(first posted 9/26/2018) This past Saturday while running errands, I rounded a familiar corner in my suburban Chicago town and saw a decidedly unfamiliar sight. Peeking out between the trees, parked in front of a stately older home, was this 1972 Cutlass Supreme 4-Door Hardtop, in what looked to be impeccable condition. Between the brand-new looking Olds, and the timeless house, the glimpse view could just as easily have been in the fall of 1972.
Were it not for a 5th Generation VW Golf GTI parked right by the rear of the Cutlass, the scene really could have been from another era.
I don’t know the people who live in this house, so I didn’t feel comfortable walking onto the property to get closer shots of the Cutlass. But even from a distance, it’s clear that this 46-year-old Oldsmobile is in exceptionally good condition. The Nordic Blue paint was lustrous, the wheel covers sparkled and the whitewalls looked freshly scrubbed. Clearly a garage queen….
The Supreme sedan carried Illinois plates, though it certainly doesn’t look like it suffered through many Illinois winters. The rocker panels show no easily visible signs of rust at all.
While the seemingly complete lack of rust might indicate that the car originally came from a hotter, drier climate, there were no signs of significant damage from UV-rays either. For example, the top of the rear seat back is visible, finished in blue “Orleans” cloth, with no sign of sun-induced upholstery shredding.
Speaking of interiors, during the early 1970s, General Motors was all about differentiation, even within the same model series. The 2- and 4-door Cutlass Supreme models offered different sew patterns and door trim. Shown above is the “Orleans” cloth interior for the Cutlass Supreme 4-Door Hardtop.
The blue trim found on today’s Cutlass Curbside Classic was one of 3 cloth selections for sedans; other choices for the 4-doors included “Morocceen” vinyl in Black or Saddle.
Cutlass Supreme 2-Door Hardtops used the same cloth fabric, but sewn in a different pattern than the 4-Door. Door trim was also different, featuring much larger “genuine imitation” wood grain panels and door pull straps.
The 2-Door Cutlass Supremes added white “Morocceen” vinyl to the mix, while convertibles offered all the same hues in all-vinyl only.
To pair with the colorful interiors, mid-sized Oldsmobiles could be had in a choice of 18 exterior colors, 6 of which were exclusive to the intermediate lines (full-sized models had 6 exclusive colors of their own).
When I was growing up, I was quite familiar with one of these colors—Saturn Gold—as my maternal grandmother, Mère, had a Cutlass Supreme 2-Door Hardtop finished in this shade. She loved her Cutlass, and always considered it a very “snazzy” car, and it actually was very nice in a “Seventies Gold” kind of way.
Mère’s Cutlass Supreme had a white vinyl top, like the car in the top picture, with the wheel covers like the car on the bottom. Her interior was finished in the white “Morocceen” vinyl, which seemed like a good choice for the hot New Orleans climate. Perhaps it was psychosomatic, but Mère’s white vinyl seats really didn’t seem to heat up as much as the black vinyl ScorchUrButt® seats in my mother’s ’71 Olds Ninety-Eight.
Mére’s Cutlass Supreme 2-Door Hardtop was one of 105,087 built that year, while our featured Curbside Classic Supreme 4-Door Hardtop was far less popular, with 14,955 produced. All in, Oldsmobile sold a whopping 334,582 intermediate models for 1972, and the Cutlass was well on its way to becoming one of the most popular cars sold in America.
The Cutlass’s popularity was well earned. Consumer Guide Auto Test 1972 gave the car high marks. Though the pictures shows a Cutlass Supreme 2-Door Hardtop, the test car was a 4-Door hardtop, which CG praised for its comfort, quality and robust 350 V8 engine. Testers found the Cutlass to be a bit expensive for an intermediate, but you did get what you paid for: the Cutlass remained popular on the used car market as well, helping maintain strong resale values.
