It has been repeatedly requested by CCers–most notably LAx–that we really need to do a CC on that underrated E-body Olds, the 1986-88 Trofeo. Well guess what I saw on my way home this afternoon, after getting some new tires for the wagon?
Yes indeed, it’s a Trofeo. When I first spotted it, it was sitting at a light, but it did indeed pass me a few minutes later. Then I passed it. It turned off into a shopping center a few traffic lights later, but due to water heater issues at home, I was not able to follow and get a full set of pictures. But never fear, I’ve located and shot a last-year ’92 Trofeo for your reading pleasure. Soon, I promise. ‘Till then, this one will have to do. Enjoy!
Please tell me the 92 Trofeo has the touchscreen, car phone, & nav system.
Sadly, no. It was in remarkable shape though.
Nuts. At least the small fleet of local Reattas might have a touchscreen.
You might want to check out my CC on the 1989 Riviera. It DID have the touchscreen, though it isn’t very visible in the single interior shot I took: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1989-buick-riviera-what-the-1986-riviera-should-have-been/
Jeez; I shot one or two ages ago….
Yeah, but that one doesn’t have the FE3 suspension 🙂
I like the red on red color combo, though.
It probably fell off; you know how those GM cars shed parts going down the road 🙂
You must not be familiar with the premium Toronado. Remarkable quality and durability. Excellent ride. A truly beautiful car.
(Shout-out for the 3.8 engine that lasts for hundreds of thousands of miles in these!)
He was showing satire.
I dunno. Are you sure it isn’t a Calais with an additional six inches of width? I must get close up details or a new pair of glasses.
Funny this should come up today, as I just bought one this morning. Rear-end shot will have to suffice until I’m done applying the new hood and fender 🙂
With all the salt on Minnesota roads, that beauty is in phenomenal condition! Congrats. Wow!
It was doing so good… until that fateful day when its former owner bumped something in the front right corner (for the second time in her ownership, might I add). That led to the truly shameful decision to park it next to – not in – the garage for the next three years.
As a result, the formerly rust-free car now has some undercarriage corrosion going on (nothing atrocious, but still, damn the fools who store cars on black dirt!). The clearcoat is also a-peelin’, courtesy of the sun, the rain, and the tree that stood over it.
Even so, $600 for a runner with 125K that’s not rusted out ain’t bad around these parts. This one has plenty of miles left to give.
$600? The engine alone is worth that if you ask me! (OK, junkyard might say $200). Drive it 3 months and the beauty is PAID for. The fun of driving that car is also worth something! Lucky guy. Enjoy!
cool does your have the (in)famous touchscreen?
Nope. It has every option I can think of EXCEPT the VIC. Even has a factory CD player (amazing for a ’91).
Initially I was disappointed by the lack of touchscreen, but then I remembered all the troubles friends and acquaintances went through when their VICs would kick the bucket. So maybe I’m better off without it.
Good luck nice car, my favorite of that version was white. I had those same wheels on my 90 Touring Sedan.
Had a similar experience recently, spying a pretty-nice-looking-but-obviously-not-stock shocking purple Trofeo as it merged into freeway traffic as I was moving to exit…one of our infamous cross-cross lane affairs, making the task of shooting while in motion a near suicidal task. Another one that got away!
I don’t know why I’ve become so obsessed with the rarity of this car, but it looks better to me all the time. My original assessment, a Grand Am in a Tuxedo.
Shocking Purple would put me in nirvana. I think I may have seen one like that on Ebay about 2 or 3 years ago.
I think I’m just amazed they tried to pull off the whole Trofeo thing when the Toronado alone was DOA… The Sheer GM Gaul… to charge double what the lessor N cars…
yet as a used car buy in 1999 when I bought my silver one for $1400, it struck me as a manly Eldorado attempt, with Riviera the female skewed equivalent.
Look forward to hearing about the 1992, and about Keith’s car as well.
The last Trofeo I saw around here was a Blue one, that was a good five years ago.
Its not N-car based you know, the shapes are close from the side, but the E-cars are much wider. I would love to see what the original design concept for the 86 Toronado looked like, I imagine it was much more aggressive than what ended up on the roads, the return of hidden headlights for the first time since 1969 was a cool touch, there was alot of orignal Toronado in the 1986 car, the hidden headlights, the full width tailights, if this car car could have been a little longer with a lower roofline, it would have been much better looking.
