The GM N-body cars of the ’80’s have been covered several times over the years here at Curbside Classic, usually when a tired, can’t-believe-this-is-still-on-the-road example pops up. Those have been occasions to reflect on GM’s troubled years and questionable choices. The Calais was even made #26 on the GM Deadly Sin list.
I believe all the sins have been forgiven for this remarkable example that I ran into recently. It seems to confirm the CC motto that every car has a story and goes one step further in proving that every car can be loved. So, click through for a positive take on this happy survivor.
Photo by Megan, age 5
I met this car and it’s owner at a local weekly cruise in, where they turned out for Buick-Olds-Pontiac Week. I noticed it right away because while Calais sightings are very rare these days, I certainly haven’t seen one in this condition in at least 20 years.
To refresh our memory, the Calais and its Buick Somerset Regal and Pontiac Grand Am siblings were introduced for 1985, originally planned as a downsized replacement for the mega-popular G special (formerly A) coupes. As market conditions changed, GM decided to keep the rear-drive Cutlass Supreme and siblings and just sell the new N cars as additional models. The Oldsmobile Calais fit in the showroom just above the Firenza and below the Cutlass Supreme. Or perhaps it was below the Cutlass Ciera. My they had a lot of car models back then! At least they dropped the Omega after 1984, so the Calais could probably be considered its replacement even though it was specifically marketed to a younger demographic and was initially only available as a coupe.
Much has been said about the N-body styling, most of it negative, but it is worthwhile to note that the owner of this Calais says he bought his car brand new in June 1985 and was mainly attracted to it because of its looks. While many Calais owners probably considered it a short term affair with a semi-disposable car, this has been an example of a loving 34-years-and-counting marriage.
No longer daily driven, it is still driven weekly and has logged 157k miles to date. It shares garage space with a 2001 Bullitt Mustang and a late model Corvette.
The interior is in excellent condition with original cloth upholstery. The thin rimmed steering wheel was shared with most other Olds models at the time, though the optional leather wrapped Sport wheel would have been more in keeping with the mildly sporty bucket seat interior’s theme. The owner compensated for this with a wheel wrap. Oldsmobile fitted full instrumentation on the car, a nice touch.
The car is equipped with the standard “Tech 4” 92hp 2.5L four cylinder with electronic fuel injection, a.k.a. the Iron Duke built by Pontiac. The owner states another reason he liked the Calais is that it was a practical smaller car that, unlike the Cutlass Supreme, was available with a manual transmission, which was a must have for him. The 5 speed stick wasn’t available with the 125hp 3.0 V6. He says the 4 cylinder engine has been fine and only noticeably lacks power on steep hills on the highway.
Scrupulously maintained, the car has not had any major problems. The only significant repair required so far has been a new valve cover gasket. He hoped it would be more reliable than the troublesome ’79 Mustang it replaced and it certainly has exceeded expectations.
The paint is original and the body is rust free. Having spent its whole life in the Houston area, the former is remarkable though the latter is to be expected even on a car that is known to be rust prone. The wheels are aftermarket, not because the owner really wanted to replace the original aluminum wheels but because he couldn’t find any tire stores that could sell him the P205/70R13 size tires. In 2019, 13 inch tires are as obsolete as brick-sized analog cellular phones or Atari video game consoles, but without the charm. Tough to find, and white wall versions like it originally came with would be pure unobtainium.
Divided grille; stand up hood ornament; formal roof; vertically split taillights. All the Cutlass Supreme styling cues are there, just in a compact ’80’s package. Perhaps GM hit a bullseye on a target that didn’t really exist: young buyers who wanted a traditional style Oldsmobile coupe in a smaller modern package. A baby Cutlass. Given the epic success the Cutlass had been over the previous 15 years and the fact that Oldsmobile had its highest sales year ever in 1985 (1.2 million, 2nd place in U.S.), you could maybe understand GM thinking they could repackage that same basic formula in perpetuity.
Though sales fell 35k short of Olds’ optimistic expectations the first year, it really wasn’t a terrible showroom performer. While handily outsold by the RWD Cutlass in ’85 and ’86, it sold over 100k yearly though 1989 and bested the new FWD Cutlass in ’88 and ’89. Sales dropped off for its final year in 1991 but even then it did better than its Achieva successor would throughout Oldsmobile’s sad decade of the ’90’s.
