(first posted 8/20/2014) In GM’s E-Body line of personal luxury cars from 1963 to 1992, the Oldsmobile Toronado occupied the lowest position in the divisional hierarchy and for the most part, carries the lowest stature among car collectors today. Aside from the original 1966-67 Toronado, the Toronado did not have the impact of the early Buick Rivieras of 1963-65 and 1966-67, nor the prestige of the Cadillac Eldorado from its debut in 1967 into the 1980s. Nevertheless, spotting this 1982-ish Toronado (it has the grille of a 1981, with the badging of an ’83) in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC reminded me that these were very good cars in their own right, by bringing up memories of personal experience with them when they were new.
The 1979-85 Toronado and its corporate cousins were a radical revision of the E-Body personal luxury car concept that changed it from the bloated 4,600+ pound, 225+ inch long two door barge that it had become by the mid-1970s to a far more trim and efficient 3,800 pound, 205 inch long coupe with more interior room and vastly improved driving dynamics. The Toronado, Eldorado, and formerly rear-wheel drive Riviera all used the longitudinal V-8 front wheel drive Unitized Power Package that the 1966 Toronado had pioneered, now with independent rear suspension that improved both handling and rear seat and trunk space. Like the downsized GM B-Bodies that debuted in 1977, the 1979 E-Bodies corrected a decade of metal inflation while retaining the space and comfort that buyers had become accustomed to, and they went a step further by also introducing more advanced chassis engineering.
Market acceptance of the downsized E-Bodies was excellent. Toronado sales more than doubled from 24,815 in 1978 to 50,056 in 1979, averaging almost 43,000 a year from 1979 to 1985. Even in its lowest year, the recession year of 1982, Toronado production was 33,928. The Riviera experienced an even more dramatic rise, from 20,535 in 1978 to 52,181 in 1979, and averaged almost 54,000 per year. Eldorado sales rose considerably as well, from 46,816 in 1978 to 67,436 in 1979, selling an average of over 60,000 a year. With over 1 million produced and sales still going strong at the end of their seven year run, the 1979-85 E-Bodies were a success for GM in an era riddled with such failures as the X-Cars and the Oldsmobile diesel V-8.
Toronado sales consistently trailed those of its corporate cousins, with the Eldorado leading each year and the Riviera in the middle. The Toronado also trailed the others in not officially offering a convertible, after the introduction of a Riviera convertible in 1982 and an Eldorado convertible in 1984. Oldsmobile offered special trim packages, such as the Toronado XSC of 1980-81 and the Toronado Caliente of 1984-85, but the only Toronado convertibles were aftermarket conversions by American Sunroof Company.
The market turned against the further downsized 1986-92 E-Bodies and then away from the entire personal luxury car segment during the 1990s, however, so the Toronado disappeared after 1992, followed by the Riviera after 1999 and the Eldorado after 2002.
In my early teens I was no stranger to the characteristics of this class of cars, because I already had several years of what I consider the Maximum E-Body Experience: regular passenger time in a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertible. A friend’s father had picked up this massive 10 mpg land yacht for peanuts in 1981 or 1982 because the first owner had traded it in for a downsized Cadillac, and the dealer found it difficult to sell at a time when the public had turned against “gas-guzzlers.” Figuring that the total cost of ownership would be no worse than that of a more fuel-efficient new car because of the low price and minimal further depreciation, he made it his daily driver. I rode in that Eldorado’s back seat regularly in junior high and high school. The car was a revelation to me, accustomed to riding in a 1972 Nova or a 1976 Cutlass Supreme: space to stretch out, soft leather (probably the first leather seats I’d ever sit on, in a car or a house), and total silence at all times except when the top was down.
The downsized Toronado ended up becoming part of my personal automotive history as well. Around 1979-80, there was a considerable amount of family dinner table conversation about the Toronado, I believe because my mother wanted one to replace her 1972 Nova that was falling apart. A decade of driving two Cutlass Supremes had turned my father into an “Oldsmobile man,” somewhat like the father in A Christmas Story, so lobbying for a Toronado would have been a good way to get the most luxurious car that she could. Instead they purchased a 1980 Omega, however, and it had every infamous X-Car problem and more, resulting in it becoming the last domestic car that they ever bought. Thus, their buying a X-Car instead of an E-Body ended up contributing in a small way to the eventual demise of GM, as that bad experience cost GM a previously loyal customer who then bought only Japanese cars for the next 20 years. It could have been different if my parents had bought a Toronado instead of that Omega.
