Drive one and you never forget the highway's comfortable rides! So a quiet and comfortable and COZY feeling you rarely get from the modern cars!

It wouldn't be a Motorweek episode without John commenting disappointingly on the lack of gauges, and the old luggage test for the trunk 😂😂😂

As a Gen Xer I never thought I'd see the day I'd say an 80s fwd GM car was beautiful, but this is just that. Modernity is a good thing I guess, but I don't know that we've learned to balance that with beauty yet, because we seem starved for it. I find myself appreciating the beautiful body colored steel wheels, glass quad headlights and touches of chrome. I even appreciate the body molding. It was tastefully done.

Thank you for this GM/Oldsmobile review. Thank you bringing it back. This car got better with time. This car got the 3300 V6 and the early 3800 V6 and came so well equipped especially in Brougham and International Series trim.. It was reliable and durable. The styling really got better with time too. It is interesting this car ran until the 1996 model year. That is some longevity. I often wonder if GM had did things right if this car and the brand would have lived. This car was competing against the front wheel drive Cutlass Supreme starting in 1988 until 1996. This car has a following in Mexico as the Chevrolet Cutlass as well. I recall the commercials too. "It's the car they call Cutlass Ciera". The issue Oldsmobile and GM ran into in the 1980's was too many models carrying the Cutlass name( Supreme, Ciera, Calais). Chrysler was doing the same thing with LeBaron. Thank you for sharing.

Mother bought a new 1983 Cutlass ciera Brougham. It had the 2.5 4 cylinder. It was a 4 door. We had it from Sept 1983 to April 1988. Brings back plenty of memories

The final years of the A body Century and Ciera are fantastic cars. The Oldsmobile Ciera was the best selling car Oldsmobile had its final year in 1996.

I've had a few A-Body cars. They were all good, reliable cars. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one

This was my 1st car in high school....Great memories

Loved these cars in the late 80s to 90s models as they were modernized. Had several of them.

2:14. Ah, it's the Motorweek Players and their cool sense of humor!

Cars need to make a comeback.

These and it's siblings were often the cheapest and surprisingly reliable used cars in the late 90s into the early 2000s...I had quite a few and never paid over a grand for even a nice example. I honestly can say I miss those plentiful/cheap shitboxes.

I owned a couple of these cars. So comfortable, reliable, and one of my all time favorites

I always loved the body lines of these. Very clean design especially along the top of the roof.

My dad had a 1988 Cutlass Ciera growing up; I can still hear the Iron Duke roaring up the driveway. I still see these around -- actually saw one last week.

Ok, I had one of these sh-tboxes (an '84 4 cylinder) from 1991-92 as my first HS car and take issue with the review (I appreciate it I requested it before!) 1. 40 mpg for the 4? I measured 22 or so mpg at its peak. If you turned on the AC you wouldn't top 15. 2. It would fishtail on turns on DRY pavement, the back end was so light. On wet or snow? Good luck. It did give me trial by fire and I have avoided countless accidents in the years since with the catlike reflexes I developed out of necessity. 3. You tested the V6. The 4 was way underpowered, it took 20 seconds to get to 60 mph. It struggled up hills especially when AC was on. 4. Accurate test notes. It was quiet and a very smooth ride dealing with bumps. Smoother suspension when it was newer than the SUV I drive today I give it that. And I was the go to when my friends and I had to take a lot of stuff. Good point on front seat support. I am 6-3 and my thighs got tired on long drives. But a bench seat on dates not a bad thing. But...The reliability was terrible. When it was brand new we took it to the beach and the AC malfunctioned. My father had an absolute cow on the pay phone at a 7-11 calling the dealer; it had under 1000 miles on it. It spent a lot of time in the shop in addition to him doing maintenance. I changed a radiator hose on it every couple weeks when I had it, I knew which one it was by where the puddle formed underneath. It billowed smoke at the homecoming dance. It didn't like temperatures under 40 and because the hood spring was bad if you didn't let it get good and warmed up (5 minutes of revving) the damn thing would strand you down the road until a friend came by to ask "again?" as it took 2 to pop the hood then one could hold the choke open while the other pumped the gas. It completely died one morning at practice prior to my senior year. I was so happy to watch the tow truck haul it away. It only had 87k miles and had been maintained faithfully

Own a mint condition 1995 Cutlass Ciera SL V6 with 47K, drive it summer only, awesome car, good power, very decent mileage, extermely reliable, and nice options. GM refined these so well, and then they were axed. I refuse to sell this car, because nothing will ever compare nor age this well.

