1988 Cadillac Cimarron from North America - Comments

Perhaps you never had one that didn't have an overdrive gear? This makes a BIG difference on the highway. The 1988 Cimarron with the automatic does turn 4000 RPM at 78 MPH. I know this from experience. If you have the stickshift, though, you'll probably be down in the low-to-mid 3000s. The auto didn't have overdrive where the 5-speed stick did.

You guys are hilarious. I have a 1986 Cadillac Cimarron with 30,000 miles on it. It was parked in a garage and hardly ever used.

I do have a rough idle and none of the mechanics can find out why. I don't have any vaccum lines that appear to be leaking and all the sensors are fine. I have no idea, it runs fine. But if you start it cold and step on it, it will detonate early like its flooding, I still haven't come to a conclusion on that.

Aside from that the car runs like a dream. Yes, it's a chevy with a cadillac emblem and some perks, but who cares? The car went out of fashion ONLY because most cadillac consumers enjoyed the larger size cars that cadillac was notorious for. The smaller J-style body didn't suit most cadillac consumers.

There were never major TSB's on the cimarron and as far as mechanical problems there were very few. It's a CHEVY ENGINE! All of you guys who may swear by chevy as a strong car, think... becuase the cimarron is a chevy.

Oh and in reference to the driving over 115mph thing, who cares? the car is just under 4000lbs. What do you think happens if you crash a sold steel car at 115mph that weighs 4000lbs... Ya, your dead. Don't try it, its stupid.

The car is strong, yes its expensive to fix becuase it has the cadillac name, don't go to the dealer for repairs, they might laugh. Take it to a mechanic, if he says, "Oh ya, that car is just a chevy." Before you have to tell him.. then you know your gonna get a good deal and easy repairs.

Take care of your car. If you think the cimarron is a piece of crap, then get off this forum, becuase no one cares.. For those of you that enjoy the car, then good luck to you. In this day its not exactly sporty, but hey, if it gets good milegae and appeals to you as a safe car, then go for it.

At least that's how I see it.

Last year, I moved in with my dad, who's 88 and was living alone in a big house since my mother died. In the garage was my mom's '86 Cimarron D'Oro. To make room for my Camry, we decided to donate the car to the Salvation Army. They turned us down, as did a couple of other charities. So, the car was parked in the driveway and driven very seldom. I used it mainly as a car to park at the airport when I went out of town. Last week, I got new tires in the original 206/60-14 size (narrower ones had been substituted at some point). After that, I cleaned it up and it looks pretty good. The A/C works incredibly well. I've started driving it more as a way to put fewer miles on the Camry, and I'm actually enjoying it. It needs new shocks and has a bad exhaust rattle, so I might get those issues taken care of. No, it'll never be a collector car, but I'm glad now that we didn't give her away!