Occasionally, I will stumble across old photos of a car that I had taken long before I had discovered Curbside Classic. In September of 2011, when I had first seen this ’73 Cutlass, I was still happily using a flip-phone. Instead of surfing the internet on my weekday morning commutes into downtown, I’d be solving a couple of Sudoku puzzles on a printed copy of Chicago’s RedEye entertainment newspaper that had circulated between 2002 and 2020. I had periodically rediscovered these pictures over the years since becoming a contributor here, but had been moved to write about newer automotive finds. Also, I had simply been unable find something unique to say about this example of Oldsmobile’s version of GM’s Colonnade generation of midsize car. Ultimately, a recent visit from a college-aged niece had me flipping back through my old photo archives, which then led me to today’s Cutlass.
Upon my rediscovery of these pictures, I found the circumstances under which I had found this car to be as interesting as the car itself. Before I had started submitting photos to the Curbside Classic Cohort group on the Flickr photo sharing website for feature consideration, I had developed a habit of writing a quick blurb with my thoughts on the subject car, the events of the day, or another set of ideas that were pertinent to why I had chosen to take and share that picture. It was one such image with my words beneath it that had gotten the attention of CC site founder Paul Niedermeyer, who then asked if I’d be willing to consider expanding on my ideas and contributing to this site directly as a guest writer. The rest is history, but the caption I had written beneath the pictures of this Cutlass acted almost like a journal entry from that afternoon.
In part, I had written: “…On the way to DSW [shoe store] on Clark and Belmont, I spotted this beautiful, old, blue ’73 Olds from my L train car. I think I actually let out a gasp when I saw it. As I approached the car, the owner was walking toward it. He and I talked a bit about his Cutlass, and I asked his permission to photograph it, which he had no problem with. I mentioned how I was from the GM factory town of Flint, Michigan, and how we had built cars like this. (He then asked if I could help him get parts for his ride, to which I replied that I wasn’t that well connected.)
He told me he had just taken the car out of storage, which I thought was curious, since fall was just now starting and summer was over. However, for a car with no AC (if that is the case here), the timing would make perfect sense, given Chicago’s sometimes-beastly summer heat.”
Cars like this generation of Olds Cutlass will almost invariably put me in a Flint state of mind, as these were still the car of choice for more than a few of my teenage peers in the late ’80s and early ’90s who wanted an older GM car, but couldn’t quite afford the previous generation of A-body, or Camaros, Firebirds, or the like. Several things about this particular ’73 stood out to me. Its factory Zodiac Blue finish was one of the most vivid, electric shades of that color I have seen on a car, and its brightness beautifully complemented the Cutlass’s heavily sculpted lines. The effect of the few broken or missing trim pieces (for example, the headlight surrounds) contrasted with what otherwise looked like excellent condition for what was then a 38-year old car.
This was also the first time I could recall having gotten this close to a ’73 Cutlass to be able to appreciate its stylistic details up close, let alone photograph them. There’s something about the first-year iteration of any design that I find especially intriguing, before any subsequent refreshes or changes for the apparent sake of change, which was still often the norm throughout the ’70s. Granted, the rear safety bumper that arrived for ’74 along with a thicker, more isolated unit up front were necessary changes, but things like alterations to grille texture or side body moldings seem arbitrary and designed solely to make what had come before seem obsolete and replaced with something new.
This was the way that this generation of Cutlass was supposed to look, at least initially. I like the backwards-leaning, rectangular taillamps that are deeply recessed into the body work. The most curious thing to me was the front grille treatment, and also how the Cutlass Supreme got twin, horizontal grilles that were completely different – narrower, and with fine vertical ribs versus the basket weave-like pattern featured on lesser models like the base Cutlass and the S model. For years, I had seen the grille like on our featured car to be two, narrow, horizontal openings above the front bumper, with vents below that echoed their shape. As if having stared at an M. C. Escher art print and coming to see something different, I later came to see two big, gaping, horizontal swaths of grille that are bisected by the front bumper. This seems like one of those Bill Mitchell styling touches that was a throwback to some of those Motorama show cars of the late ’50s.
