Cadillac commits a sin of omission.
Catholics name them “sins of omission,” they’re offenses not of motion, however of inaction. Failing to behave when it was doable to assist one other being could be a sin of omission, so would telling solely among the reality. And, as an act of selling expediency, General Motors’ Cadillac division can actually be accused of getting dedicated sins of omission when it got here to launching the Cimarron subcompact sedan again in 1982. The advert beneath is a low level for the posh marque.
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1982 Cadillac Cimarron
A little bit of historical past: The Cimarron was one in every of 5 General Motors “J-Cars,” a group of recent front-wheel-drive small automobiles designed to be gas environment friendly, area environment friendly, and for GM, cheap to construct. The lineup included the Chevrolet Cavalier, Pontiac J2000 (later Sunbird), Oldsmobile Firenza, and Buick Skyhawk. Body kinds included coupes, sedans, hatchbacks, wagons, and for Chevy and Pontiac, convertibles, too.
Also included among the many J-Cars was the Cadillac Cimarron. Named for a department off of the Santa Fe Trial, the Cimarron, supplied solely as a sedan, was meant to offer Cadillac sellers an entry-point product priced beneath the model’s contemporaneous lineup. It’s simple to see the attraction, not less than from a gross sales and advertising perspective.
Here’s the rub: The Cimarron wasn’t an particularly good automobile by absolute requirements, and it was a horrible Cadillac. Though the automobile was supplied with further exterior trim and brightwork, and although it may very well be had with leather-based seating, the Cimarron was not—in any approach—a greater can than the lowly Chevrolet Cavalier.
Further, although some niceties similar to air situation got here commonplace on the Cimarron, its base worth was a troubling $12,000, absolutely $5,000 greater than the Cavalier, and solely $3,000 lower than a full-size, V8-powered Caddy Sedan Deville.
The advert seen right here—a veritable blue print for the fee of a sin of omission—lists a number of options of the Cimarron, and compares their availability to related gadgets as discovered on some fairly good European small automobiles. The checklist pains me enormously. A couple of ideas, shared line-by-line:
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Fuel Economy: Whatever.
Front-Wheel Drive: While a comparatively new characteristic for American automobiles within the early Eighties, front-wheel drive was by no means thought-about a efficiency or luxurious promoting level. In reality, front-drive grew to become fashionable totally on low-cost automobiles.
Four-Speed Manual: Great, most cool Euro rides got here with 5-speeds. Not actually scoring fanatic factors right here. Cimarron could be the primary stick-shift Cadillac in a very long time, nevertheless.
Rack and Pinion Steering: Pretty frequent stuff, even in 1982. Better than low-feel techniques discovered on different Cadillacs, although.
Passenger Compartment Volume: So, the Cimarron is small? Noted.
Alloy Wheels: Optional on the Cavalier, not an enormous deal.
AM/FM Stereo: I ought to hope so. No cassette?
Leather-Wrapped Steering Wheel: Whatever. Okay-Mart offered leather-based steering wheel wrappers for about $3.00 on the time.
Leather Seats: Nice. Perhaps the one legit characteristic on this checklist. That stated, the Cimarron cabin was in any other case lined with low-cost plastic and low-grade vinyl. The interiors of the opposite automobiles on this checklist have been a lot, a lot, nicer.
Sins of Omission:
Not talked about within the advert, however actually ought to have been:
Horsepower: While the Cimarron’s wheezy 1.8-liter engine produced simply 85 horsepower, each different automobile on the checklist was good for not less than 100.
Fuel Injection: While the little Caddy made do with an old-school carburetor, the Audi, BMW, and Volvo boasted fashionable gas injection.
Rear Brakes: The Cimarron was shod with old-tech rear drum brakes, whereas the Saab and Volvo featured disc brakes throughout.
…
We’re stopping in need of calling the Cimarron unholy, however the selective sharing of data, as seen on this advert is, not less than by Catholic requirements, sinful. Cadillac’s J-Car was little greater than a gussied-up Chevrolet Cavalier, and was despatched to showrooms with not one of the gear or tuning that made the comparability automobiles listed within the advert fanatic favorites. I really like this advert, however just for its brazenness. The working of this promoting piece was actually a sin of omission.
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