Greetings from Glenn in Cleveland! I was 8 years old and on my way home from school when a car that I did not recognize started honking at me. It was my grandfather in his new "71 Olds 98 LS". On the way home he showed me some of the many new features. The gear shift wiper swipe button was one of the features that stood out as well the "clock" built into back side of the front seat. The car was deep brown with a black top and black interior. Such sweet childhood memories!
Greetings @big2868 from a fellow guy who grew up in Collinwood and drove a 76 98 regency at eighteen that I won in a poker game from my boss it was like 7yrs old loved that car 🚗 😊
Although I thought it was a nice touch, I never understood why Olds went through the trouble/expense to have a clock for the back seat passengers. I can understand if it was a limo, but for a regular sedan the clock in the dash was easily seen from the back seat.
@@jeffoverturf4138 Hi neighbor. I agree, the best kind of car is a free car. The next best is a cheap reliable car. My first car. It was a 72 Skylark GS for $500. Unfortunately, it was hit and totaled shortly after. Next was a 73 Delta 88 that I paid $300 for and drove for a year. It had terminal body cancer, but the A/C blew cold. I sold to a buddy of mine and he drove it for 8 more years.
My 71 Riviera has this option. I love it, the button is easily depressed with my pinky finger while the car is in Drive and my hands are at 10 and 2. Press halfway and hold to swipe the wipers until you let go, press in all the way to activate the washer solvent sprayers. There is a low & high speed wiper switch on the dash with a Wash button, press and hold to spray and it clicks the wipers into Low when you do. I rarely use the dash button, because the shifter button is just more ergonomically convenient.
@@T71Riv I had a ‘71 Riviera but mine had bucket seats and a console. I didn’t know that Buick offered that. Mine was a GS and had Max Trac. I wonder how many were sold that way.
When I was 18 years old in 1978, the first car I owned was a 1972 Oldsmobile 98. It was a two-door color silver and black with vinyl interior seats, power windows, a power truck, and an AM and FM radio with an 8-track tape player.
@@ront769 Nope. An 8 track is a continuous loop. There were 4 separate tracks on the tape. You accessed them by pushing the track button. Or at the end of the loop there was a piece of silver tape that signified the end of the loop and the player would change tracks, often in the middle of a song. Most 8 track players didn’t have a fast forward (I’ve never seen one with rewind) so if you wanted to change the song, you changed the track which most likely put you in the middle of another song. Often the track sequence differed on 8 tracks from the vinyl album version in order to fit it on the tape without a lengthy blank space on the tape. I was only born in 1969 but I remember them well. They were still popular until the late 70s when cassette tapes became the main format of portable music.
@@ront769, all I can remember is that you push a button and the 8-track tape player had about 4 separate tracks that you can listen to different songs.
I've always thought that these "gear shift buttons" were the precursor to steering wheel controls buttons that we all know are commonplace now. Love, the videos and history. Please don't stop!
Wow … the ‘71 Delta 88, the first car I remember my parents buying … the build quality was bad not only due to shitty tolerances, also because there was a GM strike in fall 1970. I vividly recall us pulling away from the dealer in January 1971, sitting in the back seat with my brother and hearing my dad already swearing about the squeaks! About the things you mentioned, and getting a car built by supervisors. We turned in a ‘66 Polara 500, metallic green with a black hardtop and the spinner hubcaps from the Charger. I loved that car. We still hung onto the Delta 88 for more than 5 years.
I had a 67 cougar. It had a small pedal on the left side. When you pressed down, it would squirt washer fluid and sweep the wipers once. I found it very convenient.
All 67-68 Mustangs and Cougars had this setup. The washers were driven by a manual pump that was foot pedal operated (no electric washer pump). The pedal had a built-in switch that operted the wipers. If you pressed the pedal and released you got a single washer squirt and one wipe. If you held the pedal down you got a single washer squirt and the wipers would run continuously until you released the pedal.
Love your content! I don't know how odd my option suggestions are but here goes. I had 1977 New Yorker with Local/Distant seek/search buttons on the radio AND a button on the floor next to the dimmer switch that activated the seek/search function on the radio. Whether it was Local/Distant was determined by the last button you pushed. My 1979 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance had AM/FM 8track radio with built in CB radio. The microphone hung under the dash, the electric antenna had the little bulb for CB radio built in. If you had the radio on monitor it would interrupt the radio with any CB transmission coming over your selected channel.
Mum’s 78 Cutlass was the first time we had a car with the single-wipe feature; it was mounted on the dash. And it wasn’t extremely annoying to use. Dad’s 77 Monarch didn’t have such a control, but his had the wiper control on the turn signal stalk, and it was vastly easier to use, both because it was closer to your hand, but also because the Monarch didn’t have “hidden” wipers. On the Olds, you had to hold the control in the “mist” position for 2-3 seconds until the wipers unparked themselves. If you let go too early they would just park themselves without sweeping the windshield, and you’d have to start all over again.
My dad's 1972 Buick Electra Limited had the Gearshift-Mounted Wiper Control... that car was a beautiful ride for sure. You never really knew how your mid 70's GM car would perform... I drove a 75 Buick Century 4 door with a Buick 350 2bbl carb and catalytic converter. That car really moved out well and had plenty of power... it was actually a very fast car for the era. I also owned a 76 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon with a 350 4bbl carb and that vehicle was a very weak performer... a Ford Pinto 4 Cylinder could go around it with absolute ease.
@@HHH22229 The Cutlass being slow seems odd. I worked at a Buick/Oldsmobile dealership in 1976. I drove many of them and don’t remember them being slow.
Holy cow! 2:28 It seems like the Olds Toronado had a primitive version of rear ABS back then. In the lower left corner of the brochure, they refer to "True-Track Braking". It says that a computer monitoring system automatically "pumps" the rear brakes for smooth straight line stops even during extreme braking. I also heard that GM was playing around with air bags in 1973. This disappeared by the early '80s though, as my 1982 Oldsmobile catalog does not mention any of that stuff. Instead, it mentions stuff like "Computer Command Control" aka a feedback Q-Jet with sensors and lockup torque converter and of course, the 350 diesel.
@@jonathanjohnson1339 I wondered whey they got rid of it? The "downsized" RWD cars from all of the Big 3 in the late '70/early '80s could've benefited from it. I don't think it reappeared until the early '90s when GM had the Bubble bodies ie the Roadmaster, Fleetwood, Caprice, Impala and Custom Cruiser. I could be wrong. Airbags (at least for the driver) also reappeared, due to gov't mandate. As for Ford, I think the Panthers got it back also around this time.
I had a 1976 Olds Toronado in the 90s. Even though I never experienced this, a lot of people told me that the big 1971-78 Toronados and Eldorados were known for jackknifing, having the rear end come around if you hit the brakes too hard on a slippery road.
@mikee2923 I wonder if it was because of weight distribution. With FWD, most of the car's weight is in the front because the engine and trans are on the front two wheels. RWD has the diff over the rear wheels, and while this helps, the car can still fishtail. Some newer cars get around this by either being AWD, or having a big battery in the trunk, or both. Both of our Toyota hybrids feel like they will not move sideways and stay straight, probably because both the hybrid and 12v batteries are in the rear of the car, and the gas engine/trans/motor combo is up in the front.
In this segment, you commented about the use of "no lead" fuel. In 1971 fuel was "low lead". The use of hardened valve seats in the heads didn't become standard until around '74 or '75 which is required for "no lead" fuel. Great video, and very interesting.
Hi Adam. I'm not trying to one up you here at all, but my first car was a 1970 Delta 88. I distinctly remember that it had the one pass button on the end of the gear selector. I loved the feature and used it often. I have no idea whether 1970 was the first year or not, but my car definitely had the button. Thanks for all your very interesting work. Paul.
According to the 1970 Owner's manual, it was called "Windshield Washer-Wiper Auxiliary Control Option". We had it on our 1970 Olds 98 and I loved it. A touch of the button gives you one wash. A harder push gives you a complete wash cycle. All with your hand on the steering wheel (just like a European car)
Thanks for your reply and giving us the actual name for the option. So it appears that the gear selector button was available at least for the 1970 and 1971 model years. Your description of how the feature worked was spot on as I recall. I actually found it to be more useful than today's intermittent systems. As an aside, man weren't those 1970 Olds 455s fine engines? They were uncluttered by power robbing smog devices and were yet to be detuned. So much raw and ready torque. Mine just had the two bbl card, but it had way more power than a 16 year old needed. Bet yours was a 4 bbl. Best, Paul.
