This is how the Oldsmobile Intrigue was intended to revitalize the midsize sedan range
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- The Cutlass Supreme's place in the Oldsmobile line was taken by the 1998 Intrigue, built on the next version of the W platform. The Oldsmobile Intrigue debuted in 1997 as a 1998 model. Being the result of extensive market research in California, the Intrigue was intended to be a stylish and competitive midsize sedan aimed squarely at import buyers.
Excellent job! I really enjoyed this video. Thank you for confirming what I always said and knew Intrigue was supposed to be Cutlass Supreme. It should have been. Intrigue nameplate was too close to Dodge Intrepid at the time. I was enjoying the footage, the images and information. Oldsmobile should still be here with us even if they would be selling electric cars and crossovers and suv's. I own a 1996 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight and a 1992 Oldsmobile Toronado. I saw the Cutlass Supreme was coming from you as well. I am looking forward to that. Oldsmobile/GM made some mistakes marketing and branding these cars. They got the 2002 Bravada right. I also knew Intrigue used the 3800 V6 as well. It had a solid engine. If they had offered a front bench seat maybe they would had reached older buyers. They could have called the bench seat model Ciera and the other trim levels Cutlass. Buick was doing it with Regal and Century. I also think Aurora should have become a four door Toronado. GM could have used the heritage of the brand with new styling to get new buyers and keep old ones. Thank you again for the video.
Hey thanks for your continued support. Yeah all those cars were nice. Such a shame how much the auto industry has turned around. Back in the 90s, we had a plethora of cars to choose from. Most of those nameplates cease to exist now and instead they introduce another mundane crossover every other week.
@@MotorMaster_Stunticon This is so true about the crossover suv thing. There are so many out there now. You just cannot get excited about them or the shape. At least with cars there is variartion.
@@MotorMaster_Stunticon May I suggest a very underrated car?
The 1999-2001 Mercedes C230 Kompressor.
I've never seen a proper documentary or even a "history of" video of this amazing car. Back in 99', it was so ahead of its time, and also just a cool car. The BMW M series gets all the love from this era, but the C230k was awesome in its own right. It came with a 200hp, supercharged 4 cylinder, AND WAS REAR-WHEEL DRIVE. (A little button turns the traction control off and it makes a great drifter and will do a hell of a burnout.) You seem to cover underrated cars and you'd be the first to cover this one. (If you can't tell, I own not only 1 but 2 of them, one 99' with a very rare AMG package and a 2001 Sport model.) They're also super cheap nowadays and parts aren't that expensive for a Benz. Just a thought, keep up the videos man, I can't believe you don't have more subs.
@@OLDS98 I think the concept car shown was much better looking and would've helped sales. Also, the 442 would've been cool if it were a 2 door, rear wheel drive car with the front end look and design of the Intrigue. (Picture it lowered, Pontiac Grand Prix GT-style body kit, side dual exhaust, supercharged....send the company off right, like the G8 did with Pontiac)
@@shuruff904 Well stated. Well thought out statement as well.
I owned a 1974, 1973, 1975, a 1980 and now a 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue GLS with 12 inch front brakes. I loved my Cutlasses with the big 350 V8's, a 455 and a 280 V8. The '98 I found in November of 2023. Garage kept for all 25 years with a Kansas sticker in the door jam. I took the top of the engine down and replaced all components, radiator, tune up. Sounds like a new car. 102,000 miles on it. Wow, I have a gem...
You really deliver what I look for in a breakdown of a car. Great work
No problem dude. Thanks for the support.
I purchased an Intrigue in 1997 with the L3800 engine. What a great car! People would walk up to me and ask if it was a new Lexus. If GM had kept Olds and continued to build car with the same quality, I would still be a GM customer rather than an Acura owner.
Who knows? Maybe it will come back as an EV kinda like the GMC Hummer EV.
Same. I went with Volvo after GM killed Oldsmobile but I’d much rather have had an olds to buy.
Gm owner/lover all my life....then had 2 Hondas....Honda/Acura FOREVER far superior
My first car was an intrigue gls. I loved that thing, I just wish it had the supercharged 3800 instead of the 3.5 lol.
Yeah definitely loved those L67 engines.
Great video! Sad that Oldsmobile isn’t here any longer😢.
Agreed.
