1974 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Coupe / Orlando Classic Cars
Kind words from me about a ’70s land yacht might suggest a cold snap in the infernal realms, but I was grudgingly impressed by this handsome Energy Crisis-era flagship from Lansing, which left me thinking about the social position of the Olds 98 Regency and the kind of people bought them when they were new.
I was browsing recently through the Curbside Cohort Flickr group and came upon some nice photos by Hyperback, alias CC contributor Slant Six, of a well-preserved 1974 Oldsmobile 98 Regency hardtop. I was going to write something about that car, only to belatedly realize that he’d already done so back himself back in July.
1974 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Coupe / Hyperpack via Curbside Cohort
Still, the 98 Regency stuck in my head for some reason. I am not one for land yachts and mostly think the ’70s were where style and taste went to die, but I had to admit this was a handsome if imposing beast, with its one-year-only dual “waterfall” grilles giving it a bit more Oldsmobile character, if that makes any sense.
One-year only grille treatment / Hyperpack via Curbside Cohort
I found a sale listing for another, equally well-preserved 1974 98 Regency, which despite its different color combination made a similar impression. This is not my kind of car, but it exudes such confidence that it surely must have been someone’s kind of car: tasteful, within its idiom; very conservative; neither ostentatious nor overly humble; and very particular in its preferences and limits of tolerance.
1974 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Coupe / Orlando Classic Cars
If ever a car imposed a dress code on its occupants, it would surely be this Olds, perhaps enforced by some sort of ignition interlock, like the unpopular seat belt interlocks that appeared by federal mandate around this time. This Regency wouldn’t gladly tolerate late-night snack runs in T-shirts and pajama pants — if it could, it would surely lock its doors, cut off power to the ignition switch, and sulk in the driveway until you went back inside and got properly dressed (and would it kill you to fix your hair?). Unlike a Rolls-Royce or other really expensive car, which tended to be owned by people who were actually rich and/or upper-class, and could therefore get away with a little slovenly eccentricity, senior Oldsmobiles were the province of the merely very affluent, who always had to be concerned with what the neighbors would think.
Regency interior in Burgundy Laredo / Orlando Classic Cars
I discovered that throughout the ’70s, Oldsmobile advertised the 98 Regency quite often in Ebony magazine. Here’s a 1973 ad featuring Eddie G. Robinson (1919–2007), longtime coach of the Grambling Tigers, the football team of historically black Grambling College (now Grambling State University) in Louisiana:
From Ebony magazine, October 1973
Those ads further hone the picture of the target audience for this car: respectable middle-class community figures, white or Black — football coaches, senior bank managers, local business leaders, city aldermen, reverends — who needed to convey an image of solid, trustworthy success, and for whom a Cadillac would have seemed a little too flashy. There was nothing at all flashy about the 98 Regency, even with this car’s bright red “Burgundy Laredo” upholstery, and it lacks even the slightest hint of sportiness. (“Save it for the field, boys!”)
Minimal instrumental, standard Turbo Hydra-matic / Orlando Classic Cars
Bright red, yet somehow not too garish / Orlando Classic Cars
The 98 Regency debuted in 1972 as a limited edition to celebrate Oldsmobile’s 75th anniversary. It was a cross-promotional effort with the jeweler Tiffany & Company, with “Tiffany Gold” metallic paint, a Tiffany clock on the dashboard, and a sterling silver Tiffany key ring for the special Regency ignition key.
The original 1972 Olds 98 Regency Sedan in Tiffany Gold Metallic / via the Old Car Manual Project Brochure Collection
Regency became a regular Olds Ninety-Eight sub-model for 1973, and a sub-series for 1974, when a two-door hardtop (Regency Coupe) joined the existing four-door Regency Sedan. These were the most expensive Ninety-Eight models that year, selling 35,029 units, only 10,719 of those the two-door. Buyers with small children might have favored two-doors in this pre-child-seat era, but this seems like a car whose back seat was more likely to carry golf partners, business clients, or fellow Rotary Club members, who probably preferred not to stoop and bend so much getting in or out.
Different parts of the ad listing specify this car’s color as Sage Green, Pewter Metallic, or Silver Taupe, but the latter seems most likely / Orlando Classic Cars
I found no contemporary road tests of the 1974 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight. Buff book editors (and quite a few buff book readers) of this period were increasingly contemptuous of cars like this, and few automotive editors were inclined to waste column inches on them that could be more profitably filled with hysterical agitprop about the terrors of government regulation. (True, no one liked the seat belt interlock, but watching car magazine editors of this era come out swinging in defense of leaded gasoline was simply embarrassing.) Worse, the 1974 models had the misfortune to arrive just weeks before the OPEC embargo and resulting Energy Crisis, which was already well underway by the time this car was built in January 1974, making cars like the 98 Regency seem terribly out of step with the times.