@@paul58moore It probably was, being a 98, but I don't remember. Best wishes Pierre. Our 67 had the "Climate Combustion Control" option which delivered slightly warm air to the carb (with a vacuum connection so you got cold air at full throttle). This was in Canada and I believe it removed the need for some anti-pollution stuff. By the following year it was standard across the range
I got my license with my parents' new Grand Ville in 1971. What I remember about the wipers was that they had a sort of separate parking cycle where they'd park not on the bottom of the glass, but on a piece of metal running under the glass. When I'd turn the wipers on they'd require a brief period of time to come off the glass first, and same in reverse when stopping.
As a kid we had a 1971 Delta 88 in the green just like you show at 7:41 mark in the video. I remember when they bought it in Lake Geneva, WI, they chose it over a red with white interior convertible Delta 88 a couple years newer and I was disappointed, lol. Great video- thanks!
If you go to car shows in the Lansing area, you will find more Oldsmobiles typically. There's an Oldsmobile Homecoming show most years in Lansing that brings quite a variety.
Wien - Ha! You just jogged my memory. I remember buying one of those add-on interval wiper switches. But I don't remember if I ever installed it 😂 I DO remember buying add-on Cruise Control for my car, and once dialed in, it was glorious! I even transferred it to my next car when I got rid of the old car. I left it on the car when I got rid of the newer one because my next car had factory cruise👌
Around 1974 a new co-worker was obsessed with BMWs and took me to lunch a few times in his BMW 2002tii while he pointed out how advanced the features were compared to American cars of the day. One feature was the fully independent suspension which he demonstrated by putting the passenger wheels onto the rough shoulder of the road and how easy it was to recover versus the live rear axles that were prevalent. But I was more impressed with the stalks on the steering column that housed the wiper, headlights, and bright light functions without having to lean forward to scan and reach the instrument panel. It wasn’t until the mid-80s with the Taurus/Sable that an American manufacturer fully embraced logical ergonomics.
Interesting video. thanks. For a few years I had a used '73 4 door hardtop Delta 88 in white, with blue vinyl roof and blue interior. A 350/ 400 car, it was so beautiful. It rode beautifully, and I loved it, but it rotted out here in salty roads land.
My Aunt had a Skylark X-car with the cruise on the column shifter. Vertical radio was also used in some Rambler models, and infamously in the Tucker. Three-on-the-tree manual column shift was available on GM B-body full-sizers as late as 1970, Olds 88 included. We had a Buick Estate wagon so equipped, and I've seen it in a magazine featured '70 Delta 88 convertible. Then there was the AMC-Rambler twin-stick floor shift three-speed with overdrive, and the optional overdrive selector for the '75 AMC Hornet and Pacer three-on-the-tree was mounted on the turn signal stalk. In the twenties and thirties, freewheeling (a type of overrunning clutch that allowed the car to coast without engine braking) was a thing, and the selector for that feature was sometimes on the shifter knob, or an extended push on the lever a little beyond the regular gear position. Come to think of it, I drove a Volvo 1800ES and more than one Volvo 240-series car with the overdrive switch on the floor-shifter knob.
@@dave1956 On B-bodies, yes, except the Bel Air which offered a six and three-on-the-tree through 1973. Our family banger until 1984 was a '70 Buick Estate Wagon, one of about two-dozen with the manual column shift. I worked as a parking valet runner in the mid-seventies and some of our guests owned Chevelles, Lemanses, and Buick Century models as well as Nova and its fraternal twins with manual column shift as late as 1977 for the A-bodies and through the end of production of the rear-drive compacts. Buick actually ran print ads for the 1977 Special , a price leader version of the Century available as a two-door sedan with the 3.8 liter V6, three-on-the-tree, and a very limited menu of options, plus a very high (numerically low) rear axle ratio so they could advertise a mid-size car with impossibly high EPA gas mileage ratings, high twenties at the time. Then there was the '76 Olds available with a 260 V8 and the same five-speed that had been available in the Cosworth Vega, an option package that carried through at least 1978's downsize.
Adam, What a fascinating chapter in Oldsmobile gear shift history. Looking at the Cutlass in the brochure, I am reminded of the 3 wagons Oldsmobile was selling in 1971. With the full -size Custom Cruiser making its debut and joining the already famous Vista Cruiser in the lineup, we are left to contemplate the more obscure Cutlass Cruiser. 🤔
A friend of mine when we were in high school had a Delta 88 2 door that looked exactly like the blue one at 9:09 except his was copper or what ever GM called copper paint back then. I don't remember his having anything on the gear shift lever but it's been about 37 years or so now and I never drove it.
Adam, I have an idea for what I believe was a single year option...at least on Chevrolets. Our 1970 Kingswood wagon had a wiper fluid level monitor which was added on below the wiper switch to the left of the steering column. The light would glow a blue/green color when the wiper fluid reservoir was full. When it got close to empty, the light would glow red. The light would only function when the wipers were in operation. I think this was included in the light group option package. Our car had the tiny map light mounted at the bottom of the rear view mirror.
I remember when these were introduced and thought the new full sized '71 Olds 98's were beautifully restyled compared to the "dowdy" looking '70 model myself. I especially liked the mini "fins" above the taillights and the sculptured sides that bulged out at the wheels/fender skirts - could've passed for a Cadillac.
I noticed those little fins on my father's 73 Olds 98. I thought they were cool too. The car was like a Cadillac to me. I was proud to be dropped off at school dances in that car.
Adam, have you ever heard of the Cadillac “trunk positioner”? Years ago, I was looking through an old issue of Automobile Quarterly, and they had a big article on the 1965 Cadillacs. One of the options written about and pictured was the “trunk positioner”, that would allow the owner to pull the trunklid down and stay in a certain position, like half open. I know this option never made it to production, since it’s not mentioned in any brochure. Someone must have nixed it before production started, and I don’t see how anyone would want it - for example, I don’t see a Cadillac owner in 1965 driving around with the handle of a lawnmower sticking out of the trunk. But, I can remember seeing this in AQ, likely an issue from 1964 or ‘65. I imagine it went the way of Studebaker’s mechanical (not hydraulic) power steering, that almost made it to production for the Raymond Loewy designed ‘53 models (I read an article about that in an old Popular Mechanics or Mechanics Illustrated).
Fords had the horn at the end of the turn signal stalk for several years. Deloreans also used this feature as well which is interesting because in Back to the Future, marty hits his head on the steering wheel when the car won't start and somehow hits the non existant horn pad and the car magically starts when the horn honks.
I love the old 60s & 70s car ads. “We bought a new car let’s drive it into a field or onto a golf course & takes pics with it” Here’s a seductress very proud of her ‘71 Olds Ninety Eight.
I have an ad for a '73 Ninety Eight in my collection. It proudly has the chairman from Tiffany's on it and the car is parked in front of a fancy place with a well dressed couple- very classy. By the time they got to the early '80s (I believe the one I have is for 1983) the couple has that snobby "Yuppie" look as they walk out of a country club. The Olds is parked in front of a Valet area it looks like.
In my ‘71 98 2 door, there was an additional pin switch in the door jam just below the switch for the dome light. When you opened the door it would release the lock to move the seat backs forward so you could get in the back seat.
Thank you Adam. To quote the Oldsmobile slogan from that era: Oldsmobile... Always A Step Ahead. I know that the gearshift on the GM trucks had features on them recently. GM had a option on the Buick Lucerne that they dropped because it did not work well. It was something related to the windshield and the wipers, but I think it de-iced the windshield or something.
I think they heated the washer fluid for that one. Now some newer cars have a heated plate that the wipers rest on, in addition to the regular defroster. It allows you to unstick the wipers and use them sooner in icy conditions.
My family owned a 1974 Delta 88 Royal two door bought brand new off the showroom floor from an Olds dealer in Evanston Illinois, with the green metallic paint and green vinyl roof, and the Rocket 350 engine...That was a very good car, nice comfortable cloth seats with 8 way power adj....Very peppy for the time period, and it was also very reliable too. Never saw another one quite like it, I don't think the color was a big seller at all. The amazing thing was that for a big a car as it was it handled pretty darn well too. It did have the wiggles you spoke of here though but over all a very reliable, peppy, good handling, and affordable car. This car could be had with the optional air bag system...but they were a fortune so we didn't get that system.
@@gregorylyon1004 That's true, but we owned it and for the time it was a pretty peppy engine, you have to drive them to know how they performed too. I actually got my driver's license as a teenager in 1982 diving the car I mentioned. It really was good considering the time, also they did not have the restrictive catalytic converters in 1974 when it was manufactured. That helped a lot.
