I happened on this 2023 auction listing for a 1969 Oldsmobile 98 two-door hardtop while looking for photos for another post, and was pretty well mesmerized by the way the studio lighting accentuated its green-on-green-on-green color scheme. Let’s take a closer look at this car, which was Oldsmobile’s poshest full-size two-door hardtop, Lansing’s equivalent of a Cadillac Coupe de Ville.
1969 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupe / Bring a Trailer
According to the auction listing, this Olds 98 Holiday Coupe was acquired in 2022 by the Petersen Automotive Museum and then offered for auction a year later. It finally sold for $7,935, which is probably about $2,500 more than it originally cost in 1969 — not adjusted for inflation, of course.
1969 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupe / Bring a Trailer
The vivid “electric limeade” hue suggested by the auction pictures is a photographic trick, caused by intense lighting and apparently deliberate overexposure. It certainly makes for striking photos — you could design some very cool album covers using some of these shots — but it’s a curious choice for a sale or auction listing, since it gives a deceptive idea of what the car actually looks like, as well as masking its cosmetic flaws. The paint color is what Oldsmobile called Meadow Green, which in more natural light was really a very muted shade. Here’s the same color on a 1969 Toronado, photographed outdoors:
1969 Oldsmobile Toronado / West Coast Classics
Photographic tricks not withstanding, this was not a vivid car. The Ninety-Eight (Oldsmobile spelled out the designation in some places and used Arabic numerals in others) was Oldsmobile’s top full-size trim series, sharing the same GM C-body shell as the contemporary Buick Electra 225 and Cadillac Calais/DeVille. The Cadillacs had a longer wheelbase, 129.5 inches to the Oldsmobile’s 127, but overall length was only 0.6 inches greater. The Holiday Coupe — Lansing shorthand for “two-door hardtop” — was one of two two-door models in the series (the other being the slow-selling convertible), and the second-best-seller in the 98 line, accounting for 27,041 units in 1969.
1969 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupe / Bring a Trailer
Like its Electra 225 cousin, the Olds Ninety-Eight was another sign of the gradual convergence of GM’s upscale brands. List price for the 1969 Holiday Coupe was $4,444, which was $1,040 cheaper than a Cadillac Calais coupe and $1,277 less than a 1969 Coupe de Ville. The Olds wasn’t quite as lavishly trimmed as a DeVille, and there were some luxury options Cadillac offered that Oldsmobile didn’t, but if you didn’t demand leather upholstery and were content to operate your own headlights, you were giving up little beyond the added prestige of the Cadillac crest.
1969 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupe / Bring a Trailer
There wasn’t much to choose between them in driving manners or interior space. Except for the Oldsmobile’s split grille treatment, they didn’t look that different either, which made the Ninety-Eight a somewhat better value in this battleship-class luxury car segment. The Olds also appealed to people who didn’t want the added baggage of the Cadillac name, which in some circles carried too many connotations of extravagance and excess. A big Oldsmobile was perfectly respectable, and it showed that you weren’t preoccupied with telling people that you drove a Cadillac.
The vinyl top was a $136.92 option, but I admit the lime peel color and texture do set off the Meadow Green paint well / Bring a Trailer
In March 1970, Car and Driver tested a 1970 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale equipped with the B07 Police Apprehender package — with an H-D suspension similar to the Chevrolet F41 setup, including a rear anti-roll bar — and found it deceptively nimble for its size and weight. You couldn’t get any of that stuff on the Ninety-Eight, but there were some trailering options that I think might have been worthwhile even if you didn’t plan to tow: a heavy-duty frame ($18.01), heavy-duty shock absorbers ($5.27), an oil cooler for the standard Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission ($15.80), heavy-duty engine cooling ($21.06 with air conditioning), heavy-duty 15×6 wheels ($10.53), and belted J78-15 whitewalls ($114.96). Annoyingly, front disc brakes were still optional on full-size GM cars in 1969 ($52.66). I couldn’t quite tell from the photos if the auction car had them or not, and the listing didn’t say, but I wouldn’t want one of these beasts without them.
Fender skirts were standard, whitewalls were optional / Bring a Trailer
A lot of convenience items were standard on the Ninety-Eight, so the rest of the options list was relatively short. Tinted windows ($44.23), cruise control ($63.19), a remote outside mirror ($10.53), a rear defogger ($22.12), and a radio would be essential items. The green car has the pushbutton AM unit with power antenna and a rear speaker ($135.34 the lot), but I’d prefer the AM/FM Stereophonic radio, for $238.03. The green car has manual air conditioning ($421.28) and a power seat ($73.72), but not power door locks ($44.76). It also appears to have the tilt-and-telescoping steering column ($84.26), which might be handy, but I’m dubious about the accompanying “Instant-Horn” wheel, which sounded the horn if you squeezed the wheel rim. (Without this feature, you could only get a tilting wheel, without the telescoping feature.)