In any case, Oldsmobile definitely hit the target with the buyer of this Calais. He not only liked it when new, he has kept it and lovingly maintained it all the years since. Oldsmobile Division may have been shuttered in 2004 and struggling-to-this-day GM may have barely made it through its near death experience in 2009, but this remarkably happy baby Cutlass has survived, looking great and ready for a few more decades of faithful service.
Photographed in Houston, TX May 5, 2019
Related reading:
Vintage Review: 1985 Oldsmobile Calais Supreme – GM Deadly Sin #26 – Car and Driver Predicts Death
Curbside Classics: The General Motors N-body – How Quickly We Forget
Curbside Classic: 1987 Oldsmobile Calais Supreme – Poor Unfortunate Soul
Curbside Classic’s Complete Cutlass Chronicles Central
Strange, even a garden-variety GM Deadly Sin is very interesting when kept in excellent condition and contrasted to the current automotive landscape. I like the way these look, only the dashboard and quad headlights give it away as a mid-80s vehicle.
Stick shift in an Olds, didn’t see that one coming. Speaking of incongruence and stick shifts, did anyone see this pass the auction block the other day?:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1977-oldsmobile-cutlass-5/
I’m no great fan of Malaise-era barges with 110hp V8s, but a stick shift in a time-capsule Cutlass coupe with that brash red interior is just too much dichotomy for me to not love. I’d drive that car around happily…and slowly. This Calais as well.
“Stick shift in an Olds, didn’t see that one coming.”
The base models had them and also the ones (88-91) with the 2.3l Quad 4 engine which put out 150hp
That black ’77 Cutlass Supreme (sold yesterday, apparently) is gorgeous. I certainly hope it went to a good home.
“Speaking of incongruence and stick shifts, did anyone see this pass the auction block the other day?:”
Recalling the article about the Toyota 5-speed that re-ran recently, I’m curious as to what shift pattern this 1977 GM 5-speed used. Based on that article I would assume it was the one that put 1st to the left and back, but the numbers on the shifter aren’t visible in any of the pictures.
And speaking of shift patterns, by 1985 was GM offering the now standard 5-speed we all know and love, or would the featured Calais have been a 4-speed?
Picture 37 does show the top of the shift knob, at an angle, but the gear pattern is visible if you zoom in. First is down and to the left, as you suspected.
The more I look at that listing, the more I want to drive that car. Big long shifter in a long low coupe. Half truck, half car, nothing is what I’d assume. What a rarity.
And I just read the “Deadly Sin” article, which answered my second question. It mentioned that the available manual transmission in the Calais was indeed a 5-speed.
I’d love to try that stick 77 Cutlass too! I did used to own a 76 Pontiac LeMans with that same engine, but auto of course. I can report that it was not the least bit fast! Not even a little. Even presumably with better use of the available power with a manual transmission, I can’t imagine it would still be able to give even the slowest new car a race.
Very nice car, and the condition! They didn’t look this nice when they were brand new here in Michigan.
My first car was a 1987 Somerset, equipped the same as this car except mine had power windows, locks and cruise. Mine was 8 years old when it was passed down to me from my mom and brother, but despite reasonable care it had already rusted through in a couple spots, had rust on every panel but 2, leaked around the windshield, and the digital dash was intermittent. That drivetrain would not die, though!
I always thought the sedan versions of these looked better due to the awkward pairing of the recessed door glass and the flush mounted quarter glass on the coupes.
I was 9 when these cars came out and really liked them. They had the classic, traditional styling cues in a less dinosaur like package. Remember in 1985, FWD was the wave of the future and all the RWD cars seemed like antiquated land barges (which in many ways they were). These were handsome cars, well proportioned, the formal roofline made for a roomy back seat, and reasonably space efficient. You could fit four adults fairly comfortably into a small, efficient package. GM managed to make a premium compact out of the J-car, which was thought of as a younger/sportier car and this was a classier car and it wasn’t as grown-up-family as the A car. The J was for a high school/college student or an economy car, the N was for young professional types post college, the A was for the family.
I don’t know why the N gets so much abuse. Consumer Reports rated them highly and stated year after year, if the reliability improves, we’ll recommend them. The styling was classy and they were nicely appointed inside. Lots of expensive feeling trim and upholstery and high quality plastics and vinyls; you cannot get that interior in a modern car. The Skylark was like a mini Electra, the Calais had the widest range from Mini 98 to a sporty but classy version, and the Grand Am got the sporty budget BMW version. There really wasn’t much competition for the N car either; The Accord was nice but didn’t have the classier styling of the N, nor was it as nicely appointed inside, and it was more expensive, and the N offered more powerful engines; the Camry was the dullest ever and expensive, and the Stanza was for people who thought the Camry was too racy. Ford offered the horrible Tempaz with its blobby, fungoid styling and the Taurus was nice but more expensive and more family, and then the closest thing Chrysler would offer would be the LeBaron which had great styling in ’87 but a more cramped rear seat and a platform which was not that great.