Rear skirts add to the sense of visual mass / Orlando Classic Cars
However, Motor Trend had previously done a comparison test of the 1972 Ninety-Eight, Buick Electra 225, and Mercury Marquis (see GN’s earlier Vintage Review), from which we can extrapolate a bit. That test’s Olds 98 two-door hardtop recorded a 0 to 60 mph time of 8.7 seconds, with the quarter mile in 16.3 seconds at 86.2 mph, quite good for such a behemoth, but its 455 cu. in. (7,450 cc) four-barrel V-8 guzzled gasoline at the rate of 11 miles to the U.S. gallon. By 1974, the Ninety-Eight had gained 222 lb, due largely to the new 5-mph bumpers, while the big Olds V-8 had lost 15 net horsepower, which undoubtedly did little to enhance either acceleration or fuel economy. (The Ninety-Eight could be ordered with dual exhausts, which gave the 1974 Ninety-Eight 230 hp, five more horsepower than in ’72, but it doesn’t appear that either of these Regency Coupes has that option.) The numbers with which Lansing was more immediately concerned were 3.4, 39, and 3.0, which were the 1974 federal emissions limits for hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen, respectively, measured in grams per vehicle mile; the HC and CO limits were about to be tightened significantly for 1975, to 1.5 and 15 grams per mile.
455 cu. in. (7,450 cc), just 210 net horsepower (230 hp with dual exhausts) / Orlando Classic Cars
The oil crisis added a new wrinkle, which sent Ninety-Eight production plummeting from 139,324 units in 1973 to 73,417 in MY1974. During Senate hearings in July 1975, Georgia Senator Herman Talmadge admitted that the embargo had prompted him to park his own six-year-old Olds 98 in favor of “the smallest Cutlass I could find,” although Talmadge told GM president Pete Estes that he was very disgruntled to find that the 1974 Cutlass got even worse mileage. Estes assured him that the 1975 models, which would adopt catalytic converters to meet the tougher HC and CO limits, would have much better fuel economy, but the EPA’s 1975 Gas Mileage Guide for New Car Buyers credited the 455-engined Olds Ninety-Eight with a meager 12 mpg city, 16 mpg highway on the rather optimistic early EPA cycle.
The 1974 Regency still had its standard Tiffany clock, but the remote trunk release was optional / Orlando Classic Cars
Sales rebounded a little for 1975, to 82,395, and a bit more for 1976, but it took the arrival of the more efficient downsized 1977 models to really restore the Ninety-Eight’s commercial momentum. 1977 production hit 146,515 units, more than four-fifths of those of the Regency.
Power windows and seats were standard on Regency / Orlando Classic Cars
This was the tightrope upper-middle-class cars like this had to walk in this era: Customers in this segment didn’t want to appear too concerned with cost (the price tag for a 1974 98 Regency Coupe started at a hefty $5,404, with the tab for a loaded example like this running to more like $6,500), but at the same time, they couldn’t necessarily afford to appear too unconcerned about obvious profligacy, lest it send the wrong message to constituents, business partners, parishioners, or trustees. (Both middle-class drinking and a certain amount of middle-class graft might be overlooked if handled discreetly, but unseemly extravagance could be risky even for someone who didn’t have their hand in the till.)
They made ’em big in Lansing in 1974: 232.4 inches long on a 127-inch wheelbase, almost 5,000 lb / Orlando Classic Cars
Prior to the 1977 downsizing, the 98 Regency sold in relatively modest numbers by GM or Oldsmobile standards, but both of the examples pictured here seem like cars that the original owners could have lived with, as the Ebony ad said, “for a long, long time” — probably garaged, and likely washed and waxed more frequently than most. (As always, some exceptions apply.) A 98 Regency owner might have smoked in their car (many people still did in 1974), but they probably wouldn’t have tolerated greasy fast food detritus or muddy sneakers on their cut-pile carpeting.
After all, this just wasn’t that kind of car, even if it did have a drinking problem.
