The General MotorsA platform (informally called the A-body) was a mid-sizeplatform designation used from 1982-1996. The same designation had previously been used for rear wheel drive mid-sized cars.
The A platform was shared by the Buick Century, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, Pontiac 6000 and Chevrolet Celebrity. As part of their legacy, they became enormously popular — as well as synonymous with GM's most transparent example of badge engineering: the four were 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. [1][2][3]
Introduced for the 1982 model year, the A-Bodies were essentially similar in mechanical layout and interior space to the troubled X-car compacts on which they were based. With greater overall length allowed, they were classified as intermediates. Initially all four lines offered two and four door sedans for 1982. In 1984, a wagon was offered, replacing the rear wheel drive G-Body wagons, discontinued in 1983.
Vehicles using the A platform were initially offered alongside other GM rear-drive nameplates, e.g., the Malibu, in the intermediate class — eventually supplanting them in 1989.[4]
1982: The Chevrolet Celebrity, Pontiac 6000, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera and Buick Century two and four door models are introduced.
1983: Pontiac introduces the sporty STE variant of their 6000. Oldsmobile introduces the ES performance package for their Cutlass Ciera four door models.
1984: All four divisions now offered the new wagon body style. Oldsmobile introduces the Holiday Coupe package on their Cutlass Ciera Brougham coupes.
1985: Oldsmobile introduces an updated Cutlass Ciera with more aerodynamic front and rear styling, an updated interior and a new GT coupe model. The Oldsmobile 4.3 liter diesel engine was dropped after this model year.
1986: Mid year, the Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera gets a unique roofline. The Buick Century is restyled.
1988: Pontiac offers all wheel drive on exclusively on their 6000 STE. All models moved to composite headlamps. Oldsmobile dropped the Brougham nameplate from their Ciera line.
1989: the Celebrity drops its two-door models. The Cutlass Ciera, Century and 6000 receive major updates.
1990: the Celebrity drops its four-door models, leaving only the station wagon.
1991: The Pontiac 6000 (all models), Chevrolet Celebrity wagon and Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera coupe are dropped.
1992: Buick dropped the Century coupe.
1996: For the final year of the A-Body, Oldsmobile drops the Cutlass name, simply calling their sedan the Oldsmobile Ciera.
It was updated in 1989 with a slightly longer wheelbase and a more rounded roofline (except for the Celebrity whose roofline remained unchanged as it was to be phased out in 1990). It also briefly saw duty as an all wheel drive platform for the Pontiac 6000.
Later GM platforms (specifically transaxle based, i.e. four-wheel drive and mid-engine rear-wheel drive) benefited from components and systems developed with the A-Body. Additionally the first generation U-body minivan (1990–1996) was constructed utilizing a lightly modified version of the A-body chassis.
The A-body began to be phased out in favor of the GM W platform beginning in 1990, although production did not end for the platform until 1996 due to popularity of the remaining models.
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produced over 35 million vehicles, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory alone.
The Pontiac Sunbird is a model line that was manufactured and marketed by Pontiac from the 1976 to the 1994 model years. Loosely deriving its name from the Pontiac Firebird, the Sunbird was introduced as the eventual replacement for the Pontiac Astre, replacing it entirely in 1978 as the smallest Pontiac.
The Oldsmobile Cutlass was a series of automobiles produced by General Motors' Oldsmobile division between 1961 and 1999. At its introduction, the Cutlass was Oldsmobile's entry-level model; it began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greatest success as a body-on-frame intermediate. The Cutlass was named after the type of sword, which was common during the Age of Sail.
The Pontiac 6000 is a mid-size automobile manufactured and marketed by Pontiac for model years 1982 through 1991 in 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan and 5-door wagon body styles. The 6000 shared the front-wheel drive A platform with the Cutlass Ciera, Buick Century and Chevrolet Celebrity.
The Chevrolet Celebrity is an automobile that was sold by Chevrolet from the 1982 to 1990 model years. Marking the transition of the mid-size Chevrolet range to front-wheel drive, the Celebrity was the successor of the long-running Chevrolet Malibu line. Initially marketed between the Citation and the Impala within the Chevrolet model line, the Celebrity was later marketed between the Corsica and Caprice sedans.
The Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme is a mid-size car produced by Oldsmobile between 1966 and 1997. It was positioned as a premium offering at the top of the Cutlass range. It began as a trim package, developed its own roofline, and rose during the mid-1970s to become not only the most popular Oldsmobile but the highest selling model in its class.
Buick Century is the model name that was used by Buick for a line of upscale full-size cars from 1936 to 1942 and 1954 to 1958, as well as from 1973 to 2005 for mid-size cars.
