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Slideshow

October 2011

10 Cars that Refuse to Die

Olds Cutlass Ciera
(GM A-Bodies)

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1984-1996

It's the mid-to-late 1980s. GM quality is going up and its sales are going down. This version of GM's venerable nameplate, along with its clone the Buick Century, hit the intersection of these two trends: GM made a lot of them, and they lasted. One big reason: Most of the bugs had been worked out on these models' forebears, the much-ballyhooed (and much-troubled) GM X-Bodies.

That many of their first owners were seniors who drove them gently and serviced them conscientiously probably helped matters. Note that the Chevy Celebrity and Pontiac 6000, basically the same car, don't enjoy the same endurance.