Manufacturer | General Motors |
---|---|
Production | 1986–2011 |
Predecessor | GM B platform GM G platform (RWD) |
Class | Full-size |
Body style(s) | 4-door sedan 2-door coupe |
Vehicles | Buick LeSabre Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight Buick Lucerne Pontiac Bonneville |
The H platform, or H-body designates a General Motors front wheel drive full-sized automobile platform beginning in 1986. It is related to the C, G and K platforms.
Previously the H platform designation was used for unrelated rear-wheel drive compact cars.
Many H-bodies used GM's large 3800 V6, and supercharged versions were available from 1991 to 2003. They originally came in both 2-door and 4-door versions, but the four door sedans were dramatically more popular, and two door models were dropped by 1992.
According to one source[1], the H-Body sedans were the next "big thing" for GM, and development cost more than $3 billion, which is on par with roughly how much Ford invested in the Ford Taurus. Both the H-body sedans and the Taurus (based on the D186 platform) were launched fully in 1986.
In the 2000s the H-body designation began to be used for a re-engineered platform based on the GM G platform (FWD). Some media reports refer to these cars as G-bodies even though General Motors uses H. Previously used for the Buick LeSabre and Pontiac Bonneville, the final car on this platform was the Buick Lucerne, which ended production in June 2011.[2] The chassis identification can be found on the 4th letter of the VIN.
Years | Wheelbase | Model | Previous platform | Next platform |
---|---|---|---|---|
1986–1999 | 110.8 in | Buick LeSabre | GM B platform | |
2000–2005 | 112.2 in | Buick Lesabre | Retired | |
1986–1999 | 110.8 in | Oldsmobile 88/LSS | GM B platform | Retired |
1987–1999 | 110.8 in | Pontiac Bonneville | GM G platform (RWD) | |
2000–2005 | 112.2 in | Pontiac Bonneville | Retired | |
2006–2011 | 115.6 in | Buick Lucerne |
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