On the 72’s Delta88, the washer push button was mechanically linked to the vertical wiper speed selector. Pushing the washer button automatically turned on and slide up the wiper control. Successive push on the washer button added some washer fluid.
Adam, look at the 74 Buick Electra 225’s glovebox lock. I believe it was a one year type lock. It was a pain in the A(; the way you put the key in and slide it to lock it!!
Was this a rectangular 'knob'? It sounds like the latch in my downsized Eldorado where the owners manual bragged about the new design, and what looked like just flat black paint inside of the chrome there was a hole where you stuck the trunk key in and slid it left to lock it...
Adam, I did my drivers ed class in a 80 Citation in high school.Very roomy 5 of us going going down the GW parkway as fast as that thing would go,about 85 and my instructor Mr [hansom]Ransom warning me to slow down or fail the class.Great fun.Mike the Greek
I know GM Delco had rain sensing wipers developed by 1983, and had considered using it on the 1988 Cutlass Supreme, why it took so long to finally appear in mass production is confusing to me. The momentary switch for mist must have seemed so novel and upscale at the time, since outside of luxury cars like Oldsmobiles some purpose built vehicles such as commercial trucks and box vans etc still had a right wiper blade optional and it was a one speed on or off function. You know what’s a strange obsolete option is Cadillacs hood ornament alarm…
I remember a 1973 Buick Electra with this option. I only saw one car with that option. I was 10 years old and my friend’s father sold Buicks. He pointed out the control. Maybe they used some left-over parts from the Olds. My uncle’s 1973 Centurion did not have it.
I had a 69 Delta 88. I agree with how these big Oldsmobiles were so quiet and smooth on the highway. Mine had the AM/FM Wonder bar printed across a large chrome bar along the whole top of the radio. Now that was fancy : ). Oldsmobile's name for a seek and scan feature.
The 1980 Citation gearshift control option should have been for Self Destruct. I’ve driven some dogs in my day, but this thing surpassed even the Ford Grenada and Chrysler K-kar line-up for being a rolling pile of junk.
Amen. My older sister was a new registered nurse back then, and traded her ‘78 Camaro Sport Coupe with 350 4-barrel and automatic for an ‘81 Citation Club Coupe (notchback) with the 2.8 V6 with auto. Within a year, the transmission started acting up (mainly the 3-2 downshift under throttle). The car was a complete dog, and she ended up trading it for a new ‘83 Camaro Sport Coupe with the 305 and a 5-speed. Today she drives a big M-B EQS (EV) crossover.
@@sharkinstx no, the thought of trading of the Camaro causes me physical pain. I traded away my 72 Culass, 350 4 bbl, dual exhaust for a 1980 Rabbit because the 2nd “oil crisis” made gas go to $.70/gallon. I still kick myself in the behind every time I think about it. Rabbit was probably the only choice worse than a Citation.
If I recall correctly, all 1980 X-Cars had the Cruise Control Set Button on the end of the column shift lever. I remember my parents had a friend whose 1980 Buick Skylark X-car had that configuration. In 1981, they started to use the turn signal combi switch which included the wiper and cruise control functions with the distinctive chrome tab for windshield washer function. The 1979 Olds Cutlass Salon we had for many years had the Mist function on the standard wiper controls.....A horizontal slide switch with the spring loaded Mist function at the left....Off - Low - High to the right. What is funny is since the wipers parked below the hood line, you had to fully press mist to get the single wipe...otherwise the wipers would deploy above the hood line, then retract again. Delay wipers were available...the slide switch was there but you could set the delay by rotating the switch in the delay setting. Seems like all the GM cars eventually got the combi turn signal wiper switch as the 1980s progressed.....
You’re right Adam the 1971 Oldsmobiles were very quiet and smooth at speed also rode better than their senior Mopar contemporaries. Of course that comfort came at the expense of handling to a degree. Vividly remember the OEM Firestone 500 radials. The rear tires took on a porcupine appearance as they degraded and were recalled. The interiors even of a ‘71 98 LS were clearly a step down from earlier years and jiggly. Still a wonderful machine though.
I loved my 78 Cutlass Supreme, and my cousins 73 Cutlass, I was just never a fan of the dashes on the full sized cars.. IDK why.. .I liked all the others Chevy, Pontiac and Buick.. never a big Caddy fan, but for some reason Olds never wowed me with the 71-76 big cars... Great Video.. Happy thanksgiving, Adam!!!
Mom, had a 72 Cutlass Supreme. 350. Oldsmobile didn't offer a 6 cylinder that year. That was a nice car. I wanted mom to get the 72 Luxury Le Man's. She didn't like the nose Pontiacs had. It was less. Money. GM made beautiful cars in the 60s and 70s. My first car was a 76 Pontiac Grand Le Man's. Beautiful car. Factory 8 track. Factory Air.
My '68 Triumph TR250 roadster had a floor mounted lever on the left hand side that operated the wipers, which I've never seen on any other vehicle. It was mounted on the left hand side where American vehicles usually had a high beam button or parking/emergency brake such as @4:30 mark in the video. The TR250 body was redesigned in 69 and called the TR6
The blue 71 at the end is a regular at our NJ car show and cruise nights. The current owner obtained the car from his dad who was the original owner. It is highly optioned and a sharp car.
My '99 Explorer had button on the end of the gear shift to turn the overdrive off. That may have been a common feature among different cars, and it kind of makes sense to put it there.
Another factor is the inflation that was rising in the early and mid-1970s because of the spending by Johnson and Nixon on the Vietnam war. The wage and price controls put in by Nixon in (I believe) 1971. So the only way for GM to hold the line somewhat on prices was to reduce content and quality materials in their cars. The low-inflation 1960s were over.
So much interesting content Adam. Thank you for providing it.. 👍 Also have to mention what an attractive looking car the '71 Delta 88 coupe was in side view as seen in that G-Ride system ad. Was that 'side vent' just aft of the door opening actually functional?
I believe that was just decorative, designating the "upper" Delta 88 trim level - Delta 88 "Brougham" - Delta 88 "Royal" or whatever it was called at the time. I agree, that Delta 88 coupe in the ad caught my eye also - God I miss those cars, now we have look alike "pods!"
1:30 I remember seeing "computer selected springs" on the list of standard equipment on the window sticker of a new 1979 bare-bones Nova and thinking they really did some embellishing to come up with that. Not that I didn't believe the springs were computer selected, or that such selection was not a good idea, but it seemed a bit desperate listing it as if it were something that might plausibly have been optional. In any case, given the lack of much of anything else on that sticker, the computer probably selected the lightest springs in its range.
In the 2000s, higher end models had a button on the column shifter for anti-lock brakes. You had the option to shut off the anti-lock feature under certain conditions.
Chris from Vancouver, maybe off topic but it’s interesting that 1970 you could get a Toronado with a console but also with the floor shifter. The same as the 442. I think that was the most sporty the Toronado got
I had a 64 Lincoln with a button on the end of the shift lever that controlled a very complicated electro-vacuum device that allowed the entire steering column, all the way down the floor, to move up and down so that the angle of the steering wheel did not change
I use the Mist feature on my wipers mostly when I'm wiping away morning dew and less when the vehicle is moving. Having the Mist control on a column mounted gearshift lever would be more convenient than having the control in the dash. Of course, being retired and having more flexibility in my schedule, I avoid driving in wet weather.
The button has to go somewhere nearby and if you compare to our modern cars, the placement is not that odd if you think of the shifter as another stalk. Now, if they used the end of the gearshift as a cigarette dispenser - that would be WIERD. lol
In point of fact, some thirties models offered cigarette storage in the floor shift knobs, and some forties cars had cigarette storage in the steering hub.
69 and up Pontiac had as standard equipment on all cars with hidden wipers a “pulse” feature. If you pushed the washer button half way and let go (when the wipers were off) it would give a single cycle of the wipers (no wash) and then shut back off automatically . A good idea but ironically the concealed wipers just took too long to get up into position to make it a worthwhile feature.
My dad bought a used 73 Buick Centurion that had this feature sometime in the late 70's. I was showing this to my mother one sunny day driving home from church. I pressed the button and the wipers never shut off😂. My dad wasn't happy. He sold the car soon after, the new owner somehow disconnected the motor and would reach outside and operate the wipers with his hand. The guy passed in the mid 90's and the car was part of an estate sale, I wish I was in a position to buy it, but I believe the family kept it.
@@93sundance you must be joking! He “disconnected the motor and operated the wipers with his hand?” How is that possible? How hilarious to even try to picture that! 😂🤣
I believe for a year or two in the early 70s ASC through dealers offered a cloth foldable sunroof on certain 2 door GM coupes. I’ve never seen one in person.