Buyers really liked the ’73 redesign, with sales increasing by about 27% to 381,000 from just under 299,000 the year before. Sales of the Supreme coupe, advertised as a “little limousine”, exploded – more than doubling from 105,000 units to 220,000 for ’73. The “S” coupe, like our blue example, was the second-most popular Cutlass for ’73 after the Supreme two-door, at about 77,600 cars. The least popular was the basic two-door, which sold just 22,000 units. The standard engine for any ’73 Cutlass was a four-barrel Olds Rocket 350 V8 with 180 horsepower. The only optional engine for the Cutlass range that year was a 455 with 250 horses. The ’73 may have been the first year of what was a clean-sheet design, but the Colonnade-era Cutlass seemed to defy logic by becoming more popular the older it got. Model year ’76 saw the Cutlass line hit just over half a million sales, a number exceeded by another 20,000 units the following year, the last one of this design.
The first month of the new year is winding down, and revisiting these pictures from over a decade ago has made me think about so many things. I remember taking these photographs and talking with the owner like this happened only a handful of years ago, and the new work shoes I bought that day have long since decomposed in a landfill. I’ve now had a smartphone for over a decade, and there are no new printed copies of the RedEye newspaper to be found. The previous decade has also brought significant personal growth for me, much like the Colonnade Cutlass had started off well enough, but went on to greater things the longer it hung around and came into its own. I think this generation of Cutlass could serve as a kind of mascot for anyone concerned with aging into irrelevance. At the same time, I feel it’s just as important to recognize the merits of who we once were, where we came from, and how it all felt toward the very beginning.
Uptown, Chicago, Illinois
Sunday, September 25, 2011.
Brochure pages were sourced from www.oldcarbrochures.org.
The headlight treatment on these always remind me of a Vega. Perhaps this is Mega Vega?
But that is secondary.
I grew up in Illinois, but way downstate, as close to Birmingham (or Huntsville?), Alabama, as Chicago. It was a different world there in the mid- to late-1980s.
The town where I grew up had 450 people. My school bus stop was a 1/4 mile from my house, requiring me to walk down a rarely traveled street toward the cemetery. The lane to my house branched off midway.
Every so often, a guy several years older than me would burble by in his ’73 Olds Cutlass. I knew what he was up to; his going to the cemetery (the only traffic that went past the lane) was not to visit anyone.
One warm day as he moseyed by, his open window being down as he drove by, my suspicions were confirmed. While I had never smelled it before that day, I knew as the descriptions I had heard about the smell had proven to be quite accurate.
He was going to the cemetery to smoke pot in his Olds. So, to me, there is a very strong link between a ’73 Olds Cutlass and the smell of Mary Jane. Hell, I could smell pot the entire time I read this!
Joe, thank you for dredging up this long lost memory. Your statement in your last sentence about recognizing the merits of where we came from are startlingly true. Well, maybe not the merits, but at least the connections with where we came from.
This was a great way to start a cold, January morning.
Ha! Jason, I was starting to compile a mental list of pot-referencing songs with which to augment this memory. I got as far as Rick James’s “Mary Jane” and the Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane” before I gave up in that idea. Great, entertaining recollection – thanks for sharing it.
Jacques Duval, who could be the counterpart of Bud Lindemann in Quebec, tested a 1973 Cutlass.
As a kid, I used to be highly impressed by Mr. Duval’s driving skills. He tested production cars hard! As they should be.
Awesome – Stéphane, thank you for posting this! Here is one review (en Français) of the ’73 Cutlass that t I know I’ve never seen before!
Great recollections Joseph, of your beginnings with Curbside Classic. Sincere congratulations, on such longevity, and high quality contributions. An amazing milestone. Your writing, photo finds, and commentary, have been a big part of this site, for so long. Thank you!