4:34 it stalled out 😂

I love these cars. I have had one from almost all 4 makes. I never had a Pontiac 6000. My last one was a 1996 Olds Ciera wagon. The lines rusted out so I traded for a 2011 Impala from Enterprise Car sales which has been an excellent car.

I was a Ford guy (mostly), but I think GM did a commendable job with these cars and the full size models. I wonder what the results would have been if they simply addressed and fixed all of the problems, rather than do the American car manufacturer thing and start over every few years. New generation, new problems. Repeat every few years

A platform that served GM very well. We had the Buick version, good car.

Two 82' reviews in a row. I'm lovin it!

This car lived for 14 years! Its twin Buick Century was also a great car.

Had a 1990 it was so comfortable

These cars were solid reliable in Venezuela. Squared body this one and the rounded one from the 90's I always loved their rear tail lights

Wow Oldsmobile was the 2nd biggest GM division back then.

My brother in law had a new 87 2 door Ciera with the 2.5 in it. He gave it to my little brother in 1995 and he drove it for 5 years. It was a good car. Slow, but good.

I generally don't care for sedans, but this one actually was pretty handsome, and growing up around people that owned one, it was a very reliable car.

....the good days.... Long long gone 😭

That looks epic! I'm making a beeline to my local Oldsmobile dealer to buy a new Cutlass Ciera tomorrow. 😎

I actually love the FWD A Body GM cars. They weren't exactly beautiful, but it was roomy, comfortable, and was pretty reliable for an American car back then. It definitely got the job done, and that's why it was in production until 1996.

Imagine no paint drips being noteworthy 😂

One of the most iconic looking cars of its class from the era. Saw one at a car show recently and I voted it best in show! Great nostalgia

My grandparents had an early 80s Ciera diesel they bought new, and it did fine for many years until the fuel tank became a mess of algae. The Oldsmobile dealer sold them an expensive new injection pump trying to remedy the running problems, but ultimately it was a family member who discovered the mess in the fuel tank, cleaned the crap out of it, then it ran fine and was sold since the grandparents had moved on to a new car. Aside from that quirk, I remember these as tough and reasonable cars that served a wide range of people very well in the 80s and 90s.

My mom bought one of these new back in '82. Next was an '85 Riviera. Remember driving both, thanks for the memories

Interesting to see a review from the early era of these cars. That Buick LK9 3.0 V6 was (to put it charitably) not the greatest engine; but in 1982 it was brand-new and there was no way of knowing it'd be as troublesome as it was in my parents' '83 Century T-Type (first engine rebuild at 80k miles, was already ready for another rebuild 50k miles later.) If the senior brands had been less prideful and accepted the Chevy 2.8L in that era, our Century might've been my car I drove through high school instead of just surviving long enough to be what I took my teen-driver driving tests in.

Proven design that lasted until 1996! I think people would still buy them today if they still made 'em! I still see them on the road today, as well as pre-1997 Buick Centurys. I used to own a '83 Cutlass Ciera LS sedan with the 3.0L. I traded a '83 Olds Ninety-Eight for it in 1993 when I had just started driving. lol.

How GM lasted until 2008 before needing a bailout escapes me.

Classic 80’s sedans 😎

love these older videos

These were a revolution for GM. The smaller, boxy, front wheel drive platform proved hugely popular, and was a welcome contrast to the big barges that preceded it. Our grandparents bought one of these new in 1987, and it ended up being the perfect car for them. I remember it was so nice to drive (that is, until grampa fell asleep at the wheel and totaled it). I still see a lot of these cars on the road today.

He’s fleeing the interview, he’s fleeing the interview!!

First car I ever drove was my dads 1989 Olds Cutlass Cruiser wagon! That 3.3 V6 had serious balls!

These things were everywhere. They made em almost unchanged till 96’. Still see a few around my small town.

I have always called the Ciera, along with its Buick Century, Chevrolet Celebrity, & Pontiac 6000 stablemates, GM's "Redemption Cars" as I feel that when they were first introduced in January of 1982, they fixed everything that was wrong with the X-cars which had been introduced in April of 1979. No, they were NOT perfect cars, but in terms of build quality & durability, they were orders of magnitude better than the X-cars.