Two-tone green vinyl interior emphasizes the “giant lime” vibe / Bring a Trailer
Head rests were technically a $17.90 option in 1969, but they became mandatory under federal law as of January 1, 1969; a folding front armrest was standard / Bring a Trailer
The Holiday Coupe did without the rear center armrest included on the four-door Town sedan and Luxury Sedan, but included three sets of rear lap belts / Bring a Trailer
Power windows were standard on the Ninety-Eight, but a power seat was $73.72 / Bring a Trailer
Comfortron automatic climate control was available on the Ninety-Eight in 1969, but this car has the Four-Season manual air conditioner, which was $78.99 cheaper; a rear defogger was a separate $22.12 option that this car lacks / Bring a Trailer
AM/FM radio was optional in 1969, but was a lot more expensive than the AM radio; this car’s power antenna ($31.60) and rear speaker ($16.85) were separate options / Bring a Trailer
Front shoulder belts were included for 1969, but they didn’t have retractors / Bring a Trailer
There were no engine or transmission choices on a Ninety-Eight in 1969: You got the 455 cu. in. (7,450 cc) L32 Rocket 455 V-8, which had gross ratings of 365 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque, and the TH400 automatic, with an axle ratio of 2.56 (without air conditioning) or 2.93 (with air). The sole powertrain option was an anti-spin differential ($46.60).
Oldsmobile Rocket 455 V-8 / Bring a Trailer
This was no muscle car, but as late ’60s full-size cars went, the Ninety-Eight wasn’t that heavy: Base curb weight was 4,363 lb, with an air-conditioned example like the green car probably weighing a bit over 4,500 lb. A later Motor Trend test of a somewhat heavier 1971 model with the later low-compression 455 — which had lost 45 gross horsepower and 50 lb-ft of torque compared to the ’69 — still managed 0 to 60 mph in a brisk 8.7 seconds and the quarter mile in 16.27 seconds at 86.2 mph, which suggests that the green car could probably manage 0 to 60 mph in the low-8-second range. That strikes me as just about right for a car like this: not fast enough to provoke you into doing anything silly, but quick enough that you’d never have to worry about passing power or hill-climbing ability.
The Ninety-Eight was a conservative car and Oldsmobile was one of GM’s most conservative divisions, but for 1969, both were afflicted with some of the industry’s most embarrassing advertising. Olds was trying to brand itself as “Youngmobile,” with the silly Frankenstein-like “Dr. Oldsmobile” promoting the performance models and a series of corny silent movie recreations for the full line. People have often praised Oldsmobile general manager Harold Metzel and his chief engineer John Beltz (whom Jim Wangers described as “John DeLorean with a white shirt”) for their engineering savvy, but they really didn’t have a good handle on Oldsmobile’s marketing efforts in this period. Even across the decades, I can feel the radiant scorn of the hip under-30 crowd who saw this stuff at the time — and what was the point of framing the dignified, middle-class Ninety-Eight against a spoofy recreated scene from The Sheik, a 1921 Valentino silent that had been released before even many middle-age Oldsmobile customers were born? (It’s even more mortifying if you’ve actually seen The Sheik, a dated and very racist curio based on a 1919 bodice-ripper romance novel.)
Despite such marketing miscues, Oldsmobile achieved sixth place in the U.S. industry for 1969 — behind Buick, but ahead of Dodge — with a 7.54 percent market share. The Ninety-Eight accounted for 116,783 units in all, about one-sixth of total production.
1969 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupe / Bring a Trailer
I have to confess that this car would probably not have caught my eye if not for its oversaturated greenness (which I do like a lot, more than I like the car’s actual color), which brings up an interesting point about how the perceptions of older cars shift over time. In 1969, the last thing most Oldsmobile customers would have wanted was to draw undue attention to themselves, but almost any car that’s 50 or more years old will stand out in a crowd, whether or not it did when it was new. For many people who still drive or collect old cars, that’s the whole point: It’s a fashion statement or a nostalgia trip, even if the car itself was once the epitome of low-key middle-class conformity.
Even hippies might have balked at an acid-green Olds back then, but in a modern landscape dominated by shorter, taller CUVs and SUVs in gray, white, and silver, it would no longer seem that much more outlandish than the car itself: long, low, and wide, wearing the Incredible Hulk’s toupée.