Several years later, after a couple of years of riding in the 1976 Eldorado, I got to experience being a regular passenger in a 1979-85 Toronado. It was in a weekly carpool ride to and from a Saturday morning class for “gifted” children–essentially a way for parents to waste their money and their kids’ time by having them sit in a classroom for an extra half day each week–and the ride was pleasant, every bit as much as that of the Eldorado. The owner was a rather tall African-American woman, who along with her very big and tall son had plenty of room in the flat-floored front. Even with the front seats moved way back for them, there was more than enough room for me and the other passenger, a very cute and friendly girl who made me not mind that the huge C-pillars made it impossible to see out. The Toronado was quiet, smooth riding on Washington, DC’s potholed streets, and thoroughly comfortable, not feeling like a lesser car from being either downsized or from a lower division than Cadillac.
The Toronado disappeared over 20 years ago, and 30 years after the last of over 300,000 1979-85 Toronados rolled off the assembly line, few are still seen on the streets. This particular car is the first of its kind that the author has seen in at least a decade. Not many remember this Toronado, but it and the contemporary Riviera and Eldorado were successful and popular during their time and were bright spots for GM during a difficult period. Fortunately, at least one well-preserved 1979-85 Toronado remains on the streets of Washington, DC as a reminder of what these cars once were.
“…the 1979-85 E-Bodies were a success for GM in an era riddled with such failures as … the Oldsmobile diesel V-8…”
But the two were not, unfortunately, mutually exclusive.
It looked like GM took an Eldorado and softened up the hard points. Look at the differences between an Eldorado and a Riviera and then look at the differences between an Eldorado and a Toronado.
It’s a pleasant design, but it doesn’t go further than that.
It would have been interesting if they had adapted the wrap-around back window found on the ’78 Toronado XS (although I had read somewhere that those were quite expensive to produce).
I agree that its probably the most generic of the E’s, they should have kept some more of the previous Toronado cues, I always thought the 1971-1979 “extra” brake lights under the rear window were a unique Toronado styling cue(even though the Riviera also used them from 1974-1976) that they could have used on these cars.
I actually like the 1979-85 E-body Toronado best out of the three. Though its long-hood, thick C-pillar, and sloping deck lid were shared with the Riv and Eldo, its sheet metal found a perfect balance between the rounder Riviera, and the sharp-edged (and rather generic) Eldorado. Its cheese grater grille and horizontal taillights were distinctive features. I also like the interior best. I love the dash and seat designs, and honestly feel that the woodgrain trim looked the richest of the three. I also like the Toronado logos that this generation got.
Basically, I really like this car.
Agreed. Plus, that A-pillar is delightful.
The A-pillar always stood out to me as one of the best aspects of the design. Really crisp lines, flush glass, and that subtle curve at the base. It was so clean and modern against the previous models.
Totally agree. The Olds is the handsomest of the three from all angles. The curvy Buick never appealed to me at all, and the Olds does a better job with boxy than the Cadillac does.
These are my favorite downsized E-body, and with a gasoline powered V8 – pretty trouble free and completely Oldsmobile, no borrowed engines from other divisions.
I guess this is an example of why GM was so successful selling the same basic cars restyled among its separate divisions.
Dan and Brendan like the Toronado’s styling better than the Riv and Eldorado, while I think the Toronado is basically anonymous and think the Riv and Eldo are stylistic high points of their period. Different strokes, I guess.
Agreed. The three designs look well-differentiated. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of the Eldorados of this generation. The Riv has grown on me over time. But I’ve always liked the Toronado the best of the three. The nearly grille-less nose on such a squared-off car was a very unique feature, and it has some nice interpretations of the previous generation’s styling cues such as the character lines on the tail panel/trunk. I do agree that not adding the under-window brake lights was a lost opportunity (and one that probably would have satisfied CHMSL regulations!)
I’ll see one of these every so often, more than I do Rivieras but less than Eldorados of the same generation. Sadly, they usually seem to be in poor condition, so it’s nice to see a good one like the featured car.