Using this 1972 Oldsmobile Data Sheet along with the photos, we can “guesstimate” the original price of this Nordic Blue Cutlass Supreme 4-Door Hardtop. Based on the way Mére’s car was equipped, I’d imagine a fairly typical option load for the Cutlass Supreme would have included the following: Turbo Hydra-matic automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes with front discs, left-hand remote mirror, air conditioning, tinted glass, AM radio with rear speaker, electric clock, floor mats, bumper guards and protective moldings, full wheel covers and the “Convenience Group.” So with a base price of $3,329 ($20,423 adjusted) and options totaling $1,130 ($6,972 adjusted), our Supreme sedan could well have retailed for $4,458 ($27,350 adjusted). Layering on a few additional options like the popular vinyl roof ($99, $607 adjusted), tilt wheel ($44, $270 adjusted), cruise control ($62, $380 adjusted) and rear defogger ($62, $380 adjusted), anti-spin rear axle ($43, $264 adjusted), stereo tape deck ($114, $699 adjusted), power windows ($113, $693 adjusted) and 4-way power front seat ($77, $472 adjusted), it would have been easy to take the price of a ’72 Cutlass Supreme over $5,000 ($30,675 adjusted).
And those slightly premium prices, plus the Cutlass Supreme’s handsome lines and comfortable interior, made this Oldsmobile a “smart” status symbol in driveways from coast-to-coast. It was upscale but not too fancy, at a time when that was considered desirable.
That’s why this particular Curbside Classic sighting was slightly bittersweet for me. The nice house with the nice “new” Cutlass Supreme in the driveway was a reminder of the days when Oldsmobile had unmistakable style and charm, making the brand America’s sweetheart. These pictures capture what once was, and it’s a far cry from Oldsmobile’s dismal final years of offering dumpy, out-of-date cars for the geriatric set and people seeking cheap wheels. My Saturday sighting turned out to be a fleeting glimpse of a time fading away in the rearview mirror: when I drove the same route Sunday, the Cutlass Supreme was gone, though I’m thankful for having had a brief, sweet snapshot of the Seventies in the fall of 2018.
In 1970, after having driven 98’s for 20 yrs., my dad thought he’d try a new-fangled 6-cylinder Cutlass-S.
The 6 was Horrible.
I was in HS, so I’d stomp the gas, and 10 seconds later, it would start creeping forward.
Don’t even ask how it would do with the AC running.
Presuming the one in these photos has a V8, surely providing a better ride.
I’m amazed at the advances in engine tech. since then. Today, 4 cylinders provide hundreds of horses at 35+ mpg.
Your dad was a smart man. I can see the method of his ways. With a son in high school, just learning to drive, he abandons his traditional, powerful 98’s to try a 6 cyl Cutlass. The Cutlass was much more maneuverable and much less powerful. If I were in his shoes I think I’d have tried one too.
The downside would have been that he had to drive it too. Must have been quite a comedown from the 98!
…but the consumer guide review says that the Cutlass did not corner as flat as a Delta 88 Royale.
Excellent article, thank you. My parents bought a new 1970 Cutlass, also in gold with a white vinyl top. It had a base 350 engine which was pretty stout as I recall. My dad recalls the dealer claimed this color combination was not available from GM. In retrospect I think he was trying to sell them a car off the lot instead of making a factory order. But Mom insisted so they eventually found one. It must have been in stock at another dealer because it did not have the air conditioning my parents wanted.
It was reliable and nice to drive until the ball joints wore out at 40,000 miles.
I have never seen/driven a 6 cyl Cutlass from that era.
The principal at my high school had a 71 Cutlass with a 6 cylinder engine (also in gold paint!). I think it was a delete option. The standard was a 350 2bbl, but one could special order a Chevrolet 6 for a small credit.
What a great catch! I consider the 68-72 A body 4 door hardtops as beautiful as I consider the sedans awkward and unattractive. I would say that after the Cutlass Supreme 2 door hardtop (which was maybe the most attractive of the whole generation among the 4 Divisions) this 4 door hardtop is the runner up in the beauty pageant.