How times have changed. Flip phones and newspapers were still a thing, around 2011. There was a startup morning newspaper here in Canada called ‘Dose’, that attempted to reverse the slide of the print industry. First published in 2005. It was free, and aimed at commuters in the major cities, who wanted a quick summary of all the daily news. Advertising was meant to cover all costs. It was high profile, but lasted only one year! My lasting memory of Dose, was the tremendous litter it created inside the GM New Look buses, I used to ride to work. When the bus hit the freeway, newspapers would fly everywhere. And later create a large pile, at the base of the exit doors. Cool name for a newspaper. And the logo, meant to look like a capsule was neat. But PFFFT! It went away, after one year.
I find the relatively rare metal fastback roof, and large quarter window, on this Cutlass S appealing. A sportier look, than the formal roofs and opera windows, associated with most Colonnade coupes. Never liked the Grand Am’s louvres, which appeared contrived. Inspired by some of the pace cars at the time, I used to imagine the Cutlass S with a targa roof. T-tops or a single removable top, over the front seats. A fixed roll bar. With a small fold down top in the rear. Would have been a cool option.
Great quality images from a fourteen year old flip phone. Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks for the kind words, Daniel! I should clarify that my involvement with CC started in 2015 and these pictures were taken with my old Canon EOS Rebel. You bring up good points about the litter such printed publications can create. I don’t like seeing paper trash, but thee way I see it, at least it’s biodegradable. I am also a fan of the base Cutlass’s fastback roof with the flag-shales windows. Such a rare site.
Thanks for all your great contributions Joe.
Ah! A digital camera. Explains, the excellent quality of these early photos.
Yes, it was funny. As there was talk, the local transit agency would bill the newspaper. For the clean up of all the newspapers polluting transit stations, buses, etc. Many people were not pleased with all the visible newsprint refuse.
I purchased new a 73 Black Supreme just loved that car always got compliments
Up onto that point I owned VWs the following year gas prices went through the roof.
Ken D
That’s right – you bought your Cutlass in the year the OPEC thing started that fall. At least you were cruising in style (when you could get that gas). I have always loved the ’73, and in black, I’m sure yours was a looker.
14-year-old me was excited when my father ordered a Cutlass S back in ’73. However, I completely ignored his propensity to be… cheap. When it arrived, behind the great 350-4bbl was a 3-speed column shift transmission. No A/C. No power steering. No power brakes. Vinyl bench seat.
My dreams of being the high school BMOC took a hit that day.
I also would have been slightly depressed by this. That would have been like buying a new-for-’86 Ford Taurus “L” stripper model.
I too have always preferred this first year of the Cutlass Colonnade. In general I’m not wild about this gen of ’73-77 GM A-body cars but do like the Olds versions.
Our next door librarian neighbor had a 1 yr old ’73 Cutlass 4 door when we moved into our first house in Dec 1974. Her medium/light blue metallic 4 door had major sculpturing around all 4 wheels, quite different than the coupes, but I liked it as a sedan, it was different, and it’s 2 big instrument dials on the dash looked rather sporty. It’s 350 had that classic Olds V8 sound, quite unique to the brand, which just further accented the uniqueness of Oldsmobile. I have subsequently owned many Olds, even founded an OCA chapter, and have a ’69 Cutlass to this day. Meantime, I still have one unopened gallon of single-stage acrylic enamel in Zodiac Blue left over from my former ’73 Delta 88… it’s a stunning color, does anyone need some? lol
I also always thought the Olds dash in these with the round dials was particularly appealing. I’m also now curious to hear what the four different 350s from each GM division sounded like in the ’70s. There’s got to be footage on YouTube where such a comparison could be made…
From photographs only, I haven’t seen one in the metal, a ’73 Odsmobile Cutlass 4 door would be my perfect seventies American car.
I think the sculpting on these ’73 Cutlass four-doors made them look somewhat athletic and less bulky than their size would suggest. Looking at the midsize competition from within GM and also at Ford and Chrysler (and again, among four-doors), I might agree with you.
Given that Chrysler so often followed General Motors (and Ford’s) lead during the 1970’s, particularly with regards to styling, surprising GM did not create a NASCAR replica Colonnade coupe first.
