Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera (1st gen) 1981-1988

[Revo]

The Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera is a mid-size car that was manufactured and marketed for model years 1982-1996 by the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors. 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 on the Eighty Eight model in the 1960s. Available body styles included a 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan, and the Cutlass (Ciera) Cruiser station wagon. Based on the GM X-Body, this platform served as the basis for the GM U-Body vans.

Development
The 1980s was a time of great transition for General Motors. CEO Roger B. Smith invested heavily in computerization, front wheel drive and advanced assembly processes. One of the first products to reach the marketplace under this program was the GM A-Body. The Cutlass Ciera, like its A-Body platform mates, benefited from GM's Computer Command Control system, 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 larger Cutlass Supreme, often creating confusion among the buying public as all three were available concurrently during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Initially, the Cutlass Ciera and its platform mates were premium mid sized offerings, holding a higher market position than the X-Body, from which they were derived, and the N-Body Calais, which would follow for 1985. Upon its discontinuation in 1996, the Ciera line was still Oldsmobile's best selling product. The Cutlass Ciera and Cruiser were intended as replacements for the venerable 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 all new GM 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 intermediates were introduced for 1988, Oldsmobile "decontented" its Cutlass Ciera by reducing the number of options and configurations available to the public. 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 eliminated. After 1990, special editions were dropped from the American market and by the end of 1991, the coupe was discontinued. Although slimmed down to just two trim levels and two body styles, sedan and wagon, the 1996 final run of Oldsmobile Cieras were still Oldsmobile's best selling product line.

Special editions
The car enjoyed many factory specialty models including the Holiday coupe, GT, ES, XC, and International models – the latter of which had a stock body kit.

Holiday Coupe
From 1984 to 1986, Oldsmobile offered a special edition Holiday Coupe package, option WJ5, on the Brougham coupe. This package included a unique landau vinyl roof (RPO C10), opera windows, special rooftop trim and painted pin stripes. The Holiday Coupe package required tinted glass and could not be ordered with standard pin stripes. It was discontinued part way through the 1986 model year, when Oldsmobile introduced the updated coupe roof line. All Holiday coupes were converted by the American Sunroof Company (ASC) outside of the factory. Oldsmobile would ship ASC Brougham coupes equipped with tinted glass to modify at their facility. These models have an ASC decal in the driver side door frame indicating the factory authorized conversion.

ES
The ES (RPO W48) sedan was available from 1983-1985. These vehicles feature unique wheel covers, blacked out trim, F41 performance suspension, black sidewall tires, center console with bucket seats and a sport steering wheel.

GT
The GT (RPO W45) was first offered as an option on the 1985 Ciera coupe. It featured blacked out trim, V6 engine, center console with bucket seats, fog lamps factory body kit, alloy wheels and performance suspension. For 1986, it was expanded to the four door sedan, replacing the ES sedan. Following the 1987 model year, it was replaced by the International Series.

XC
The XC was introduced as part of Oldsmobile's 90th Anniversary celebrations (XC being Roman Numeral or 90). It was available on coupe and sedan models. Sharing much of its sporty appearance with the International Series, the XC is distinguished by orange body side stripes in place of the typical black and chrome trim.

International Series
From 1988 to 1990, the International Series was the top performance trim available on the Ciera. It featured the 3.8 liter V6 for 1988 and the 3.3 liter V6 for 1989 and 1990. Available on coupe and sedan models, it featured a factory body kit, bucket seats with console, FE3 performance suspension, alloy wheels, full instrumentation, air conditioning and unique ornamentation.

Source: Wikipedia

[Man of Steel]

First generation (1981-1988)
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 two trim levels: the base and Brougham. 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, additional chrome trim 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, taillights and interiors. The GT coupe was added as a companion to the ES sedan. In spring 1985 the Oldsmobile designed 4.3-liter diesel was dropped due to poor sales.

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 initially shared with the other GM A-body models, but later migrated to the Buick Century coupe. These models are easily identifiable by their sweeping roofline and updated VIN identification, which replaced the "27" coupe designation used form 1982 until March 1986 with "37". 1986 also saw the addition of the 2.8 liter V6 in place of the previously offered Buick 3.0 liter V6 in the American market. The 2.8 liter engine had previously been offered in Canadian Ciera's with the 2-barrel carburetor. In compliance with federal regulations, the 1986 Ciera was the first to have a high mount brake light as standard equipment. The Cutlass Ciera nameplate appeared on the rear fiberglass panel, just below the trunk lid.

For 1987, the Cutlass Ciera was facelifted again with a new grille, updated steering wheel had the Oldsmobile logo moved from the right to the very center, slightly revised tail lamps and the 2.8 L LE2 V6 engine was dropped. In addition, Brougham models received composite headlamps as standard equipment. The 2.5 liter Iron Duke 4 cylinder received minor updates, including a serpentine belt, which replaced the previous engine belt set up, for a boost of 6 horsepower, to 98. Ciera's tail lamps were slightly revised, adding ribs to their lower quarter.

For 1988, the base Cutlass Ciera received composite headlamps, the new International Series models were introduced, and this would be the last year for the Brougham, which was rechristened the Brougham SL on coupe models. The International Series included the emblem with the flags of various countries below the nameplate (see below for exemplar) and was available on coupe and sedan body styles. This model came equipped with a standard Buick 3.8 liter V6 engine, 4-speed automatic transmission, dual exhaust system, front bucket seats, and power windows. Composite headlamps were made standard on all Cutlass Ciera models.

Oldsmobile never produced a factory convertible of this A-Body model for public sale, but many dealers did make them available via aftermarket conversions. Between 1983 and 1986, 814 Cutlass Ciera convertibles were made by Hess & Eisenhardt/Car Craft. These vehicles were Brougham coupes, modified with leather interior and chassis reinforcement to provide the needed structural rigidity that was lost by removing the roof.

Source: Wikipedia

[Man of Steel]

Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera (1st gen) #3