(first posted 12/16/2016)
Traditional. It’s one word that comes to mind when thinking about both Oldsmobile and the holiday season. After what seemed like fifteen minutes of fall in Chicago, winter weather has come roaring into the Windy City with full force. Many holiday-themed parties are now taking place. There are city lots that would otherwise be empty where Christmas trees are (still) being peddled for the season. I like that the dark green color of this ’77 Cutlass Salon echoes that of an evergreen, with our featured car also covered by a blanket of snow and standing curbside in the urban forest known as the north side neighborhood of Ravenswood.
Perhaps it was a kind thing that most views of this Cutlass’s sheetmetal were partially obscured by its snow covering this past Sunday afternoon. It didn’t take 20/20 vision to see that its body was in terrible shape, even if the rear bumper was still accounted for (the absence of which is a common malady of these cars). Even so, it was refreshing to see all of its visible body panels in the same, uniform color, as were all four of its Super Stock II wheels. It’s true that even the most barren-looking fir tree can be made more beautiful by a covering of freshly fallen snow.
These cars were thick on the ground when I was growing up in the Midwest. Around this time of year and after school was out, and with my early-life memories starting around the late-1970’s, our family of five would soon be piling into our nicest family car (first, a ’77 Plymouth Volaré coupe through ’85, then an ’84 Ford Tempo GL 4-door) to drive about two hours south to my grandparents’ farm in northwestern Ohio. Their little hamlet of Malinta seemed worlds removed from what seemed then like the bustling, little GM factory town of Flint, Michigan, where my family lived.
One of my absolute favorite things about such family road trips to the farm, during any time of year, was looking out the window and learning to spot and identify the correct makes and models of cars. It was for this reason that I always wanted a “side” in the back seat of the car – so I could have my own window. That my older brother would get a window seat was a given – I usually had to compete with my younger brother to “claim” the other one.
Growing up as the middle son of three brothers can sometimes involve games of strategy and alliances. I wasn’t buying the argument that the three of us Dennis brothers had to be seated across the back seat in a manner that corresponded with our birth order (which, then, would always place me in the center seat – and also over the dreaded transmission hump), though I’m sure my older and younger brothers probably tried that argument with me more than once. The oldest sibling’s influence on the youngest will always beat that of the one in the middle. It’s a fact I (ruefully) came to accept.
Nonetheless, it became clear in my observations when I was fortunate enough to secure a window seat that many nice-looking families had Cutlasses… and that our Plymouth and Ford “loser-mobiles” were simply not in the same class as an Olds. Sometimes, I was able to lock eyes with other kid passengers of other cars on the expressway, and while I mostly behaved, I remember having a slight inferiority complex on behalf of our Plymouth. (How the cars our family owned became a part of my own identity.) While we were never poor, our Plymouth seemed to reinforce the Dennis family mantra of frugality bordering on asceticism, while Olds riders and drivers seemed just a little bit more solidly upper-middle-class. And yes, I was jealous…
…Which brings me back to our featured car. This was a really nice ride at some point. It’s not even “just” a Supreme or a Supreme Brougham… it’s the upper-echelon, flagship, ostensibly Euro-themed Salon, which was in its last year in this handsome bodystyle before adopting the terrible posture of a hunchbacked, quasi-fastback, simultaneous with its downsizing.
This Salon coupe was the second-most-expensive Cutlass offering for 1977 (after the Vista Cruiser wagon), which was part of what made these images so hard to take in. In mint condition, this conifer-colored Colonnade would flip so many switches for me. It is in a dark, understated, distinguished color. It has the SSII wheels. It’s one of the best-looking midsize cars of its generation. And if I’d be so lucky, it might have an actual, 185-horse, 403-cubic inch Olds Rocket V8 under the hood to move its 3,800 pounds of personal luxury. Sigh. The reality is that this part of the U.S. isn’t called the “Rust Belt” for nothing, and this car – fully exposed to the winter elements – will be 40 next year, if it avoids the crusher through the next few weeks.
Our featured car was one of of about 56,800 Salons produced for ’77 (which came only as a coupe that year, following the discontinuation of the 4-door Salon), which represented about 9% of about 632,700 total Cutlasses produced for the model year. This ’77 Cutlass total production figure represented a massive 26.5% jump over the 1976 total of just over 500,000. The popularity of the ’77 Cutlass helped Olds Division smash the One Million barrier (about 1,136,000 units) for the first of six non-consecutive years without breaking a sweat, though I’m sure those working on the line were sweating plenty to build these cars to keep up with insane demand.
Cutlass Salon prices for ’77 started at about $5,300 (about $21,000 in 2016), which represented $300 ($1,200 / adjusted) over the base price of a Supreme Brougham coupe, which outsold the Salon by a ratio of over 2:1. The “plain”, old Supreme coupe sold close to 243,000 units that year for about $600 less than the Salon (roughly $2,400 / adjusted). For the money, what would your choice have been? A Supreme coupe would have been enough Cutlass for me.