This was done around 1980, it is an advanced drawing, not necessarily tied directly to the Toronado but an Oldsmobile coupe. You can already see the early inclusion of hideaway headlight covers. There is a good (whose name escapes me at the moment) where Wayne Kady (who designed the 86 Eldorado) discusses heavily the concepts that went into that version of the E body. Alot of the same constrictions applied, it is well known that CAFE played a big role in the cars’ size. I have no idea who designed the 86 Toronado specifically I know Ed Welburn was Asst. Styling Chief for Oldsmobile at the time. The August 1985 edition of Car and Driver ran a cover story on the 86 Toronado as it marked the 20th anniversary of the original Toronado. A lot of comparisons were made between the new car and the old car as far as styling cues.
The cars themselves were outstanding, I remember engineers fanning out to the zones to promote the cars, they drove exceedingly well, it was like a whole different driving experience especially with the FE3 suspension. The trouble was it went deeper than just simply size but rather the flavor of the car. Oldsmobile deviated the most of the three from the previous generation and it was dramatic. Most of the problem lied with the fact that prior to about 1971, Oldsmobile was always known as the “Cadillac” for ordinary people, in a sense a step up from Chevrolet and Pontiac for average work class stiffs who wanted something nice but who did not consider themselves Buick or Cadillac “people.” The 70s Oldsmobile went full bore into the Brougham experience to the point that just about everything rolled out with a vinyl top, a Brougham emblem, or such things for about a dozen years. People got used to that. The original Toronado was a big car and not exactly a sports car, but it was something of an enthusiasts car for the man or lady (and it was unusually popular with females). The second and third generations were basically boats catering to people who liked the FWD concept and its relatively exclusivity but were definitely into the luxury aspect. The 86 Toronado did well among focus groups with people who enjoyed a car with that car’s qualities but it was panned widely by previous owners, many of who’s memories of the first generation Toronado were long gone. People complained about the ride, the shift on the floor, the lack of vinyl roof, etc. The customers who had old Toronados traded them in and either bought an 88 or 98 (more often than not), Cutlass coupe, or moved on. It was a tough concept to sell just like the Cutlass Supreme would be two years later. The Broughamance was coming to an end and people didn’t like it. IMO, that is what ultimately undid Oldsmobile they became stereotyped as a blue collar Cadillac and when that went away so did the customers.
For me, it caused me to buy one of the last 1985 Calientes which I drove daily from 85-90 when I purchased my Touring Sedan (which became my last Olds daily driver) the Touring Sedan being one of the best all around daily drivers I have ever driven combining big car luxuries with an extremely attractive efficient design that got great gas mileage (19/29). I did not care much for the aero look and the cars of the 90s so I eventually switched to Cadillac for the remainder of my career.
With that said, the 86-92 are extremely competent cars and the 90-92 models are very attractive. For a while, we sold more Trofeos than Toronados, they eventually just called them Trofeos to differentiate them somewhat. Probably the neatest thing of the interior of the Trofeos (aside from the touch screen display) was the paddle shift lever, which my Touring Sedan also employed. Old Oldsmobiles had them as did Rivieras for a time it was a different touch.
I’ve long suspected the designers of the MN12 Cougar used the Trefeo as primary inspiration for the redesign. There’s a major funhouse mirror sort of resemblance between the two. Not surprisingly, I love both designs!
Coincidentally, I caught Death Wish 4 on TV yesterday. Paul Kersey’s car of choice in this installment? A dark blue Toronado Trefeo just like this one.
Yes! I’ve seen that pretty terrible movie and noticed Paul Kerseys Toronado.
I always thought these were good looking cars. The styling is “clean”, especially the rear end/taillight setup. It’s sharp, regardless of some people’s views that it looks like a Calais.
Have ’em drive a Calais/Grand AM and they’ll know they’re wrong 🙂 (if you can find a Calais/Grand AM alive today, case in point!)
You know, seeing that one in traffic yesterday, it really didn’t remind me of a Calais. It seemed quite a bit bigger, and the window treatment looked different too. If you look in the pic above, it doesn’t look very small when compared to the Durango in front of it.
Maybe it’s because I see so few N-bodies these days…
Oldsmobile sure made some space-age looking cars didn’t they. This, the last gen 98 (or Ninety-Eight if you please), then the Aurora and progeny. They may not have been drop dead gorgeous, but they were all interesting to look at.