Related Reading
Curbside Classic: 1974 Oldsmobile Regency 98, 2-Door Hardtop – The Great White Olds (by Slant Six)
Vintage M/T Review: 1972 Buick Electra 225, Mercury Marquis & Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight – Motor Trend Evaluates The Upper Middle Heavyweights (by GN)
Curbside Classic Capsule: 1972 Oldsmobile 98 Coupe – A Cheaper Coupe DeVille (by Paul N)
Curbside Classic: 1972 Oldsmobile 98 Hardtop Coupe – “Not Just Another Pretty (Huge) Car” (by Longrooffan)
Oh, how I remember these. A 72 Regency was in the showroom when my mother bought a 72 Cutlass Supreme, and I remember being awed by those seats. Then the father of one of the kids in my confirmation class had a green 73. Those were both big, good looking cars that were luxury for solid middle-class tastes.
Your reference to the advertising in Ebony reminds me that another one of these I remember belonged to my high school gym teacher, who was also (I believe) the head football coach. Mr. Gurnell was a solidly put together guy, who looked a lot like the guy in the ad you included. That big Olds seemed to suit his understated personality really well.
Also, 1974 seemed to be the worst year in the emissions learning curve for the domestics. Awful fuel economy and terrible driveability were common complaints – and both afflicted the 74 Luxury LeMans my mother bought. Nobody could ever get that car to run properly in the warmup phase, where it would hesitate and occasionally backfire until the choke finally came off. The 75’s were so much better, as a rule.
Eddie Robinson also made TV ads for Oldsmobile – when I was just watching this ad, I also thought: This is the quintessential sports coach car:
I believe that Olds was a TV sponsor of Grambling football (a well-known program during Robinson’s tenure), hence the ads. He was a good spokesman for the brand. In one ad, he said:
“Being in sports, you hear a lot of bragging and big talk. But at Grambling, we let our record do the talking. And the Oldsmobile people do the same.”
…that quote blends well with Oldsmobile’s respectable, upper middle-class market positioning.
I hadn’t seen the TV spots, but I assumed from the list of game dates in the Ebony ad that Oldsmobile must have some kind of sponsorship deal with Grambling.
I wondered how the 1975 Regency would have look if they still have a hardtop version without opera windows?
I feel redundant saying “another fine piece” on any Severson feature. It’s such a a joy to again read new content from one of my favorite automotive writers. That said, I wanted to chuckle at the thought of the ’74 Oldsmobile completely shutting down in the face of improper outside attire from its occupants a la the short-lived seatbelt interlock system. And oh, man, that interior. I want to visit a house with a living room appointed like that.
The problem is the risk that it would become like a cross between Christine and Serial Mom. (“No whitewalls after Labor Day!”)
I will die on the hill of insisiting Oldsmobile had the best interiors of all GM brands including Cadillac. Every 98 Luxury Sedan, L/S or Regency interior has so many Olds specific features that are either delightful or just plain cool. By 74 things had centered and the other divisions had caught up some, but this is a still a beautiful and unique car.
I’m curious what differentiated the Tiffany & Co. clock from a regular clock, given a Tiffany watch alone likely cost about $750 in 1974. I’m guessing just the faceplate with the silver curliques and brand name.
I had a neighbor who had a 4-door 98 Regency that was likely from ’74, possibly ’73. Middle class neighborhood, modest split-level house. This was a car either for wealthy people who found Cadillacs too conspicuous, or those of average wealth who thought a nice car was worth splurging on. My neighbor was in the second category.
Your necktie interlock is a classic metaphor!
The pictures show a fine attention to detail that was often missing in the ’70s. Olds was often close to Caddy in both price and status, while Buick covered a wider range. In some years every Buick was cheaper than the equivalent Olds.
My initial thought when you brought up the interlock was that it wouldn’t authorize starting the car if the driver weren’t clad in a mid-1970s, wide lapel, leisure suit. At least that’s what that red interior reminds me of.
But I think you subsequently build a very good case for a more traditionally-attired driver. Perhaps a generation older than the leisure suited class.
The line about car magazine writers defending leaded gas makes me smile. Yes indeed. I recall regularly reading such foolishness; just as I’m sure that we could find similar examples of silly nostalgia today.
That Tiffany clock is just awful.
Here’s another Ninety-Eight ad (this one from 1972) that supports your thesis about a dress code and proper decorum for these cars.
