As you undoubtedly know, I’m a connoisseur of GM A-Body special editions. I’ve been fortunate to find several of them, including the Ciera Rubies and Gold Edition, and the Century Brougham de Baroque Turquoise and Gold Edition. That was perhaps my greatest find ever, but it’s my life’s great hope to find them all. And a few months back, I was thrilled to add another one, this Ciera S Classic Edition, which means my bucket list is actually getting shorter, one special edition at a time.
As you can readily see, this is no ordinary, hum-drum Ciera. This is only something for those rare folks with exceptionally refined taste in the classics, which means you’re looking at a rare and exceptional car. A classic, in other words.
It has many classic touches, like the gold-leafed badging.
The wheel covers were especially designed to convey the classic look of a classic Bugatti cast-alloy wheel.
And the top is an authentic replica of one from a classic Packard V18 Sedanca de la Sade.
The classic solid pearl door handles features classic gold leaf on its perimeter.
The rear window has a classic treatment, to create an atmosphere of classic privacy for the rear passengers. Which of course might well be the owner, as these were not uncommonly chauffeur-driven.
The interior is decidedly understated, in the classic tradition. Truly classy persons are not interested in trying to impress others with the accoutrements of faux-luxury. There’s a big difference between genuine classic and mere luxurious. Hopefully I don’t have to remind you which this is.
The driver/chauffeur compartment offers all the classic necessities, and no more. That includes an ample classic ashtray. Good luck finding one of these in your typical modern luxury car. And truly classy people don’t give a rat’s ass about what others think about smoking. Or anything else. They are in a class to themselves.
Thus ends today’s Curbside Classic Classic Edition.
Note: a rerun of an older post.
You lost me at ‘rare and exceptional’, but it’s certainly swanky. Extra points if it has a 2.5L Iron Duke under the hood. It’s actually appears to be in good shape and probably has a lot of miles left in it. The ashtray brings to mind a certain Burnt Umber Ciera.
And parked in a truly un-classy part of Eugene, Oregon’s un-classiest city. Probably headed to the Oregon Country Fair….
😉
But seriously folks –
The red-and-gold and turquoise-and-gold cars having been customized years if not decades later – the former possibly seriously and the latter definitely as a tongue-in-cheek art car – but this, someone in the ’90s paid a not insubstantial sum that was likely all dealer profit for the gold-tone accents and fake convertible top on their new Cutlass Ciera. I would be surprised if it didn’t have white-stripe tires and faux wire wheel covers when new, and the only question is whether the wires were gold-tone as well.
I’m starting to appreciate the Fakewood Special Editions of these as nostalgic artifacts of a bygone time in their own right. Simcon tops, not so much.
I saw an Olds A Body rolling down the street under its own power yesterday. It was the “Thrifty Person’s Discreet and Practical Transportation” edition, the station wagon version. No special badging needed … if you know, you know.
Once upon a time the most common was the “Last-Car-Turned-First-Car Edition” which comes with a Monster Energy sticker pasted over an AARP Auto Club one.
Interior the same as my aunts “91 Ciera”. That car “moved”! HVAC system was excellent.
“CE” emblems look like the GE logo
You failed to mention the brand of cigarettes smoked. Only Parliments with the recess-tipped filter.
All kidding aside, these A body Cieras (and their Buick and Pontiac counterparts) were very competent, practical, and reliable vehicles for people like me. I need a vehicle that will get me where I need to go reasonably economically, without drama, every time I ask it to do so. We had several of these, all with the 3.3 engine, and I don’t recall ever having broken down on the road. Granted, they weren’t thrilling to drive and they didn’t make any statement about my persona, but they fulfilled the mission of a daily driver quite nicely. Ours all rusted beyond repair eventually, but if I could find one tomorrow in good condition, I’d have it in a heartbeat. I’m an old fuddy-duddy, and they’re my kind of transportation!
My Mother bought a new 1990 Century Empress Edition, which I had never heard of at the time but it was on the actual window sticker not some goofy dealer add package. I don’t recall all the pkg contents but it was the most luxurious Century on the lot, with a very nice “velvet” interior. Fake wood trim, power seats, lights on the doors, chrome rack on the back, etc. I think the idea was to outfit a Custom more like a Limited. It was Flame Red with matching interior. Kind of a burnt orange but nicer looking than that sounds. It had wire wheelcovers but those were not OK with young me and I made the dealer swap them for the sharp looking alloys on the car sitting next to it. Best of all was the optional 3300 V6, which essentially made the car rocket powered compared to the 2.5L Iron Duke powered ’86 6000LE she traded on it.
The Cadillac wreath around the CE logo. The more shallow sloped rear roofline gives it a hint of Gen 4 Seville. No international flags logo here. I’m surprised it doesn’t at least have the brougham pillowback seats. But then again that would indicate some practical luxury.
A functioning ashtray on Cieras is a rarity. Every one I’ve encountered has broken slide rails. Or maybe this one just been fixed into the pulled out position, as it appears to get continuous use.
There are quite a few rare edition A bodies I’ve read about on forums over the years, but never seen. Buick Century Olympic Edition, and Chevy Celebrity Black Tie Edition, to name a couple.
Keep it from rusting out, especially at the rear trailing arm-to-body mounts, and these cars will go forever. Simple, reliable, still easy to get parts for. I have 3 in my driveway, one of which I’ve been driving since 2003.
The gold trim is kinda tacky, I worked with a Samoan gentleman who had gold trim on his Mazda rattle can but it had the same vibe.
Someone drove that coast to coast from the ocean state!
Between that awful “Gold” and top, they took a perfectly good car and made it into trash.
I was selling at a Buick, Cadillac, GMC and Honda dealer from 1988 to 1995 and again (same dealer) from 2007 to late 2010. One of the things they, like most dealers, did was to gussy up the Buick’s and Cadillac’s with all that trash. I truly hated it. And yet, this same dealer would refuse to put any of it on the Honda’s. Why you may ask? Because Honda would have had a cow over that and rightly so. Between the gold fading and looking horrible, the tops fading and pealing, the fake chrome trim around the wheel openings peeling and falling off and the nasty trunk luggage racks, it was just too much for me. I really hated it all and those issues would (wrongly) reflect on the Buick and Cadillac’s and not on the after-market trash. Thankfully by the 2009/2010 time, they totally stopped it all. But the damage was done.
I look at this Ciera and see a nice old car. If it just didn’t have the trashy “look at me” mods.