Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera | |
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Overview | |
Manufacturer | Oldsmobile (General Motors) |
Also called | Oldsmobile Ciera Oldsmobile Cutlass (Ciera) Cruiser |
Model years | 1982–1996 |
Assembly |
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States Framingham, Massachusetts, United States Doraville, Georgia, United States Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec, Canada Fremont, California, United States Ramos Arizpe, Mexico |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Mid-size |
Body style | 2-door coupe 4-door sedan 5-door station wagon |
Layout | Transverse front-engine, front-wheel drive |
Platform | A-body |
Related |
Buick Century Chevrolet Celebrity Pontiac 6000 |
Powertrain | |
Engine | 2.2 L 122 I4 2.5 L Tech IV I4 2.8 L LE2 V6 2.8 L Gen II V6 3.0 L LK9 V6 3.1 L Gen II V6 3.3 L LG7 V6 3.8 L LG3 V6 4.3 L LT7 Diesel V6 |
Transmission |
GM TH-125C 3-speed automatic GM 440-T4 4-speed automatic GM 4T60-E 4-speed automatic |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 104.9 in (2,664 mm) |
Length | 190.3 in (4,834 mm) |
Width | 69.5 in (1,765 mm) |
Height | 54.1 in (1,374 mm) |
Chronology | |
Successor | Oldsmobile Cutlass (U.S. only) |
The Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera is a mid-size car that was sold from 1982 through 1996 by Oldsmobile. It shared the front-wheel drive A platform with the similar Buick Century, Pontiac 6000 and Chevrolet Celebrity; both Oldsmobile and Chevrolet considered using the Celebrity name, which had originally been used by Oldsmobile in the 1960s. Available body styles included a 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan, and the Cutlass (Ciera) Cruiser station wagon. The Cutlass Ciera shared the Cutlass nameplate with the smaller Cutlass Calais and the larger Cutlass Supreme. It shared the same engines and certain interior features with the Buick Century.
During its run, the Cutlass Ciera was Oldsmobile's best-selling model. The car enjoyed many factory specialty models including the Holiday coupe, GT, pace car, and International models - the latter of which had a stock body kit.
Production began September 28, 1981 at Doraville Assembly in Georgia for the 1982 model year. In 1984, the Cutlass Cruiser station wagon model moved to the Cutlass Ciera's platform; previously, the nameplate used the rear wheel drive G-body. The Cutlass Ciera came in two trim levels: the base and Brougham /ˈbroʊəm/. The base models came with a 2.5 L 4-cylinder Tech IV (Pontiac Iron Duke) engine, bench seats, and cloth interior. The Brougham was available with an Iron Duke, a 2.8 L V6 engine, a 3.8 L Buick V6 engine, or a 4.3 L Oldsmobile Diesel V6 engine; plush interior with vinyl accents, leather handlebars on the interior door panels, and power windows. The diesel engine proved a reliability disaster, and in any case, rapidly dropping gas prices in the mid-1980s meant that fuel economy was no longer a selling point. For 1985, the Cutlass Ciera received its first facelift with a new grille, sleeker headlamps, and new taillights. For 1986, the Cutlass Ciera's grille had expanded ventilation sections than the similar 1985 model. Additionally, the coupe received a new, more rounded roofline that was not shared with the other A-body models. For 1987, the Cutlass Ciera was facelifted again with a new grille, and the steering wheel had the Oldsmobile logo moved from the right to the very center, and the 2.8 L LE2 V6 engine was dropped. For 1988, the Cutlass Ciera received composite headlamps (Some late 1987 models had composite headlamps as well) and introduced the new International Series models, and was also the final year for the Brougham. The International Series included the emblem with the flags of various countries below the nameplate (see below for exemplar) and was available in all three bodystyles, and came equipped with a standard Buick V6 engine, a 4-speed automatic transmission, a dual exhaust system, front captain's chairs, and standard power windows.