argument, but at least they're somewhat distinguishable. From the front clip anyway.  Not much has changed in 30 years, has it?

Unlike most Cimarrons, this example is not only dent-free, it's dirt-free as well; literally, this has to be one of the cleanest Cimarrons ever. Now, I know white is hardly the most glamorous color, but oddly it works here.  What I also find slightly odd is that this particular car doesn't have the two-tone treatment. I wonder if monotone paint was optional and two-tone was standard?

Everything on this econoCaddy is spotless and I do meant that. The little emblems on the taillights are intact, the 15" wheels are free from any sort of curb-induced blemish—and they're shiny, to boot.
Hell, even the often-torn-off dealer plaque still has a home on the trunk. I expected a clean car in Boise, but this is insane.

Kudos to the owner for not only keeps his or her Cimarron in great shape cosmetically, but kudos to keeping it literally clean. Near as I can tell, this example is quite possibly nicer than new. I am glad I took the time to shoot this, even if the pictures are pretty basic. This is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime spotting.