I found the “Happy Honda Days” billboard in the background of the above shot particularly ironic. If this Cutlass had eyes to see, it would probably be retracing the chain of events that led to its orphaning and Honda’s usurping of Oldsmobile’s role as the make of choice for much of middle America. By the time the Accord became the top-selling passenger car in the U.S. for model year 1989 (the first import-branded car to do so) with close to 362,700 sales, total Olds production at roughly 533,800 was about half of what it had been just three years prior, and our featured car’s direct descendant, the new-for-’89 W-Body Cutlass Supreme, scored just 100,000 sales. The Accord and the Cutlass Supreme had essentially swapped roles, as was reflected in the driveways and garages of many households.
Time waits for no one – or no car, for that matter. Twenty-Sixteen came and is on its way out, and the once stalwart choice of the American middle class that was Oldsmobile has been gone for almost fifteen years now. Regardless, however, of how many Oldsmobiles, or Cutlasses, remain on the road in the years to come, both brands will undoubtedly remain interwoven in the lore, hearts, memories, and past aspirations of many car lovers. Some traditions are hard to let go of.
Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois.
Sunday, December 11, 2016.
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These were indeed everywhere in the 70s and early 80s. To me, they were “The Establishment”, or at least “The Establishment In Waiting.” Which kept me from appreciating their many good points. Today, I really like these. And I miss dark green cars.
I love the impressions that a derelict old car can coax out of you. And if it makes you feel any better, the grass was no greener among the “higher classes.” Many was the time I rode in the claustrophobic back seat of my father’s Mark IV with my younger sister and the baby seat of my first half-brother wedged in between us. The combination of Dad’s cigarette smoke and the dark confined space shared with grouchy siblings made for a world no better than yours, even if the seats were leather. I always longed for a nice, big “regular car” with big windows and back doors. The Galaxie 500 sedans Dad would rent on vacations always made me happier. 🙂
“And I miss dark green cars”
I agree. I had a 1998 Honda Accord in Emerald Green, and hated it at the time (got a great deal due to some minor hail damage while it was new on the lot). Now, I kind of miss that color.
I bought a ’99 Accord Coupe and my mother bought a ’98 LeSabre around the same time, both dark green with tan interiors. It was a hugely popular color for a couple of years.
JP, to your point about these being “Establishment” cars at the time, my appreciation of these has been taken to a new level in current day. While I just wrote about recognizing these were nice cars when I was younger, they were *everywhere* and thus didn’t seem quite as special to me unlike in present day. Now that they’re thin(-ner) on the ground, I can see more of their winning qualities.
It’s kind of like “Seinfeld”. In first-run and through high school and college, many of my friends watched and critics raved… so I adversely selected against watching it, because I had reached my saturation point of the show without even watching it.
Then it went off the air and I discovered it in reruns, years later. I think I’ve seen every episode now at least three times.
I know these were popular, but in the area I grew up, I don’t remember *that* many of them. From this era, I particularly remember a lot of Monte Carlos and a lot of late 70’s T-birds and Cougars. Even to this day,if I see a Colonnade car it’s likely a Monte Carlo, maybe a Grand Prix. I still see a few old survivor T-Birds around too, even a Cordoba or every now and then, but not many Cutlass’ considering how many were sold. That said, the 78-88’s Cutlass’ were very popular. I remember seeing as many of them as your would Monte Carlos of that generation. Today there seems to be quite a high percentage of Olds from that generation that survived.
Great write up Mr. Dennis.
I agree that its a shame to see this car in this shape. My aunt had one in the 80’s, (bought used to replace a Granada) it was “just” a supreme. It was a nice tan color with a beige/cream half vinyl top and interior.
being a 10 year old car at the time it was showing its age to a point. Parts broke (turn signal and gear shift) but were still operated by the screw driver she kept in the glove box.
It was only replaced after an accident that crushed the passenger side rear quarter panel when a guy ran a red light.
Nice write up on an old friend of mine – I had ’73 (Supreme) and ’76 (Supreme Brougham) coupes. The ’76 was the first year of this body style, so it was very like this ’77.
The ’73 was equipped with a sporting bent – SSII wheels, vinyl interior, buckets and console. Well equipped with 350, automatic, AC, and tilt wheel. Unfortunately, rust country was eating it up, and I learned the hard way where the prior owner had applied Bondo.
The ’76 was much nicer, a former executive car, LOADED for the times with about everything but the T-top. It was the 350 4 bbl vs. the available 455 that year, but it was plenty to give the Olds more scoot than most cars sold then, and didn’t give the car the sagging front seen on some 455 cars.
I didn’t realize that the Salon sold in the numbers it did – probably because it was so overwhelmed by the Supreme / Supreme Brougham trims. The bucket and console seemed a rare sight years ago – and more frequently seen in Monte Carolos and Grand Prixs. Was it standard on the Salon?
