After I wrecked the 1981 Plymouth Champ, I started looking for a new two-door car. It would end up being the bowtie version of the new-for-1982 A-body FWD platform: the Chevrolet Celebrity, cars that were once so common that everyone had to have a story of one. Here’s mine. (Although mine was white, and I don’t remember which hubcaps it had.)
Going to “bid”ness school, I wrote a term paper on the introduction of U(universal) P(product) C(ode)s. The professor told me I had a talent for marketing (who knew?), and so I decided to write a master’s thesis for the MBA graduation requirement. I decided to write about automobiles, and about marketing at the Ford Motor Company. The thesis, “Marketing strategies at the Ford Motor Company 1949 to 1983,” is published at THIS link, if you need something to help you fall asleep…
So, how cars were bought and sold was a very interesting subject (as are all retail operations), which I was going to experience again in person. I went to the VW dealer, and several people were waiting for test drives in the new Rabbit GTI. I went out with one group, I think two to three at a time, switching drivers at set intervals. The GTI was very nice, but I am too frugal. And my father told me, “Son, you need a bigger car.”
I thought about a Malibu coupe, but sometimes getting in such cars, you got the feeling this was a car for old people — what grandpa would buy. I definitely thought that about four-door sedans at that time.
In November 1982, my choices were: Ford Fairmont or Ford LTD (been there, done that), or a Chrysler K-car (memories of my dad’s 1958 Dodge that spent two years up on blocks). Toyotas were still mostly RWD. I drove a 1981 Corolla from Las Vegas to Kooskia, Idaho, and back in 1981 and it was all right, but Toyota didn’t have a model like the Accord yet.
I also could have considered a Honda (since the Marysville plant had opened, they were a hot item in Columbus, but there were markups over sticker and dealer-added accessories); Datsun/Nissan (I’d been burned before); and the brand new FWD A-body Chevrolet Celebrity, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, Pontiac 6000 or Buick Century. All of these were introduced for the 1982 model year.
The Chevrolet Celebrity had a bench seat, four-cylinder, automatic transmission, and A/C, and Jack Maxton Chevrolet had a two-door model. I would have considered a Buick, Pontiac, or Oldsmobile two-door, but only four0door sedans seemed to be available in Columbus, and the two-doors were more sports coupe with consoles and bucket seats. The A-body was roomy and economical to run. The EPA highway rating was 30 MPG.
One thing GM knew how to do well, as it gradually downsized the cars, was to give that “GM Feel” to their cars. Hard to describe, but you knew you were in a GM car. In the 1950s and 1960s, the steering column covered the linkages, and the vent windows had cranks; the door handles and ignition switches were the same for year. With an automatic transmission, it was a boulevard cruiser. In the family, we had owned a 1956 Oldsmobile, 1957 Pontiac, 1960 Cadillac, 1972 Oldsmobile, and 1980 Century wagon. Midsize GM intermediates, etc. — especially a mid-1960s Tempest — were nice cars.
My 1977 Impala had that “GM Feel,” and the interior of the 1982 Celebrity had that too. However, the four-cylinder engine and transmission had throttle body injection — not quite the same as a small-block Chevy V8. Sometimes you could feel the transmission do a clunk, as it couldn’t quite tell what gear to go into as you drove around 30-40 mph. And going up the mountain roads in West Virginia, the check engine light would turn on as you were going up, and would turn off as you coasted down the other side.
I paid about $8200 for the Celebrity, and I wanted to keep this one. My Celebrity had a white exterior with dark blue interior, the bench seat with the fold-down armrest, and most likely a cassette tape deck. Here is a Celebrity interior in beige:
I bought it right after Thanksgiving, and got engaged mid-December. My fiancé and I drove to Atlanta over the holidays so that my brother’s family could meet the fiancé (previous experience had taught me not to marry someone until you’ve taken a road trip together). This visit to Atlanta was memorable because I met up with my work colleague, Ralph, whom I had worked with at the medical nutritional company in Columbus. He had taken a marketing job with an ethnic hair products company. Ralph and wife and my fiancé and I spent a night out on the town — my first and only trip to a discotheque. My brother drove my car and pronounced it a fine automobile.
The Celebrity was a good car for Chevrolet, sales took a while to reach their peak in 1986, but we sometimes forget that 1981-82-83 were recession years.
Chevrolet Celebrity Production Figures
| Coupe | Sedan | Wagon | Yearly Total | |
| 1982 | 19,629 | 72,701 | – | 92,330 |
| 1983 | 19,221 | 120,608 | – | 139,829 |
| 1984 | 29,191 | 200,259 | 79,838 | 309,288 |
| 1985 | 29,010 | 239,763 | 86,149 | 354,922 |
| 1986 | 29,223 | 291,760 | 83,900 | 404,883 |
| 1987 | 18,198 | 273,864 | 70,462 | 362,524 |
| 1988 | 11,909 | 195,205 | 51,342 | 258,456 |
| 1989 | – | 162,482 | 39,179 | 201,661 |
| 1990 | – | – | 29,205 | 29,205 |
| Total | 156,381 | 1,556,642 | 440,075 | 2,153,098 |
A lot has been written about the 1980s automobile market on Curbside Classic, and this is a classic article!