There aren’t many Ns around because their yuppie owners quickly moved up the yuppie ladder from budget BMWs to the real thing or the older folks who wanted the comfort of an Electra in something easier to park died. The Ns were desireable used cars as a first car being a nice compromise between the parents wanting a sensible sedan Amy or James cannot get into too much trouble with and Amy or James wanting something which did not scream I got this from my parents! They generally led short, exciting second lives.
Well said!! just what i wanted to say Savage, you put it into words for me!!
Well stated. I’ve thought that some other alternatives at the time might include: Celica, Prelude, non-GT Mustang, Chrysler Laser/Daytona, Chrysler LeBaron coupe, VW Golf/GTI/Scirocco. Most of those would be more sporty or perhaps more expensive. None except the LeBaron would be as conservatively styled.
At the time this came out, I still had my ’78 Scirocco (though in a year I’d move to an ’86 GTi).
At the time I was living in a condo (never should have bought it…moved out next year and had a tough time selling it)…finishing up grad school (condo was near campus so I guess that’s part of the cost of school?). One of my neighbors had one of these new which was always parked in the parking spot nearest the door to my unit (we had assigned parking spots). I thought it was a handsome car, though for some reason I liked the Buick Somerset even more. I didn’t know it was supposed to replace the G body GM cars; it seemed a lot smaller, but I guess in the early 80’s GM was thinking that fuel economy would become a big deal if we had another gas crisis but that didn’t happen (though gas prices went up, there weren’t national shortages) so they really didn’t need to downsize on the schedule they originally thought…by mid 80’s gas was cheap again…
What they didn’t see either was the disappearance of 2 door cars…funny these came out as 2 doors before the 4 door were made available. Insurance pretty much killed off the 2 door cars…you could buy a 2 door Chevy Cobalt a decade ago, but when the Cruze came out it was 4 door only (5 door also available later)…but 2 door cars are becoming really rare…which is a shame for the younger crowd, though I like my 4 door car, I’m a different age than I was in 1985 (isn’t everyone who’s still alive?)…and 4 door suits me better now though the 1985 version which still lives beneath the surface still misses the variety of 2 door cars that we saw on a daily basis 34 years ago.
It was hard to really like these as a car guy only because of the way GM was selling them. It was the begining of the end for GM and their stupid badging games. On their own each one looks great i especialy like the 4 door Grand Am. Back then i gave GM the benefit of the doubt and my loyalty. Today…………….no.
Someone in my town has a later model blue one, other than that one, I haven’t seen any others in a long time.
It reminds me in a way of the 68-74 Nova in that the coupe is reasonably attractive while the sedan seems entirely like an afterthought.
Loved this post – brought back my first memories of seeing them when I was in or around the fifth grade. Seeing an N-Body Calais like this one in such great shape (and not barely running) highlights what decent lines they really had. The finish on this one positively gleams, and I like that the aftermarket wheels don’t look that different than some of the alloys that had been offered. Great read and pictures.
Thanks! A definite nostalgia trip for genXers!
Thanks for posting. My first car was an 85 Calais, with the 3.0 v6 buick engine. Interference type engine as i found out later. Same interior layout as this example, but in grey. I really thought the interior was great for the driver. Very tight in the back. Handled well for the era with fairly beefy sway bars. Mine might have had the FE2 suspension. Good off the line but ran out of breath fast, and badly need a four speed automatic. Drove it hard from 96 to 2000 before the engine seized. A lot of decent aspects to it, but executed in typical GM fashion to make the whole somehow less than the sum of it’s parts.
A cousin bought one of these new, a gray V6/automatic that was pretty nicely equipped. I remember thinking that it was a nice car – for her. I had the hots for European stuff around that time and one of these held no appeal. I just figured it would be one more Oldsmobile that would rule the world. Oops.
And may I get something off my chest? That nameplate. I have hated that nameplate since I first saw it. I cannot tell what font or typeface that is, but what it conveys is “Hi, I’ll just stand over here out of the way in the corner because there is nothing even remotely interesting or appealing about me.” Gee, maybe they could have found a way to make it even smaller or less stylish, but I cannot think of it.