Your close shots remind me of so many details of the car – I had to remove the nameplates and other trims for a repaint. That script is chromed white metal attached with speed nuts on the back. No glue on plastic crap here. And, every self-respecting Cutlass had the mud flaps – although most were purchased at the Olds dealer, and featured white Cutlass script. I installed a set on my ’76 myself.
Unfortunately, the advance deterioration of this car is the logical outcome of the typical deterioration seen on these cars. And, you are quite right – it borders on amazing that the back bumper is still attached. But, perhaps it was repaired once before. With far fewer problems, I had to replace the inner beam on my rear bumper after it nearly came off with the bumper jack.
Dave wrote: “That script is chromed white metal attached with speed nuts on the back. No glue on plastic crap here.”
You mean they went to the trouble of drilling all those holes to let the ferrous oxide out and the car still rusted?
If I’m interpreting this right as a bit of snark regarding the holes for trim bits, note that this 40 year old used up car is still holding its badges, and there is no rust behind them.
These badges were usually located in places that didn’t get dirt or water buildup behind them, and were rarely a source of rust trouble.
This old car, like my Cutlass 30 years ago, started its real rust problems in the rear quarter. The weld between the inner quarter liner and the outer panel was a weak spot, and once salty water breached this and got into the panels, where it would not drain, you had a problem.
FWIW ;
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The flag badge was indeed glued on ~ I got a whole bunch of them when working for Natzel Oldsmobile and gave them to my then young Son who stuck them all over the house in the worst places….
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-Nate
The things kids do! I found a box of decals from Dad’s old engineering works, and put them all over the place. ‘230v Input’ on light switches, ‘Extn. Speaker’ on the TV set, ‘Stereophonic’ as a brand name on my bike…
He recently turned 44YO and still loves his stickers .
A different generation .
-Nate
Heck back then dealers stuck chrome badges on cars to advertise where the vehicle came from, they just drilled holes in your new car and attached them with self tapping screws.
“The ’76 was the first year of this body style…”
’76 was the first year of this front and rear styling and side sheetmetal, underneath was the new for’73 Colonnade A body. And roof, greenhouse, cowl, frame, etc were the same 73-77.
I know – I owned both the ’73 and ’76. I suppose technically a refresh in some minds, but the ’76 coupes got all new sheet metal below the beltline compared to the ’73, and of course, the sheet metal also significantly diverged from the metal on the sedans and wagons.
If the ’73 coupe body had remained in production along side the ’76 coupe – perhaps like the Monte Carlo / Malibu Chevys, I’d probably call the ’76 a new body style. The ’76 divergence of the Cutlass coupe from the sedans and wagons was to further enhance its image as a personal luxury car (like Monte Carlo or Grand Prix), and not simply represent the mid-size Olds coupe.
Dave, thanks so much. And as regards detail shots of cars, like fellow CC contributor Jim Grey, I also find the little details fascinating. Style-wise, I’m not sure which I like better, between the ’73 and ’76 Cutlasses.
With the Colonnade Chevelles, I love the original ’73s. I like the ’76 (and ’77) Chevelles partially out of sentimental value (as I owned a ’76), but the ’73 Chevelle is just a great-looking car.
Oldsmobile offered 3 types of Strato bucket seats on its Cutlass models during the Colonnade era (1973-77). The reclining bucket seats and console were standard on the Cutlass Salon coupe and sedan, while non-reclining buckets were a no-cost option on the Supreme coupe and the swiveling buckets were standard on the Hurst/Olds and an extra-cost option on the Cutlass S and 442 coupes. In 1975 only, the swiveling buckets featured reversible cushions in cloth/vinyl and were standard on the H/O and optional on Supreme.
Looks like the poor beast has a bent frame.
The hit to the front bumper doesn’t seem to be enough to have messed up the clip that way. I’d suspect the frame may be bent, but likely by rust. If that it the case, this car is awaiting a flatbed.
I wonder if the fender mounts are rotted off. 🙁
This car needs a date with Jerry Carlson! He has saved much worse. (His display Charger was delivered on a ramp truck…the driver warned him to not open the doors, because the body would sag and they would not close.)
My Mom had a beater Cutlass Supreme like this on (except powder blue in color) in 1989. My mom purchased hers for super cheap perhaps $900 or so (a beater).
It was baby blue, all rusted out, back fired when driving, had a hole in the exhaust that made one smell the fumes etc (yes we grew up poor). Ironically these models were so popular and desired. That a neighbor bought the beater off my mom for more than she paid for it (he wanted to restore it I guess).