Regarding the ’81 grille vs. ’83 badging–do those front fenders look darker to you than the door and rear quarter? Perhaps the front sheetmetal was replaced after an accident, and an ’81 was the donor car…
That is what I was thinking. I spent a good half hour trying to figure out the exact model year and trim.
I love the slab dash, with everything so neatly compartmentalized. It seems to recall Bauhaus, but Walter Gropius would gnash his teeth at the sight of all that faux leather and faux mahogany veneer.
I see Louis the XIV more than I see Gropius.
I’d go with Empire – all that angularity. The middle A/C outlets are the one discordant note. You get the tall skinny outlet splits the dash, but then you realize it’s not the middle outlet, but the right hand of the driver’s-side pair. The regular square outlet to its right gives the game away.
AN OASIS IN A SEA OF PRIUS!
Looks like the Prius has taken over from Crown Vic as the preferred taxi. Seen them in Vancouver and a few running around Bedford,UK. Makes no sense on a highway run!
You just hit the nail on the head of why I chose to use that final photo. The juxtaposition of the Toronado with two Priuses sandwiching it almost looked staged, it was so perfect.
The Prius is starting to appear in the Washington, DC area as a taxi, but the old police Crown Vic and cheap 1990s/early 2000s Town Car is still king in the city. Prius taxis, along with Camry Hybrid taxis, appear mostly in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs, where the taxis are usually new cars.
I don’t understand the continued Prii hate on here and other car blogs.
I use a local cab service that uses Prii and other hybrids in their fleet. They offer reasonable fares and reliable service.
I’ll take that over some of the shadier cab operators in this area. Unlike actual cities, you have to call cabs unless they happen to be idling somewhere downtown to which you can flag them down.
I don’t get it either; my suggestion is to not take it too seriously. I personally love the Prius and think it’s brilliant. Maybe people don’t recognize brilliance once it becomes ubiquitous, but that’s their problem, I suppose.
Probably because of the word “Prii”.
The Prius has a lot of great attributes, but seeing one on an auto enthusiast website is like seeing low fat, low sodium, high fiber recipes on a foodie website. It just doesn’t fit.
Yes! Perfect! My last two cars have been Toyotas, but man do I miss ’80s Oldsmobiles like this!
I would take any of the E-body cars from this era. A friend’s family had a 79 Toro in charcoal gray with burgundy leather, no vinyl top. It came from Bob Pulte Oldsmobile in Cincinnati. Lovely car! To a kid used to riding in a 69 Delta 88 with vinyl seats and no power accessories, it was like riding in a Rolls Royce.
You just described the Toronado that I rode in — dark gray with burgundy leather, and with no vinyl top if I recall correctly. I also felt it to be otherworldly compared to my family’s 1976 Cutlass Supreme with power nothing, AM radio, and bland light blue everywhere.
Considering the garbage that followed in 1986, these ’79 to ’85 models are nice cars. The 1986 Toronado looks like a Honda Prelude of the same era. Such a sad ending to a once great automobile.
’86 Prelude
’86 Toronado
Funny comments here re: Toronado vs. Prelude. I love all three (1979-85 Toronado, 1986-89 Toronado, and 1983-87 Prelude). AND, I recently owned a 1979 Toronado, which I sold partly because I bought a 1986 Prelude! I love the hidden headlamps on the 1986 Toronado, and the pop-ups on the Prelude, but other than that, I don’t really see a lot of similarities between the cars. I really should have done a writeup about the 1979 Toro while I had it, and maybe I still will (it was quite an experience).
As for Riviera vs. Eldorado vs. Toronado in this generation, it mystifies me that the Toronado is so unloved. I think it’s partly because it looks a little too much like the Cadillac (although I like the Olds better). The curves on the Riviera did a better job of differentiating it. From certain angles, the Toronado really looks like the box it came in, in a somewhat awkward way, but I love it anyway. I’ve noticed that Buicks and Cadillacs are much more collected than Oldsmobiles across the board, and this car is no exception. Judging from a Facebook group that I belong to for 1979-85 E-bodies, the membership and conversation is about 50% Riviera, 40% Eldorado, and 10% Toronado.