The Cutlass Ciera was a very popular car. I saw them all over the place during most of its production. The last few years of the car's production were when I was no longer seeing as many.

How they kept this in production until 1996 is literally insane. No wonder Oldsmobile failed.

I’ve owned a myriad of A body GMs and currently have a 93 Century and a 90 Curlass Ciera. These cars weren’t the prettiest cars on the road, nor the sportiest, but they were great, reliable transportation for the masses.

My grandparents bought a 1986 new. I remember riding in it when it was new. We listened to the music cassette that came with it. It outlived my grandfather and I think my grandmother drove it until about 2000 or so.

2:25 Max Balotin in the Cutlass Ciera’s trunk! LOL

Great memories. Seen August 2023.

My mom took me home from the hospital in a 1989 Pontiac 6000 wagon in this color. Thanks for the memories.

Been wanting to see this video for quite sometime now!

I wonder if GM had any idea how popular these cars (all the A bodies included) would be when first coming on the market...

In 1985 we had these beautiful blonde twins show up at our church, the Dad drove one of these cars, in blue just like the one tested. Still remember the tag number HGX 130.

My Dad bought a brand new 1984 6000 STE Pontiac. $15,000 was a lot of money 40 years ago. Too bad GM abandoned Oldsmobile and Pontiac....

WOW, great to see one when they were first introduced. I remember my parents car shopping that November, and the choice was this or a Cutlass Supreme. I wanted this as it was the latest, with good looking chiseled angle looks that I prefer. Dad chose the Cutlass Supreme because the Ciera (or at least the one demonstrated) could only seat five, while the Supreme "six" (comfort was a different matter, and I doubt we ever put more than four people in it.) This may be the point where the General was really starting to lose its grasp on the market when the Taurus came around. Instead of looking smart like this example, GM started to Brougham / Victorian Bordello it up with the wire wheels, vinyl roofs (or worse, faux convertible tops), velour seats, etc. while Ford went the European clean look that made it passe, alas. I remember both the Ciera and Taurus were a couple of company cars my Uncle used, he loaned out the Taurus to me once, and I just loved the subtle ergonomic designs that did not have the traditional GM switchgear, gages (or lackthereof), etc. That was in the late 1980s, and the lack of development on the Ciera to keep it attractively priced attracted more of the fixed-income senior crowd and rental car companies who kept it in production until, can you believe 1995?!!!! But in '82, I wonder if the Ciera would have been a better choice, partly because John Davis' comment about decent fit and finish. The Cutlass Supreme was built in Canada, which I assumed was Oshawa, Ontario, but no, the Ste Therese, Quebec factory. Then it all came together when I learned how that Quebec plant was the worst of all GM factorries, The Supreme had nice handling and ride, the engineering seemed fine, but the build quality was absolutely abyssmal. It had to be repainted by the dealership under warranty only a couple months of ownership, a rattling hubcap that makes me wonder if the football player Brian Bosworth tale of working at a GM plant and hiding bolts in crevices to annoy customers and undermine confidence in the company was at work. The door that began to sag and had to be lifted to close. I liked the car, but I see why that factory was shuttered.

The official car of Fargo.

I would like to have on in a 2 door convertible in white. Kinda rare to find since Olds didn't make many of them in the 80's. And I also like this front-end in the 82 model and the flush front-end in the last 96 model.

Changing that battery is a pain😅

Can't help but think of the movie Fargo when I see this. "Tan Ciera!"

I used to drive its cousin, a 2.8 Celebrity. First car, too. But either a two door Eurosport or a two door Ciera with a center console would have been just as dope.

I can smell the cigarretes

Battery and spark plugs near impossible to change. That's GM for ya.

A good looking car for 1982. The year I was born, too :)

The GM A body was very good for the time platform . It severed millions of people well.