The feature was also available as an option for the 1973 full size Buick's. There is a man on You Tube with a beautiful example of a 1973 Buick Estate Wagon that has this rare option !!
My fathers 71 Delta 88 had the jiggle problem. I remember noticing a base 71 Delta 88, manual transmission. I think most who bought them removed the shifter from the steering wheel to the transmission hump.It was the last year for the manual.
@@egold1006 now that sounds like a rare bird. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a later model (mid 60s or after) full size Oldsmobile with 3 on the tree. They always seemed to have turbo hydramatic.
@johnlandacre767 I was lucky to actually see a brand new model at the showroom in 1971.Base model, I even got to shift it. Was ordered for someone. I think it went for $4900.00.
Similar, but different would be Ford's use of a button at the end of the gear lever to operate the O/D mode on trucks. There was a tiny light that would light up the "O/D OFF" near the end of the lever when you pushed the button. The wires ran thru the lever and then up and over the shifter tube inside the column. Eventually, that would wear the wires and short out. I worked at a Ford dealer at the time and replaced lots of levers under warranty, but I could usually tape up the wires and reroute them for a customer pay job (unless the wires were broken).
Are there any rear wipers with an connection to the windshield wiper interval setting? It seems like regardless of what level the front is on I would like one rear activation per say 5 front activations.
The ones I just saw on Google images had vertical HVAC controls and horizontal radios. They also had GM's infamous empty clock face if the optional clock had not been ordered. Speaking of that, one of the oddest filler pieces I've ever seen was the squishy square of plastic GM put in non-AC-equipped Citations in place of the driver's vent. It pivoted just a little for no apparent reason.
It was clever to put the one-sweep (mist) wiper button on the end of the gear-shift lever....Yep, cruise control also in some cars, but cost probably had something to do with a one year only in the '71 Olds, eh Adam.
The closest thing to this feature I can recall was the automatic clutch on VW's "auto-stick" equipped Beetles. I've heard that some drivers complained about the fact that you couldn't rest your hand on the shift lever while driving because the slightest pressure would make the clutch kick out. Then there were Opels and Fox-body Fords (as well as a few English cars I can't name) which had the horn on the end of one stalk or another. One comment from the UK suggested that these designs were a response to campaigns by local governments to discourage unnecessary honking. Given the threatening road signs I've seen in NYC on the subject, I wouldn't be surprised.
I hated the wiper/washer system in GM cars in these days. I learned to drive on my dad’s brand new 1972 Buick Skylark. When you needed the wipers quickly, say in the case of a passing truck on a wet road, you seemingly waited forever for that initial wipe. Didn’t 1970 Chevrolet Impala/Caprice offer a windshield wiper/washer control system in 1970? Buick LeSabre/Centurion/Electra 225 offered the same system. I have never seen one but currently there’s a man on UA-cam with a 1973 Estate Wagon that has this feature. As far as dumb features? How about the late 70’s/early 80’s Ford’s with a horn control activated by pushing the turn signal lever. This was done in anticipation of impending air bag requirements.
Around that time period olds had an AM/FM stereo that used 3 speakers 2 in the dash 1 in the rear it had a unique sound L/R was preset but adjustable internaly(removal of radio required)but it had a fader controling rear speaker which was behind station tuneing control
Wasn't there a "one button does everything" cruise control on the column shifter? I seem to recall something like that where you pushed to engage, pushed again to disengage, then did some other push sequence to tap up or tap down maybe?
Pretty much. I don't remember a cancel or disengage feature except for touching the brakes, but push once to engage, tap to increase speed, hold to coast is how the cruise control (shifter mounted) in Grandma's 1980 Skylark worked.
@@richsarchet9762 Ah, thanks! It's been too long... All I could really recall about it was someone talking about the "One Button Does Everything" approach. Never had one myself.
I had one in a 75 Grand Prix. The turn signal stock had a button in the end. No switch. Just push the button to set and tap the brakes to disable. I don’t remember if tapping the button did anything. Had it back in the 80s.
I like the "B" pillar post four door. Adam, would you call it a sedan? I remeber these Delta 88's, I think they drove wonderfully. They may have got chincy on the interiors after 1968, but probably not much.
Optional button on the end of the turn shift stalk on the 70's Cadillac Coupe de Ville. I can't remember what it does. EDIT: I think it was used like you said, as Cruise Control.
You should talk about the 38 or 44 factory Ford 427 (R) 7 Litre Galaxies that went down the production line in 1966. The 7 Litre Ford was a one year only model. Althoug available as LTD option upgrade in 1967, and nobody cares about that one because of the revamped body style (had a sort of Forward Look), and because it looked longer, although the 119" wheelbase remaned the same, I think.
I was under the impression that the A-body didn't get revised until 1973. The 1971 and 1972 A-body was pretty much the same other than grille and taillight revisions.
Always intrigued to see an underdash mounted record player! I have seen pictures of aftermarket. But not sure what year, that it was an actual option on a car! Late 50's is a guess!
Late fifties and early sixties Chrysler Corporation models offered "Highway HiFi" record players that played 16 2/3 rpm discs about the same diameter as 45s of the day, well and good as long as you didn't hit a pothole too hard...
Greetings from Glenn in Cleveland! I was 8 years old and on my way home from school when a car that I did not recognize started honking at me. It was my grandfather in his new "71 Olds 98 LS". On the way home he showed me some of the many new features. The gear shift wiper swipe button was one of the features that stood out as well the "clock" built into back side of the front seat. The car was deep brown with a black top and black interior. Such sweet childhood memories!
Greetings @big2868 from a fellow guy who grew up in Collinwood and drove a 76 98 regency at eighteen that I won in a poker game from my boss it was like 7yrs old loved that car 🚗 😊
Although I thought it was a nice touch, I never understood why Olds went through the trouble/expense to have a clock for the back seat passengers. I can understand if it was a limo, but for a regular sedan the clock in the dash was easily seen from the back seat.
@@jeffoverturf4138 Hi neighbor. I agree, the best kind of car is a free car. The next best is a cheap reliable car. My first car. It was a 72 Skylark GS for $500. Unfortunately, it was hit and totaled shortly after. Next was a 73 Delta 88 that I paid $300 for and drove for a year. It had terminal body cancer, but the A/C blew cold. I sold to a buddy of mine and he drove it for 8 more years.
@@TomSnyder-gx5ru I agree, but as a kid it was pretty cool. My siblings and I were always reminded not to touch it, or else!
@@TomSnyder-gx5ru- Well, those also had an ashtray AND a cigarette lighter on each rear door as well😊
My 71 Riviera has this option. I love it, the button is easily depressed with my pinky finger while the car is in Drive and my hands are at 10 and 2. Press halfway and hold to swipe the wipers until you let go, press in all the way to activate the washer solvent sprayers. There is a low & high speed wiper switch on the dash with a Wash button, press and hold to spray and it clicks the wipers into Low when you do. I rarely use the dash button, because the shifter button is just more ergonomically convenient.
My 1971 Buick Centurion convertible had this option also (as well as the rim-blow steering wheel).
@@T71Riv
I had a ‘71 Riviera but mine had bucket seats and a console. I didn’t know that Buick offered that. Mine was a GS and had Max Trac. I wonder how many were sold that way.
@@dave1956 Lucky you. I think "not many" is the answer to your question. A truly standout car!
I had a 66 Rivi GS and a 69, loved those cars.
@@dave1956 was Max Trac ABS or Posi?
When I was 18 years old in 1978, the first car I owned was a 1972 Oldsmobile 98. It was a two-door color silver and black with vinyl interior seats, power windows, a power truck, and an AM and FM radio with an 8-track tape player.
I'm seven years younger so I have to ask if you had to flip an eight track like we did with a casette tape?
@@ront769 Nope. An 8 track is a continuous loop. There were 4 separate tracks on the tape. You accessed them by pushing the track button. Or at the end of the loop there was a piece of silver tape that signified the end of the loop and the player would change tracks, often in the middle of a song. Most 8 track players didn’t have a fast forward (I’ve never seen one with rewind) so if you wanted to change the song, you changed the track which most likely put you in the middle of another song. Often the track sequence differed on 8 tracks from the vinyl album version in order to fit it on the tape without a lengthy blank space on the tape. I was only born in 1969 but I remember them well. They were still popular until the late 70s when cassette tapes became the main format of portable music.
@@ront769, all I can remember is that you push a button and the 8-track tape player had about 4 separate tracks that you can listen to different songs.
@mikee2923 Thanks for that info. Finally answered questions I always had about the 8 Track.