I have a 2002 Intrigue. It's in Tropic Teal. It's my first car. I love it a lot! It's very peppy, and handles really well. I drive it on country roads all the time whilst listening to my tunes. I'm very glad I bought it. Best value ever. I got it with 113k km (I'm in Canada), for $3000 CAD. It's been a blast so far.
Awesome. Thanks for sharing. Intrigues are nice.
My grandma owned an intrigue gls, she bought it new in 98 with the 3.8l. It lasted till 2020 with 280.000 miles.
Nice. I still see quite a few Intrigues on the road.
GM should have NEVER got rid of Oldsmobile. They also shouldn't have axed Pontiac either especially with the way aggressive styling is in now. Buick should have been the first to go. I personally want to see a modern or possible retro-modern version of the mid '80s Cutlass Supreme coupe. Imagine the sales they'd get from it.
Agreed. A retro-modern G-body Cutlass Supreme would be a nice addition.
The only thing that saved Buick from getting dropped is their strong sales in the Chinese market. It's a shame that Oldsmobile had to get cut instead.
I just found one here in Utah. It came from a garage in Kansas. Near perfect condition, bought it on the spot. I owned 4 Cutlass Supremes back in the '80-'90s. They were great cars. My last was a 1975 I sold in 1996. I was looking for a Avalon but they were $8000- $10,000. I started looking for Buicks, Pontiacs and soon found this 1998 Intrigue GLS. Needs some TLC but it is easy to work on and parts are cheap. I now own an Oldsmobile once again. A Cutlass.
Our family has had three Oldsmobile Intrigues: 1998 GX, 2000 GLS Sterling Edition and now, a 2002 GLS in Tropic Teal. I bought the 2002 from Copart in St. Louis for $625. It needed only a right front fender for $42 at LKQ Pick Your Part. The 2000 Sterling is also still with us and runs great.
I sold Oldsmobiles from 1990 to the end in 2004!
Nice. Glad to see someone still appreciating these cars. If you come across a final-gen Cutlass Supreme or Intrigue, let me know. I’m looking to purchase one of those next.
Cool😀
As an intrigue owner, I bet the turn signals on all 3 didn’t work properly lmao
@@_zigzak All of our Intrigues had or still have perfectly functioning turn signals. It is a simple multifunction switch that fails because one or more of the internal plastic tabs breaks from excessive use. That repair is more often seen on the 1995 to 1999 Auroras. If your vehicle has intermittent flashing lights while parked, that is the symptom.
@@_zigzakAll turn signals worked fine and on the two we still have, they work perfectly also. If there is any electronic failure, it is a simple ignition switch replacement.
It was a beautiful car. Olds had some of the best looking cars at the time - Intrigue, Aurora, even the Alero. And of course the Antares concept car.
My friends and I used to go to the Chicago auto show every year and marvel at these Olds cars, and also the Lincoln Continental, the Lexus LS400, Eagle Vision, and a few others.
Those cars all had class. They were spiritual descendants of the classic cars of the late 1920s and 1930s. You could imagine a modern take on classic jazz music playing in the background while looking at them. Fun times.
The 90s era LS400 and Eagle Vision did have style and class. Those were great times back then.
I remember renting one in Vegas and driving it out to the Grand Canyon NP back in summer of 1999. It was a very fast midsize sedan back then and I’d never forget the experience.
They were great, especially back in the 90s.
Thank you for another excellent video!! I never owned an Intrigue, at the time they were in production it was a bit too big for me so I had an Alero. Looking back though, it was a nice looking car - far better than a Lumina or Century, less expensive than a loaded Regal GS or Grand Prix with a unique engine at that!
Yeah man the designers did a great job IMO. I still see plenty of other W-body cars on the road (especially regals) and Grand Prix but almost no Intrigues at all.
Nice. The Alero was a cool little car too. IMO the design still looks fresh even today.
I still have an intrigue and I love it
Enjoyed your video. Proud owner of a 98,GL 2000,GL & 2001,GLS, Ed Welburn creation. The 98 had the 3800 which had a bad crank seal to which I sold. Got the 2000 with 14k miles, loaded with every option except sun roof. Drove her from New Hampshire to Florida, and NJ to Oklahoma. No matter how hard I drove her, she always got 28-32 mpg. To bad 3.5 PV6 didn't make it into other vehicles. Great engine for 2 tons of steel. When my son needed a car after high school, not being a car guy, like his dad, I asked him what he wanted? He said, 'an Intrigue'; found a 2001, loaded with a suspension & sunroof, in OBX. Only 60k miles and he still driving it 6 years later. My 2000 got hit four times in the same passenger quarter, 2xs in the same intersection. Sold it to friend with 180k who's daughter blew it up at 220k miles by driving from college with no oil. Oldsmobile had the right line up of new product, but too much in house ego conflicts to get the car promoted & a lack of profit by a certain date, made the ax fall.