This ad’s theme is that it’s not a car marketed to the under-30 crowd, and the final paragraph of copy begins with:
“The Ninety-Eight is a car you’re not likely to drive with the windows down, radio turned up and your elbow sticking out.“
As a certified member of The GREAT AMERICAN LAND YACHT SOCIETY, I must declare…It’s HUGE! It guzzles gas! It pollutes the air! It scares the birds! Other cars part like the Red Sea to get out of the way! What’s NOT to love? A good write up but IMO a sad recollection of a high point in the auto industry when Too much is NEVER enough. This Regency (love the upscale name) is a MONUMENT to an era unfortunately never to be seen again 😢. So that’s MY sob ( NOT Saab 🤮 )story. The current Peasant cars and SUVS are revolting, so I’m on VERSAILLES! 😉
Interesting, I hated, hated, hated these cars as a teenager in the 80’s and nothing has changed. To each his own I suppose.
Baroque burgundy bedecked behemoth.
No wait, this is a C body not a B body, try again. Corpulent cars confirm contentment. Apologies, first day of an extended Christmas break spent redecorating the kitchen with nothing but commercial radio for company. 😵💫
Colossal Comfort Cruiser Commands Consumption.
I’d have sworn Buick and Olds C coupes all had B pillars and opera windows in ’74, but it was only the Coupe de Ville, which handily outsold the Sedan de Ville. Electra had a landau option, which is different from the standard ’75 one. 1971 Eldorado (and ’72 Eldo;s new Cabriolet half vinyl roof) sales weren’t that great, but the decision to change the CdV’s must have been made before the Colonnade opera window car sales went through the roof in ’73.
How much of the improved mpg in ’75 was due to lower axle ratios? Cadillac may have lowered theirs in the middle of MY 74.
None, so far as I can find: The axle ratios for full-size Oldsmobiles were the same in 1975 as they were before that: 2.73 standard, optional 2.93 and 3.23. On a Ninety-Eight, I assume the latter was probably selected mainly with a towing package.
In New Orleans, these were in the garage of an owner of some type of oil and gas business. Could be a supplier, fabricator, engineer, geologist, surveyor, what ever. These guys had more money in one year than they ever dreamed of. Being the boss, they had to show off the wealth when they pulled into the parking lot of the business.
When oil took a hit in the later 70’s, these very same guys were trading in the Olds for a VW Rabbit as long as the house had not be repossessed yet.
Just 10 years later, the same cycle happen again…Déjà vu.
What we have here is a 50 year-old car that is too nice to crush and too expensive to drive; but undoubtedly, someone will become the second owner of this mid-seventies land yacht … perhaps just because of what it is … a very nice car worthy of preservation.
Land yacht.. I have a friend in the area that went all the way to Ohio to rescue one that was going to be scrapped.. This was at least 3 years ago, its still sitting outdoors next to his garage.. He has about 8 other cars though, keeps him busy
Something I haven’t figured out on the 4 door Cs is how Olds got the entire vinyl roof on the roof, while Buick and Cadillac have an ugly little strip of border trim stuck on the rear door.
It was in this era when I started to have difficulty understanding that Oldsmobile was supposed to be *below* Buick on the Sloan ladder. This car surely is as luxurious as an Electra.
The 1965 Olds 98 Luxury Sedan was blatantly above the Buick Electra 225 in its appointments, and very much in Cadillac territory. And of course it cost more than the top tier Electra 225 sedan.
The Sloan ladder had collapsed a long time before then.
I’m ALL about these dreadnought-class destroyers, I’ve owned several of them (pics). Note that the ad stresses comfort, and that, dear friends, is what these cars are about. If one prefers a laid-back smell-the-roses driving style, as I do, there’s nothing more pleasant than spending one’s driving time cradled in the plush comfort of an Olds 98 or equivalent NYer or Electra, gas mileage and taste be damned. Living at that time and place where gas was actually pretty cheap, and not knowing (or even caring) about resource scarcity at the time, it was pure pleasure to own and drive such a comfortable conveyance. Now we know better, of course, but some of us well realize what we’ve missed by their absence, and can cherish them as the apotheosis of a certain innocent era long gone.
Our Colonial Gold ’74 Regency (above) and Inca Silver ’76 (below):
The most comfortable automobiles we’ve owned, including our ’75 Sedan deVille.
These were the ultimate trip and commuting cars. Boy do I miss them.
“…and can cherish them as the apotheosis of a certain innocent era long gone.”
The lost paradise, so to speak.
I have to say, all of this talk about land yachts, brings to mind Yacht Rock. Which is what one might have been listening to on the fine Delco AM/FM/”Stereo Tape” (8 track?) radio…”with 4 speakers” (as the brochure notes) in 1974.