Btw wasn’t Olds toying at one point with renaming the whole brand Aurora?
I must confess I like the Toro the best of the pre-1989 facelift E-bodies. The inaugural ’86 Eldo and Riv are the weakest. After ’88 though, all three look good to me. I test-drove an ’89 Garnet Red Eldo with matching leather in 1999 and was very impressed. Comfortable, responsive and, I thought, luxurious. I’m sure the 4.9 helped my opinion…
I always thought it was kind of peculiar how they staggered the refreshes on the original 86 versions of these three. The Eldorado first in 1988, followed by the Riviera in 1989, and finally the Toronado in 1990. I Wonder why they weren’t all three enlarged at the same time.
The Toronado is my favorite of these, both pre- and post-facelift. I would love to have an early one! I prefer the more compact appearance. I thought it looked like the car of the future (yet with original Toronado styling cues) when it came out. Apparently most people didn’t agree….
Saturn and Aurora were both toyed with a brands for Oldsmobile, Saturn would have been the entry level line, replacing the never popular Firenza,which explains why the SL looks like small Cutlass, that idea was scrapped after the styling for the SL was pretty much locked in, so it couldn’t be changed. Aurora would have been like an Acura-Lexus, replacing the 98 and Toronado. This was close to happening, but many Olds dealers balked at the one price Saturn selling principals.
Psssssssssss Carmine, “principles” not “principals”
Only some of us can be bought… 😛
Arrrgh.
Yea the Dealer Advisory Board thing didn’t go over so well. John Rock pissed off a lot of people with his “Saturnizing” Olds business model, which caused about 20% of the dealers to leave in 1993 and my uncle left in 1996. But, we sort of saw the writing on the wall when the 91/92 redesigns (which did well for Buick and Pontiac but not so with Olds) ultimately causing me to move to Cadillac in 1993.
I do not think the SL was meant for Oldsmobile although the styling themes were there. Olds did not really begin to struggle until after the Saturn came out, the design were largely cast by 87 and then Olds was generally ok at the time. Some of that was driven that a large amount of Olds franchises were owned jointly by owners of import marques. Rumors started rolling really when the Aurora was developed specifically to not use the Rocket logo instead debuting the “O with a line through it” thing. I disliked the Aurora but liked the Alero and Intrigue but it was difficult to keep the dealer network going on two models. A lot of people did not even know Saturn was part of GM. Most of the older traditional Oldsmobile buyers moved to Buick which enjoyed something of a resurgence with the refocus on being “Premium American Motorcar” and the newer buyers floated elsewhere to imports or Chevrolet.
Nice find, Tom!
I drove a late 80’s FE3 model back when they were new. We were visiting some of my wife’s friends in upstate NY; I was hungover after a particular party, the rest of the folks took off to one of the lakes and left me with the keys to the Toro so I could catch up once my head cleared up.
I had my 5.0L Capri back then and my turbo Dodge, both of which I considered good handlers/drivers, but the Toro was in a class all of it’s own. It was swift, quiet and comfortable, none of which applied to my then-current cars. It was a real “grown-up” car, not the hot rods I was cruising around in. Coincidentally, I grew up a little too.
I knew a few people with these cars, one of which was my old production manager at another printing company. He’d had one for 10 or so years, finally traded it off for a minivan once his kids came along. It was definitely a COAL for him; we got together a few weeks ago to talk about the old days when we worked together, somehow we got on a conversation about cars and he brought up his Trofeo again. It made a big impression on him, to be sure.
By the way, when I was at the dealer, they had a pristine ’89-’91 Eldo in one of the service bays. White, navy leather and the “snowflake” alloys. I should have asked if I could take some pictures!
I don’t really have anything to add about the Trofeo, but the sign behind the cars is fascinating. Slumberland and Party City in the same shopping center. Something for everyone.
Slumberland sells Camrys, Party City sells GT500s–or Challenger SRT8s, if you prefer 🙂
It looks like a toronado, but not the toronado trofeo?
Dual-exhaust. Ground effects/body kit/cladding, whatever you call it. Black trim around wheel wells instead of chrome.
Tom, it’s funny that you titled it the “elusive” Toronado Trofeo. For years, my wife and I have played a game call “Spot the 1990 through 1992 Toronado Trofeo!” (The exclamation point is part of the game’s name.) It’s been a looooooooong time since anyone scored a point.