86 seemed a bad year for GM there was the miserable specimen of a Riviera,a sad car compared to what went before
I’ll take the ’86. That doesn’t mean I don’t love the 79-85s, but the ’86 is smaller, performs better and is just as isolated. Plus, the 86 Toronados were styled pretty well.
I’m with Mark on this one,the 86 has a Honda in drag look I don’t like
Wow, can I quote you on that?! Not many would say that. I like the ’86 as well, and always did! When it was introduced, I thought it was so sporty and cool looking (and also sort of a retro-’66). But the market didn’t agree. I think to most eyes here it just looks too new, too small and not chrome-y enough, and maybe that’s what buyers thought in the ’80s, too (at least the buyers who weren’t switching over to Volvo, Acura, Audi, etc.)
Can’t work up much enthusiasm for this one compared to the original.Another American car maker getting it right first time then subsequent models never being as good looking.The convertible is much more attractive, than the coupe.Another car I never knew about but after the 68/72 Cutlasses were killed off I lost interest in anything from Oldsmobile by then
Wifey’s friend’s husband had a mid-80s Biarritz that was a real treat to ride in, even in the back seat. His car came with the stainless steel roof panel. Cool car.
These cars, whether in Olds, Buick or Cadillac guise always puzzled me. GM creates what should be a beautiful 2-door hardtop, but doesn’t follow through and leaves the rear glass fixed but no B-pillar. However, they outdid themselves with the convertible option. A real stunner.
Scratching my head for years about that, but otherwise they were very nice cars, the kind that GM should have kept refining instead of the abominations that replaced them.
I agree with you on the fixed rear -window on a b-pillarless hardtop. I remember that at the time it came out being disgusted. Ford did the same on their Grand Marquis Coupe. (I ‘forgave’ the lincoln Mark V and T-Bird since their rear quarter windows retracted horizontally and the opera window got in the way) Counting beans on your flagship was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. What does a window switch, electric motor and window track really save you? It lost GM a customer in me.
Nearly bought one of these a few years back, one which had low miles and relatively little rust, but had been sitting in someone’s backyard for 15+ years. Couldn’t get together on price, though… probably for the better, since it would have needed plenty of TLC and wouldn’t have been an easy sell when done.
Too bad these weren’t RWD. That would have made them far more interesting (to me, at least).
It was not a bad looking car but a very forgettable car. It looked too much like the Eldo of the same time period. The Buick Riviera looks the best of the 3 and GM did a good job in hiding the relation to the other E bodies and made it its own distinctive car.
It was really stupid of GM to kill off the 79-85 E Bodies in 1985. These cars sold very well the whole time they were made and in 1985 Sales of the Eldo were 77,806 and Buick Riv were 65,305 which made them very successful cars. By contrast in 1986 with the downsized E body sales of the Riv were 22,138 and the Eldorado saw sales drop about 60% and those sales never recovered. I cannot figure GM out regarding this, they kept the RWD cutlass Supreme till 1988 and it was a sales darling every year and they kept the FWD A-bodys till the end of the 1980’s (with Olds and Buick versions selling till 1996) I think selling the 79-85 E Body till 1988 would have been a good idea and would have been a big seller still. (look at the1977-1992 Deville/ Fleetwood Brougham which sold until 1992 and was a big seller until the end)
Just like its upscale Buick Cousins, 1979 was also the year Oldsmobile offered 4 Different Body Style Intermediate Size Cars. From the outgoing RWD Oldsmobile Omega through the RWD Cutlass Salon and Cutlass Supreme Downsized the year before and all the way to the slightly larger FWD Oldsmobile Toronado. The largest of the mid-size group was the Oldsmobile Toronado at 205.6″ and the shortest was the Cutlass Salon at 197.7″. The Cutlass Supreme at 200.1″ and the Omega at 199.6″ were sandwiched in size between the Cutlass Salon and the Toronado. These were all scaled to their actual sizes if parked together side by side and their sizes were not all that much of a big difference. Even the pre-downsized 1977 Cutlass Salon and Cutlass Supreme Colonnade Coupes were much larger at 210.0″ than the1979 Toronado. Lastly the Downsized 1979 Toronado has much of a design resemblance to the 1978-80 Cutlass Supreme 2 Door Coupe and the size differences between the two were even closer by only 5.5″.
