Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera
The Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera was a mid-sized sedan, coupe and wagon (after 1984) built from 1982 to 1996, and sold throughout North America. During the car's production run, it proved to be a strong seller with most years seeing over 100,000 units sold.
Introduction
Cutlass Ciera (also known as Ciera in later years) was Oldsmobile's first front wheel drive mid-sized car. Built off a stretched version of the then new GM X car, the Ciera rode on GM's front drive A car platform shared with the Chevrolet Celebrity, Buick Century, and Pontiac 6000. Cutlass Ciera replaced the rear wheel drive Cutlass and Cutlass LS in Oldsmobile's line up for 1982. The Cutlass Supreme would continue the older G car platform until its replacement arrived for 1987.
Powertrain
Engines included the 2.5L Iron Duke 4 cylinder and the Buick based 3.0L V6. A new 4.3L diesel engine was also offered, but sold far less then the gasoline engines. Later years would see the 3.8L V6 (1984-1988) a 2.8L V6 from Chevrolet, 2.2L 4 cylinder (Iron Duke replacement for 1993-1996) 3.1L V6 and a 3.3L V6. Transmissions included 3 and 4 speed automatics, as well as the one year only (1984) 5 speed manual transmission from the Pontiac 6000 and Chevrolet Celebrity. There were also some prototype Quad 4 equip Ciera cars built during the 80's.
Special Editions
Like many cars of the era, Special Editions were very popular. Cutlass Ciera offered a Holiday coupe (1984-1986, RPO WJ5) GT (1985-1987) ES (1984-1987) and International models. While Holiday coupe models put the emphasis on luxury and traditional style; GT, ES, and International all added sporty flair to the Ciera line with V6 engine and blacked out or body color trim, as well as a host of other sport accessories.
Later Years
After the 1987 introduction of the Cutlass Supreme, the Ciera began to take on a new role as the traditional and value priced mid sized car in Oldsmobile's line up. For 1988, the base and Brougham trim levels were replaced by S and SL, the 3.8L was dropped after 1988, and the Iron Duke was tweaked to gain 6 hp over the 1986 models. 1988 saw the addition of a sunroof for sedan models, as well as a driver information center. Aero headlamps were standard across the board for 1988 after being on Brougham models only for 1987. New interiors replaced the plusher pre-1988 models with more durable fabrics and for 1989 the rear of the car was redesigned for a more modern look.
For 1993, the coupe models were dropped, as well as the Iron Duke 4 cylinder. The new 2.2L 4 cylinder was under the Ciera hoods this year with 120hp. In 1995, the Cutlass name was removed from the sedan leaving only Ciera, while the wagons were still named Cutlass Cruiser. 1996 saw the last Ciera, soon to be replaced by the N car Cutlass. While still very popular, Ciera was at the time among the oldest designs on the market. Ciera was also among the last cars to wear the older Oldsmobile Rocket emblem.
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