The Chevrolet Celebrity is a front-drive, 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 Chevrolet range to front-wheel drive, the Celebrity succeeded the rear-drive Chevrolet Malibu line. Initially marketed between the Citation and the Impala within the Chevrolet model line, the Celebrity was later marketed between the Corsica and Caprice sedans.
The Celebrity shared the front-wheel drive GM A platform with the Buick Century, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, and Pontiac 6000 in two-door notchback coupe, four-door sedan, and five-door station wagon body styles.
After the 1989 model year, the Celebrity sedan was replaced by the Chevrolet Lumina; the Celebrity station wagon was discontinued after 1990, with the Chevrolet Lumina APV minivan serving as its replacement.
The Celebrity and its A-body counterparts became widely known as one of the most transparent examples of corporate product rebadging in the American automotive industry. The four model lines were highlighted on the August 22, 1983 cover of Fortune as examples of genericized uniformity. Hemmings Motor News would later cover the effect of the Fortune article, relating "how a single magazine cover photo changed the course of auto design at GM in the Eighties."
Model overview
General Motors first used the Celebrity nameplate in the early 1960s, denoting a pillared sedan version of the Oldsmobile 88.
Introduced in January 1982, the Chevrolet Celebrity was offered in two-door and four-door notchback sedan body styles.
Chassis
The Celebrity is based on the GM A-body platform, introduced for 1982. The successor to the rear-wheel drive A-body intermediate chassis (renamed as the G-body), the A platform was the first mass-market American mid-size architecture to adopt front-wheel drive. To maximize development and production efficiency, the chassis was a derivative of the compact GM X platform, with the Celebrity sharing its 104.9 wheelbase with the Chevrolet Citation.
While not as extensive of a downsizing as the 1977 Impala/Caprice, the 1978 Malibu, or the 1980 Citation, the 1982 Celebrity lost approximately 4 inches in length and 2 inches of width over the Malibu.
Though derived from the X-body chassis, the A-body platform would not share entirely in its controversial recall issues. There were drivability problems with the computerized engine control system in 1982 models, and deterioration of the upper engine mount (also called a dogbone) caused engine/transaxle vibration.
Powertrain
For its 1982 launch, the Celebrity was offered with three engines. A 2.5 L inline-4 was standard, with an optional 2.8 L V6; an 4.3 L diesel V6 (effectively, of the Oldsmobile diesel V8) was also offered as an option. A four-speed manual was offered with both the 2.5 L I4 and the H.O. V6; a four-speed automatic (with overdrive) was optional with either 2.8 L engine. In a revision, the H.O. V6 was no longer offered with a manual transmission, but the 4-speed automatic remained for both V6 engines. The three-speed automatic remained, paired only with the 2.5 L engine. Both engines were fitted with a three-speed automatic as standard equipment; the 2.8 L V6 was offered with an optional four-speed automatic or five-speed manual transmission.
For 1988, the 2.5 L engine was fitted with balance shafts, with the 2.8 L V6 retuned to .
For 1989, the five-speed manual transmission was dropped. As a running change, the 2.5 L engine was retuned to .
For 1990 (station wagons only), the 2.8 L engine was replaced by a 3.1 L V6.
!
!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
!<u>2,153,098</u>
|}
Notes
External links
- GM A-body cars information
- Chevy Celebrity Club of America