U had some style and class....4 an 18 year old.....driving a 98
I've always thought that these "gear shift buttons" were the precursor to steering wheel controls buttons that we all know are commonplace now. Love, the videos and history. Please don't stop!
I had never heard of this option. Thank you for sharing, Adam.
He's digging deep.
But that's O.K.
I come here to calm myself from the world.
Wow … the ‘71 Delta 88, the first car I remember my parents buying … the build quality was bad not only due to shitty tolerances, also because there was a GM strike in fall 1970. I vividly recall us pulling away from the dealer in January 1971, sitting in the back seat with my brother and hearing my dad already swearing about the squeaks! About the things you mentioned, and getting a car built by supervisors. We turned in a ‘66 Polara 500, metallic green with a black hardtop and the spinner hubcaps from the Charger. I loved that car.
We still hung onto the Delta 88 for more than 5 years.
That 66 Polara 500 must have been stunning. I now own my Dad's 66 Coronet 500 that he bought new. Dark turquoise in and out.
Thank you for taking the time to upload videos during the holiday
I had a 67 cougar. It had a small pedal on the left side. When you pressed down, it would squirt washer fluid and sweep the wipers once. I found it very convenient.
I had a ‘67 XR7 and well remember that feature. Was very handy traveling on salt-covered roads in the winter. Miss that car!
All 67-68 Mustangs and Cougars had this setup. The washers were driven by a manual pump that was foot pedal operated (no electric washer pump). The pedal had a built-in switch that operted the wipers. If you pressed the pedal and released you got a single washer squirt and one wipe. If you held the pedal down you got a single washer squirt and the wipers would run continuously until you released the pedal.
My 1980 Ford Fiesta had the same setup.
My granddad’s ‘71 Buick Limited had this feature. But didn’t know it was a mist control. I thought it was just to spray washer fluid.
zezerbing,, My 1959 Ford Fairlane 500/Galaxie has that factory feature as well. It came with the electric windshield wiper option.
Love your content! I don't know how odd my option suggestions are but here goes. I had 1977 New Yorker with Local/Distant seek/search buttons on the radio AND a button on the floor next to the dimmer switch that activated the seek/search function on the radio. Whether it was Local/Distant was determined by the last button you pushed. My 1979 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance had AM/FM 8track radio with built in CB radio. The microphone hung under the dash, the electric antenna had the little bulb for CB radio built in. If you had the radio on monitor it would interrupt the radio with any CB transmission coming over your selected channel.
Talk about an obscure feature. Thanks for the education! That was interesting. Love the colorful interiors of those old cars.
@@MrPoppyDuck
It sure beats all the black interiors today.
Mum’s 78 Cutlass was the first time we had a car with the single-wipe feature; it was mounted on the dash. And it wasn’t extremely annoying to use. Dad’s 77 Monarch didn’t have such a control, but his had the wiper control on the turn signal stalk, and it was vastly easier to use, both because it was closer to your hand, but also because the Monarch didn’t have “hidden” wipers. On the Olds, you had to hold the control in the “mist” position for 2-3 seconds until the wipers unparked themselves. If you let go too early they would just park themselves without sweeping the windshield, and you’d have to start all over again.
My grandfather traded a 66 Olds F85 six cylinder car in on a new 71 Delta 88. He loved it, ice cold a/c, lots of power. Nice car for the time.
I think the taillights on those '71 Delta 88's were nice, kinda stood out from the crowd - Olds did a great job styling their '71 '88/'98's!
@@TomSnyder-gx5ru Yes, they were pretty nice.
This wiper control option on the gearshift was not one year only ! I have it on my 1970 Delta 88 Royale just FYI, Thanks.
My dad's 1972 Buick Electra Limited had the Gearshift-Mounted Wiper Control... that car was a beautiful ride for sure. You never really knew how your mid 70's GM car would perform... I drove a 75 Buick Century 4 door with a Buick 350 2bbl carb and catalytic converter. That car really moved out well and had plenty of power... it was actually a very fast car for the era. I also owned a 76 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon with a 350 4bbl carb and that vehicle was a very weak performer... a Ford Pinto 4 Cylinder could go around it with absolute ease.
@@HHH22229
The Cutlass being slow seems odd. I worked at a Buick/Oldsmobile dealership in 1976. I drove many of them and don’t remember them being slow.
Bad tune.
I absolutely agree! From '72 to '76 the Rocket 350 lost a couple of its boosters...
Holy cow! 2:28 It seems like the Olds Toronado had a primitive version of rear ABS back then. In the lower left corner of the brochure, they refer to "True-Track Braking". It says that a computer monitoring system automatically "pumps" the rear brakes for smooth straight line stops even during extreme braking. I also heard that GM was playing around with air bags in 1973. This disappeared by the early '80s though, as my 1982 Oldsmobile catalog does not mention any of that stuff. Instead, it mentions stuff like "Computer Command Control" aka a feedback Q-Jet with sensors and lockup torque converter and of course, the 350 diesel.
Lincoln had anti-lock rear brakes as an option in 1969. They worked well, but relied on (now) primitive hydraulic controls.
@@jonathanjohnson1339 I wondered whey they got rid of it? The "downsized" RWD cars from all of the Big 3 in the late '70/early '80s could've benefited from it. I don't think it reappeared until the early '90s when GM had the Bubble bodies ie the Roadmaster, Fleetwood, Caprice, Impala and Custom Cruiser. I could be wrong. Airbags (at least for the driver) also reappeared, due to gov't mandate. As for Ford, I think the Panthers got it back also around this time.
@@jdslyman1720for a long time, safety didn’t sell
I had a 1976 Olds Toronado in the 90s. Even though I never experienced this, a lot of people told me that the big 1971-78 Toronados and Eldorados were known for jackknifing, having the rear end come around if you hit the brakes too hard on a slippery road.
@mikee2923 I wonder if it was because of weight distribution. With FWD, most of the car's weight is in the front because the engine and trans are on the front two wheels. RWD has the diff over the rear wheels, and while this helps, the car can still fishtail. Some newer cars get around this by either being AWD, or having a big battery in the trunk, or both. Both of our Toyota hybrids feel like they will not move sideways and stay straight, probably because both the hybrid and 12v batteries are in the rear of the car, and the gas engine/trans/motor combo is up in the front.
In this segment, you commented about the use of "no lead" fuel. In 1971 fuel was "low lead". The use of hardened valve seats in the heads didn't become standard until around '74 or '75 which is required for "no lead" fuel. Great video, and very interesting.
Hi Adam. I'm not trying to one up you here at all, but my first car was a 1970 Delta 88. I distinctly remember that it had the one pass button on the end of the gear selector. I loved the feature and used it often. I have no idea whether 1970 was the first year or not, but my car definitely had the button. Thanks for all your very interesting work. Paul.
According to the 1970 Owner's manual, it was called "Windshield Washer-Wiper Auxiliary Control Option". We had it on our 1970 Olds 98 and I loved it. A touch of the button gives you one wash. A harder push gives you a complete wash cycle. All with your hand on the steering wheel (just like a European car)
Thanks for your reply and giving us the actual name for the option. So it appears that the gear selector button was available at least for the 1970 and 1971 model years. Your description of how the feature worked was spot on as I recall. I actually found it to be more useful than today's intermittent systems. As an aside, man weren't those 1970 Olds 455s fine engines? They were uncluttered by power robbing smog devices and were yet to be detuned. So much raw and ready torque. Mine just had the two bbl card, but it had way more power than a 16 year old needed. Bet yours was a 4 bbl. Best, Paul.
@@paul58moore It probably was, being a 98, but I don't remember. Best wishes Pierre. Our 67 had the "Climate Combustion Control" option which delivered slightly warm air to the carb (with a vacuum connection so you got cold air at full throttle). This was in Canada and I believe it removed the need for some anti-pollution stuff. By the following year it was standard across the range
I got my license with my parents' new Grand Ville in 1971. What I remember about the wipers was that they had a sort of separate parking cycle where they'd park not on the bottom of the glass, but on a piece of metal running under the glass. When I'd turn the wipers on they'd require a brief period of time to come off the glass first, and same in reverse when stopping.
As a kid we had a 1971 Delta 88 in the green just like you show at 7:41 mark in the video. I remember when they bought it in Lake Geneva, WI, they chose it over a red with white interior convertible Delta 88 a couple years newer and I was disappointed, lol. Great video- thanks!
If you go to car shows in the Lansing area, you will find more Oldsmobiles typically. There's an Oldsmobile Homecoming show most years in Lansing that brings quite a variety.