Anyway she went on to replace the Cutlass Supreme with another temporary beater. A slightly newer beater (a 1981 Oldsmobile Omega Ls Coupe). Still garbage, but slightly better FWD garbage…lol
Oldsmobile’s fall into automotive oblivion was truly staggering. In 1977 Olds cracked the 1 million mark in production, something no other brand other that Chevy or Ford ever did. It then went on to crack the million mark 5 more times. In the ’80’s, it even edged past Ford into the into the number two position for a few years. And then 20 years later, it was gone. Sad.
These Cutlass Supremes were a big reason for Old’s success. Its timing was impeccable – an attractive, solid luxury coupe at the time that model was all the rage. Like the tri 5 Chevys and so many other wildly successful cars, it felt “just right” to many American buyers. A great value, they sold like hotcakes, being America’s number one seller in 1976.
One wonders how Oldsmobile could have sustained this success. Considering the Cutlass Supreme coupe led the sales charge, and the personal luxury coupe market was always so style-conscious, maybe employing Chuck Jordan instead of Irv Rybicki might have resulted in better-looking cars and thus better sales. Yes, coupes were dying out but if a handsome, mid-priced sedan had arrived – in the Taurus or Accord mould – in the mid-1980s, Oldsmobile might have enjoyed further success.
That being said, Honda was able to become so dominant due to a number of factors including reliability and build quality.
In the ’80s, I think Oldsmobile ended up taking the brunt of the general trends of bad decisions on GM’s part, particularly as regards penny-pinching. As a middle-child division, Oldsmobile was particularly dependent on being able to offer something perceptibly better (a little more engine, better materials, etc.) than a Chevrolet or a Ford. With corporate engines, corporate styling, and corporate cheapness, it really didn’t have that much to offer compared rivals, either inside or outside of GM, which was a shame.
Some of the credit for Oldsmobile’s demise belongs to our wonderful government.
Some of what made Olds different from the other divisions (engines) became to expensive to continue……..EPA certifications for example.
Oldsmobile was so much like a musician, there are so many, who sold a boat load of records finding that sweet spot that is just so right until the tastes of the public changed. Also not being a truck division and having sister divisions that were, Oldsmobile was doomed in the end. Even the mighty Chevrolet is just a shadow of what it once was.
Oldsmobile should be the textbook example of how you “sell out” a brand.
Start with something that has unique design and engineering, a loyal customer base, and a premium reputation. Then cut the prices and take away everything that made the brand unique.
In the short-term you get a lot of sales. But after a few years most customers smarten-up and figure out there’s nothing worth paying a premium for . And then you have nothing.
And therein lay a problem.
A product is perceived as prestigious, so more people buy it. Fair enough.
More people buy it, so it becomes a common sight. Naturally.
Because it’s a common sight, it’s not so special any more. Oops!
Prestige leak.
At that time, the Cutlass was among the best selling car in America and I believe Olds was number 3 or 4.
My first Olds was a ’72 98 LS in dark green metallic. My next was a ’76 98 Regency in silver. I was still a Chevy guy for the most part back then, but my dad favored Oldsmobile’s while growing up.
Today I have 6 Oldsmobile’s (and lots of spare engines/parts), and it’s the first brand I look to when wanting to add another car to the fleet.
BTW, a ’77 Cutlass would have been in that condition around here by the late 80’s. I haven’t seen one on the road here in many years. Back in the 80’s, I’d pick these up needing work and could always turn them for a good profit.
A friend of mine back in the day had a ’76 with the 260 V8 and 5 speed OD trans. He traded it on a new ’85 Camaro.
Joe, yet another wonderful piece!
I am miserable with this weather we’re having, a big slap of winter right in the face (a guy from New Orleans will NEVER get used to this). More snow on the way today, then more sub-zero temps. Ugh! That said, it warms my heart to see this Cutlass. My pick of the Cutlass fleet for ’77 would have been a loaded Cutlass Salon, naturally with the super sport wheels, and I really like the dark green (my Pop’s ’77 Caprice was that color, and it was beautiful). When new, this car would have been very desirable.
You are also so right that Honda took over Oldsmobile’s customers by the late 1980s/early 1990s. Thinking back to the block where I grew up circa 1982, the Olds landscape looked like this: 2 Custom Cruisers, 1 Cutlass Cruiser, 1 Cutlass Supreme, 1 Delta 88 Royale, 1 X-Body Omega, 1 Ninety-Eight LS (my mother’s). Buick and Chevy were the other brands in these driveways in addition to the Oldsmobiles. Fast forward 10 years on the same block with the same neighbors: 1 Accord Coupe, 3 Accord Sedans (including my Pop’s), 1 Accord Wagon, 1 Prelude (my mother’s). Lexus, Acura and Volvo were the other brands in these driveways. My family’s block, like thousands of others like it, went from 100% GM to 0% GM in a decade. I can’t think of a more telling sign of GM’s utter collapse during the 1980s–they completely lost their core upper-middle-class buyers. And this was in Louisiana, not California…
I also got a chuckle with your description of haggling over the back seats spots with siblings. I am the youngest of 3, and I always got stuck in the middle despite all my protests. The only exception was when we were on a long road trip and my parents would pack a cooler with food and drinks (Po’ Boys from Mother’s and Coca-Cola–we enjoyed a treat for long hauls!) and put it in the right rear passenger footwell. The giant old-school Igloo cooler ate up all the legroom, so yours truly would then get that spot. But at least I got the window…
I was thinking the same regarding the remark about Olds and Honda tends to ring true. I grew up in Cutlasses, my kids are riding in a Accord. The Touring is the new Brougham, but we have an EXL. I imagine the same is true with my neighbors, the only domestic brand is Ford. Just like back then, great to look at and drive but not without problems.
