The Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera is a mid-size car manufactured and marketed for model years 1982-1996 by the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors — over a single generation. Body styles included a 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan, and the 4-door wagon.
The Cutlass Ciera shared the front-wheel drive A platform with the Buick Century, Pontiac 6000 and Chevrolet Celebrity. As part of their legacy, together the A-bodies became widely popular as well as synonymous with GM's most transparent examples of badge engineering, highlighted almost indistinguishably on the August 22, 1983 cover of Fortune magazine as examples of genericized uniformity, embarrassing the company and ultimately prompting GM to recommit to design leadership.
Background
The Cutlass Ciera and its A-Body platform twins, featured MacPherson strut front suspension, body-color urethane bumpers, flush-mounted glass, front-wheel drive, and on many models, fuel injection.
The Cutlass Ciera shared the Cutlass nameplate with the smaller Cutlass Calais and the upscale Cutlass Supreme. Oldsmobile had previously used the Celebrity brand in the 1960s, but GM chose to give that name to Chevrolet. With the Ciera, Oldsmobile established Cutlass as sub-brand for its line of mainstream sedans and coupes.
Initially, the Cutlass Ciera and its platform mates were marketed as premium mid-sized cars, above the X-Body, from which they were derived, and the N-Body Calais, which would follow for 1985.
The Ciera and Cruiser replaced the rear-wheel drive G-Body Cutlass models, but strong sales kept the higher trim Cutlass Supreme in production until the 1988 model year when it was replaced by the W-Body models. As such, these front-wheel drive sedans carried the A-Body designation, previously reserved for their rear-wheel drive showroom companions. In order to keep both lines in production, General Motors rechristened the rear-wheel drive mid-sized platform as the G-Body beginning with the 1982 model year.
When the W-Body coupes were introduced for 1988, Oldsmobile reduced the number of options and configurations available. During the model years that followed, luxury and performance options such as FE3 suspension, auto calculator, bucket seats, leather seating areas, sunroofs, and full instrumentation were gradually eliminated.
Originally for 1990, the Cutlass Ciera, as with the rest of the A-body range, was intended to be phased out in favor of the more modern W-body midsized sedans. However, the Ciera, as well as its sister the Buick Century, continued to remain popular nearing the end of their initial runs. Thus, it was decided that the older Cutlass Ciera and Century would instead continue production alongside their proposed replacements, the Cutlass Supreme and Regal respectively, as lower priced alternatives.
After 1990, special editions of the Cutlass Ciera were dropped from the American market and by the end of 1991, the coupe was discontinued. Although reduced to two trim levels and two body styles, sedan and wagon, the Cieras remained the brand's best-selling line for 1996.
1982–1988
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 three trim levels: the base, LS, and Brougham.
The standard engine was a 2.5 L four-cylinder Tech IV (Pontiac Iron Duke) engine. All models also included standard bench seats and cloth interior. Available on all models were a 3.0 L Buick V6 engine, or a 4.3 L Oldsmobile Diesel V6 engine. Brougham trim added a plush interior with vinyl accents, leatherette interior door pulls, additional chrome trim, and a reading lamp. The base coupe and sedan were initially dropped after 1982 due to poor sales, leaving LS and Brougham trim as the only available from 1983 until 1985, excluding special editions. During the model year, production ended at the Fremont GM Assembly Plant when that facility closed.
The 1983 model year added a new ES trim package for the coupe and sedan models. This would be the last year for the standard 13-inch wheels. During the spring of 1983, a special edition Holiday Coupe was added to the option list as part of the Oldsmobile Road Show sales promotion.
For 1984, the line added a new Cruiser wagon, replacing the former G-Body Cutlass Cruiser. A 3.8 L Buick V6 became available and the Holiday Coupe package returned to the options list for its first full year as did a 4-speed manual transmission for diesel models. This transmission was dropped in the fall of 1983 from the option list.