Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera

The Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera was one of GM's new front wheel drive A-bodies introduced in 1982 along with the Buick Century, Chevrolet Celebrity and Pontiac 6000. The A-body was based on the Chevrolet Citation X-body platform, but thankfully didn't share many of the X-body's mechanical woes nearly as much. The Cutlass Ciera was originally intended to be a replacement to the larger, rear-drive Cutlass Supreme, but the Cutlass Supreme remained one of Oldsmobile's strongest sellers, and not about to mess with success, it was decided that there would be plenty of room for both the Cutlass Ciera and Cutlass Supreme. In the mid-1980s, the Cutlass Ciera would become a strong seller in its own right, often being the second most popular selling A-body behind the Chevrolet Celebrity. The Cutlass Ciera would continue being a strong seller with older conservative buyers (and especially with rental car fleets) until its final demise after 1996, being offered for 15 years with only minor year-to-year changes to the same basic body design.

To be continued...