Oldsmobile Firenza |
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Wikipedia: Oldsmobile Firenza
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History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Oldsmobile Firenza page on 13 September 2019, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Oldsmobile Firenza was a compact car which was produced by Oldsmobile from 1982 to 1988. It was based on the front-wheel drive GM J platform, which was shared with the Buick Skyhawk, Cadillac Cimarron, Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunbird. It was not based on the European market Vauxhall Firenza, but on the same platform as the Vauxhall Cavalier Mk 2 / Opel Ascona C.
The all-new Firenza was introduced in March 1982, as a replacement for the departed rear-wheel drive Starfire. Initially available as a 2-door hatchback and 4-door sedan, the lineup was expanded to include a 4-door "Cruiser" wagon in 1983, and a 2-door notchback coupe in 1986. The name "Cruiser" was applied to all Oldsmobile station wagons at the time; this included the mid-sized Cutlass Cruiser and full-size Custom Cruiser. The Firenza was positioned as Oldsmobile's entry-level compact car, priced below the sightly larger Omega and later Calais/Cutlass Calais. Despite this, the Firenza could be equipped with premium options such as power windows, power locks, and 14-inch alloy wheels. It is named for the Italian translation of the city of Florence.
Although closely related to its J-body siblings, the Oldsmobile Firenza was badge engineered with distinctively Oldsmobile front and rear end styling found on larger Oldsmobiles of the time. The upper portion of the Firenza front end featured quad rectangular headlights separated by signal lights in recessed housings, with a sloped body-color panel between the recesses. A horizontal-barred grille was mounted in the lower portion of the front fascia. The rear featured nearly square taillights with a slight wraparound at the outboard ends of the upper rear panel.
The Firenza was launched with a 2.0-liter OHV inline four-cylinder engine as the sole powerplant, but an overhead-cam 1.8-liter engine was added during the model year. Oldsmobile did not utilize the turbo on these engines, Buick did offer the turbo. Wraparound amber turn signal lights were added immediately outboard of the headlights for 1984. In 1985 the 2.8 L LB6 V6 was added as an option, on the GT package.
Reference Desk
The Crittenden Automotive Library's "Reference Desk" is a collection of materials that cannot be shared due to copyright restrictions. Information from these resources, however, can be shared. Go to the Reference Desk page for more information.
| Type | Title |
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1986  Book | 1986 Oldsmobile: Firenza · Calais · Cutlass Ciera · Delta 88 · Ninety Eight Chassis Service Manual; General Motors Corporation |
| 1988 Book | Chevy Cavalier, Buick Skyhawk, Cadillac Cimarron, Pontiac 2000, Olds Firenza 1982-1987: All U.S. and Canadian front wheel drive models; Chilton Book Company |
| 1995 Book | General Motors 1982 thru 1994 Automotive Repair Manual: Buick Skyhawk, Cadillac Cimarron, Chevrolet Cavalier, Oldsmobile Firenza, Pontiac J2000 & Sunbird by Larry Warren & John H. Haynes; Haynes |
| 1996 Book | Cavalier/Sunbird/Skyhawk/Firenza 1982-94 Repair Manual: Covers all U.S. and Canadian models of Buick Skyhawk, Cadillac Cimarron, Chevrolet Cavalier, Oldsmobile Firenza and Pontiac 2000/Sunbird by Matthew E. Frederick, Chilton Automotive Books |