Related Reading
Cohort Classic: 1969 Oldsmobile 98 – Strong, Silent, And In The Classic Tradition (by Jason Shafer)
Curbside Jukebox: 1969 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Convertible – If You Should Sail (by Joseph Dennis)
Auction Classic: 1969 Oldsmobile Toronado – Profitable Obscurity (by Jon Stephenson)
1963 Oldsmobile 98 Luxury Sedan – When Olds First Leapfrogged Buick On The Sloan Ladder (by Paul N)
Slightly before my time. Growing up in the ’70’s/’80’s, I also identified this anonymous late 1960’s luxo-boat styling, on so many domestic cars. Prerequisite slab sides, hardtops, vinyl roof, bloaty-looks, long hood, long trunk, excess length, skirted rear wheels, forgettable colours. Stereotypical at the time. Inoffensive, but predictably anonymous, and blase-looking. Presented in conservative colours, and wheel coverings. Great example of approved luxury comfort and conformity, for the. era. Still everywhere through the 1970’s. I never paid attention.Such easy and obvious targets, for donk wheels.
Great review, and nice crop, on the lead image.
Ah, the good OLDS days. 👍. My first car was a 66 red Dynamic 88 convertible. Next up a 69 Delta 88 4 door metallic gold with black vinyl top and brocade interior. Friends had a 68 Ninety Eight in the same colors as this. As the brochure declared YOUNGMOBILE thinking. It’s not your father’s Oldsmobile. With emphasis on a younger market that seemed to make sense. But perhaps Oldsmobile should have concentrated more on its loyal customers. Many of them, like me, were not amused by 71 and on Oldsmobile styling, moving to more traditional American LAND YACHTS. The two downsizings didn’t help. Ransom Eli must be spinning in his grave over the demise of his 🎵 Merry 🎶 Oldsmobile 🎵.
I thought this would be up your street Mr W. If I had to chose an American car brand it would be Oldsmobile.
Over fifty years later, I still can’t decide if I like GM’s halo vinyl roof more than a normal one. Few cars look better with vinyl than without–never in doubt about that, even before I discovered the rust and disintegration problems first hand.
Our ’68 base Electra had manual windows, so electric ones must have been newly standard in ’69 C bodies. I wonder if removing the vent window caused much trouble with sealing. My grandmother’s ’72 Calais had problems with the glass making noise against the rubber on bumps due to the engineered body flexing–solved by WD-40.
Only Ninety-Eight Luxury series had power windows standard.
Same with Electras, lower-line versions still had standard crank windows.
Power windows became standard on all Buick and Olds C-Bodies in 1975.
Not according to the Dealer SPECS guide for 1969, which lists power windows as standard on all 98s but the Town Sedan, which this car is not.
I’ve seen many articles over the years mentioning 1969 headrests being optional before Jan 1. I have a hard time believing this, at least for Ford and GM. I have never seen a 1969 model FoMoCo or GM product without headrests, except for early Continental Mark IIIs.
Chrysler products, on the other hand, yes. From my own personal observation, many early build ’69 Mopars didn’t have them.
Certain equipment being theoretically optional doesn’t necessarily mean that any cars were built without that equipment. Moreover, in this era, automakers often treated newly mandatory equipment, or equipment mandatory in certain markets, as regular production options — probably mostly for bookkeeping reasons, but perhaps also as a way of fomenting consumer irritation at the added costs imposed by emissions and safety standards. The 1969 Oldsmobile SPECS dealer guide lists headrests as a separate RPO (A82) for the 98, priced at $17.90, and stipulates that it is “a mandatory option for all models instead of standard equipment, until January 1, 1969.”
Looks that way.
And a great way to charge extra for that mandated equipment, both after the mandate and even before.
I find the harsh/supercharged lighting in these photos to be irritating. Not only do they change the appearance of the paint color, they really juice the color of that vinyl roof as well, which appears in real life as a much more subdued shade of a green.
I always had mixed feelings about these cars. When they were new, I found them boring as boring could be. I have since come to understand that they did a great job of updating the look of prior generations of 98s, and kept to a flavor that was more understated than the Buicks and Cadillacs.
One failing – this car has a complete disconnect between the highly sculpted front wheel opening and the completely flat one at the rear. It is clear that the 69 Olds styling was dictated by the 88 (which, of course, was the volume leader). The 1971 version of this car did a far better job of combining the styling details of the front and rear fenders.
The July 1969 issue of Motor Trend has a comparison test of the Chrysler New Yorker, Mercury Marquis Brougham and Olds 98 Holiday Coupe. The Olds did 0-60 in 9.5 seconds and the quarter mile in 16.5 seconds at 86.8 mph. This was slightly slower than the Mercury at 9.0 seconds and 16.4 seconds at 87.1 mph respectively.The Chrysler was the fastest due to having the more powerful optional 440 TNT and did 0-60 in 8.0 seconds and the quarter mile in 15.7 seconds at 90.1 mph. The curb weights were 4510, 4396 and 4390 pounds respectively.