Thanks for sharing that and glad you enjoyed the video. I agree Oldsmobile had the right line up of new product at the time.
Bought a 2001 Brand new GLS with the short star engine. Great car.
Good choice!
98 Intrigue was powerful enough and had a superb suspension
Especially with the 3800 engine.
I appreciate the drink suggestions
Haha, cool.
i have a 2001 intrigue, i absolutely love her, theres a lot im wanting to do to it
My cuzzin had a Oldsmobile Intrigue and I never knew what happened to it
I remember when that car first came out in 1997 for 1998. That thing was sharp!!!! It was once Mulder & Scully's car on "The X-Files". They drove a nice-looking Silver one. That's what probably helped its' sales for a while. Back when GM was still GM!!!!!
Thanks for pointing that out.
i daily drive mine its got the 3800S2 with upgraded internals it gaps em very fun to drive nice big trunk with fold down seats for the sound system
I owned a 2002 Intrigue, and I loved it so much. ever since I first saw the car in a car magazine, I told myself that I had to have one. to this day I regret letting it go. I believe GM made a terrible mistake in discontinuing the vehicle and especially the Oldsmobile brand.
The Intrigues were nice. Stay tuned. A new Oldsmobile episode is on the way.
The Antares was a GORGEOUS car...the reality of the Intrigue...I was never a fan of...the car looked so...narrow I can't really describe it
Agreed. I actually liked the Intrigue as well.
I liked these videos very in depth. Hindsight is 20/20 but of there was no Saab or saturn under gm those funds could have went to Olds and Pontiac. Maybe have Pontiac and Olds become more independent and aim to be a counter to Honda/Acura or VW/Audi
Agreed. It would’ve been nice to see what those brands might’ve evolved into, especially with modern tech.
Always wanted one of these, but they were gone before I could get one. Now the only ones left have been driven to the moon and back. It's a shame Olds is no longer around. They had a better shot at making it than Buick in my opinion.
Definitely should have kept Oldsmobile!
@Bill Crockett agreed
Excellent video as usual! I drove an Intrigue with the 3800 Series 2 V6 as a rental for a few days. It was nice but still had that GM stink about it. GM was getting better by the late 90s but way too much damage had been done in the prior two decades. I even wanted a Grand Prix GTP but felt it was a bit too cheap feeling. The Intrigue felt like it had better quality and workmanship but nothing really stuck out as a reason to buy it. It kinda felt like a nicer handling Camry. I absolutely loved the 3800 series engines and had a series two supercharged in a 1998 Riveria. . They were quite smooth and, in subsequent generations, breathed better in the top end. The car that really surprised me the most was the Aurora. It's unfortunate that GM didn't separate its divisions more as Olds could have become a real import fighter.
I had a 2001 Intrigue with the shortstar engine and loved it. I wonder if it would have sold better if they had kept the Cutlass name.
Maybe it would’ve. Ford realized they made a similar mistake when they changed the Taurus/Sable name to 500/Montego, then changed it back to Taurus/Sable.
California market research is all I needed to know , the grand prix outsold this thing almost 15 to 1
I saw one on the road the other day
I loved my Oldsmobile's. I had a 1973, '74 Wagon, '75 Two door and a 1980 Wagon, all Cutlass Supreme's. I was not happy with the down sizing and removal of the Cutlass name. You lost your base when you dropped the Cutlass and the 3.8 bullet proof engine. The demise was inevitable. Thanks for the video.
About to receive a free intrigue from a family member. I’m assuming/hoping that she didn’t put that much use into it. Would love to get this thing running like new, try and add some years to it. Maybe put a skirt on it, time will tell. Let me know if you have any tips.
My dad had a 98, the only year worth buying because of the 3800. It was good looking and extremely reliable of course.
Yeah that 3800 engine was super reliable.
I also had a 98 with the 3800. Aside from all they typically 90s GM hard plastics inside, that car was a serious capable highway cruiser, set it at 80 and it would just keep eating the miles. As great as it was, somehow the Aurora felt twice the car. Loved both of them
Great video. Thanks.