I pegged this paint as Nordic Blue before I got to your description. My mother bought a new Cutlass Supreme in 72 and I became intimately familiar with them. I was in an anti-earth tone stage then and I would have done almost anything to snag one of the two blue shades on a car (the other was the less subdued Viking Blue in your next-to-last picture). But it was the end of the model year and Mom ended up with Pinehurst Green with a green vinyl roof and interior. The consolation was the buckets/console and the power windows to go along with her first air conditioned car.
Ours was a good car with the exception of a couple of rattles that the dealer could not chase down – one under the passenger floor and the other in one of the doors. After 2 years it became apparent to Mom that a 112 inch wb 2 door was not a great car for duty in a family with teenage kids. I remember that the Pontiac dealer where she bought her 74 Luxury LeMans was thrilled to get the Cutlass in trade. I have no doubt they made good money on it.
GN,
I would have knocked on the door of that house and asked if that Cutlass was/is for sale.
Did you at least leave a note on the windshield?
Haha, I have to admit I was tempted. The car looked to be in absolutely amazing condition, and has to be quite rare at this point. Probably one of the finest examples left.
I really liked those piccies. Esp. the first picture shown at the top of this thread. Made my poxed brain happy to look at the minty Olds surrounded by trees and a nice ol’ house. Would’ve been a perfect brochure pic for selling a ’72 Oldsmobile.
I would have been sorely tempted to knock on the homeowner’s door and ask if I could have a ‘tour’ of the Olds perched in the drive. And to take more pics, too.
Superb article GN. When I was starting my sophomore year of college my father got a new 1972 Cutlass Supreme as his company car from Charlie Stuart Oldsmobile in Indianapolis. Flame orange, bucket seats, saddle interior, Super Stock 1 wheels, white letter Uniroyal Tiger Paws, white vinyl top and every option available. The only option it did not have was front disc brakes. A gorgeous car that I absolutely adored. Your article really takes me back to a time like you say that is rapidly disappearing in the rear view mirror.
Ooooh, that would have been a sharp looking car! I never really liked the light green on ours, but it was popular then.
Sweet!! That car must have been spectacular–great colors and equipment–a supreme Supreme!
This is a great find! In the 1990s, I had a 1972 Cutlass Supreme hardtop coupe in Sequoia Green with the exact interior featured in the photo. My car sported the 350 V-8, dual exhaust, power steering, power drum brakes, air conditioning, AM-FM stereo, vinyl roof (light green), styled wheels and remote control outside mirror. It was a good, tough car.
Consumer Guide notes that a Cutlass Supreme costs as much as a low-priced, full-size model from Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth. By this time, lots of people had figured out that it was better (i.e., more prestigious) to buy a nice, stylish Cutlass Supreme instead of cheap, low-line Chevrolet, Ford or Plymouth. It seemed as though cheapskates bought the stripped full-size cars…that was not the case with the Cutlass Supreme.
The fact that the full-size 3 had gotten just plain too big for a lot of people probably had something to do with that as well.
Very nice looking car! These sure were everywhere in my town in the 70’s. I think my Lexus ES is kind of like the four door Cutlass Supreme of today. Comfortable, upscale, but not too flashy. The pricing even is pretty similar in adjusted dollars. Who would have imagined Olds would cease to exist, when this one rolled off the line!
In the sixties, the Cutlass was pretty much just okay, lost in a sea of other, just as good looking (or better) intermediates during the go-go, musclecar heyday. But with the 1970 restyle, the Cutlass really came into its own with a premium look that would carry it through the seventies as one of the most popular cars of the brougham era.
Pontiac and Chevrolet had their unique sheetmetal, intermediate-size personal luxury cars (Grand Prix and Monte Carlo, respectively) but for the price of a stripped version of one of those, you could get a just-as-attractive (but better equipped) Cutlass hardtop. GM was truly the master at the whole personal luxury car game with a wide array of choices that really fit each brand’s market demographic. Ford and Chrysler had pretty good brougham PLCs, too, but GM was the seventies’ king.