Here is a photo montage compilations of those similar sized 1970-90 Oldsmobile Mid-Sized Intermediate 2 Door Coupes shown in more details: 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass 2 Door Hardtop Coupe (top row left), 1974 Oldsmobile Omega 2 Door Coupe (top row right), 1977 Oldsmobile Omega 2 Door Coupe (second row left), 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon 2 Door Fastback Coupe (second row right), 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 2 Door Coupe (third row left), 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 2 Door Coupe (third row right), 1979 Oldsmobile Toronado 2 Door Coupe (fourth row left), 1990 Oldsmobile Toronado 2 Door Coupe (fourth row right), 1988 Oldsmobile Delta 88 2 Door Coupe (last row left) & 1985 Oldsmobile 98 Regency 2 Door Coupe (last row right).
This Toro trailing its sister cars and seeing a slump explains the Caliente trim. I always assumed it was because the car was not exactly fresh by ’84. I saw the Caliente as pointless slathering of crappy looking trim on an otherwise pretty clean design – the sort of thing that gives Broughams a bad name.
The XSC is sort of interesting but seems half baked with a column shifter and pillow seats. The painted wheel covers are kind of cool now, but were a dated touch in the early ’80s. They should have used styled wheels inspired by the ’66. I think I have that red XSC ad in my archives.
The Riv was obviously inspired by the ’63 version, the Eldo has a little ’67, and the Toro follows its ’71 version. Proof that it is hard to go wrong with ’60 styling cues. It would have been expensive for Olds to get this to look inspired by the ’66, a design that was also not consistent the the Brougham era. Still, I wonder if a few dreams were dropped on the design room floor.
Overall, I like this car, the early versions looked good, and it sold pretty well for its segment. A success, if a bit overshadowed by its siblings.
There were highback bucket seats available on both the Toronado and Riviera in the early versions of this body style, but non had a real operating console, just a storage console.
Later in the run of this body style, the Riviera and Toronado started offering lavish interior trim options that included glove soft leather with pigskin suede inserts on the seats.
Last but not least from the 1979 Oldsmobile Full Line Brochure but with some alterations to show how each of these Intermediates sizes up with one another without the surrounding clutter of the environment captured on their photos. Scaled to their actual side by side sizes.
These look okay, but that front clip leaves me cold. I don’t care for it at all.
I’m sure they are decent cars, and probably improved mechanically over the original. That said, the 66-67 are just great looking and those are the one’s that really impress me. That shot of it parked between the two Piruses is great. Probably just the camera angle, but it sure makes the Old’s look small.
I work in DC, and know Capitol Hill pretty well. I have this hobby of trying to find places on Google Maps, when people post pictures from my area. Wouldn’t you know it, the Toronado was there when the Google car drove through!
Hmmm…81 grille with 83 badging, combined with the shinier paint on the front fender adds up to some time spent in a body shop to repair front-end collision damage. The car certainly appears to be well kept though.
Back in the early 90’s, I had a friend that needed a car in a big hurry, as his girlfriend had wrecked his daily driver. There was this guy we knew that had a ’79 Toro with the 350 diesel in it. It was cheap, available, and it ran. So, friend bought the big Olds, thinking that if he got 6 months out of it, it would be a good deal (remember I said it was cheap!). It would appear that sometime during the car’s life, someone replaced the engine with a later version of the 5.7L diesel, because aside from a battery, the car gave no trouble, and gave excellent fuel economy. White with a blue velour interior and a white landau vinyl roof. Swank.
To me the Toronado was always dragged down by its Herman Munster-like front clip, right from ’71 through ’85.
Beauty is subjective, but to my eyes the 1966-67 Toronados were beautiful cars. The front end restyling for 1968-70 was ugly. Later years started to look rather anonymous, then in the mid 70’s they started to resemble the Eldorado too much.
This iteration still looks a lot like the Eldorado, which I think has been noted already by other commenters. I would prefer the Eldo, mostly because I like the vertical taillights and small fins.
The 1979 E-bodies were a big deal when they debuted, and were seen as a huge improvement over their predecessors. For Cadillac, this generation of Eldorado would ultimately turn the tables on Lincoln, as it sold much better than the Continental Mark VI and VII, even with the problematic gasoline V-8s offered after 1980.