They were built in Lansing Michigan
My 1981 AMC concord just has off-low-high switch. Fortunately original owner added a JC Whitney interval wiper unit that works well.
Wien - Ha! You just jogged my memory. I remember buying one of those add-on interval wiper switches. But I don't remember if I ever installed it 😂 I DO remember buying add-on Cruise Control for my car, and once dialed in, it was glorious! I even transferred it to my next car when I got rid of the old car. I left it on the car when I got rid of the newer one because my next car had factory cruise👌
Around 1974 a new co-worker was obsessed with BMWs and took me to lunch a few times in his BMW 2002tii while he pointed out how advanced the features were compared to American cars of the day. One feature was the fully independent suspension which he demonstrated by putting the passenger wheels onto the rough shoulder of the road and how easy it was to recover versus the live rear axles that were prevalent. But I was more impressed with the stalks on the steering column that housed the wiper, headlights, and bright light functions without having to lean forward to scan and reach the instrument panel. It wasn’t until the mid-80s with the Taurus/Sable that an American manufacturer fully embraced logical ergonomics.
Interesting video. thanks. For a few years I had a used '73 4 door hardtop Delta 88 in white, with blue vinyl roof and blue interior. A 350/ 400 car, it was so beautiful. It rode beautifully, and I loved it, but it rotted out here in salty roads land.
Check the Olds brochure for the previous year, this option was available on the 88, 98 & Toronado for 1970 also.
My Aunt had a Skylark X-car with the cruise on the column shifter.
Vertical radio was also used in some Rambler models, and infamously in the Tucker.
Three-on-the-tree manual column shift was available on GM B-body full-sizers as late as 1970, Olds 88 included. We had a Buick Estate wagon so equipped, and I've seen it in a magazine featured '70 Delta 88 convertible.
Then there was the AMC-Rambler twin-stick floor shift three-speed with overdrive, and the optional overdrive selector for the '75 AMC Hornet and Pacer three-on-the-tree was mounted on the turn signal stalk.
In the twenties and thirties, freewheeling (a type of overrunning clutch that allowed the car to coast without engine braking) was a thing, and the selector for that feature was sometimes on the shifter knob, or an extended push on the lever a little beyond the regular gear position.
Come to think of it, I drove a Volvo 1800ES and more than one Volvo 240-series car with the overdrive switch on the floor-shifter knob.
@@5610winston
I think that GM actually eliminated the 3 speed column shift as standard equipment about half way through the 1971 model year.
Didn’t the Chevy Nova and other GM X cars also have the vertical radio?
@
No, the Nova/Ventura/Phoenix/Omega/Apollo/Skylark which were built through the 1979 model year had conventional horizontal radios.
@@dave1956 Guess another case of the Mandela effect😃.
@@dave1956 On B-bodies, yes, except the Bel Air which offered a six and three-on-the-tree through 1973. Our family banger until 1984 was a '70 Buick Estate Wagon, one of about two-dozen with the manual column shift.
I worked as a parking valet runner in the mid-seventies and some of our guests owned Chevelles, Lemanses, and Buick Century models as well as Nova and its fraternal twins with manual column shift as late as 1977 for the A-bodies and through the end of production of the rear-drive compacts.
Buick actually ran print ads for the 1977 Special , a price leader version of the Century available as a two-door sedan with the 3.8 liter V6, three-on-the-tree, and a very limited menu of options, plus a very high (numerically low) rear axle ratio so they could advertise a mid-size car with impossibly high EPA gas mileage ratings, high twenties at the time. Then there was the '76 Olds available with a 260 V8 and the same five-speed that had been available in the Cosworth Vega, an option package that carried through at least 1978's downsize.
Adam, What a fascinating chapter in Oldsmobile gear shift history. Looking at the Cutlass in the brochure, I am reminded of the 3 wagons Oldsmobile was selling in 1971. With the full -size Custom Cruiser making its debut and joining the already famous Vista Cruiser in the lineup, we are left to contemplate the more obscure Cutlass Cruiser. 🤔
The '71 Custom Cruiser was a sharp looking wagon.
@@TomSnyder-gx5ru I would like one of each.
A friend of mine when we were in high school had a Delta 88 2 door that looked exactly like the blue one at 9:09 except his was copper or what ever GM called copper paint back then. I don't remember his having anything on the gear shift lever but it's been about 37 years or so now and I never drove it.
Adam, I have an idea for what I believe was a single year option...at least on Chevrolets. Our 1970 Kingswood wagon had a wiper fluid level monitor which was added on below the wiper switch to the left of the steering column. The light would glow a blue/green color when the wiper fluid reservoir was full. When it got close to empty, the light would glow red. The light would only function when the wipers were in operation. I think this was included in the light group option package. Our car had the tiny map light mounted at the bottom of the rear view mirror.
I remember when these were introduced and thought the new full sized '71 Olds 98's were beautifully restyled compared to the "dowdy" looking '70 model myself. I especially liked the mini "fins" above the taillights and the sculptured sides that bulged out at the wheels/fender skirts - could've passed for a Cadillac.
I noticed those little fins on my father's 73 Olds 98. I thought they were cool too. The car was like a Cadillac to me. I was proud to be dropped off at school dances in that car.
Thank you,Adam. Safe travels and Happy holidays 🐾
Adam, have you ever heard of the Cadillac “trunk positioner”? Years ago, I was looking through an old issue of Automobile Quarterly, and they had a big article on the 1965 Cadillacs. One of the options written about and pictured was the “trunk positioner”, that would allow the owner to pull the trunklid down and stay in a certain position, like half open. I know this option never made it to production, since it’s not mentioned in any brochure.
Someone must have nixed it before production started, and I don’t see how anyone would want it - for example, I don’t see a Cadillac owner in 1965 driving around with the handle of a lawnmower sticking out of the trunk.
But, I can remember seeing this in AQ, likely an issue from 1964 or ‘65.
I imagine it went the way of Studebaker’s mechanical (not hydraulic) power steering, that almost made it to production for the Raymond Loewy designed ‘53 models (I read an article about that in an old Popular Mechanics or Mechanics Illustrated).
Fords had the horn at the end of the turn signal stalk for several years. Deloreans also used this feature as well which is interesting because in Back to the Future, marty hits his head on the steering wheel when the car won't start and somehow hits the non existant horn pad and the car magically starts when the horn honks.
I love the old 60s & 70s car ads.
“We bought a new car let’s drive it into a field or onto a golf course & takes pics with it”
Here’s a seductress very proud of her ‘71 Olds Ninety Eight.
My favorites were always "hey lets park it at an airstrip and have small airplanes in the background"
@ A 1974 Mercury Colony Park ad had a couple who drove their new wagon deep into a high grass field
Lol it’s crazy!
I have an ad for a '73 Ninety Eight in my collection. It proudly has the chairman from Tiffany's on it and the car is parked in front of a fancy place with a well dressed couple- very classy. By the time they got to the early '80s (I believe the one I have is for 1983) the couple has that snobby "Yuppie" look as they walk out of a country club. The Olds is parked in front of a Valet area it looks like.
In my ‘71 98 2 door, there was an additional pin switch in the door jam just below the switch for the dome light. When you opened the door it would release the lock to move the seat backs forward so you could get in the back seat.
Thank you Adam. To quote the Oldsmobile slogan from that era: Oldsmobile... Always A Step Ahead. I know that the gearshift on the GM trucks had features on them recently. GM had a option on the Buick Lucerne that they dropped because it did not work well. It was something related to the windshield and the wipers, but I think it de-iced the windshield or something.
I think they heated the washer fluid for that one. Now some newer cars have a heated plate that the wipers rest on, in addition to the regular defroster. It allows you to unstick the wipers and use them sooner in icy conditions.
@@jdslyman1720 Thank you for sharing the information.
My family owned a 1974 Delta 88 Royal two door bought brand new off the showroom floor from an Olds dealer in Evanston Illinois, with the green metallic paint and green vinyl roof, and the Rocket 350 engine...That was a very good car, nice comfortable cloth seats with 8 way power adj....Very peppy for the time period, and it was also very reliable too. Never saw another one quite like it, I don't think the color was a big seller at all. The amazing thing was that for a big a car as it was it handled pretty darn well too. It did have the wiggles you spoke of here though but over all a very reliable, peppy, good handling, and affordable car. This car could be had with the optional air bag system...but they were a fortune so we didn't get that system.
1974. Low Compression engine. Not a rocket. 1970 was the last year for high compression Oldsmobiles
@@gregorylyon1004 That's true, but we owned it and for the time it was a pretty peppy engine, you have to drive them to know how they performed too. I actually got my driver's license as a teenager in 1982 diving the car I mentioned. It really was good considering the time, also they did not have the restrictive catalytic converters in 1974 when it was manufactured. That helped a lot.