Although a performance Cutlass from ’70-’72 (like a 442, or the even better handling W-31) would be great, a more luxury-oriented Cutlass (like the big-engine, more formal SX) would be just as good and more fitting for the times.
As a high school junior in 1972; I had a serious, strong case of automotive lust for a ’72 Olds Cutlass Supreme convertible, “burnt orange” exterior with white vinyl interior, with a matching orange sail boat/trailer hitched to it. Perhaps not very practical, given the extreme heat and humidity in New Orleans; but automotive lust is seldom rational, down to earth and practical!
The homecoming queen of East Jefferson high school rode into the homecoming ceromines, in the center of the football field, on the parade boot cover of a ’72 Cutlass convertible. I can honestly say I admired the car more than the girl.
For years after 1972, many Mardi Gras parade dignitaries rode in/sat on top of the parade boot cover of various Cutlass convertibles.
The Olds 350 V8 engine of this era had their own distinct, quietly macho burble; easily identifiable by “those who knew” what various engines sounded like. The 3 speed turbohydramatic automatic transmission gave quick, almost imperceptible up and down shifts when needed. The variable ratio power steering was, in my opinion, the “reference standard” for this time period. Taken as a whole, these were very smooth, enjoyable, pleasurable cars to look at, be seen in and to drive.
I earned my college tuition money (all of a couple of hundred dollars in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s!), more than one summer, by picking up on a used ’68 thru ’72 Cutlass 2 door hardtop, detailing it to perfection, adding a 99 cent can of freon to the typically excellent factory air conditioning system, changing out the points and plugs, running a can of GumOut carb cleaner thru the 4 barrel Quadrajet carburetor, advertising it in the local newspaper….and waiting for the deluge of phone calls about it. Usually the car was sold on the first weekend! New Orleans was an “Oldsmobile Town” for decades; and everybody liked/admired/wanted a Cutlass.
Sad to say, there is nothing available today that inspires the kind of desire/automotive worship/covetousness that this generation of Oldsmobile Cutlass could generate.
When Mom was shopping there were two Cutlass convertibles in the showroom – an Indy 500 pace car replica (which I knew she would never buy) and a Viking Blue car with a white top and white vinyl buckets/console. I tried but couldn’t get her to bite. That car was stunning.
JPC, I’m picturing that blue drop top in my mind and quietly automotive salivating over it.
Royal Oldsmobile, the suburban Metairie, LA Olds dealership, always had a Cutlass or Delta 88 convertible on display in their showroom….even after GM stopped making the convertible Olds.
A salesman friend of mine said they were magnets, used to draw potential buyers into the dealership, then move them into another model. More than once (he said) people would slide into the showroom, sit in the convertible, have their picture taken, and quietly leave.
Is there ANY car today, accessible and affordable to middle class Americans, that draws this type of admiration?
No, and there never will be one able to do so again, sad to say.
Due to hundreds of factors, from safety regulations, aerodynamics, and general preferences against sedans, most cars, regardless of who makes them, all look and perform similarly. There is nobody out there with a truly unique design, nor a cost difference, that sets them apart from the competition. A Camry/Fusion/Malibu/Altima/Accord/Sonata/Optima/whatever midsize sedan is not much different from one another in price, form, or function. And they are all relatively good, relatively affordable, and reliable. Because of this, they are considered like a real appliance. If you find one you like at a price that works, it fits your needs. One substitutes well for another, with no noticeable differences. Since they have nothing truly distinguishing, none of them really draw anything close to that sort of admiration. They are all accessible and affordable to middle class Americans, but not admired.
I miss Royal Oldsmobile…. And Mossy too, at least as an Olds franchise.
“Is there ANY car today, accessible and affordable to middle class Americans, that draws this type of admiration?”
The Tesla Model 3 was supposed to be, with its claimed $35K starting price, but the average Model 3 has sold for around $60K so far – not exactly what the average middle-class buyer can spend.
I don’t believe there’s any car today that would draw this type of admiration. I know I wouldn’t care one iota about looking through this thread if it were any brand of late-model car (and when I say that I mean 1990 or later) parked in that driveway. I find new cars completely uninteresting in every which way. Apathy reigns supreme.