I thought the Volare/Aspen Super Coupes, and Richard Petty Volare/Aspen Kit Car edition, were pretty neat. A Colonnade stock car replica, with this fast metal roof, would have been a sales hit IMO. NASCAR was quite mainstream back then.
I like that you brought up the Chrysler G-Body coupes, because they were very Colonnade-esque, now that you mention it. Not the four-door Volaré and Aspen, which had framed door glass, but the two-door models – down to the triangular rear quarter window shapes.
One of the best things that ever happened to CC was first finding your superb photos at the Cohort and then getting you to contribute directly. I love the way you’ve used your photos and your thoughts on them as a form of a personal journal. I wish I’d had the foresight to do that, although when I do look at old car photos of mine, like all old photos, they do evoke strong memories.
Thanks again for this and all your contributions. And yes, I was quite amazed when the ’73 colonnade cars came out. And it was the Olds brochures a friend and I took home and cut up in a pre-PS customizing session. Here’s the one of this car.
I toyed a bit with Google Image FX, who I might call a challenger to Bing Image Creator and this is how they imagined a 1973 Cutlass coupe. Interesting to note Image FX still imagined then Oldsmobile would have still been a 2-door hardtop instead of going Colonnade.
I guess the file was too big to upload, I posted the “Cutlass Image FX” at https://zupimages.net/viewer.php?id=25/05/e2tl.jpg
Thanks, Paul! Do you remember how many months it took before I actually tried putting a proper submission together? Haha – I remember it being a while, but WordPress and the general formatting things turned out to have a very short learning curve. (In case any readers are wondering…)
I recall that when the GM Colonnade cars hit the streets for the ‘73 model year, the Olds Cutlass was particularly appealing. The ‘73 Supreme 2-door with the squared-up quarter windows and a vinyl roof was my personal favorite, it being a nice combination of swoopy style married with a bit of formality. That combination can be difficult to put together well, but Olds pulled it off, arguably better than anyone else, including its GM sibling brands.. The ‘73 Cutlass also found a way to hit the letter of the new bumper standards and still look good. It was a moment in time when the Cutlass owned the rather bloated in size and weight “midsize” category, whether or not sales figures confirm it as the biggest midsize volume seller at the time. It was the one people seemed to aspire to, more than the others.
The Colonnade Cutlass was quite a popular car, even in import-besotted Southern California. Like so many popular cars, they were everywhere, until, over time, they weren’t. An important piece of the ‘70s automotive landscape, once taken for granted, is mostly gone now.
Most cars look good when they are done up to factory new specifications, with everything shiny, in place, and undamaged. A truly good design will still look good when it is a bit rusty, incomplete, and a bit dinged-up. This blue example shows how the ‘73 Cutlass still shows well, even when things are run down a bit.
Your description of the ’73 C/S “little limousine” sounds perfect to me – the right blend of swoopy style with formality. On looks alone, it’s like these deserved to be popular.
It’s amusing when the photos themselves elicit almost as many memories as the car… hard to believe that 2011 was really THAT long ago.
I held onto my flip phone until 2018… I insisted I didn’t want anything bigger than that in my pocket. Don’t miss it now, though.
I do miss good newspapers. I subscribed to newspapers for my entire adult life up until 2016, when I thought my local paper degraded in quality so much that the subscription wasn’t worth it.
I have a bunch of pictures that I took during my early days writing for CC that I thought were outstanding finds at the time, but ultimately could never come up with anything original to write about them. Funny to see what makes the cut and what doesn’t.
Eric, I agree that the time between now and 2011 absolutely does not feel like the numerical 14 years has passed. In your last paragraph, you and I share the same experience with that phenomenon – I’m wishing you success in finding an angle with which to feature some of your earlier finds! I thought it was quite fun to write about a car I had seen that long ago and within the context of that period of my life.
I don’t think many people know this but the grilles on the 1973 Cutlass were spring loaded and actually moved rearward to prevent damage when the 5 mph bumper was struck and moved rearward, then the energy absorbers the bumper face bar was mounted on restored the bumper back to its original position and the grille popped back into position. GM had a magazine ad illustrating this.