The Y platform, or Y body, designation has been used twice by the General Motors Corporation to describe a series of vehicles all built on the same basic body and sharing many parts and characteristics. The first was for a group of entry-level compacts including the conventional front-engine compacts built by GM divisions Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac from 1961 to 1963. The second, and current, incarnation is used for a high-end rear-wheel drive sports-car platform from the 1970s through the 2000s.
The General Motors 60° V6 engine family is a series of 60° V6 engines produced for both longitudinal and transverse applications. All of these engines are 12-valve cam-in-block or overhead valve engines, except for the LQ1; which uses 24 valves driven by dual overhead cams. These engines vary in displacement between 2.5 and 3.4 litres and have a cast-iron block and either cast-iron or aluminum heads. Production of these engines began in 1980 and ended in 2005 in the U.S., with production continued in China until 2010. This engine family was the basis for the GM High Value engine family. These engines have also been referred to as the X engines due to their first usage in the X-body cars.
The Oldsmobile Firenza was a compact car which was produced by Oldsmobile from 1982 to 1988. It was based on the front-wheel drive GM J platform, which was shared with the Buick Skyhawk, Cadillac Cimarron, Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunbird. It was not based on the European market Vauxhall Firenza, but on the same platform as the Vauxhall Cavalier Mk 2 / Opel Ascona C. The Firenza name was previously used as a performance package on the previous generation Oldsmobile Starfire hatchback.
The W-platform was a General Motors automobile platform underpinning both mid size and full-size front-wheel drive cars. Originally code named GM10, the program began development in 1982 under Chairman Roger B. Smith and debuted in 1987 with the Pontiac Grand Prix, Buick Regal, and Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme coupés — with the four-door sedan body style introduced for 1990.
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 B platform is a full-size, rear-wheel drive, body-on-frame car platform, that was produced by General Motors (GM) from 1926 to 1996. Originally made for Oldsmobile and Buick, all of General Motors's five main passenger car makes would use it at some point. It was closely related to the original rear-wheel drive C and D platforms, and was used for convertibles, hardtops, coupes, sedans, and station wagons. With approximately 12,960,000 units built, divided across four marques, the 1965-1970 B platform is the fourth best selling automobile platform in history after the Volkswagen Beetle, Ford Model T, and the Fiat 124.
The Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser is an automobile that was manufactured and marketed by Oldsmobile in three generations from 1971 until 1992. The first full-size station wagon produced by Oldsmobile since the 1964 Oldsmobile 88 Fiesta, the Custom Cruiser was slotted above the intermediate Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser in size, and the mid-size Cutlass Supreme Cruiser that replaced it. The nameplate was first used by Oldsmobile from 1940 until 1947, denoting the top trim level of its C-body model line. 451,819 Custom Cruisers were sold over the years.
The Pontiac Parisienne is a full-size rear-wheel drive vehicle that was sold by Pontiac on the GM B platform in Canada from 1958 to 1986 and in the United States from 1983 to 1986. Right-hand drive models were locally assembled in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa until 1969. For most of its run, the Canadian Parisienne was nearly mechanically identical to the American Chevrolet Impala or Chevrolet Caprice. The Parisienne wagon continued under the Safari nameplate until 1989. Parisienne or La Parisienne means a grammatically female person or thing from Paris, France.
The General Motors G platform was an automobile platform designation used for mid-sized rear-wheel drive cars. It made its first appearance from the 1969 to 1972 model years, adapted from GM's A-body, and reappeared from 1982 to 1988. The second series of G-bodies began production designated as A-body cars in 1978, but were redesignated as G-body when the new front-wheel drive A-body platform was introduced in 1982.
The General Motors H platform is an automobile platform used by subcompact cars from the 1971 to 1980 model years. The first subcompact car design developed by GM, the rear-wheel drive H platform initially underpinned the Chevrolet Vega and its Pontiac Astre counterpart. For 1975, the H platform was expanded from entry-level vehicles to sport compacts, adding the Chevrolet Monza, Buick Skyhawk, Oldsmobile Starfire, and Pontiac Sunbird.
The GM A platform was a rear wheel drive automobile platform designation used by General Motors from 1925 until 1959, and again from 1964 to 1981. In 1982, GM introduced a new front wheel drive A platform, and existing intermediate rear wheel drive products were redesignated as G-bodies.
In the context of the automobile industry, downsizing is a practice used to transition vehicles from one size segment to another. Commenced during the Malaise era, downsizing is done in response to consumer and government demands influencing vehicle design. As vehicle product lines completed their model cycles, automobile manufacturers developed the next generation of a vehicle with a smaller exterior footprint to allow for weight reduction and increased fuel economy, using a shortened wheelbase and body length.
The General Motors X platform is an automobile platform designation that was used for compact cars with rear-wheel drive. Developed by Chevrolet, the architecture was produced from the 1962 to 1979 model years. During the 1970s, the platform was used by multiple GM divisions as the company expanded its use of compact model lines.
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