You bring back great memories for me–I loved seeing the convertibles in the Mardi Gras parades! I remember that the Cutlass Supreme convertibles were really popular and they always looked so good. NOLA is always up for a party and a parade, and the Cutlass Supreme just fit in so well.
Well written, GN.
One of the many, many reasons that I have a “Love/Hate” relationship goin’ on with the city of New Orleans, LA, USA.
Love how the review calls it a “small luxury car.”
From the background and number sequence, that’s a pretty recent IL plate (like probably the last year or so.) Wonder if this was purchased recently from a classic car dealer like Volo?
I bet you are right. It does seem like it could have come from Volo–the ultimate well-preserved “estate sale find” for them to clean up and deliver to a new owner.
“And those slightly premium prices, plus the Cutlass Supreme’s handsome lines and comfortable interior, made this Oldsmobile a “smart” status symbol in driveways from coast-to-coast.”
Exactly right. Despite the growing popularity of imported cars in SoCal when I moved here in the summer of 1972 to go to graduate school, these Cutlasses were everywhere and highly regarded. One of my first work colleagues had a 1972 Supreme blue coupe with white vinyl roof like the last one pictured here. She was a “secret heiress” and could have afforded most any car but appreciated the Cutlass as a fine car with a low-key image. It had a white vinyl interior with buckets seats with floor shift and was quiet, luxurious, and reasonably powerful.
GM was building aspirational cars at this time. Another work colleague was very proud of her new 1972 Buick Skylark coupe in Crystal Blue with a black vinyl interior. It had replaced a fully loaded late 60’s Ford LTD four-door hardtop which she had liked but felt the Buick was both better-sized and a more prestigious brand. I well remember how smooth, quiet, and luxurious it was, in some ways more so than the Oldsmobile.
By the way, my colleague who had the Cutlass coupe, typical of many car buyers at the time, traded it for a new gas-sipping Mazda 626 following the two major fuel crises and long gas station lines of the 70’s. She never owned another American car.
Your driveway find is so perfect these pictures could pass for pages from a brochure. Excellent look back into the past – many thanks!
What with all my nostalgia and memories flooding the cobwebs of my mind this morning; I have forgotten to congratulate GN on this fine article.
So very well written, photographed and documented with detailed pictures!
I always look forward to GN’s contributions here.
So do I!
Thank you both for the kind words!
Suburban Chicago led to a stereotypical thought, which in turn led to a NON-stereotypical observation. The Cutlass does a much better job of reflecting Nature than Wright’s houses did. Every angle echoes and emphasizes the angles of the trees and branches. Your photos capture this harmony.
Simpler times…..Coming from a Buick family, I remember that in 1972 Buick only offered two V-8’s, a 350 and 455. No 6 cylinders. Three transmissions…350 turbo hydramatic, 375B turbo hydramatic ( a bit beefier 350 for the LeSabre) and the turbo hydramatic 400 for the big 455. No compact cars either. The smallest was the Skylark/ Sport wagon in two wheelbases, the LeSabre and Centurion, the Electra, the Riviera and the Estate Wagon
I was about to ask, “what about the Omega?” But the reskinned Nova wouldn’t come out until the next year.
My favorite year for the Cutlass, as well as its GM stablemate, the Buick Skylark. The Cutlass is one of the few cars I like in brown, while the Skylark would have to be a light to medium blue for me.
Time to admit my ignorance…
Everyone, here and elsewhere, tells me that Oldsmobile was below Buick on the Sloan-ian “ladder”. But growing up in this era when people fancied an Oldsmobile over a Buick, I spent my entire childhood believing that it was Oldsmobile that fell just below Cadillac on the ladder, not Buick.
Mother had a Buick, a ’72 Electra, but you could not convince me that it was as fancy as a 98 Regency.
The “company line” between Oldsmobile and Buick did indeed blur during the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Perhaps why Olds bit the dust.
