The

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

N platform (commonly called the N-body or N car) was a

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of internal combustion engine, engine and transmission (mechanics), transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature ...

compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact, a type of agreement used by U.S. states * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a t ...

automotive platform A car platform is a shared set of common design, engineering, and production efforts, as well as major components, over a number of outwardly distinct models and even types of cars, often from different, but somewhat related, marques. It is prac ...

produced from 1984 to 2005. The GM N platform was based on the GM J-Body and replaced the GM X platform.

First generation

The N body was introduced in late 1984 for the 1985 model year. Initially, offered as the Pontiac Grand Am, Oldsmobile Calais and Buick Somerset coupes, GM positioned them as premium models at an affordable price. Standard in all models was the 2.5 liter "Iron Duke" 4 cylinder engine developed by the Pontiac Motor Division. Optional was the Buick built 3.0 liter V6 with multi-port fuel injection. All models could have a 5 speed manual or 3 speed automatic. During the 1986 model year, four door models were added to all three brand entries. The N platform was very similar to the GM L platform; however, the first generation N cars were engineered by

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (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 produc ...

while the L cars were engineered by

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

. The first generation used a

twist-beam rear suspension The twist-beam rear suspension (also torsion-beam axle, deformable torsion beam, or compound crank) is a type of automobile suspension (vehicle), suspension based on a large H- or C-shaped member. The front of the H attaches to the body via rub ...

and

MacPherson strut The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles. The name comes from American automotive engineer ...

s in front, and featured a wheelbase. The N platform was used for the following vehicles: * 1985–1991

Pontiac Grand Am The Pontiac Grand Am is a car model that Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac Division of General Motors produced in various years between 1973 and 2005. The first and second generations were Rear-wheel drive, RWD mid-size cars built on the Pontiac Leman ...

* 1985–1991 Oldsmobile Calais * 1985–1987 Buick Somerset * 1986–1991

Buick Skylark The Buick Skylark is a passenger car formerly produced by Buick. The model was made in six production runs, during 46 years, over which the car's design varied dramatically due to changing technology, tastes, and new standards implemented over t ...

Second generation

For the 1992 model year, General Motors heavily modified all of their N-Body offerings. The Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais was dropped in favor of the new Achieva, while the Buick Skylark and Pontiac Grand Am nameplates continued. In addition to new styling, this generation was longer and carried more distinctive sheet metal for each brand. The second generation N-Body continued until 1998 when it was replaced by the third and final generation. * 1992–1998

* 1992–1998

Oldsmobile Achieva The Oldsmobile Achieva is a front-wheel drive compact sedan and coupe that was introduced by Oldsmobile for the 1992 model year. The Achieva was based on the GM N-body platform, which it also shared with its siblings the Pontiac Grand Am and Buick ...

* 1992–1998

Third generation (GMX130)

In 1997 and 1998

consolidated the 2nd generation N platform with the GM A platform (FWD) and GM L platform during the corporately engineered P-90 project which became known as GMX130. This

featured fully

independent suspension Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in ...

and a wheelbase of . This was the last vehicle with significant engineering involvement of

and also the last one produced at the

Lansing Car Assembly Lansing Car Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Lansing, Michigan. It contained two elements, a 1901 automobile plant in downtown Lansing, and the 1920 Durant Motors factory on Lansing's Far Westside. The Lansing plant was the h ...

plant on April 29, 2004. A

mid-size Mid-size—also known as intermediate—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars. "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in t ...

version spawned the 1997-2003

Chevrolet Malibu The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car that was manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet from 1964 to 1983 and from 1997 to 2025. The Malibu began as a trim-level of the Chevrolet Chevelle, becoming its own model line in 1978. Originally a rear-w ...

Oldsmobile Cutlass 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 ...

of 1997–99, including the 2004–05 Chevrolet Classic. The GMX130 platform underpinned the following vehicles: * 1999–2004

Oldsmobile Alero The Oldsmobile Alero is a compact car that was produced by General Motors for its Oldsmobile division. Introduced in 1998 as a 1999 model, the Alero was the replacement for both the Achieva and Cutlass. The Alero was Oldsmobile's last new model ...

* 1999–2005

* 1997–1999

* 1997–2003

* 2004–2005 Chevrolet Classic (a previous-generation Malibu sold to fleet buyers) The GMX130 was replaced by the Epsilon platform for 2006.

References

{{General Motors platforms N