I always thought they were cool cars, hence the game. It’s one of the only modern Oldsmobile’s I’d be proud to own. (The other being the 1st gen Aurora, of course. Oh, and the Touring Sedan.)
Funny thing: Over the last year I’ve seen three of the 1990-92 Trofeos: a black one at my local Volvo dealer (they used to sell Olds), a red one in Coralville and a white one in Silvis. All were in fine shape. It seems there is a small but dedicated fan base!
They were a very very nice car. The engine and transmission were basically the same (but the 3800 then was NICE) unlike the 90s versions that you could get the supercharged. But the 87-90 Touring Sedans were nicer than the later ones.
The picture below is a maroon interior similar to what I had. The wood is REAL the leather is REAL and it had a nice set of gauges, steering wheel controls, and paddle shifter.
It was by far the best overall daily driver I have owned.
I never noticed that these came with the ’60s-muscle basket handle shifter. Sweet. (Even if it is more Buick GS than Hurst/Olds…)
I cross-shopped the 98 Touring Sedan against the Electra T-Type that I ended up buying 20 years ago (the NADA value for the T-Type was inexplicably $5K less than for the Touring Sedan and they were essentially identical underneath).
Both the Touring Sedan and The T-Type drove and rode NOTHING like the luxury cars that they were based upon – the ride was much firmer, steering actually had feedback and required some effort, brakes were more responsive with a firmer pedal and less power assist, and handling was also better with the larger wheels and wider tires. I drove a few Park Avenues and 88/98s during the same period and I couldn’t believe that they were even the same basic car.
I think GM really missed a huge opportunity by not marketing these versions and option packages more heavily. People saw the C/H body shape and just assumed that it was grandpa’s car (although the Lesabre T-Type which was based upon the 2-door, was definitely sporting in appearance).
Reading your description makes me wish I could find a Touring Sedan or T-Type even more than I already did! I would love to see and feel how one drives. Sadly, I think the problem with these models was that even by the 1980s, people saw the shape and, as you say, thought “grandpa”, especially the people in the target market for a more enthusiast-oriented model. They went for cars like the Acura Legend instead, and weren’t disappointed. I love that LeSabre 2-door bodystyle, by the way. Did the FWD Olds 88 have a model comparable to the T-Type? I don’t remember it–although maybe an FE3 option package was offered.
Never realized that the ‘Touring Sedan’ was anything special until now. I’ve only ever seen one – in a rural junkyard, discs in the dirt, windows open, and grass grown up taller than the fenders. What remained looked like just another Olds 98 to me.
That being said, I did grab a badge off of it before it got crushed (for its uniqueness, if nothing else). Maybe it’s worthy of going up on The Wall after all.
EDIT: the wrong has been righted
In Mexico, the higher trim level was sold as the “Grande Muyfeo”, as “Trofeo” sounded too close to a character in an old Aztec legend about a scary ghost princess who goes on a week-long peyote bender and mistakenly swaps places with an identical looking peasant girl named Kalais.
You have got to be kidding!?
I remember going to look at a Burgandy on Burgandy 89 Trofeo with the touch screen with my dad in 89. I fell in love with it instantly (as any 6th grader would). It was loaded with the power moonroof, touch screen and factory/dealer telephone option.
He ended up buying an 89 6000 STE anyway…but I can still remember the Trofeo.
Not sure if it has been said yet but all Trofeo’s had the FE3 suspension, they just didn’t all get the badge on the trunk lid.
Anyone remember the decent chase scene involving a Trofeo in “Gleaming the Cube” with Tony Hawk and Christian Slater?
Pretty cool if you can catch it sometime.
What seperated the 86-88 Toronado/Trofeo from its Buick and Cadillac siblings was that the bucket seats and floor shifter was an option. Well on the Toronado anyway. One of the features that I like about my own personal 90 Riviera is that I feel like I’m tightly wrapped into the car like a jet fighter.The console is an extension of the dash just like it was on the original 63-65 Riviera. With the column shifted Toronado it is very like the original 66-85 BOF models and very open and not as claustrophobic. Even the center tunnel of the car doesn’t appear as tall as it does on the 85+ C/H-Bodies. Here’s a pic I took some time back of a 87 Toronado with the column shift. BTW I have tons of stuff as far as E-Body, C-Body T-Type,DTS/DTC and Touring Sedan goes. Part of my collection on why the 86-93 E-Body wasn’t the big DS as Paul would have you believe.