It seems, as I recall, that Buicks were ‘old money’ cars, while Cadillacs were ‘new money’ cars, and Olds were ‘successful businessman’ cars. Chevrolets were for every man, and Pontiacs were for old ladies or performance punks depending on the decade. From that perspective, a Buick would have been more prestigious for your mom and all those extra Oldsmobile features just ostentatiousness.
I always viewed these Cutlasses as kind of peak General Motors – well engineered and handsome. Had the world not changed so much in the 70’s but puttered right along in the same path I would probably be driving some model of Oldsmobile today, instead of a BMW.
Well Written, Lokki.
I bought a 1972 Olds 442 in Baroque Gold in late 1982. It was the typical hardtop car, with a 350/4bbl, Turbo 350, posi, white bucket seats (but black dash and carpet), factory 8 track, Rallye wheels and W-30 stripes on the outside.
Even then, folks were starting to worry about keeping these cars preserved, but I needed a daily and this was it. I would have liked to keep it in a garage somewhere and restored it later, but it never worked out that way. That said, I loved that car, it did everything I asked of it and more. The 350/4bbl. & THM 350 was a great combination in a car that size and weight.
I sold it when I got a job working for an in-house ad agency far away from my house. The ~10 MPG mileage was eating a big hole in my wallet and I was still underwater from my escapades with my 1980 Mercury Capri RS turbo.
Sadly, I replaced it with a 1979 Ford Pinto ESS w/4 speed manual trans, which only got about 20 MPG in city driving. Granted it was twice as much as the Olds, but I had driven other (older) Pintos that seemed to run better and get better mileage, to boot. I think it had to do with all of the emissions controls.
I wished I could have kept the car, but it just wasn’t possible at the time.
That opening shot sure looks like it’s an outtake from a brochure… all it needs is woman in long flowery dress standing next to the Cutlass.
This is a small detail to focus on, but I think these are some of the best-designed wheel covers from the 1970s, and if I recall, these were the standard wheel covers on the Supreme. To me they look classy without being appearing pretentious, and actually look better than the optional wire wheel covers.
GN, Your photos absolutely take me back to the early ’70s. As a college senior in 1970, when my father was driving a 1967 Olds 88 that he had purchased during my freshman year, I tried to convince him to buy a 1970 Cutlass Supreme 4-door hardtop. Although I always liked the ’68 and ’69 Cutlasses (I still do), I was impressed by the crisp 1970 facelift. He didn’t bite, but did buy the new-body Olds Delta 88 the following year. It’s true that, although Buick was one step higher in Alfred P. Sloan’s hierarchy, Oldsmobiles of the sixties and seventies had a more exciting and youthful vibe than concurrent Buick models, even though they were very similar in most important respects. Now if we were talking about Rivieras…..
Nice encounter, I don’t know about anyone else, but I miss four door hardtops.
Just out of curiosity, does anyone know when the last car was sold in the US market with a four-door hardtop variant? And not the ’90s Japanese luxury cars with frameless windows and a thin pillar, but a true pillarless hardtop.
The 1978 Chrysler Newport/New Yorker was the last models available with a 4-door hardtop.
Agree, though some came close with frameless glass and a small pillar – 1981 R body Mopar (Fury, St. Regis, New Yorker) and also the 79 Lincoln Town Car. But neither of those was a true hardtop.
The pillared hardtop, those with frameless glass / half-door construction and thin stationary B-pillar, were introduced to the market by the 1958 Lincolns and Continental Mark III. The configuration spreading to most other makes when popularized by the ’60’s Lincoln Continentals. It was an attractive style, rendering the greenhouse light and elegant-looking.
Consider that the true B-pillarless four door hardtop is essentially nothing more than a four door convertible sedan body with a steel top attached.
The first gen Aurora was GM’s last frameless glass four door with a pillar. The ’80-5 Seville was the previous one.
The design of the car in the picture seems to have solved many problems that contemporary sedans deal with–in particular, how to get a decent looking back door/window into a 4-door car with a sloping or raked rear window. It just looks right, perhaps because they had a few more inches of wheelbase to get the proportions right compared to, say, a current Malibu/Impala/Accord/Camry/Altima type of car.
