Editing Rebadging (section)

=== Lincoln Versailles and Cadillac Cimarron ===
[[File:1979 Lincoln Versailles.jpg|thumb|1979 Lincoln Versailles]]
[[File:1986 Cadillac Cimarron in brown and silver, front left.jpg|thumb|1987–1988 Cadillac Cimarron]]

Prior to the mid-1970s, the American luxury brands Lincoln and Cadillac offered model lines consisting entirely of full-size two-door and four-door sedans and full-size personal luxury cars.  At the beginning of the decade, European automakers began to market their largest sedans as luxury vehicles in North America.  Though the [[BMW New Six#North America|BMW Bavaria/3.0Si]], [[Jaguar XJ#Series 1, 2, and 3 (1968–1992)|Jaguar XJ6/XJ12]], and [[Mercedes-Benz W116|Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W116)]] were priced similar to the Cadillac Sedan de Ville and Lincoln Continental, the model lines were thousands of pounds lighter and multiple feet shorter in length (with only the hand-built [[Rolls-Royce Phantom V]] rivaling Lincoln and Cadillac in size).  In response to both the 1973 oil crisis and to regain lost market share, both Cadillac and Lincoln introduced smaller vehicles for their brand.  In one of the most controversial uses of rebranding in automotive history, both vehicles were derived from smaller GM and Ford divisional model ranges.    

For the 1977 model year, Lincoln released the [[Lincoln Versailles]] to match the debut of the [[Cadillac Seville]].  In contrast with the Seville (sharing its chassis underpinnings both the Chevrolet Nova and the Chevrolet Camaro), the Versailles shared nearly its entire body with the [[Mercury Monarch]] (itself a counterpart of the [[Ford Granada (North America)|Ford Granada]]); the model line also replaced the previous [[Mercury Monarch#Grand Monarch Ghia|Mercury Grand Monarch Ghia]].  Outsold by the Seville nearly three-to-one, the Versailles sold far under sales predictions and was discontinued early in the 1980 model year. 

For 1982, Cadillac released the [[Cadillac Cimarron]] to compete against compact European-brand [[Executive car|executive sedans]].  The smallest Cadillac produced since the 1900s, the Cimarron used the chassis of the [[General Motors J platform|GM J-body]] four-door sedan.  Developed and brought to market less than a year before the J-body was released, Cadillac was left with almost no time to distinguish the Cimarron from its divisional counterparts from Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac.  Though sharing nearly its entire exterior with the four-door Chevrolet Cavalier, the Cimarron was priced nearly twice as high as its counterpart.  Additionally, J-body vehicles from other divisions could be equipped nearly identically to the Cimarron for a lower cost.  Though the model line closely matched its Buick Skyhawk and Oldsmobile Firenza counterparts in sales, the Cimarron was discontinued following the 1988 model year.

Though the Lincoln Versailles was largely forgotten after its 1980 discontinuation (its role superseded by the downsizing of the Lincoln Continental for 1982), the Cimarron would cause extensive damage to the Cadillac brand, as its market share declined by almost 50% from 1980 to 1998.  As of current production, neither Lincoln nor Cadillac has marketed a compact-segment car.  Through the use of rebranding, Lincoln produced the mid-size [[Lincoln MKZ]] (sharing its doors with the [[Ford Fusion (Americas)|Ford Fusion]]; as part of its 2013 redesign, no other exterior panels); Cadillac rebranded the [[Opel Omega#Omega B (1994–2004)|Opel Omega B]] as the [[Cadillac Catera]] as its first mid-size car, but replaced it, eventually moving towards platform sharing with other divisions.     

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