At the beginning of this video on a 73 Cutlass S, Adam demonstrates those spring-loaded grilles:
That’s fascinating – I think I remember either reading or seeing video footage of the spring-loaded grille in action. I like that Olds engineers made this happen.
CA Guy, thanks for posting that video. There it is, at around 1:13!
Great photos and story, Dennis, a wonderful read!
The Zodiac Blue paint and the fact that this Cutlass is a 1973 model reminded me of my oft-told story, now 50+ years old. In the summer of 1972, my mother was thinking about replacing her 1967 Chevy Bel Air with a new replacement. My brother and I discovered that the 1972-73 full-size Chevy would be too long to fit in our 1935-era garage, so we talked our mother into buying a 1973 Chevy Monte Carlo, which we helped her to special order.
We chose the same color as featured on this Cutlass, called simply Dark Blue Metallic by Chevy, along with air conditioning (her first car with it) and as standard equipment a 350-cu. in. V8, Turbo Hydramatic, power steering, and power disc/drum brakes (also all firsts for her). It looked a lot like the one on the Monte Carlo brochure cover, except we skipped the vinyl roof. Quite an upgrade from the barebones Bel Air!
Thank you! I appreciate reading this account of your mother’s Monte – there are never any qualifiers needed around retelling a good account. I did photograph a Zodiac Blue 1973 Monte Carlo about nine years ago, so if I ever get around to writing that one up, I fully hope you chime in!
I miss Oldsmobile, I live in a warm weather state and see classic cars almost daily! I am surprised how few people collected Oldsmobile. My first car was a Cierra and they were EVERYWHERE. From the ubiquitous Delta 88′ to the Cutlass supreme everyone knew these cars or knew someone who had one . They sold over a million units in 77′ and 84′. They were the second biggest division of General motors, however They are almost as forgotten as DeSoto! I am hoping someone like Jay Leno might find or start restoring these rolling pieces of American history!
I also miss Oldsmobile and find it hard to believe that it’s gone after being omnipresent for much of my earliest memories. Count my family of origin as one that had owned an A-body Cutlass Ciera. It was ‘t exciting, but it was a good car.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/editorial/curbside-musings-1994-oldsmobile-cutlass-ciera-sl-reluctant-admiration/
These always occupied a weird spot with me. I had just gotten used to the 72 after my mother bought a Cutlass Supreme coupe in probably June or July of 72. Then, suddenly. THIS was a Cutlass! The situation was not helped after my step-mom bought a 74, which normalized that one for me.
I like the 73 (certainlymorenow than then!), but it always just seemed so “other” to me.
And boy am I glad you started contributing here! I always look forward to your unique takes.
Thanks, JP! The admiration is mutual. I can understand your initial take in the ’73 given it was such a stylistic hard-pivot from the ’72.
Superb article Joseph. Curbside Classic can never have too much coverage of the Colonnades as I cannot tell you what an effect these cars had on me. I had just turned 20 when the Colonnades appeared in the fall of 1972. As a student at Vincennes University one of my classes was held in a building across the the street from the local Oldsmobile dealer (Westfall Oldsmobile) and I saw the first of the 73’s being unloaded off of the transports. My jaw dropped as I could not believe what I was seeing. My father was driving a flame orange (a one year only color) 1972 Cutlass Supreme as his company car then and on one of my first weekends home from Vincennes he had just gotten a 1973 Cutlass Supreme company car. To say I was absolutely blown away would be the understatement of the year. I could not believe this was a Cutlass as it was so different from the 1972. To this day if I see a 1973 Cutlass I am immediately transported back in time almost 52 1/2 years and I can still see this car as being brand new.
Keep up the great writing. I really enjoy your articles.
IMHO General Motors hit 5 home runs in ’73 with the coupes even though they were intended for ’72. The Buick GS, Chevelle SS, GTO/Lemans, Cutlass & Monte Carlo all beautiful one year releases that harken back to the bubble top look of the past.