Maybe it’s an audio CC effect, but I’ve recently been encountering a lot of Yacht Rock stuff. Takes me away…. 🙂
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/best-yacht-rock-songs/
I grew up on Canadian Yacht Rock. A Canuck West Coast sound that would have been big in the US. If properly distributed, and promoted.
Pilot was a popular Top 40 song from the summer of 1979. Still stands up well, representing the genre. Ian Thomas being the brother of actor Dave Thomas.
Ian Thomas did have an US hit with “Painted Ladies” in 1973, in a very similar style to the band America; also Santana covered Ian’s “Hold On” which became a #15 US hit.
Another Yacht Rock classic from north of the border, was ‘Marina Del Rey’ by Marc Jordan. From the Summer of 1978. Nice inclusion of steel drums.Produced by Gary Katz. Steely Dan’s producer.
Definitely Steely Danish (Dan-ish). I could listen to this in the very red interior of that 98 Regency.
The ad shows that the car with the red interior has an AM/FM radio, but no eight-track.
During Senate hearings in July 1975, Georgia Senator Herman Talmadge admitted that the embargo had prompted him to park his own six-year-old Olds 98 in favor of “the smallest Cutlass I could find,” although Talmadge told GM president Pete Estes that he was very disgruntled to find that the 1974 Cutlass got even worse mileage.
A common (more like inevitable) occurrence in this era. The painful reality of primitive emission controls (and more weight).
For 1974, every Cutlass came standard with a 350 “Rocket” V-8 and a 3-speed Hydramatic. If he had waited a year, he could have gotten a Cutlass with a Chevy 250 I-6 and a 3-speed stick. Which is hilarious, and I doubt that more than a handful of Cutlasses were sold with that combo 🙂
That quote about Sen. Talmadge reminded me of a 1975 survey that I recently came across that asked all 100 US senators what they drove while in Washington, DC. The most popular make (11 senators in total) was Oldsmobile, followed closely by 10 Buicks.
Of course the fun ones in that survey were the outliers. Barry Goldwater drove an AMX. Gary Hart drove a Triumph, but he scrapped it after it broke down in Kansas while driving to DC. Four senators drove Mercedes (that surprised me). NY Senator James Buckley was the only senator who drove a Volkswagen, and Louisiana Senator J. Bennett Johnston said he drove a Volvo. Pennsylvania senator Hugh Scott drove an Imperial – he’d win my vote based on his car preference alone!
Amazing sight! Wonder if the motor is a “replacement”? Rather roomy (relatively speaking) car.
This reply was auto filled from one I left the other day re: the “Pinto ” wagon.
What I planned to say was “boy do I recall people making discoveries like the one Sen Talmadge made.
Neighbors were dismayed when they paid attn to how often their “69 Datsun”, needed gas.
I remember my dad doing the calculation of replacing his ’68 Electra with a dinky Skyhawk before beginning a 90 mile commute for 3 years in 1977. It just wasn’t worth it. He did carpool for a while with a Honda Civic wagon that seem to be in the shop suspiciously often. The Electra’s own problems pushed him into a Buick Aeroback with the 305 4 bbl.
A very nice vehicle, probably equivalent of today’s Lexus Rx350? Are some of those equipped with driver side airbag? With the power window switch panel on door arm rest, like the modern car its design was very updated. I recall my 1983 Caprice had its window switch panel located in near my left foot, not a very logical place for driver to reach.
I often find pillar less sedan or coupe are more beautiful that today’s with very think B pillar. I believe with Mercedes S series coupe withdrawal, its E coupe is the only pillar car in US market.
Yes, a few Ninety-Eights had the Air Cushion Restraint System, although it was very rare.
Not just driver side airbag, passenger too.
Dig the Bordello Red upholstery ! .
Only 1.5PPM CO ?! no wonder these things began to fail emissions tests in droves in the late 1980’s .
I did mostly imports back then and anything under 2% CO and 600PPM HC flew through the California state emission testing .
Agreed, these have tremendous presence but I’d hate to be the one driving .
-Nate
No: 1970 and later U.S. emissions standards were in grams per mile, not ppm or percentage of exhaust volume, so it was 1.5 g/mile CO.
At least, that silver one is under “5000 lbs”.
In the sense that a product priced at $49.98 is under $50…..
Anyone else notice the zippered pouches above the map holders on the backs of the front seats? I’m impressed by those, alone.
There’s a closeup of them in the ad listing. I was going to include it, but ran out of room.