On the 72’s Delta88, the washer push button was mechanically linked to the vertical wiper speed selector. Pushing the washer button automatically turned on and slide up the wiper control. Successive push on the washer button added some washer fluid.
Adam, look at the 74 Buick Electra 225’s glovebox lock. I believe it was a one year type lock. It was a pain in the A(; the way you put the key in and slide it to lock it!!
Was this a rectangular 'knob'? It sounds like the latch in my downsized Eldorado where the owners manual bragged about the new design, and what looked like just flat black paint inside of the chrome there was a hole where you stuck the trunk key in and slid it left to lock it...
Adam, I did my drivers ed class in a 80 Citation in high school.Very roomy 5 of us going going down the GW parkway as fast as that thing would go,about 85 and my instructor Mr [hansom]Ransom warning me to slow down or fail the class.Great fun.Mike the Greek
I know GM Delco had rain sensing wipers developed by 1983, and had considered using it on the 1988 Cutlass Supreme, why it took so long to finally appear in mass production is confusing to me. The momentary switch for mist must have seemed so novel and upscale at the time, since outside of luxury cars like Oldsmobiles some purpose built vehicles such as commercial trucks and box vans etc still had a right wiper blade optional and it was a one speed on or off function. You know what’s a strange obsolete option is Cadillacs hood ornament alarm…
I remember a 1973 Buick Electra with this option. I only saw one car with that option. I was 10 years old and my friend’s father sold Buicks. He pointed out the control. Maybe they used some left-over parts from the Olds. My uncle’s 1973 Centurion did not have it.
I had a 69 Delta 88. I agree with how these big Oldsmobiles were so quiet and smooth on the highway. Mine had the AM/FM Wonder bar printed across a large chrome bar along the whole top of the radio. Now that was fancy : ). Oldsmobile's name for a seek and scan feature.
The 1980 Citation gearshift control option should have been for Self Destruct. I’ve driven some dogs in my day, but this thing surpassed even the Ford Grenada and Chrysler K-kar line-up for being a rolling pile of junk.
The shitty Citation. The worst car ever developed by a manufacturer. LOL
Amen brother. Really all years of the FWD X cars and J cars were some of the most horrific garbage ever produced by GM.
Amen. My older sister was a new registered nurse back then, and traded her ‘78 Camaro Sport Coupe with 350 4-barrel and automatic for an ‘81 Citation Club Coupe (notchback) with the 2.8 V6 with auto. Within a year, the transmission started acting up (mainly the 3-2 downshift under throttle). The car was a complete dog, and she ended up trading it for a new ‘83 Camaro Sport Coupe with the 305 and a 5-speed. Today she drives a big M-B EQS (EV) crossover.
@@sharkinstx no, the thought of trading of the Camaro causes me physical pain. I traded away my 72 Culass, 350 4 bbl, dual exhaust for a 1980 Rabbit because the 2nd “oil crisis” made gas go to $.70/gallon. I still kick myself in the behind every time I think about it. Rabbit was probably the only choice worse than a Citation.
You spelled “grenade” wrong. The long name is Granola Junkada.
If I recall correctly, all 1980 X-Cars had the Cruise Control Set Button on the end of the column shift lever. I remember my parents had a friend whose 1980 Buick Skylark X-car had that configuration. In 1981, they started to use the turn signal combi switch which included the wiper and cruise control functions with the distinctive chrome tab for windshield washer function.
The 1979 Olds Cutlass Salon we had for many years had the Mist function on the standard wiper controls.....A horizontal slide switch with the spring loaded Mist function at the left....Off - Low - High to the right. What is funny is since the wipers parked below the hood line, you had to fully press mist to get the single wipe...otherwise the wipers would deploy above the hood line, then retract again. Delay wipers were available...the slide switch was there but you could set the delay by rotating the switch in the delay setting. Seems like all the GM cars eventually got the combi turn signal wiper switch as the 1980s progressed.....
You’re right Adam the 1971 Oldsmobiles were very quiet and smooth at speed also rode better than their senior Mopar contemporaries. Of course that comfort came at the expense of handling to a degree. Vividly remember the OEM Firestone 500 radials. The rear tires took on a porcupine appearance as they degraded and were recalled. The interiors even of a ‘71 98 LS were clearly a step down from earlier years and jiggly. Still a wonderful machine though.
My 1971 Buick Riviera has this same feature. It required a special wiper motor setup also.
I loved my 78 Cutlass Supreme, and my cousins 73 Cutlass, I was just never a fan of the dashes on the full sized cars.. IDK why.. .I liked all the others Chevy, Pontiac and Buick.. never a big Caddy fan, but for some reason Olds never wowed me with the 71-76 big cars... Great Video.. Happy thanksgiving, Adam!!!
Mom, had a 72 Cutlass Supreme. 350. Oldsmobile didn't offer a 6 cylinder that year. That was a nice car. I wanted mom to get the 72 Luxury Le Man's. She didn't like the nose Pontiacs had. It was less. Money. GM made beautiful cars in the 60s and 70s. My first car was a 76 Pontiac Grand Le Man's. Beautiful car. Factory 8 track. Factory Air.
My '68 Triumph TR250 roadster had a floor mounted lever on the left hand side that operated the wipers, which I've never seen on any other vehicle. It was mounted on the left hand side where American vehicles usually had a high beam button or parking/emergency brake such as @4:30 mark in the video. The TR250 body was redesigned in 69 and called the TR6
Another very enjoyable video, Adam. Thanks!
The blue 71 at the end is a regular at our NJ car show and cruise nights. The current owner obtained the car from his dad who was the original owner. It is highly optioned and a sharp car.
My '99 Explorer had button on the end of the gear shift to turn the overdrive off. That may have been a common feature among different cars, and it kind of makes sense to put it there.
Another factor is the inflation that was rising in the early and mid-1970s because of the spending by Johnson and Nixon on the Vietnam war. The wage and price controls put in by Nixon in (I believe) 1971. So the only way for GM to hold the line somewhat on prices was to reduce content and quality materials in their cars. The low-inflation 1960s were over.
Don’t forget the OPEC oil embargo of 1973 that caused prices to spiral out of control.
The extra sound deadening hid the squeaks and rattles.
The picture of the more formal roof of the 88 Royale coupe, also used on Buick Centurion coupe
So much interesting content Adam. Thank you for providing it.. 👍
Also have to mention what an attractive looking car the '71 Delta 88 coupe was in side view as seen in that G-Ride system ad. Was that 'side vent' just aft of the door opening actually functional?
I believe that was just decorative, designating the "upper" Delta 88 trim level - Delta 88 "Brougham" - Delta 88 "Royal" or whatever it was called at the time. I agree, that Delta 88 coupe in the ad caught my eye also - God I miss those cars, now we have look alike "pods!"
@@TomSnyder-gx5ru - 'angry' pods.. 😖
1:30 I remember seeing "computer selected springs" on the list of standard equipment on the window sticker of a new 1979 bare-bones Nova and thinking they really did some embellishing to come up with that. Not that I didn't believe the springs were computer selected, or that such selection was not a good idea, but it seemed a bit desperate listing it as if it were something that might plausibly have been optional. In any case, given the lack of much of anything else on that sticker, the computer probably selected the lightest springs in its range.
In the 2000s, higher end models had a button on the column shifter for anti-lock brakes. You had the option to shut off the anti-lock feature under certain conditions.
90's Buick Park Ave put the Traction Control button at the end of the gear shift lever.
"Optional content on the end of the gear lever" That phrase made me laugh.
Chris from Vancouver, maybe off topic but it’s interesting that 1970 you could get a Toronado with a console but also with the floor shifter. The same as the 442. I think that was the most sporty the Toronado got
I had a 64 Lincoln with a button on the end of the shift lever that controlled a very complicated electro-vacuum device that allowed the entire steering column, all the way down the floor, to move up and down so that the angle of the steering wheel did not change
I use the Mist feature on my wipers mostly when I'm wiping away morning dew and less when the vehicle is moving. Having the Mist control on a column mounted gearshift lever would be more convenient than having the control in the dash. Of course, being retired and having more flexibility in my schedule, I avoid driving in wet weather.
The button has to go somewhere nearby and if you compare to our modern cars, the placement is not that odd if you think of the shifter as another stalk. Now, if they used the end of the gearshift as a cigarette dispenser - that would be WIERD. lol
I'm not sure, but I think this channel has a video about the cigarette dispenser in the 1942? DeSoto. You may even be referring to that.
