page_title: Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera
section_title: 1989–1996
hierarchical_section_title: Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera / 1989–1996
caption_attribution_description: Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser photographed in College Park, Maryland, USA.
context_page_description: 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 Cruiser station wagon. Based on the GM X-Body, this platform served as the basis for the GM U-Body vans.
context_section_description: The Cutlass Ciera was updated for 1989, with the sedan receiving a modern roofline (similar to the coupe), and revised body side moldings and deletion of hood ornaments. Rear seat shoulder belts were added. Both coupe and sedan models received updated rear-end treatments. The older Buick 3.8 liter V6 was dropped in favor of GM's new 3300 V6 engine. The Brougham trim level was eliminated, replaced by an upper level SL trim. A new XC wagon also joined the option sheet this year.
  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' and 'XC'.
  The changes for 1991 included a new instrument cluster with a trip odometer and an engine temperature gauge. 6 speaker sound systems were added as was a remote lock fob and improved body acoustics. This would be the last year for the coupe in the United States and Canada, but it would continue on in the Mexican market.
  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 "2200" 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 liter, Chevrolet V6 engine with a 4-speed automatic transmission replaced the prior year's 3300 Buick V6. This engine was standard on the Cruiser wagon and optional on the sedan. The 2200 I-4 received minor updates, resulting in a 10-horsepower increase.
  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. At the same time, GM was losing massive amounts of money on its other midsized platform, the W-platform. In addition, build quality and reliability of the cars was extremely good by this point. Production of the Ciera ended on August 30, 1996. It was replaced in the U.S. by the N-body 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass, also built at the Oklahoma City assembly plant. As a result, the 1996 Cruiser wagon was the final Oldsmobile station wagon model produced. Sales of this Ciera replacement peaked at 53,438 in 1998 and it was discontinued in 1999.
caption: 1989–1996 Cutlass Cruiser wagon
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