Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera

Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera
Overview
Manufacturer	General Motors
Also called	Oldsmobile Ciera Oldsmobile Cutlass (Ciera) Cruiser
Production	September 28, 1981 – August 30, 1996
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 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 manufactured and marketed for model years 1982-1996 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.^[1] 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. 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.

1982–1988

1982–1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera sedan

Production began September 28, 1981 at Doraville Assembly in Georgia for the 1982 model year.^[2] 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 four-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 unreliable just as rapidly dropping gas prices in the mid-1980s minimized its importance.

For 1985, the Cutlass Ciera received its first facelift with revised grille, headlamps, and taillights. For 1986, the Cutlass Ciera's grille had expanded ventilation sections than the similar 1985 model. 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 (though some late 1987 models had composite headlamps as well), the new International Series models were introduced, and this would be the last 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, 4-speed automatic transmission, dual exhaust system, front bucket seats, and power windows.

Between 1983 and 1986, 814 Cutlass Ciera convertibles were made by Hess & Eisenhardt/Car Craft.

Trim levels

A pair of 5-Door Cutlass Cruiser wagons, one featuring wood paneling.

• base: 1982–1988
• Brougham: 1982–1988
• Holiday Coupe: 1984–1985
• ES: 1984–1986
• LS: 1984–1986
• GT: 1986–1987
• S: 1987
• "XC Special Edition": 1988
• SL: 1987–1988
• International Series: 1988

1989–1996

1989–1996 Cutlass Cruiser wagon

The Cutlass Ciera was updated for 1989, with the sedan receiving a modern roofline (similar to the coupe), and revised bodyside moldings and deletion of hood ornaments. Rear seat shoulder belts were added. Both coupe and sedan models received updated rear-end treatments. For 1990, the front seat belts were moved from the B-pillars to the doors. This would also be the last year for the 'International Series'. The changes for 1991 included a new instrument cluster with a trip odometer and an engine temperature gauge. For 1992, the coupe was dropped, and the line-up included only sedans and wagons in 'S' or 'SL' designations. The wagon now had some internal competition in the form of the new Oldsmobile Silhouette minivan (itself based on the Cutlass Ciera's A-platform), offering buyers a choice of traditional station wagon or a multi-configurable minivan. Despite the all-new Olds Achieva and Delta 88 models for 1992, the Cutlass Ciera was still Oldsmobile's best-selling model line, with over 132,000 sedans and an additional 7,793 wagons produced this year. For 1993, the 2.5 L Tech IV engine was replaced by the 2.2 L OHV engine with a 3-speed automatic transmission.

In 1994, the 'SL' designation was dropped. The 'Cutlass Ciera S', available in sedan or wagon form, featured a driver airbag as standard equipment, along with anti-lock brakes, adjustable steering column, electric rear-window defogger, automatic door locks, and delay wipers. The 3.1 litre engine with a 4-speed automatic transmission came standard on the wagon, optional on the sedan. For 1995, the 'SL' designation returned in place of the 'S'. The 1995 Cutlass Ciera SL featured a new shift interlock system that required stepping on the brake pedal before moving the gear shift out of park. For 1996, the final model year, the 'Cutlass' nomenclature was dropped and the car was now known simply as the 'Ciera SL', which continued to be available in 'Series I' or 'Series II' equipment levels. The chrome "Oldsmobile" badge above the driver's headlight was deleted. During this time, Oldsmobile attempted to revamp itself as a European-styled upscale make with new products such as the Aurora, but the Cutlass Ciera's continued strong sales proved almost an embarrassment due to its dated design and perceived image as an "old man's car". On the other hand, because the tooling for the A-body platform had long since been monetized, GM was guaranteed a profit off each Cutlass Ciera and Buick Century sold. In addition, build quality and reliability of the cars was extremely good by this point.

Production of the Ciera ended on August 30, 1996.^[3] It was replaced in the U.S. by the N-body 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass, also built at the Oklahoma plant. Sales of this Ciera replacement peaked at 53,438 in 1998 and it was discontinued in 1999.

Trim levels

1989–1991 International Series side emblem (From left to right, the flags are of the United States, Canada, Belgium, Finland, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, and the then West Germany; this side emblem was originally used with the Cutlass Salon during the mid 1970s when it was a corporate twin to the Pontiac Grand Am)

The trim levels for the 1989-1995 Cutlass Ciera and 1996 Ciera are in order of price position.

• Sedan (1989–1996)
  • base: 1989–1991
  • Special Edition: 1994
  • S: 1990–1994
  • SL: 1989–1994
  • SL Series I: 1995–1996
  • SL Series II: 1995–1996
  • International Series: 1989–1990
• Coupe (1989–1991)
  • base: 1989
  • S: 1990–1991
  • SL: 1989
  • International Series: 1989–1990
• Cruiser Wagon (1989–1996)
  • base: 1989
  • Special Edition: 1994
  • S: 1990–1994
  • SL: 1989–1996

Awards

The Cutlass Ciera consistently ranked among the highest rated vehicles by J.D. Power and Associates; it was ranked the "Best in Price Class" on July 30, 1992 and the "Top-Ranked American-Made Car" on May 28, 1992. It was also named "Safe Car of the Year" by Prevention Magazine on March 6, 1992.

Noted owner

In April 2016, U.S. presidential candidate, and wife of former president Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton's old car was being offered for sale.^[4] The car was a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera Brougham, blue in color, with few options (a blue velour interior, a radio with cassette player, and alloy wheels, plus roll-up windows), with an Arkansas registration and license plates an Arkansas title signed by Clinton, as well as a Bill Clinton for Governor sticker from 1990 on the back window. The car was moved to the White House in Washington, DC in 1993 when Bill Clinton became the President of the United States, where it mostly parked on the south grounds. In 2000, it was sold for $2,000 to a now-retired White House gardener named Mike Lawn. The car had approximately 33,000 miles on its odometer in 2016 when the owner was selling it.^[5] It sold in April 2016 for $60,100 on eBay.^[6]

Gallery

• 
  Cutlass, México
• 
  Cutlass Eurosport, Mexico
• 
  1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera sedan
• 
  1989–1991 Oldsmobile Ciera coupe
• 
  1989–1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera
• 
  1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser SL
• 
  1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera rear

References

External links

Media related to Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera at Wikimedia Commons

Media related to Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser at Wikimedia Commons