The Oldsmobile Achieva was introduced for the 1992 model year

Model year

The model year of a product is a number used worldwide, but with a high level of prominence in North America, to describe approximately when a product was produced, and indicates the coinciding base specification of that product....

 and was a front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive is a form of engine/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 longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and...

, compact car

Compact car

A compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...

 based on the GM N-body platform

GM N platform

The General Motors N platform was a front-wheel drive compact automotive platform produced from 1985 to 2005. The GM N platform replaced the GM X platform....

 which it also shared with its siblings the Pontiac Grand Am

Pontiac Grand Am

The original Grand Am was introduced in the fall of 1972 as a 1973 model. It was based on the GM A platform along with other cars such as the Pontiac LeMans, Pontiac GTO, Chevrolet Chevelle, Buick Century, and the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme...

 and Buick Skylark

Buick Skylark

The Buick Skylark was a passenger car produced by the Buick division of General Motors. The model was made in six production runs. In each run, the car design varied dramatically due to changing technology and tastes, as well as new standards implemented over the years.-1953–1954:Introduced to mark...

. The Achieva replaced the GM N-body Cutlass Calais

Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais

The Oldsmobile Calais, renamed the Cutlass Calais for 1988, and briefly available in 1987 as the limited edition GMO Quad-4, was a compact car produced by General Motors from 1985 through 1991. In part, it was intended to replace the Omega in Oldsmobile's lineup...

 after the Calais' final 1991 model year, and ended production after the 1998 model year.

The Achieva was a compact car produced by the General Motors'

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...

 division from 1992 to 1998 and was available as a sedan or coupe

Coupé

A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...

.