And while I am from Louisiana, we’re in Boise now.
In my neck of the wood in Upstate, NY something different happened. Instead of those Oldsmobiles/Buicks/Chevy’s etc it was pickup trucks and SUV’s during the 90’s with cars mixed in of all makes. It was so random but the trucks such as F-150/Ranger, Silverado/S10 and Ram plus there sport ute equivalents were by far the most seen in neighborhoods all over. There were also bucket loads of Delta 88’s LeSabres, A-body Ciera’s and Century’s, loads of Panthers and quite a few cloud/LH Chryslers in addition to the usual foreign stuff. And lets not forgets the Taurus/Sable cars. They were literally everywhere
GN, thank you so much. Yesterday’s single-digit temps here in Chicago were brutal. It had me questioning what month it was, as it seemed like the end of January.
The near-complete (I guess 0% is pretty “complete”) domestic-to-foreign transition you mentioned on your old block got me thinking… Growing up in a GM factory town, I never witnessed this in Flint…even in GM’s nadir which was the 80’s. I guess I just lived in that bubble. It’s interesting to get different perspectives on what other observed during that same time period.
As for the sibling stuff (hehe), I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world. 🙂 And those Igloo coolers seemed to be indestructible.
I wonder how the 260/5-speed combo would have felt on the racetrack as mentioned in the “Cutlass Salon Tours Riverside” Ad;-)
There’s actually a 260/5-speed for sale in Illinois. I would be so tempted if I had the money, but I’ve read it’s incredibly gutless. https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/oldsmobile/cutlass/1802214.html
Not a bad car and the price is probably fair for it’s condition and rarity. Nothing wrong with the 260 a stock 350 or a turbocharger wouldn’t fix.
Makes me wonder what he’d take for the car lol.
You wouldn’t want to put a 350 in front of that 5-speed. I had the same 260-5spd combo in a ’76 Omega, and the trans was shot and howling by 50,000 miles. B&W designed for for Iron Dukes and 231 V6s, and it was overwhelmed by the torque of even the 260. Worse, by 1982, B&W scratched replacement parts from their bin. Also, the 260 has a diesel-like power curve, since the stroke is bigger than the bore and it simply hates to rev.
The 260 is an oversquare engine (3.5″ x 3.38″). The reason the 260 wouldn’t rev was by design.
Small Dualjet carb, smaller valves than the 350, and peanut ports. It was designed for low end torque to make it driveable in most normal driving situations.
If anyone thinks a 260 gas engine is gutless, I have a ’79 Cutlass Supreme Brougham still wearing it’s original 260 diesel engine.
That car needs a call to Joe Mondello. Have him whip up one of his hot 403s…but dress it to look like a stock 260. (Or maybe one of his killer 600+HP 444ci 350 diesel block strokers…)
Swap the 5-speed out for something stronger (there should be ample room underneath for a T56), put 3.73 gears in the axle, and that would be an AWESOME sleeper.
It was not very fast lol. Sporty maybe, fast………no!
110 Hp and 205 torque I believe. Not much sizzle for a 3800 LB steak. The 5 speed did however have much better gearing so low and mid range response were probably better than with the automatic.
Well written as always Joseph ;
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You have a good way with words that includes the memories and feelings of a time long gone .
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I worked for an Olds Dealer in..?1979? and these cars were extremely popular, even half the Mechanics owned them .
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I was looking at the Weather Reports @ 02:00 this morning (I can’t sleep much) and noticed my old home of Boston, Ma. was ZERO degrees ~ ugh .
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I don’t miss the snow one bit .
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-Nate
Thanks, Nate! And sadly, the absolute value of zero is…zero. This is some Antarctic stuff, here. 😉
FWIW ;
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I’ve always loved green vehicles, in the 1970’s I was reading Insurance actuarial tables and in addition to saying yellow cars are bought by mentally unstable people, they said that green is a natural color so many folks simply don’t see it and therefore violate the green vehicles right of way .
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Too bad as most German cars came is wonderful greens back in the 1950’s, 60’s and early 70’s .