The Toronado did seem like the weakest of the trio, although I liked it, and thought it was a huge improvement over the bloated 1971-78 generation. The Buick Riviera, however, initially got all of the attention, particularly with the turbocharged version.
I loved the new E-bodies when they came out. The Toro was, and is, a nice looking car, but as others have said, sort of the middle child. It was too similar to the Eldorado, which IMO was just about perfect, with its clean and sleek front and rear clips and the squarer wheel openings. The Riviera worked with its flowing lines and circular wheel openings.
These really have become rare; I can’t remember the last time I saw one.
Friends had a lovely Toronado of this vintage, pale yellow-cream with burgundy top and moonroof, and burgundy leather interior. They spent quite a bit on a restoration–beautiful paint job (same color), restored interior, exterior trim brought up to snuff. We got to ride in it a few times–quiet, smooth, composed, capacious. I think it was an ’84. However, they sold it when various mechanical issues began to come up–it was still a beautiful car, but they didn’t want their lives ruled by it as more things not touched by the restoration began to fail. If I had had the financial resources to maintain it, I would have loved to buy it.
I wonder what would have happened if Pontiac had been let loose on this body? A really grand Grand Prix?
But I guess if they had got it, so would Chevrolet. Shudder. This as a Monte Carlo? Nope!
Seems then Hess & Eisenhardt also made a couple of aftermarket Toronado convertibles.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/that_chrysler_guy/14229186984/
They made exactly 32, for the 1985 PGA tournament in Cherry Hills. The white convertible in the picture above was mine.
These were my favourite Toro of all time. Really elegant, just different enough from their stablemates and, most importantly, real Oldsmobiles!
I’ve always liked the way Olds stole just enough design bits from the cord 812 to remind you of the front wheel drive heritage.
You know I was thinking about how the Olds Toronado of that era seems to try to channel a little of the Cord. If you look at the front of the car it does seems to have a bit of a coffin nose like the Cord had.
Cord was the design inspiration of the ’66, that plus the fwd thing.
The rear end and tail lights always looked unfinished to me.
I always liked these better than the Rivieras as well.
This E body, along with the 1977 B body represent GMs last great effort. Appealing, well built , an all around excellent car.
I guess it depends where you live, in my part of Northeast Ohio when I growing up, there were *tons* of Toronados. by the time the 1986 versions were released, these were becoming the used car of choice for lower middle class “players”, the guys who were making enough money to buy a decent car and hang out at the clubs, but not enough to get their own apartment…
Not to disparage the cars with that association, but that’s what sticks out in my mind. It was similar to what had happened to the previous generation’s Grand Prix and Monte Carlos. I was never a big fan of these cars, not for any rational reason other that they were the height of Brougham-ness to me. The weird thing is, I love the first gen Cordobas, Grand Prix, post 1971 Mercury Cougars, but these leave me flat.
The 1986 and later Toros were great, I liked the re-boot of the car as a smaller, sportier version of the E-bodies, but at the time I was very much into V8 pony cars, so I was of no help to Oldsmobile. Even so, I couldn’t have afforded one, but I would have stretched for a latter day 442 or Hurst/Olds. OTOH, I may have been disappointed by their performance vis-a-vis my 5.0L Mercury Capris…
Bought my ’85 last year from the original owner with 60,000 miles, 307 (a true Olds engine, w. carb) needed only a good wash/wax and new tires (Hankook, couldn’t find anything else with the proper width whitewall). Has a leather interior, most I’ve seen have velour. It’s a keeper.
I ordered my 79 19/19 black Toronado with no roof covering and rear disc brakes(chronic problem) I am in the process of getting her back on the road it has the olds carbureted 350(great engine) can’t believe 36 years later I still have it will post pics soon
The 3rd generation Toro were the best. Even with the diesel disaster, they reflected GMs forward thinking that smaller could be better.
As for the 4th generation, we can’t be held responsible for the sins of our father.
The emphasized vertical center A/C vent is unusual. It just occurred to me they might have been trying to make a “T” on the dash.
The vast majority of these E bodies had those awful FWD fake wires that make the cars look garish and under-tired. I’ve never understood why so many people then and now don’t realize that look-at-me wheels only detract from good looking cars and don’t really help plain ones. /rant
These were always the “mysterious” E-bodies to me. The mystery to me was, who would buy one? They looked like a blanded-out Eldorado, like, you were trying to buy an Eldorado but chickened out at the last minute.