I also had forgotten that the “ventipanes” continued on the 4-door A-body cars of this generation.
The front vent windows/ventipanes also continued on the 2-door regular coupe as shown in this Cutlass S pic. http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Oldsmobile/1972%20Oldsmobile/1972%20Oldsmobile%20Full%20Line/1972%20Oldsmobile-24.html
We got to check if the 442 model was also availble as a 2-door regular coupe with ventipanes for 1972. They might be more rare than the convertible.
»low whistle« Wow, that’s a hell of a find, well seen and presented. Paging grandma and grandpa!
Yahbut, they also seem to have been high on glue the day that article was written. In one place they say the car has a 3.08 rear axle; mere inches away on the same page they say it’s a 2.73. The option sheet says both were available, but they don’t seem to have read that very carefully, either; it lists the backglass defogger they complain wasn’t available.
Given the quoted zero to sixty acceleration times; I suspect the test car had the 2.73 final drive (rear axle) ratio,
I would expect around 10.5 or 11 seconds out of this car if equipped with the 3.08 axle ratio.
Oh my same colour as my father’s 70 Cutlass Supreme 4 door hardtop.
His car came with the 350 V8, four-barrel single exhaust. That car was quick. Blue cloth and vinyl only a few options and of course no AC. Bought it off the lot. The car survived 10 years under his lack of proper maintenance. He bought an 80 Cutlass LS sedan which I helped factory order for him. Again, no AC and of course by that time a much smaller V8.
I have a soft spot for this version of the Cutlass. My second new car was a 1970 Cutlass Supreme 2dr ht. I had just come back from Vietnam and wanted a muscle car, but I realized while I was gone, the insurance companies developed a distaste for them. So, no 442, but I ordered a 350 4bbl, dual exhaust with F41(I think)suspension, disc brakes, AC etc. I still have the original dealer order for it, paid $4552 for it. I put about 115k on it before selling it to a co-worker who wanted it for his son. Son promptly smashed it to pieces in a parking lot(?)!
It was a fantastic car, handled great, fast, never a problem, just regular maintenance.
Put my first ever set of radial tires on it, don’t remember when, but they were brand new on the market, Goodyears I think.
The ’68 thru ’72 Cutlass/CS was a fine looking and running car for the time. Reasonably comfortable and if purchased with the FE2 suspension, quite good-for then-in the handling dept., too.
Of course, compared to todays’ sedans they were wallowing gas HOG$ with few redeeming features. OTOH, make mine a ’70 Nugget Gold W-31 Cutlass with a turbo hydro and front disc brakes!!! Hurst dual gate shifter between the white buckets, too 🙂 DFO
The W-31 Cutlass (also available on the bottom-tier F-85 and previously known as Ram-Rod 350) was one of the better musclecars of the era. Unlike the all-show, no-go bright yellow Rallye 350, the W-31 actually had a powerful engine which was mated to one of the more taut suspensions, complete with front and rear swaybars (a rarity back in the day). So, the W-31 was reasonably well-balanced and handled and stopped as well as it went, at least much better than the vast majority of the front-heavy, big-block performance cars of the era.
Unfortunately, it came too late and the same thing that killed all musclecars (high insurance rates) pretty much killed off the very nice W-31, as well.
Sorry, not w31/ they were Hurst/Olds W30’s had a 71 Cutlass Supreme, Gold ext.. White interior, buckets, floof shift turbo 350, rear spoiler, chrome hood louvers, 350 Rocket..white vinyl top… Fast w Class
Uhm, no. While there was an available W-30 package, you had to have a 442 first. This was not the case with the W-31. In fact, there was no 442 W-31 package.
The W-31 package was available on Cutlass, Cutlass Supreme, and F-85 for three years from 1968-70. In ’68 and ’69, they were technically called Ram Rod 350 but that name was dropped for the third and final year.