This story reminded me of the inflation of car prices in the 1970s. The 1976 Olds Regency stickered for $6500. Three years later the sticker on my 1979 Malibu Classic coupe was $7500. Now, I did order a lot of accessories, but it still wasn’t an Olds Regency, either.
^ THIS ^
The Family LTD that became my first car, was my Dad’s first car with AC.
In 1973, that Ford was $3,500.
FFWD to 1979 when I bought my first new car, a ‘79 Fairmont Futura without AC. And I bought it when the 1980 models were coming out, so it was at year-end discount prices.
In September of 1979, that much lesser Ford was $4,800.
The inflation in the seventies was no joke. Kinda like now, car prices wise.
For comparison, my grandmother’s ’72 Cadillac Calais was $8k with AC, AM/FM, and power seat. You could get usually a ~15% discount paying cash, however.
Dad was an Olds lifer and we had a new one every two years starting with a ’50 88 two door. My late brother (born in 1933) had nothing but 98s over the years. My only ownership of an Oldsmobile was a ’74 Delta 88 Royale convertible. Alas, no velour.
I’ll say again what I’ve said here before, which is that the ’72 GM’s were gorgeous pieces of styling – they just are. Slogan: Make Huge Look Bigger, In Style. Sure, it all got a bit fungled by the bumpers and lights as time went on to ’77, but as things of just sheer style, they’re art. Seriously.
Of course, as cars, they’re quite ridiculous.
But, as things to look at, they were wondrous fantasies of excess, that fantasy presumably one of ever-wider roads and ever increasing fuel reserves. I know from CC, they were blighted by poor interiors and crap quality, and, latterly, no performance to justify the ship-sized engines, but like an iceberg and ship, mere details.
I speculate, ala peak wealth-inequality’s Edwardian Titanic, that absolute peaks must always end in disaster.
I wonder, is grams per vehicle mile the only ever (and weirdest-ass) measurement that combines the metric and Imperial systems?
Well, since modern tire sizes combine metric section widths and wheel diameters in inches, even in markets that have metricized (the old Michelin TRX system not withstanding), I’m going to have to say no…
Ah! Quite so.
Socket wrenches. The square connector on the wrench is always in imperial sizes like 1/4″, 3/8″, or 1/2″, even though more often than not the snap-on sockets are in millimeters. And it’s like that all over the world.
This was always so weird to me having come of age during the time we (in the US) were trying to switch to the metric system.
Miles, Inches, Pints & Quarts, etc were called the “English or Imperial” system, yet the Britts used the Metric System we were trying to adopt here with dual speedometers displaying kilometers per hour as well as miles per hour. Measuring cups showed milliliters as well as fluid ounces.
To my 16-17 year old brain this made no sense. The English used the Metric System.
Of course I know why this is so, but at the time it was non-sequitur.
The funny thing is, when I’m packing up ground beef for the freezer using my vacuum sealer, I still write 1 pound or 16 ounces, and then right under that put (454 g). Yes, as an engineer, all the conversions are in my head, 25.4 mm, 454 g, 16.9 oz (1/2 L)… well, that last one was more about my time brewing beer…. The one I still can’t calculate in my head though is Fahrenheit to Celsius… who the hell picked 32 degrees as the freezing point of water? And 212 for its boiling point for that matter? This makes the whole calculation just weird to me… I end up Googling. 0 and 100 degrees makes more sense. You know, the way the English do it…oh wait… 😉
The 0 point of the Fahrenheit scale is the freezing point of salt water rather than fresh water.
If you add enough salt. It takes a lot to raise the boiling point more than a few degrees. Or would some precipitate out of solution on the way down?
Here’s a Cecil Adams Straight Dope explanation:
https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/205695/what-is-zero-fahrenheit-anyway-is-it-really-the-freezing/
Back in the ’80s, IIRC, a magazine called ‘Trailer Life’ and dedicated to RV trailers, celebrated their anniversary (forgot which one) by asking their readers, “what was the best/favorite tow vehicle since TL began?”, and the overwhelming winner was the ’71-3 Olds 98, a car they didn’t test back then, so they hunted down an original condition one, and hooked it to a suitable camping trailer for a retrospect.
My Greatest Gen dad was an Olds guy. His dad had been a doctor in a small town on the Iowa Minnesota border and they always started in freezing winter and never overheated in humid summers so dad said that’s what I’ll own when I grow up and as folks were brand loyal then he did – Rocket 88s in 50s and 60s, moved up to a 98 when he “made VP” at his 400 company when I started high school in 69. Traded every four years so yeah he had this one only a four door. He switched to Buick when they killed Olds