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-Nate
This brings back memories as a teen getting a ride to school in my friend’s 1977 442 coupe with white bucket seat interior and the white/red exterior combo. That was during my time going to high school in 1987-89. The burble of that Rocket V8, the eye catching style and the admiring glances from other students were unforgettable. Sadly this was a daily driver year round which meant that road salt finally had it’s way during the early 90’s and the now collectable 442 was no longer able to pass inspection so was sold for parts. I’m sure someone got there hands on that perfect running 403 and I sure would have loved to stick that motor in my 1981 Cutlass 260.
To my eye, that Cutlass is in *incredibly good* condition for a car that has spent 40 years on the roads of Chicagoland. Most of its brethren have long been scrapped, making this one of the finest you’ll see on the streets today!
Like the Mercury Colony Park wagon Joseph featured recently, I suspect these CC’s were very well maintained for the vast span of those 40 years. It’s probable it’s only recently they have been neglected. And that is especially unfortunate.
Hey that’s my hood. Andy at Reliable is my mechanic. Good guy. You every get any work done there Joseph?
Good to know… I’m a couple miles south of there down Ashland. Do they work on older BMWs?
The work on anything. Very reasonable. For the longest time they had a cracked BMW head on their counter.
Very cool- I have a friend who is looking for a mechanic who lives nearby. I’ll pass along the info!
Artvandelay, I actually don’t own a car, believe it or not! Glad to hear this is a solid shop.
I wonder if they could have saved your (fictional) fire-damaged LeBaron convertible that had once belonged to “John Voight”. 😉
Funny enough I do own a Le Baron convertible. Not owned by John or Jon Voight.
Great story and pics as always Joseph. Your friendly, casual and descriptive style of writing really suits Paul’s site well.
Olds first big blow was Chevy engine sharing, and not telling owners. Then, the dreaded diesels.
Anyway, the Cutlass Salon was a special trim model from 73-77, then Olds tried to make it the base Cutlass line with the Aeroback 78-79. The Cutlass Calais was then ‘sportier’ Supreme, until the ’85 N body Calais. Salon the returned for 85-87.
When the sedan was “normalized” in ’80, was back to Cutlass LS/Supreme
Love these cars. Cutlasses were the best of the Colonnades! I’m the oldest of three brothers so your “brother hierarchy logic” made me laugh out loud Joseph!
Ha!! And now, this made me laugh. I wonder if my brothers have read this piece.
+1. I’m also the oldest of 3 brothers and am familiar with family car seating hierarchy. Our difference however was that my brothers and I were fighting over the front seat of my single dad’s circa ’90 Mazda B2200 Supercab. That “backseat” was really just a cushion of the floor. Being the biggest at the time gave me a (semi) legitimate reason to sit up front. Yeah, I felt the family car inferiority complex as well. Stupid comfortable minivans.
Another great piece Joseph. If it makes you fell any better I’ve been working outdoors all week in -20 C weather. Warming up by the wood stove right now.
Beautiful story telling in pictures and text, Joseph! Handsome car.
I absolutely love the chunkily tyred stock wheels. not a low profile tyre in sight. This Olds can teach wheel designers how to make high side walls sexy again!!
The first thing when I looked at this picture was, “please don’t tell me this car is succumbing to rust.”, and it is. Kind of sad. I don’t understand the people who would drive a classic car in the snow, leaving aside the tinworm possibility due to the road salt, it seems like the older, cruder technology would play havoc in the snow. That would be a scary experience.
I vaguely remember my sister and I having arguments over which seats were “ours” in our families cars, but I remember us arguing more over who got the front seat. Maybe because the front seat felt more “grown up” Of course, my family had Sedans and SUVs so the seat argument wasn’t a big deal. Though I do remember my sister complaining about the lack of rear seat room in my Cadillac, mainly because you have two adults over 6 foot that need to put the seats all the way back for some leg room.
I miss dark green cars. I wish that we could get more dark green cars, I remember Cadillacs from the 90s came in dark green often, and that was the last I remember a brand offering dark green for a majority of their products.
Old cars aren’t necessarily classic cars. Sometimes, they’re just soldiering on, one bad break from ending up in the scrapyard — not unlike the people who own them, often.
Honestly, these cars are heavy tanks with narrow tires. Assuming the latter aren’t bald they can behave better in the snow than a lot of more modern sophisticated rear drivers made today(which are all of the sporty steam roller treaded variety).
This is about as much of a classic as a well used Camry SE will be 40 years from now. It aint a 68 Charger. This one is way beyond the point of preservation, so it’s a matter of keep driving it until the wheels fall off or junk it now and get something else. Maybe the owner would rather have this their beater than a $500 Corolla as one.
I would’ve gone for a 1976-77 Cutlass Supreme or Salon 2 door landau coupe with a 350ci V8 or bigger, they’re one of my favorite vehicles built in the mid/late 70’s period, I remember seeing these cars everywhere back in the 80’s/early 90’s (I’m born in 1980) and can see why they were so popular, I agree they were the best looking of the Colonnade styling cars.