In that way, they would have been cool if they were painted all-black and shorn of the chrome trim lines except for the grille, like a Buick Grand National, or maybe a pure shimmering blue – a non-Eldo color. But most of them were painted some kind of silver metallic like this car, which only helps to emphasize the blandness.
The grille was kinda cool in it’s way, like the petulant 3rd sibling that decided not to join the Navy like his father and brothers did, and instead joined the Army. So, it’s still recognizable, but there’s something off. But the rear end kind loses the coolness, by looking so much like it was found in the pages of a Cutlass Supreme options list somewhere. The weird boxy end of a late Dodge Dynasty might have fit here, shorn of any Iacocca “bling” and just left with a kind of in-your-face angularity that the front end suggests.
Instead, it’s like they lost their way at the back end, like Dick Teague similarly lost his way with the Matador Coupe.
The lack of an “official” Olds convertible in the ’80s is something I’d always wondered about. The E ragtops came at a hefty premium over the coupes – the Riviera in its’ first year when the droptop was Buick-exclusive was more expensive than any Cadillac except the Series 75 limo, and when the Eldo joined it in offering a convertible that was of course pricier still. Oldsmobile was frequently “dualed” with Cadillac so that may have been a nonstarter, but it makes me wonder whether they’d been offered a J-body Firenza convertible or whether there was only enough production capacity for those to cover Chevy and Pontiac.
I’d rank the three ’79-85 E bodies looks-wise Riviera > Eldorado > Toronado, but for interiors I’d reverse the order. Since I spend more time inside a car than outside looking at it, the Toro would be my choice. (I also prefer the Eldo’s and Riv’s outside door handle, easier to use and less likely to break than the Toro’s liftbar). This is one car I wished I’d owned at some point. By the time used E bodies of this generation became affordable for me, I had a reliable almost-new car. Looking back I wish I would have traded in my car every few years for another 5-or-so-year-old used car, and as such sampled many cars in my lifetime, instead of buying new and keeping it until it was unreliable or damaged.
Good catch on the Toronado’s lesser liftbar outside door handles, versus the Eldo and Riv’s old-school, more upscale handle with push-button style.
That minor quibble aside, I am a fan of the Olds, both inside and out, over the Caddy and Buick. It just seemed of a ‘cleaner’ design. Don’t like the curvy Riviera, nor the busier front end of the Eldorado. I even prefer the horizontal taillight treatment of the Toronado over the mini finlets of the Eldorado.
I know they were going for the Cord look, but somehow the painted ‘radiator shell’ and half blanked out grill conspired to make me always think of this Toronado as a fairly desperate effort to come up with another way of styling the same car so it could be sold by multiple dealerships.
This was one of the best cars GM came up with after automobiles started being regulated, but it wasn’t one of their better styling efforts. Only the convertible Riviera with its top down actually looked attractive, and only the ones fitted with Oldsmobile V8s were good to own, but the basic car was a promising step in the right direction when it arrived in 1979. And then GM showed that it was false hope with everything from X-cars, to the Seville, to the 368, to the HT4100, to the J-cars, to the awkward ‘formal roof’ that was the worst thing about this car showing up on everything else. Oh well. It was nice having false hope for a year or so.
What if the Toro of this body style offered an XSC version of the ’77 with wrap around rear glass and a t-roof? Riviera and Eldo both offered a convertible so the t-roof/ special rear window Toro would be distinct enough for that model.
I inherited a 1983 Eldorado Biarritz, dark blue with white vinyl top and white leather, 40K miles, HT4100 ship’s anchor of an engine. I spent $3K+ on engine repairs and it still ran like crap. I gave it away after 3 years of disappointment. However, I just picked up a true barn find 1980 Toronado with a 350 V8, and am excited to get it cleaned up and back on the road.
First time on your site. I was surprised and thrilled to see the picture of the car I bought as new in 1985 – the white Hess & Eisenhardt convertible. It is one of only 32 made for the 1985 PGA tournament in Cherry Hills. Hale Irwin, a high school “classmate” of mine drove it during the tournament. When I first saw the pic I thought, “That looks like my car.” Looking closer I realized, “That is my house in the background!”