GM C platform, also known as the C-Body, was a
front wheel drive
Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitu ...
(FWD) automobile platform used by
General Motors's Cadillac, Buick and Oldsobile divisions for their full-sized automobiles from 1985 through 1996, sharing a transverse engine configuration, rack and pinion steering and four-wheel independent suspension.
Significantly shorter, narrower, lighter and more fuel-efficient than the platform they replaced, the C Platform vehicles were noted for having nearly the same key interior dimensions as their predecessors and a much more nearly flat passenger compartment floor
— albeit with thinner seats and dramatically less upper
tumblehome
Tumblehome is a term describing a hull which grows narrower above the waterline than its beam. The opposite of tumblehome is flare.
A small amount of tumblehome is normal in many naval architecture designs in order to allow any small projecti ...
, locating windshield as well as side glass closer to passengers.
Introduced in early 1984, the models were marketed as the
Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight
The Oldsmobile 98 (spelled Ninety-Eight from 1952 to 1991, and Ninety Eight from 1992 to 1996) is the full-size flagship model of Oldsmobile that was produced from 1940 until 1942, and then from 1946 to 1996. The name – reflecting a "Series ...
(11th gen),
Buick Electra
The Buick Electra is a full-size luxury car manufactured and marketed by Buick from 1959 to 1990, over six generations. Introduced as the replacement for the Roadmaster lines, the Electra served as the flagship Buick sedan line through its ...
(6th gen) and
Cadillac Deville
The Cadillac DeVille is the nameplate used by Cadillac over eight generations, originally used to designate a trim level of the 1949 Cadillac Series 62 and later to designate a standalone model in the brand range. The last model marketed specif ...
(6th gen) and
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830s, when the principal lando ...
(1985-90), and were manufactured at
Wentzville Assembly
Wentzville Assembly is a General Motors auto and truck assembly facility in Wentzville, Missouri, opened in 1983. Located at 1500 East Route A in Wentzville,
the 3.7 million square foot plant sits on 569 acres approximately 40 miles west of St. Lo ...
,
Orion Assembly
Orion Assembly is a General Motors vehicle assembly plant located in Orion Township, Michigan. The plant currently assembles the Chevrolet Bolt and Cruise AV. As of September 2019, the plant has approximately 1,032 salaried and hourly employee ...
, and
Lansing Car Assembly
Lansing Car Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Lansing, Michigan. It contained two elements, a 1901 automobile plant in downtown Lansing, and the 1920 Durant Motors factory on Lansing's Far Westside.
The Lansing plant was the ho ...
.
All C-Bodies used, V6 or V8 engines, GM's TMH440 transmission (initially), unibody construction — and all had been aerodynamically refined, with the Oldsmobile achieving a .383 drag coefficient.
Both the
H platform and C platform shared the same 110.8 in wheelbase. Later in the course of its development, Cadillac introduced C Body models with a 113.8 in wheelbase. Most C-body vehicles were ultimately replaced with cars on the related
G,
H, and
K platform designations.
The
Cadillac Series 75 limousine briefly made its return on this platform, stretched by 23.6" to a wheelbase of 134.4". Cadillac used the platform though 1993; Buick heavily revised the Electra, becoming the first generation
Buick Park Avenue
The Buick Park Avenue is a full-size luxury car built by Buick. The nameplate was first used in 1975 for an appearance option package on the Electra 225 Limited. It became an Electra trim level in 1978 and its own model starting in the 1991 mode ...
(1991-1996), while still using the C Platform; and Oldsmobile marketed C Platform derivatives through 1990, notably the
Oldsmobile Touring Sedan.
Models using the C Platform
References
List of GM VIN codes{{General Motors platforms
C