I also love dark green cars myself and thought it was one of the best colors for a vehicle.
The Salon is more my style. I think the buckets/console spruce up the interior, which I didn’t much care for. Frankly, I’d prefer a Grand LeMans or Grand Prix with its much nicer-looking interior. Maybe a Regal S/R with its horseshoe floor shift, although I always thought the ’76-77 Regal just looked like a blander Cutlass.
I was going to mention my Gram had a dark green white interior ’77 Regal, every option except ttops or power windows (if she drove off one of the several bridges near her house, she didn’t want the power windows to fail when she tried to get out of the car. I suggest her 24/7 mink stole would have weighed her down worse).
It was a sharp looking car, similar lines to the Cutlass but more formal overall. It was passed down to my dad, then ultimately to me. I gave it away to a local Buick enthusiast since it was just sitting in disrepair and I was not in the bacinity to get it up and going.
Here in Houston we’re expecting a 40 degree drop tonight…but no where near the tortuous weather I left back in New England 35 years ago. No thanks.
I was in Chicago one winter and caught a storm and lake effects. You people are super humans.
Another great read, thank you Joseph. It must be the magic of the season, this is the first Colonnade I’ve given a second look. Well, that green honey a while back was exceptional, I’ll give you that.
I know people love them but our image of the archetypal US car, based on full sized ’50-’60s iron and pony cars, does not see this incarnation as any continuation in form, features, prestige or performance.
I love the story telling, I really dislike the snow.
It’s the 17th here in Australia now which means it’s my birthday. And it was a treat to have this article appear for me to read this morning.
These are very handsome cars and that is a beautiful colour. Before I bought my dark purple ’04 Falcon XR6, I had looked at an identical one except with a black leather interior, sunroof and gorgeous dark green paint like this. I was smarting when some other guy bought it from under me, although I found the purple one a little later for a lot cheaper. All’s well that end’s well.
I’ve noticed dark green and maroon seem to fade harder and quicker than other paint colours. Dark green also never seems to enjoy enduring popularity. Even in clothes, which bothers me because every time I wear dark green, people compliment me. Every person has a colour that suits them more than others and perhaps every car does too. I ended up finding a gorgeous dark green button-down. Maybe some day I’ll have a gorgeous dark green car too.
Happy Birthday!!!
I am hoping you get a gorgeous dark green Cadillac one day 🙂
Happy birthday from “yesterday”, Will! And thank you.
About colors, I haven’t made the observation about exterior colors, but I think burgundy and dark green cloth interiors are definitely more prone to fading.
About the Falcon that got bought out from under you (GRRR!), I do believe everything happens for a reason.
Happy Birthday, William. I had mine six days ago. 🙂
Happy birthday William.
I’ll chime in too: Happy Birthday!
Thanks everybody 🙂 and GN, how did you know what my birthday wish was? 😉
Happy Birthday again, William!
It was in the teens and windy here today, sucks when you work outside like me.
A query about the name. Is “salon” GM’s idea of the French word for what Americans call a sedan? I imagine the reasoning was as follows: “saloon” is the Brtitish-English word for a four-door car and making it sound French would make it seem sophisticated; so we’ll change “saloon” to “salon”. The French call a sedan a “berline”.
How do American interpret the word? What does it suggest?
Interesting thoughts, Richard.
My first thought that calling this Cutlass variant the “Cutlass Saloon” would conjure up images of either:
* The rootin’, tootin’, shootin’ old West (at odds with the upscale image Oldsmobile was probably going for); and / or
* Drinking (as in, at the saloon) – not exactly a harmonious association with a car.
Also, “Cutlass Berline” doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as easily as “Cutlass Salon”.
I honestly wonder what was discussed in the boardroom in Lansing with regard to this version’s nomenclature!
Maybe a beauty salon? Were they saying the top Cutlass was a hairdresser’s car? 🙂
More likely they were trying to conjure up the thought of a salon as an upmarket name for a Victorian era drawing room, the sort of place the ‘upper classes’ might entertain. Perhaps some of the execs had such a room in their mansions? The sort of room you probably wouldn’t have in you house, but might perhaps aspire to. The fact that we’re having this discussion shows they didn’t succeed. The car, gosh yes. The name, maybe not.
Around 1985 a good friend, his brother and I drove his wife’s ’76 Cutlass Supreme from SoCal to Vegas. It was powder blue with white vinyl top. On the way to Vegas the top came unattached at the front and started to balloon up at freeway speeds.
I drove us back, and the top started flapping badly as more material started tearing loose, so we stopped and cut off the flapping portion, or a least most of it. After a few more miles the flapping sound returned, but I also noticed a vibration. My friend said to press on, but I shortly pulled over anyway. The left rear radial tire was coming apart, it still held air but the steel belts had been flying about and tore the hell out of the wheelwell. We changed the tire and pressed on, as I rolled up the window the knob from the winder handle came off in my hand.