Maybe I’m just crabby on a rainy Friday afternoon, but grew up around Oldsmobiles that were proud as hell to let you know it was a genuine O L D S M O B I L E. In big chrome block letters that stretched all the way across the front and back of the car. This car just kind of whispers it in an embarrassed way. Maybe the nameplate designers saw where things were heading.
I had no idea the crabby guy was a font geek, like me!
FWIW, the font used on the Oldsmobile script was (ITC) Avant Garde.
Oldsmobile had been using that since at least the mid-1970’s. Back in the day, it was rather modern, although now it seems rather generic. When we had our 1977 Delta 88, it seemed really stylish…
Good to know. It seemed like GM made a number of style changes in their name badges in the mid 70s that ossified in the years after. As you may have guessed, I do not look back on the 70s as the golden era of automotive badging.
The branding really is a mess. The advert uses that Brass Age script that presumably calls out to Olds’ venerability, the rocket is a yesterday’s-future update of a motif from the 1960s which has been progressively deracinated, and the new script looks more appropriate for a photocopier company. How did anyone in GM feel that lot held together as a balanced brand image?
incidentally, why Calais? I know GM used the name a few times, but whereas eg Monte Carlo, Biarritz or Seville suggest sophistication and glamour, Calais is a ferry port on France’s gloomy northern coast. All enlightenment welcomed.
This was a great read though, and Megan (aged 5) is a pretty good photographer!
Yes her photographic eye is not bad at all! She’s good at capturing the low-angle perspective.
ITC Avant Garde was first used on the 1977 models. 1976 and earlier models used script in cursive writing.
What a great find! This surely would have been the highlight of the car show for me too. There was a time when I could really see myself driving a Calais (or its replacement, the Achieva) with a manual transmission. Great to see a survivor!
I think that very success led to the Olds division’s doom. GM exec’s became virtually intoxicated at the sight of 1,000,000+ Olds sales and figured they could just freeze those products and keep selling them forever. If GM management hadn’t seen Olds as easy money in those years, I bet the brand would have lasted longer.
Good point! Sometimes success can be a curse. It’s often the hungry up-and-comer who has the most compelling ideas or products.
Wow haven’t seen one that nice since probably 1991. Good on the owner for keeping it clean.
I still see the occasional N-body, usually a later Grand Am and usually in a trailer park.
Perhaps the Ns may have outsold the Gs when they were new but history hath not been kind to them (probably because they were FWD ’80s GM crapboxes) and today, G-body Cutlasses are sought-after classics with five figure price tags for nice ones. N-bodys, not so much.
The question of course is: what should Olds have done instead? I’m not sure there was a solution. CAFE forced GM to build small cars, and small is not equal to Oldsmobile. However even if Olds as a brand had been able to refuse to market small cars, it was interest rates and gas prices that were forcing customers to smaller vehicles. The dealers would have starved.
Somehow I believe that even if Olds had sold domestically built Honda Accords (quality and design equal) it might still not have been enough. With the “everyone can buy a Cutlass” gambit Olds destroyed the idea that an Olds was any more special than a Chevy. Why buy an Olds?
It got worse. By the end of its run, the Cutlass Ciera was actually *cheaper* than similarly-sized Chevys
Excellent article and photos. Thank you. The mid 80s over-saturation of this excellent example of GM’s sameness in styling, helped make the Calais almost invisible at the time. Like a homogeneous blend between an Omega, Ciera, and Toronado. And so many other concurrent GM products.
The well maintained paint, well chosen alloy wheels, and larger, beefier black wall tires, do help this one standout. Helping compensate for its otherwise once fully forgettable styling.
@ Lokki and why buy an Olds?
I started working on an epic piece explaining the virtues of badge engineering and someday will finish it. But let’s look at 1984, perhaps a peak year GM offered the most number of products largely undifferentiated across different lines. Chevy and GMC offered a pretty much identical truck/van lineup. Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, and Olds each offered the family A car, the B large rwd car, the G RWD personal coupe sedan (I think the Wagon had been axed) the J compact, and the soon to be defunct X car.
From GM’s perspective, it was very difficult to tell which of these cars would be successful. The Olds G and B bodies were far more successful than Chevy’s or Pontiac’s, but Pontiac’s J would be more successful than Buick’s or Olds’. Pontiac’s X and As were relative failures but the Pontiac N would go on to sell far more than the Buick or Olds Ns. It wasn’t much of a gamble to make each of these cars a little different to ensure success by at least one brand. Plus changing market conditions, unknown fuel supplies, etc, made sense that a “family” car would be available by all brands and in all sizes, so if suddenly families wanted giant rwd barges, Chevy and Pontiac had them as well. If Gas went to $5 a gallon, Olds and Buick would have the J car as well. Cheap insurance.