In point of fact, some thirties models offered cigarette storage in the floor shift knobs, and some forties cars had cigarette storage in the steering hub.
69 and up Pontiac had as standard equipment on all cars with hidden wipers a “pulse” feature. If you pushed the washer button half way and let go (when the wipers were off) it would give a single cycle of the wipers (no wash) and then shut back off automatically . A good idea but ironically the concealed wipers just took too long to get up into position to make it a worthwhile feature.
This feature was also optional on 1971 Buick Electra and Riviera with column shifter. VERY rare.
This option must be rare. I have never seen it on a car at the car shows
@@gregorylyon1004 Same.
My dad bought a used 73 Buick Centurion that had this feature sometime in the late 70's. I was showing this to my mother one sunny day driving home from church. I pressed the button and the wipers never shut off😂. My dad wasn't happy. He sold the car soon after, the new owner somehow disconnected the motor and would reach outside and operate the wipers with his hand. The guy passed in the mid 90's and the car was part of an estate sale, I wish I was in a position to buy it, but I believe the family kept it.
@@93sundance you must be joking! He “disconnected the motor and operated the wipers with his hand?” How is that possible? How hilarious to even try to picture that! 😂🤣
Now I know what button is for on my junkyard tilt steering column. BUT you missed the most unusual option, the rear wheel ABS that was offered.
2:22 I’d be interested to know more about the “True-Track Braking” in the lower left. Precursor to ABS?
I believe for a year or two in the early 70s ASC through dealers offered a cloth foldable sunroof on certain 2 door GM coupes. I’ve never seen one in person.
The feature was also available as an option for the 1973 full size Buick's. There is a man on You Tube with a beautiful example of a 1973 Buick Estate Wagon that has this rare option !!
My fathers 71 Delta 88 had the jiggle problem. I remember noticing a base 71 Delta 88, manual transmission. I think most who bought them removed the shifter from the steering wheel to the transmission hump.It was the last year for the manual.
@@egold1006 now that sounds like a rare bird. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a later model (mid 60s or after) full size Oldsmobile with 3 on the tree. They always seemed to have turbo hydramatic.
@johnlandacre767 I was lucky to actually see a brand new model at the showroom in 1971.Base model, I even got to shift it. Was ordered for someone. I think it went for $4900.00.
The 71 88 with the 455 was a sweet sweet ride.
Similar, but different would be Ford's use of a button at the end of the gear lever to operate the O/D mode on trucks. There was a tiny light that would light up the "O/D OFF" near the end of the lever when you pushed the button. The wires ran thru the lever and then up and over the shifter tube inside the column. Eventually, that would wear the wires and short out. I worked at a Ford dealer at the time and replaced lots of levers under warranty, but I could usually tape up the wires and reroute them for a customer pay job (unless the wires were broken).
I love the 1971 and 1972 Oldsmobiles
Agree, especially the '71 - the '72 had the new 2.5mph front bumper which kinda "fattened" the front end a bit.
If I recall correctly my 1969 Buick Riviera had a button on the end of the gear shift lever to engage the cruise control.
News flash: My 2023 Colorado Z71 does not have the "mist, or one swipe" ability that I've had on every vehicle I've owned in the last 30 years...
Are there any rear wipers with an connection to the windshield wiper interval setting? It seems like regardless of what level the front is on I would like one rear activation per say 5 front activations.
The Chevy Nova also used a vertical radio, starting with the 1968 redesign and going through 1974.
The ones I just saw on Google images had vertical HVAC controls and horizontal radios. They also had GM's infamous empty clock face if the optional clock had not been ordered. Speaking of that, one of the oddest filler pieces I've ever seen was the squishy square of plastic GM put in non-AC-equipped Citations in place of the driver's vent. It pivoted just a little for no apparent reason.
Our family had '69 and '71 Novas. The radio was horizontal in both.
@@urbo42 You’re right - I was thinking of the Citation, the Nova’s replacement.
I think the '63-'67 Corvette had a vertical radio also.
My first car was a ‘75 Regal with the same dash-mounted wiper switch with the mist spring loaded switch below off.
It was clever to put the one-sweep (mist) wiper button on the end of the gear-shift lever....Yep, cruise control also in some cars, but cost probably had something to do with a one year only in the '71 Olds, eh Adam.
The closest thing to this feature I can recall was the automatic clutch on VW's "auto-stick" equipped Beetles. I've heard that some drivers complained about the fact that you couldn't rest your hand on the shift lever while driving because the slightest pressure would make the clutch kick out. Then there were Opels and Fox-body Fords (as well as a few English cars I can't name) which had the horn on the end of one stalk or another. One comment from the UK suggested that these designs were a response to campaigns by local governments to discourage unnecessary honking. Given the threatening road signs I've seen in NYC on the subject, I wouldn't be surprised.
I hated the wiper/washer system in GM cars in these days. I learned to drive on my dad’s brand new 1972 Buick Skylark. When you needed the wipers quickly, say in the case of a passing truck on a wet road, you seemingly waited forever for that initial wipe. Didn’t 1970 Chevrolet Impala/Caprice offer a windshield wiper/washer control system in 1970? Buick LeSabre/Centurion/Electra 225 offered the same system. I have never seen one but currently there’s a man on UA-cam with a 1973 Estate Wagon that has this feature. As far as dumb features? How about the late 70’s/early 80’s Ford’s with a horn control activated by pushing the turn signal lever. This was done in anticipation of impending air bag requirements.
Yes, Chevrolet introduced this option for the 1970 full size vehicles.
My 1976 Buick Electra had the cruise control button on the end of the gear shift lever too. Long before the 1980 Chevrolet Citation.
Some Buicks had the traction control on/off on the end of the gear shifter. Seen on Park Avenue and LeSabre.
Thanks for sharing this info.
The bumpers on the 71 models were very prone to damage, especially on the front. This was corrected in 1972 with an energy absorbing front bumper.
Around that time period olds had an AM/FM stereo that used 3 speakers 2 in the dash 1 in the rear it had a unique sound L/R was preset but adjustable internaly(removal of radio required)but it had a fader controling rear speaker which was behind station tuneing control
My 1983 Ford Thunderbird had the horn function at the end of the signal stalk if I remember correctly.
Owned a 70 Cutlass Supreme/ 350 Rocket engine and loved it.
Wasn't there a "one button does everything" cruise control on the column shifter? I seem to recall something like that where you pushed to engage, pushed again to disengage, then did some other push sequence to tap up or tap down maybe?
Pretty much. I don't remember a cancel or disengage feature except for touching the brakes, but push once to engage, tap to increase speed, hold to coast is how the cruise control (shifter mounted) in Grandma's 1980 Skylark worked.
@@richsarchet9762 Ah, thanks! It's been too long... All I could really recall about it was someone talking about the "One Button Does Everything" approach. Never had one myself.
I had one in a 75 Grand Prix. The turn signal stock had a button in the end. No switch. Just push the button to set and tap the brakes to disable. I don’t remember if tapping the button did anything. Had it back in the 80s.
I remember some GM cars around ‘69 - ‘70 having a button, that when pressed, would spray traction fluid on the tires for slippery road conditions.
I like the "B" pillar post four door.
Adam, would you call it a sedan?
I remeber these Delta 88's, I think they drove wonderfully.
They may have got chincy on the interiors after 1968, but probably not much.
Gotta love that frontal style.gunked it up in '72 imho.
In that brochure it looks like ABS was optional, too!
Optional button on the end of the turn shift stalk on the 70's Cadillac Coupe de Ville. I can't remember what it does.
EDIT: I think it was used like you said, as Cruise Control.
You should talk about the 38 or 44 factory Ford 427 (R) 7 Litre Galaxies that went down the production line in 1966.
The 7 Litre Ford was a one year only model.
Althoug available as LTD option upgrade in 1967, and nobody cares about that one because of the revamped body style (had a sort of Forward Look), and because it looked longer, although the 119" wheelbase remaned the same, I think.
OLDS HAD THIS IN 1970 OLDS 98 I HAD ONE J TIMS 😅😅😅
I was under the impression that the A-body didn't get revised until 1973. The 1971 and 1972 A-body was pretty much the same other than grille and taillight revisions.
Always intrigued to see an underdash mounted record player! I have seen pictures of aftermarket. But not sure what year, that it was an actual option on a car! Late 50's is a guess!
Late fifties and early sixties Chrysler Corporation models offered "Highway HiFi" record players that played 16 2/3 rpm discs about the same diameter as 45s of the day, well and good as long as you didn't hit a pothole too hard...
Great Video!! ACRS video next?