When we pulled up to his house his wife came out and freaked out when she saw what we did to her car. My friend told her, hey, 67Conti was driving her car, not himself. Eventually she forgave me, and with insurance money got the body damage repaired, along with a new paint job and vinyl top. And a new window winder handle as well. The car looked like new again.
They were my neighbors in SoCal from 1981 to 1986, and eventually became my neighbors again in 1997 when I moved back up to Washington State. Small world. Had Thanksgiving dinner with them last month. They had the car until about 1995, it had plenty of power with it’s 350 engine and served them well.
Thanks for sharing that vignette, 67Conti… As I was reading that, I was imagining part of a screenplay. LOL Maybe I just watch too much TV. 🙂
I know that powder blue / white top combo you’re taking about. I think that color scheme suits these cars very well.
Very insightful post Joe. Much enjoyed!
Thanks, everyone, for reading my musings, and happy weekend. Writing for Paul’s site is something I love doing… Unlike when I was in school, this is self-assigned homework that I actually *enjoy* doing (take that, Humanities!).
The pictures are a bit darker than usual on a large screen (than on a smart phone) as the snow was really coming down this past Sunday (as it is at this writing), and it was overcast. I thought about brightening these shots in post-processing, but I wanted to preserve the essence of what I was actually looking at when I photographed this car.
“Unlike when I was in school, this is self-assigned homework that I actually *enjoy* doing (take that, Humanities!).”
…That made laugh… very true with me as well.
This was a great read from many different aspects. Your writing often reminds me Peter Egan’s Side Glances column from Road & Track… it was always the first page I turned to with each new issue.
I could never understand how these were so popular when the t bird, cougar, Ltd ‘ll. Cordoba. Motecarlo, grand prix were all so much nicer looking. The cutlass was on a short wheelbase, the bodies rusted, many were 6 or 260 v8 and under powered and the interior was full of cheap plastic. I would have chosen t bird cougar. Or Cordoba over this.
Keep in mind that, back then, choosing GM was akin to choosing Toyota today. The car for people who don’t know, or care, anything about cars. Yeah, the quality had slipped badly and the mistakes were coming thick and fast, but the general public hadn’t completely caught on . . . . . . yet.
Fast forward five years and the public now knows . . . . . .
Sad ending to what once was the most popular car on the American road. This is even the rarer Salon model. Too bad it is too far gone to be saved. I only can imagine what the interior must look like.
Great write-up too, Joseph.
I have a ’77 Cutlass Salon with T-Tops (Hurst Hatches), I cannot find any production numbers. I’m not finding much information period like trim code 64Y, I find 64V but not Y. I am sure the number is correct because it is on the build sheet and cowl tag, also the body style is J 57, I can not find that either. This is my first Cutlass, I usually buy old Pontiac but I have wanted a T-Top Cutlass for a while, I would appreciate any information you could give me. Thank you.
It might be just as well that it’s covered with snow. What we can see looks quite bad enough. But at least it’s still out there – or was back then.
Your recounting of what kid gets what side of the car reminded me of my kids growing up. My eldest always made sure to get the “driver’s side” of the rear seat, relegating my youngest to the other side. Then in our minivan days, the eldest would claim the entire third row seating for himself or him and a buddy. The youngest always had to be in the middle seat.
Were you ever able to dislodge your older brother to the middle position?
Nicely written. This Cutlass looks on verge of abandonment.
Thanks, Moparlee. No, I never won against my older brother, but he and I are cool in adulthood (just visited last month), so while I lost the battle, I feel like I won, anyway. 🙂
Unfortunately, the only item(s) of value are the Super Stock Wheels which were usually accompanied with an handling package (sway bar in rear, different bushings, etc).
My ’83 Cutlass Supreme had this package, it was one of the better handling cars I ever owned. So miss that car….
The snow does somehow impart a mantle of dignity upon this once proud but now forlorn Oldsmobile. One can see how this Cutlass was, at one time, a popular choice with it’s fine styling and stolid, if no longer potent, drivetrain. Pity this one is too far gone to restore to it’s former glory, were the owner in a position or have a desire, to do so.
Inquiring minds wonder what a good Flint (the Buick city) family was doing with a Plymouth, or a Ford. Even Lansing wasn’t so far away, should one prefer that particular GM cousin. The back seat in a Century beats that of a Volare or Tempo any day!
Great question, Randerson! Both the Volaré and Tempo were purchased from a college student of my dad’s. In the former case, he was the salesman; In the latter, he owned the dealership franchise.
The CC effect. Caught this fellow traveller lurking atmospherically on a side street this week.
Looks like a ’76 Pontiac GP – I love a Colonnade! I think my ’76 Malibu Classic was the same external shade of Buckskin Tan.