Both the W-30 442 and W-31 Cutlass/F-85 did use the same fresh-air induction system.
To make matters a bit more confusing, there was also a rare W-27 option. It was an aluminum, finned, lightweight rear axle carrier.
My brother bought a 71 Cutlass to take to college. It was Bittersweet with a tan vinyl top.
350/2bbl. As a present, I bought him a set of super stock wheels and Dad wrapped them in a set of RWL Goodyear tires. I still remember driving it home….foot on the floor is shifted at 55 and 95. It was a lot of fun!
I lusted after a dark green ‘72 Cutlass Supreme 2dr right after I turned 16 in 1978- it was on a local dealers lot. Always thought the ‘72 was the best looking Cutlass (and GM’s A-bodies from ‘70-‘72). The Cutlass was way too expensive for me, but a year later I did end up with an Oldsmobile, a ‘68 Toronado! I’m surprised the Cutlass got such lousy gas mileage – yet it was considerably better than a 455 CID Toronado.
Hope to see your blue 4dr Hdtp CC driving around Chicagoland.
Even my Depression baby Father, a 30 year “Mopar Man”, would grudgingly express a few mumbled words of approval over the various Olds Cutlass cars that I flipped (see above).
Those few words, coming from that dour, hard headed German-Russian Father/husband/family provider, were quite the automotive compliment from that 30 year loyal “Mopar Man”.
One car in particular, a 1969 crocus yellow Cutlass hardtop, with white bucket seats/console interior & a black vinyl top, with the Olds “Super Stock” road wheels and raised white letter tires, caught my Mother’s fancy.
My Father’s refusal to buy it for her (and her disappointment/anger/payback) surely lowered the temperature in their bedroom and explained the burnt eggs and lumpy grits only my Father was served by her for the rest of that long, hot & humid New Orleans summer.
Suburban subdivision hell knew no fury like a pizzed off housewife!
When I was in high school Dad bought a 54 Olds man that car was big and very fast, 4 years later bought. 57 Buick Super it was a big lump,big mistake.
This nordic blue 4 door hardtop model is MUCH more attractive than the 4 door sedan variant.
Indeed. You could easily think there would be more surviving examples. Great looking cars, way nicer than the 4 door sedans – too bad the wagons where not ‘hardtops’ – and they also look great as 442-GTO-GS-SS what if cars. Where are these 4 door hardtops hiding?
But neither were as good looking as the 2 door coupes.
I’ve always wondered why GM didn’t carry the ’68-72 A 4 door hardtops’ crisply defined upper rear corner to the side window opening over to the sedan, opting instead for a blobby curve that didn’t match the rest of the DLO. Wagons got yet another treatment that would’ve been an improvement if applied to the post sedan.
You’re quite wrong about Olds’ final years–they had some of GM’s most modern looking and driving cars. Their problem was they left their old clientele (the ones still alive) before they’d established a new one. GM’s problem was they couldn’t move Cadillac upmarket enough to make room for BOPS as competition slowly forced Chevrolet quality upwards.
Odd that the sedan sold several times more than the hardtop. Fleets? In 50+ years, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a Supreme coupe without a vinyl roof. There might be some around now that people removed before repainting.
In the mid/late ’90s it struck me that Chevrolet and Cadillac were getting their own body tooling while the shared B-O-P ones looked to have been designed as an Oldsmobile first with cheesegrater alloys and excessive spoilers and cladding applied to make a Pontiac or too much chrome, wire wheel covers and whitewalls to make a Buick from it.
Priorities most likely. A 4-door Cutlass buyer in such a coupe-heavy market would’ve likely put silence and comfort ahead of style and chosen the more solid pillared version for that.
Except it was the reverse for most GM 4 doors. They even dropped the pillared Electra, 98, and Deville in ’71 due to slow sales (despite the ’65-’70 having significantly more rear room than the hardtops), and the B body sedans were rarely seen outside taxis and cop cars.
Has anyone seen this rare bird? a 2 doors ’68 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with a ‘Police Apprehender package’ Right here ; https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/361225720329059/