BTW Craig I think your calling the TS and early Toronado shifter a “paddle” is an injustice. “Paddle” shifters are on the steering wheel. Most of us call that type of shifter on the floor a “horseshoe” or as someone said baskethandle.
Another thing I like about the 86-93(yes I know Olds stopped in 92 and Cadillac in 91) is the basic size of the car. 108 inch wheelbase and approximate 3500 pound curb weight. That’s the same as the 78-88 G-Body which I’m more than familiar with having bought my first example back in the fall of 1977. You know the E-Body has a lower roof line which might be why some people see this model as smaller than it really is. IMO, comparing apples to apples, as in base models or FE3 suspensions to sport suspension models, the FWD cars handle a lot better than the RWD cars. Even when they are pushed way harder than the average driver would. The transverse leaf does studder a bit which is why I’m converting my Riv over to the coil spring set up from a 93 Allante(92 Eldorado too!).
I want a 89-92 Trofeo! I’d have to mod mine a bit, no a lot. Other than the coil spring suspension I would drop in a 4.6l Northstar. Add some Aurora valve covers. That would make it 100% Oldsmobile. Leave the SC 3800 to the Buicks.
Regional dialect maybe, in the fall of 85 when these cars came out paddles on the steering wheel were not in use on cars that I could recall. Some called it aircraft handle, whatever…
The problem with these cars wasn’t the car, they were wonderful I have driven many many of these generation Oldsmobile and owned an 89 Eldorado for a time. The problem was that, like me as an 85 Caliente owner, the demographic buying those cars up to that time had grown accustomed to the highly conservative very angular “Broughamified” experience. Focus group testing of the 86 Toronado went well, the problem was is, like Olds found out with the new Cutlass and other models, that it turned off a lot of the older buyers but did not attract enough of the newer buyer. So the new buyer (specifically Olds) were a mixture of diehards that just went with it and a handful of newer buyers that did like the concept. The car was geared more towards the enthusiasts car, much like the original 66 Toronado was but those buyers were long gone.
As for the engine, to be 100% Oldsmobile you would have to use the L47 4.0 Aurora V8 or the LX5 “Shortstar” V6 bbut all were based off the original Cadillac V8. But at least those two motors only appeared in Oldsmobile models so you could say so.
I have a 88 trofeo im tryin to sell for only $2500 with ONLY 61k original miles, let me know if your interested
623.252.0025 or pmgstudios@yahoo.com
It’s cool i came across this thread! I’m the proud owner of a red ’91 Trofeo with VIC. It’s in rough cosmetic shape due to an untimely run in with a truck (right fender and door) but I have the parts and am slowly working it back to her former glory. The VIC is out, i believe, due to a bad BCM, which i just got in the mail. Otherwise, she’s got 189000 miles and drives straight as an arrow. BTW: Does anyone know where I can get window mouldings for the windshield and rear window? Parts are quite elusive…
Miles,
my wife works for a large auto glass company, I’ll see if she can source them and let you know where they get them from.
Miles,
she said she can get them but they would only sell them to you if they did the work…
she said she sources them from pilkington glass (pilkington.com) or another obsolete glass/molding suppler out of ohio.
let me know if I can help more..
I appreciate the reply. I live in south Florida, so a trip to Ohio just for window mouldings isn’t in the cards right now. Thanks though!
If you have problems let us know. I can probably dig up the part #s and run a locator search.
I am a proud, but frustrated owner of a 92 with all the bells and whistles. However the frustration comes from a lack of parts and a desparate need. She’ll be basically sitting for 2 years till I get my license back and I figured i’d take this time to get together the parts I need. Which are plenty. The previous owner hit a deer. had it fixed then I hit one a few months after I bought it. Virtually no cosmetic damage but the right side of the body got moved maybe an eighth or more of an inch to the back so the hood doesn’t come up right and the passenger door pops. Ideas on how to fix that would be great too. She’s a great car. Almost 190xxx miles on her but she works fine. Just need the parts to put her back into her prime. There is a link to my facebook to reach me easiest. I’ll try to check back as much as possible though.
Sadly enough, that white 92 I posted before was in a wreck at 60 mph with a truck. She is no more….