I like Cadillacs, you like Cadillacs, we all like Cadillacs. Well, maybe not everybody. For those of you who have gotten a little too much Cadillac info on CC today, may I present this pair of Porsches.
For at least 10 years now, I’ve seen them sitting in the driveway of this house. Although I’ve never seen either one on the street, they appear to be regularly driven and kept in good repair. The yellow one has accessory wheels; a rare sight today, I recall seeing them in vintage Porsche brochures. Judging by the big rubber bumper guards in back, it looks to be a ’73. With its bigger bumpers, the red one is a 1974 or later model. And to top it all off, sharing the driveway with them was a mid-’90s Integra. Might there be a new generation of car lovers in this family?
A refreshing change of pace indeed. You are right the yellow/orange car is a 73, the red is a 74-77. He has in his driveway one of the most and least sought after 911s. It looks like there is some rust forming in the front fender of the 73. The values on the pre-74s cars have gone through the roof in the last few years and I bet he wishes he kept it in better shape.
The 72 is a really sought after model as it had the mechanical FI system and that cool oil filler door on the right rear fender. Too many people put gasoline through that filler and Porsche removed it starting in 73.
In 1983-84, I had a real hankering for a sports car. At age 32, it must have been my last gasp at youth. I visited a Porsche dealer at that time, and the 944 was priced at $ 35K, and the 928, $ 50K. I didn’t price the Carrera type models. I asked the salesman for a test drive, and he rode me around the block. He didn’t let me drive it, and gave me the bum’s rush.
I ended up buying a base 84 Camaro for $ 9,600 certified check. Not a real sports car, however. Owned it for 9 years and 72K miles. Contrary to the recent Camaro post, aside from the shift knob repair warranty work, the car needed nothing more than wear out items, oil changes, and tune ups. Probably, the most trouble free car I’ve ever owned. And I did most of the repairs myself.
Can’t really say I’d have wanted the Porsche at 3 times the price. Stuck to Cadillacs after that.
When my mother bought her Porsche in 1986, the 944 was still about $25K in spite of the weak dollar and strong DM. When the 944 was introduced as a 1983 model, MSRP was $18,600. Options weren’t cheap, but the 924S was introduced as an ’87 model with an MSRP of $19,995 because the 944’s base price had surpassed $20K.
Had a good Cimarron post, but since thats been closed for some reason, I’ll just post it here.
Enjoy
or not.
Headlights and tailights and trim, those were the marching orders given to the people in charge of the Cimarron, NO sheetmetal changes, NO engine changes, NO dash changes other than unique gagues and radio. The Cimarron wasn’t part of the J-car plan, it was an 11th hour knee-jerk Cadillac reaction to Cadillac dealers screaming about not having a small car, and as others mentioned, fear of flagship Cadillac dealerships “dualing up” with Audi, Saab or BMW or gasp…..Mercedes.
They made a bad choice, its not that Cadillac shouldn’t have done a smaller car, its that they should have learned the lesson from the Seville and taken time and care to make small Cadillac, not a small car with Cadillac emblems. Cadillac was very concerned about using the X-body as a base for the Seville back in 1975, and wanting to cover that up at any costs, the outstanding 1976-1979 Seville was born, the Cimarron was almost the complete opposite of that, its like they didn’t care if anyone knew it was a J-car.
I always wondered why they limited the Cimarron to just the sedan bodystyle? If your going to whore yourself out, go all the way Cadillac, they should of at least had a coupe version to(especially since there wasn’t even a 3 series sedan when the Cimarron was launched in 1981), I mean its not like the J-cars didn’t have a coupe, sedan, hatch, wagon and later a convertible.
Hmmm. everyonce in while I think about finding a clean Cavalier convertilbe and a clean Cimarron and making a convertible Cimarron, just for the hell of it.
Try, try again…in spite of the Cimarrons failure and long lasting stigma, Cadillac slowly continued marching along a path that was originally blazed by the Cimarron, todays CTS, V-series cars and the new ATS, all much, much, much better cars that a Cimarron, still kinda owe a little bit of their existance to that long distant relative that first climbed out of the Brougham swamp.
Circa 1980 Cimarron coupe sketches indicate they at least considered it.
Carmine,
I don’t know why the comments were closed, but I think a coupe, and especially a convertible, would have been interesting.
I don’t know how the comments were turned off (they’re back on). But yours is worth copying and pasting into the Cimarron post.
It was very apparent that the Cimarron must have been a 11th hour job, because it was so much like the Cavalier. Somewhat curious that they used the Cav as the donor, and not the Olds or Buick versions. If they had taken the time to use the SOHC 1.8, and put a decent turbo on it, it might have been a bit more credible.
I test drove a Cimarron when they first came out, and the 1.8 with the automatic really was a major embarrassment. Given that the BMW 318 at the time was only making some 101 horsepower, it really wouldn’t have taken that much to equal it in terms of power; a bit more so in terms of NVH.
You really need to get a copy of Yates’ book for the details. Yes, the Cimarron was an 11th hour job, and it was done because the dealers were screaming for something small – no because Cadillac division felt they really had to have one.
Just ordered it. 1 cent, plus $3.99 shipping. The book business ain’t what it used to be.
I’ll have to check the library downtown for Yates’s book. They had the Iacocca autobiography there; I read it a few years ago. I still need to read DeLorean’s book too!
Thank you for the Porsches. How anybody could buy a Cadillac (post WWII) when there’s a Porsche available is absolutely beyond me..
Maybe they want a comfortable car, with room, I dunno.
You forgot AC, and not having to feel every pothole on the road while simultaneously eating the road dust through open windows…
I loved the Porsche I owned 20 years ago, and can’t get past the horror stories and the image associated with the Malaise-era Cadillacs my father drove. But as I approach 50, the slight arthritis in my back and a need to haul passengers means that I must own at least one vehicle that sits a bit taller, and has a decent back seat. We’re fortunate today, as there are reliable, affordable sedans that actually go, stop and handle competently.
And Syke is right about Yates’ book: Every enthusiast should read it. I donated my copy several years ago, and wish I hadn’t. Maybe an eBook edition will come along some day…