Henry Ford II retired from Ford, and some creative energies were let loose, with Ford giving General Motors a run for their money. Plus, the Sloan ladder was breaking down, and Japan, Inc. was on the rise. The silent generation wouldn’t buy a built in Japan car, but a built-in-USA Japanese car was all right. (Most people, except CC readers, have forgotten how the Reagan administration negotiated the voluntary import quota for Japanese automobile manufacturers in the early 1980s.)
This was the car I had when I got married in 1983. I had it for a while, as finding a job in the soon-to-be former rubber capital of the world and a house to live in took priority. And my bride had a 1981 Toyota Celica hatchback coupe with a five-speed, so I had a fun car to drive. So, I owned the Celebrity until I downsized once again…
Related CC Reading
QOTD: What’s Your GM FWD A-Body Story – Doesn’t Everybody Have One?
Curbside Classic: 1982-1990 Chevrolet Celebrity – Beating The Bull To The Rodeo
Pete, this is turning out to be quite the enjoyable tour of day to day late 70s and 80s cars that I might never have thought about again but for your recollections. The fact that you bought so many of these new is also fascinating to me. I mean, of course people bought 1980s Celebrity’s new, but I just never knew one. I think the first person I knew who had one had bought it as a “new” used car from Avis. But then come to think of it, it was actually a fine car and chugged along for at least 10 years. Which says something I suppose.
Love the Maxell shirt! That brings back memories as well.
We had an engineer at the tv station that was a car nut and he arranged a fleet deal with a dealer, so any employee could get a fleet deal price. One of the younger engineers got married and his wife (also an employee) got pregnant instantly, and they needed a suitable new car. They picked a new ’82 Celebrity 4-door, also with the four. It served them well.
I know exactly what you mean about the feeling GM built into its cars. It was a kind of weight or heft which made the cars feel substantial, and maybe larger and heavier than they actually were. That feel sold a lot of cars over many decades.
I too am very excited about that Maxell shirt and I may have to find one like it.
I remember driving these at the dealership. Nice enough car. For the times. I think that some had the 2.5 iron duke 4. My memory is that it was hilariously slow but when I looked up its 0-60 time just now it seems that it wasn’t.
My first experience with a Celebrity is when the guy who would soon become my buddy, moved here in 1986. His folks had a 1984 CL wagon. I loved that car, and the “GM feel”, it was similar to my dad’s Cavalier wagon. Since then I would have ridden in many A bodies, including taking a trip in a 6000 wagon his mom borrowed from the dealership she worked at.
I started driving in the Cavalier wagon, and when I searched for my first car purchase, that’s really what I wanted. But what the local dealer brought back from auction was an excellent condition 6000 SE wagon, with the AWD body color wheels and ground effects. Was the best car I ever had. Since then I’ve had quite a few A bodies, and 2 gen 1 U vans, which are essentially an A body platform with a van built on it. Including the 1989 Celebrity which is my daily driver for anytime but winter. Been driving it since 2003 and just rolled 317k today. Currently also have a 89 Cutlass Cruiser which hibernates all winter, and a 90 Celebrity Euro wagon which is totally rust free and has only 50k but needs a lot of little fixes (next summer). All my A bodies have been super reliable and simple to work on when needed. The only reason I’ve gotten rid of any of them is structural rust that could no longer be repaired. Such is life in Michigan.
I’ve known 2 1982 Celebritys. First one was my wannabe college girlfriend (we hung out a lot, went on trips, but couldn’t move from friend zone). Anyway it was a blue 2 door. Had the Olds Calais alloys in the pic. Windshield leaked like they all do eventually. She kept a towel on the seats and drilled holes in the center console, so the floor was probably rotted out under the carpet. Iron Duke and 3 speed auto, it looked and sounded crude and drove with a lope and a chirp, but it always started and ran even during the brutal winters. She had a few cats at home and went home every weekend like most of us did. One time she thought one ran away. Turned out it got in her trunk when she left home and she found it the next weekend. It lived just fine, probably just used up a few of its 9 lives.
The other 1982 is a guy I’ve known from the forums since the early 2000s. He comes to the Back To The 80s show in Minnesota and has brought the Celebrity a few times. Kind of a brick red inside and out, with gold trim, beautiful shape. I believe he had gold Fiero lace alloys on it.
The 1982 was a bit different than other years. It had rear amber turn signals. It also had a different steering wheel, and some trim levels had woodgrain in the horn pad. Maybe some other things too.
I had a rare 88 Eurosport 4 door with a 2,8 V6 and a 5-speed manual transmission.
What a fun car to drive. Never once saw another win 3 pedals.
The wife had a 7 passenger wagon.
I still prefer crisp lines on vehicles. Melted aerodynamic blobs have no soul. For me practicality and utility are in the end much more important than maximum fuel fuel mileage. Every day getting in and out of a vehicle, every time using the trunk, lots of glass area for visibility (safety – seeing traffic is the first tool in avoiding traffic issues) is more valuable than squeaking out an extra few miles per tank.