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 ...
A platform (informally called the A-body) was 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 ...
platform
Platform may refer to:
Arts
* Platform, an arts centre at The Bridge, Easterhouse, Glasgow
* ''Platform'' (1993 film), a 1993 Bollywood action film
* ''Platform'' (2000 film), a 2000 film by Jia Zhangke
* '' The Platform'' (2019 film)
* Pla ...
designation used from 1982-1996. The same designation had previously been used for
rear wheel drive
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars.
Most rear-whee ...
mid-sized cars.
The
A platform was shared by the
Buick Century
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 first Buick Century debuted as the Series 60 then renamed in 193 ...
,
Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera
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-d ...
,
Pontiac 6000
The Pontiac 6000 is a mid-size automobile manufactured and marketed by Pontiac from the 1982 to 1991 model years. As Pontiac transitioned to a numeric model nomenclature in the early 1980s, the 6000 replaced the LeMans as the mid-size Pontiac, s ...
and
Chevrolet Celebrity
The Chevrolet Celebrity is a front-drive, Mid-size car, mid-size passenger car line, manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet for model years 1982–1990, over a single generation.
Marking the transition of the Mid-size car, mid-size Chevrolet ...
. As part of their legacy, they became enormously popular — as well as synonymous with GM's most transparent example of
badge engineering
In the automotive industry, rebadging (also known as badge engineering, an intentionally ironic misnomer in that little or no actual engineering takes place) is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. T ...
: the four were highlighted almost indistinguishably on the August 22, 1983 cover of
Fortune magazine
''Fortune'' (stylized in all caps) is an American global business magazine headquartered in New York City. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, a global business media company. The publication was founded by Henry Luce in 1929. T ...
as examples of genericized uniformity, embarrassing the company and ultimately prompting GM to recommit to design leadership.
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.
1982 Chevrolet Celebrity
/ref>
Platform updates
The A-body eventually consisted of a 4-door sedan, 2-door coupé
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors.
The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...
and a 4-door station wagon
A station wagon (American English, US, also wagon) or estate car (British English, UK, also estate) is an automotive Car body style, body-style variant of a Sedan (automobile), sedan with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo ...
.
* 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 their 6000 STE exclusively. 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
An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand.
Types
The most common forms of all-wheel drive are:
;1x1 : All unicycles Reflects one axle with ...
platform for the Pontiac 6000.
Later GM platforms (specifically transaxle based, i.e. four-wheel drive
A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...
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.
Vehicles
* 1982–1990 Chevrolet Celebrity
The Chevrolet Celebrity is a front-drive, Mid-size car, mid-size passenger car line, manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet for model years 1982–1990, over a single generation.
Marking the transition of the Mid-size car, mid-size Chevrolet ...
* 1982–1991 Pontiac 6000
The Pontiac 6000 is a mid-size automobile manufactured and marketed by Pontiac from the 1982 to 1991 model years. As Pontiac transitioned to a numeric model nomenclature in the early 1980s, the 6000 replaced the LeMans as the mid-size Pontiac, s ...
* 1982–1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera
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-d ...
* 1996 Oldsmobile Ciera (final year of the Cutlass Ciera and Cutlass Cruiser, sold without the "Cutlass" name)
* 1982–1996 Buick Century
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 first Buick Century debuted as the Series 60 then renamed in 193 ...
External links
A-body.org - 82-96 GM A-body Website & Forum
A-body.net - 82-96 GM A-body Website & Forum
(this was the original forum site but has disappeared Q1 2024)
{{General Motors platforms
Notes
A