Ah, thanks, I’m not sure I have a copy of that road test. Regarding the curb weights, those figures sound like manufacturer base curb weights: Motor Trend had a bad habit of listing those rather than having the test cars actually weighed or looking at the detailed AMA specifications to see what effect optional equipment had on the total. (Air conditioning was typically the biggest contributor, adding 100+ lb.)
Well, as a 16 year old in 1970, I didn’t hesitate to drive one. When I took over my father’s Cougar he had to get a new company car and it was a 1970 Olds 98. Pretty much identical in dark blue and black vinyl roof. Gotta tell you I really got a kick out of driving that car. Posh, quiet, and quite powerful. I didn’t find them boring, like JP, but then I was 16, new to driving, and didn’t find any car boring yet.
Basic layout of your cropped lead photo, has me almost thinking 1973 New Yorker.. How styling cues get passed around among carmakers.
Our neighbor had the convertible version of this car in dark blue. It was an impressive car, and the only convertible I remember in our neighborhood.
After his wife left – there was gossip about heavy drinking and spousal abuse – it was replaced by a very clean 1957 Ford Custom 300. Which caused a fair amount of comment, as driving a car from the 1950s – even if it was in very good condition – was not particularly prestigious in 1969-70.
While the 1969 Ninety-Eight and Electra stuck with front drum brakes, the 1969 Cadillacs did feature standard power front disc brakes. The Ninety-Eight received standard power front discs for 1970.
I thought Olds really got it’s styling really together that year in all model ranges.
Cleanly elegant.
Nice looking in the pictures, too bad it’s not how it looks in person .
A very nice survivor .
Last year I toured “The Vault” a The Peterson Museum, I had no idea they occasionally sold off extra vehicles .
-Nate
I was selling Oldsmobile’s in L.A. in 1969, and I sold several 98s including a 98 LS Coupe in this light green metallic, but with a black vinyl top. It had a very nice brocade/vinyl interior. The 455 in the ’69s did give the driver TORQUE! It made the car feel quicker than it really was. What ga$ mileage??
My eyes perceived the 98 as the most handsome of GM’s HUGE “big” cars, but then I did have to believe in the product I was selling! Given the time, they were quite nice. 🙂 DFO
1) My aunt and uncle had a 4 door 1969 model 98 in dark blue. For them the 1969 was “just perfect” and they kept it for many years. I always enjoyed riding in it but never got to drive it. Previously they had Chryslers, a 1962 Electra, and a 1965 98 so they had plenty of experience with this type of car.
2) I wonder how much gas was used getting from 0 to 60 in just over 8 seconds. My guess is a lot.
in 1969, the optional rear window defogger, mentioned more than once, was one of those stupid blower fans on the rear package shelf that blew air onto the rear window. They were next to useless. The heated backlight, now standard on most new cars and mandatory in some states, finally provided real rear window defogging.
Years ago, my dad and I ended up accepting a basket case 1970 Olds 98 Convertible as partial payment from a client. We got it running (not restored; it got a banana yellow MAACO paint job with a white top) and bombed around in it for about 8 years until we sold it to a fella who bought big American iron to export to Australia. That 455 had endless torque (and thirst) and I always thought it was handsome for such a big car. I hated that hood, though; Olds attached the split in the grill to it, guaranteeing that I would bash my head on it. Every time.
Meadow Green was a very common color that year, I had a ’69 Toronado in that very color many years ago, and a Cutlass Holiday Sedan currently, with a white top (original) and matching green interior:
The above pic is a very accurate representation of the actual Meadow Green, we had to play around quite a bit to get a perfect match with the well preserved original color of the inner trunk lid, door openings, etc. Got it right eventually.
Meadow Green vinyl:
The 1975 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale that I owned in B.C in the late 90’s definitely did not have the police pack or the handling package…but boy it could still move even with the that seriously restricted 455 mill, in a straight line that is, quite vague around corners and surprisingly small in the rear seating area.
Similar to CC Fan’s comments, my grandparents had a ‘70 Olds 88 sedan, green with black interior, with the 455 engine. Pretty basic, no vinyl roof and crank windows. Regretfully, I never got a chance to drive it. But I did get car sick in it, in the back seat going down the winding mountain roads near Spruce Pine NC while my grandfather smoked cigarettes with the windows mostly closed.
I was constantly “car sick” when I was a kid. Of course, the real reason was my chain smoking parents. Cracking a window would have helped, but we were not allowed to roll down windows. Doing so would send my mother ballistic lest she mess her hair.