As to why a consumer would buy an Olds, pretty much the same reason the Lexified Camry sold or the Infiniti Maxima sold or the thinly disguised Hondas as Acuras sold. There’s a little more cachet to an Oldsmobile, the trim and feature content may be better, the dealer treatment is generally better, depending on the model an Oldsmobile may be made in a higher quality plant than a Chevy or Pontiac. If you were shopping Celebrity/6000/Ciera/Century in 1984, you might have a strong preference for dashboard layout or seat fabric/shape for one brand over the others, or the dealer might treat you better, or if you wanted a more lavishly equipped car, you could go to Buick/Olds v. Chevy/Pontiac.
Good analysis. Look forward to that article!
I recall shopping the four FWD A-bodies with my parents in 1982 and those were exactly the differentiators – the drivetrains and other mechanicals were identical by that time, and the bodies nearly were too. I recall the Pontiac 6000 was notable for being a rare GM car of that era that didn’t have those plastic bumper spacers that so often discolored or disintegrated over time. But for that reason, Pontiac couldn’t change the appearance of the front or back much unless they were willing to change the sheetmetal (which they weren’t) while the other three all got at least one substantial revision to both ends.
IIRC the Buick-Olds had the Buick 3.8 V6 and the Chevy and Pontiac had the Chevy 2.8 V6. As options, of course, otherwise it was Iron Dukes all around, including for the three-row wagons.
I just looked it up and I stand corrected, though it was actually just a 3.0L version at the start, with 3.8L and 3.3L coming later. Also originally offered was the Olds 4.3L diesel V6 which I’d totally forgotten about – this was ostensibly why there was extra front overhang compared to the X body, though looking bigger so the car would be considered “mid-sized” rather than “compact” probably was also a consideration. The other engines didn’t need the extra room IIRC.
That must be the nicest Cutlass Calais in existence on the planet! If you could find a Buick Skylark and a Pontiac Grand Am, you’d have an N-Body trifecta!
As I’ve said before, as a car modeler with youthful memories of the ’80s MPC annuals, this generation of Grand Am is near the top of the list of cars I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a kit of back in the day, but would be shocked if they tooled up now.
The Oldsmobuick N-bodies not so much – they seemed to have been old-people cars from the start as well as far less popular than the Pontiac.
Definitely, I could see MPC or maybe even AMT or Revell doing a Grand Am back then. Too bad they never did. Sadly, not many new-tool kits are being released of ANY subject, let alone obscure 80’s cars.
Ok Jon, so where in Houston is this meet and how often? In a few weeks my life is going to tremendously open up time wise and I’m always interested in meets…
It’s at Freddy’s Steakburgers on 1960/eldridge Sunday evenings, through July I think. They also have it at Freddy’s on 249 on saturday evenings. This was the first week I’ve been and they only had maybe a dozen cars. But it’s always worth checking out nice cars if you’re around the area!
My wife was in need of a car and I bought a then 12 year old well maintained 1990 Calais 4 door from a friend. The car was the same shade of red as the featured car and it had the Buick designed Olds built 3.3L V-6 along with the basic 3 speed Hydra-Matic automatic transaxle. Can’t say I was that impressed with the styling, but the car was actually kind of fun to drive. Naturally it had understeer a-plenty, but it cornered flat and had great brakes. The 3.3L was quite powerful particularly at low r.p.m.’s and provided great acceleration, though it was harsh at high r.p.m.’s. Very typical GM for the times. The car was near trouble free the whole time we had it, the only issue aside from regular maintenance was a bad knock sensor that would randomly retard the timing for no particular reason. All in all, I really liked the car. It was full of that quirky mid-80’s to early-90’s GM character.
Lost my original comment. I’m too lazy to make a login and people like me never learn.
My driver’s education car in ’87 was a Grand Am sedan. I drove with the beautiful Tara A., so I’ll always have a soft spot for the N bodies.
My mom had a GA in the early 90s, an ’85 I think. It was an uncommon green color and was in very good shape, maybe 50,000 miles on it. I only drove it once, to repair it. It felt well built and very smooth. It had the 2.5L and auto and was unbelievably slow. It seemed to have rather tall gearing.
Its problem ended up being the little GM control module on the air cleaner. It was my first guess and I got lucky. Got her one for free from the parts store where I worked. We had a big bucket of the things without packaging.