I had a white '96 Ciera SL sedan, it was a very good first car and it was roomy

rescued an 89 century from the junkyard I worked at 7 or 8 years ago... it had the 3.3 in it with the 3-speed; it did a great job of getting out of its own way, and once I renewed the suspension and sorted out basic old-car-maintenance items, it turned into one of my favorite cars. I don't think much was updated between 82 and 89 on the platform (mine was the mid-generation refresh with the newer body lines but the older interior and tech, and thankfully no door-mounted seat belts), so I think this platform served GM very well... it handled great, I always knew what to expect from it in any situation, it was super comfortable, great visibility, and probably decent on gas if I had ever gotten around to fixing the torque converter lockup solenoid lol clipped a parked car late one night, it was toast. I'd love to get my hands on another sometime in good shape, it really was a great car. ...and that trunk is absolutely no joke.

My buddy had 3 of them and they were 20 years old. It must have been crazy going from a 70s Cutlass to that

Ciera, was the pride and joy of the GM Plant in Framingham, (Boston Suburb).

GM learned it's lessons from the X body cars and hit it out of the park with this line.

There's something special about cars of '82, just the right amount of chrome and plastic, old and new. This Ciera does need some chrome hubcaps or shiny fine machined alloy wheels to suit.

Top car in rental companies back in the 80s.. Nice car..Sure built much tougher than todays crap cars...

Motorweek is great because nobody else made videos of car reviews back then. Nowhere else can you find early 80s videos of the cars people actually drove. I don't know if it's the standards of the day, but they tend to be very flattering to some very mediocre cars back then.

John always sounded perc'd out in the earliest reviews

And John Davis is STILL on Motorweek here 42 years later.

1:19 Paint drips?! I know manufacturing tech has come a long way since the 80s but I can't believe vehicles would be released for sale from factory with that kind of (lack of) quality. 2:28 Look how wide the hood opens, almost 90 degrees! Thing of beauty for mechanics.

hope they didn't forget about the guy in the trunk...

Greetings from southern Ontario Canada my dad always drove GM but his favorite was the Beretta with the flush door handles

Probably the only car that rides as smooth today would be a Maybach or a Bentley or a Rolls Royce

Both my parents had this car. They had them before they even met each other. My mother had one of these in white and she had it in Phoenix and she called it the”supreme ruler of the low desert highway“

That design was manufactured until 1996. I think it looked its best in the mid-to-late 80s. Then it got weird looking in 1990.

1982-93 cutlass Cierra were among the best in class along with some years Buick century, wonder why didn't these guys test the 4.3 V6 diesel, motor trend did.

love my 1986 Buick Century TType. 3.8L V6 MPFI but still rides nice and drives well

My grandma had one, they really did ride like a Cadillac. Very smooth and comfortable. Terrible handling though. Still an overall great car for that era, problem is this car's platform went way too long to where makes like Honda and Toyota were way out ahead of them.

“No paint drips.” LMAO. Gotta love GM in the 80s.

I hope somebody remembered to let that guy out of the trunk sometime before 1983...

This is what the citation should have been. Also, considering that these a bodies were an improved , warmed over citation.

One of my neighbors had one, and the seats were quite comfortable. Perhaps some of GMs better cars. I saw these for years. I had a Chevrolet Corsica with a similar V6, and yes, it required some patience to service the back side sparkplugs because of the hoses.

My parents had one of these when I was a kid. I vividly remember it eating head gaskets, leaving my mom and me stranded twice in the 4 years my parents owned it. And, for some reason, they bought another American car afterwards.

Had the station wagon version. Nice ride.

Lol. Loved the dude in the trunk

I always liked these A bodies GM cars , they looked like a smaller version of the G and B bodies from GM RWD cars .

There were a bazillon of these on the road back in the day.

Cone test is always the most relevant for the everyday driver.

I wish ALL Motorweek vehicles would have a bit of analysis about the accessibility of various commonly-accessed and commonly-serviced engine components: spark plugs, battery, etc… as this particular episode mentions… and every vehicle should be graded on this maintenance accessibility basis. A touch of Consumer Reports clinical assessment, if you will.

Basic car for everyone. Still looks good

Very much a stretched X-car, but GM had been making the FWD X's for 2 years by this time and had the bugs worked out.

Fun fact that not many know, First Lady Hillary Clinton owned A ciera Brougham years ago. Saw a listing and story about it online somewhere sometime ago. The second hand owner was trying to sell it as a collector

My mom hadda '83 with 2.5 liter. Had pretty good pep for a 4 banger. I learned how to drive in that car n took my driving test in it. Ah...memories