The store had a lot of stuff like that. Fell off a truck kind of stuff. Chicago, you know…
The shops where I delivered parts to gave me a sense of what cars are good and which aren’t. The N bodies were respected. Easy to fix, decently engineered, and reliable enough. Never sold any front end parts for them. Lots of control modules. The bucket of mystery modules was always selling out. The brake drums were undersized but so were all the other cars’.
And I always liked the looks of them. Accords were more sporty then and Camrys were always competent, but looks-wise and price-wise I liked the GM Ns better. Just not with the Tech 4/auto combo. My ’83 Cavalier 2.0 F.I. stick-shift was much much quicker. In fact is was freakishly quick for what it was. Would do 120. No, seriously! Story for another day, I have rambled enough.
Those GM “N Bodies” sure disappeared off the roads quickly. The last time I saw one was about a decade ago parked. It’s hard to believe what GM was thinking in that these sub compact cars were supposed to replace the rear drive “G bodies” that had a good, solid reputation and we’re still selling well. My sister had a ’89 Grand Am 5 speed she purchased brand new and it was always in the shop with something needing to be repaired. I remember her car had a very notchy, hard to engage shifter. It always crunched badly into reverse. The dealer said it was normal until her reverse gear went out twice! I’ve driven other GM cars with the Getrag 5 speeds and never liked them. She sold the Grand Am three years later and bought a new ’93 Honda Prelude that was trouble free all the years she had it. GM once again fell flat while trying to “live up” to the import competition.
That’s one sharp old Calais! Back when these were new, even though I was a big Oldsmobile fan, I was attracted to the Grand Am. The Olds was aimed at a higher income bracket than me, a recent college grad just in my first professional job. At the time I was into 80’s muscle cars and these really didn’t get a second look from me.
My brother traded in his 1980 Dodge Colt on a 1985 Pontiac Grand Am, Iron Duke and autobox. I told him he wouldn’t be happy with the performance of the car, but he shrugged off my suggestions. I was right, even though he wasn’t a “car guy”, the car’s performance was underwhelming. He also had some reliability issues with it, too, but I no longer remember what they were. By the time he was ready to trade the car, he was a new father, so he went from sporty coupe to minivan…
My nephew ended up with one of these N bodies the same year he totaled three cars in a row. Not a heavy drinker or stoner, I think he was trying to live out some boy racer fantasy. I think the Iron Duke Calais was the only car he could afford to insure. He hated that thing with a passion, pounded on that car mercilessly, and it just kept coming back for more. But since the performance envelope was so low, he managed to keep his license and his insurance coverage!
Amazingly, the N-car saves the day!
I’m glad to see someone else like these n cars. My parents had one almost identical to the featured car. My dad traded his black mercury lynx for a red calais with all the power options. Sadly its life was cut short due to a driver running a stop sign.
I had an 1986 Calais GT, same red interior, but with a digital dash. Nice car.
“My they (GM) had a lot of car models back then!” You got THAT right!
“The car is equipped with the standard “Tech 4” 92hp 2.5L four cylinder with electronic fuel injection, a.k.a. the Iron Duke built by Pontiac.” Same as my grandparents’ ’88 Cutlass Ciera
It’s actually fascinating to see how many fond memories people have of the N-Bodies. They mustn’t have been all that bad. On paper, they seem a bit disappointing — 3-speed auto, no V6/manual combo, Tech IV base engine etc. But it seems like they met the design brief. They’re cute little buggers too, if a bit awkward from some angles.
After spending a few years miserable with GM’s Deadliest Sin – the X body Citation, I looked at these cars as though they were bottles of Wild Turkey the morning after St. Patrick’s Day.
I couldn’t look at a GM vehicle again until 1988, and then it was a Chevy Suburban.
That ownership experience put me off of GM until 2000.
What a refreshing read on one of my favorite Oldsmobile cars of the 80s.. I love the Calais, it’s a nice looking car with an Oldsmobile character. I own and drive a 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais International Series.. and yes, I love the Quad 4. after 1988, the Cutlass Calais started to drift away from how it began in 1985, with added and excessive cladding, looking more like a Pontiac Calais.
And you can definitely see the Cutlass Supreme aesthetics of the Calais
another photo of the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais
Brings back beautiful memories of my ’85 Candy Apple Red Cutlass Calais with red interior. I bought it off the showroom floor. It had dark-tinted windows. I was 23, and it was the first car I’d ever bought entirely on my own. Unbelievably (and very sadly), I don’t have a pboto of it. Thanks for this trip down memory lane.