Just found your channel. I'm diggin' it! Good job.
Cool. Thanks for tuning in.
I love Oldsmobile called the factory when saw so many Olds dealers were shutting down in 2002 switching over to Cadillac the man that worked at the Oldsmobile company told me that next year in 2004 they were only making three models Alero, Silhouette and Bravada. Just earlier was looking at some old school Oldsmobile I wish the brand could had survived maybe it might come back as EV be a blessing in the sky. I don't know if Oldsmobile had poor sales or what but believe in 2000 when GM made a horrible decision killing the brand believe it was a lot of buyers considered Oldsmobile who in the world turn their backs on Oldsmobile these were the most beautiful cars forget that would had just bought one got it serviced either at Buick or Pontiac dealership which same car with same parts. The Intrigue was a good looking car though was a huge Buick got say Intrigue looked better than the Regal saw one a few weeks ago looked good miss Oldsmobile so much rest in peace Oldsmobile they legacy will live on.
I’m not sure if they had poor sales either but I heard someone mention that the brand overlapped too much with Buick. Apparently, the two brands were too similar. Not sure how that’s true when Olds decided to revamp their brand image and market their vehicles to younger buyers. Yes the Intrigue was a nice looking car. I liked the look of all their cars of that era, even the GM10 Cutlass Supreme from the late 80s.
@@MotorMaster_Stunticon So sad the brand is gone good thing got some brochures of few Oldsmobile models. I remember in the early 2000s they were starting look even better love all the lineups from 80s until 2000s. Oldsmobile was one of the luxury cars never forget riding in a beautiful 1994 Regency 98 talk about nicest car ever I feel liked the Cutlass that shared same platform with the Malibu. I really loved the first and second generation Aurora what a beautiful car, when was younger back I early 2000s wanted a Alero was also considered getting the Aurora thought was a car for middle-aged person.
Yes, I agree fully thanks for commenting. We will be releasing a few more Olds episodes soon including the Alero and W-body Cutlass Supreme. I also got a vid request for the 3rd-gen Bravada. Another GM episode will be out in a few days as I’m currently editing it, so stay tuned for it.
@@MotorMaster_Stunticon Thank you appreciate it.
Good old bean counter ideas. Let's take the best selling Oldsmobile model we have, the Cutlass Supreme, and drop it from our line up. That will boost sales, right? Then, let's only offer it with our amazing 3800, and then drop that too for a POS Northstar inspired V6. And Oldsmobile went under? I wonder why?
Exactly. The 3800 was a beast of an engine. I agree they should’ve retained the Cutlass Supreme name or at least used it in conjunction with the Intrigue similar to what Buick was doing with the ‘97 Century/Regal. Brand equity is given up whenever a well-known name is dropped.
Good job on the video, hopefully you'll get more subs!
I wonder if that 3.5 is as much of a nightmare as the Northstar. Given the limited production run it's probably getting hard to find parts for.
I heard that it is.
If you’re going to make a sport sedan you have to make it awd or rear wheel drive and make a manual transmission available….otherwise you’ll be deemed from the start. And the customers you want won’t take it seriously
Yep, doomed from the start. I agree.
I still daily drive my 99 Oldsmobile intrigue with 170k miles looks new
I would love to own a 99 Intrigue. Nice cars, glad to hear it looks new.
Good video, I always liked Oldsmobile 😀😀
Yep, they actually had nice cars at some points in time. Thanks for watching.
We owned two 2002
Intrigues and loved both models. Tremendous power with the Northstar 3.5.
I trusted these enough to give to my daughter for college use.
Comfortable but not too big.
Great steering and handling in curves and these could fly!
Drove the life out if both with no major problems.
Incredibly sad and disappointed how frankly GM
destroyed the oldest car brand in USA. 😢
Could there be a resurrection??
They could resurrect anything, just like the GMC Hummer EV. Problem is, if they brought Olds back, it would consist of nothing but boring, grocery-getter crossovers, similar to the new Buick lineup.
To give the short version, DexCool caused the water pump to fail on my '99 Intrigue GLS with the 3.5l engine, and damaged the engine! A dealers only website stated that GM knew of this problem but let owners find out on their own!! I had purchased vehicle in May 2003 with exactly 19,000 miles on it. Failed on Thanksgiving Day 2009. Sold car for $750.This betrayal by GM caused a lifelong GM owner to switch to Toyotas and now Acura. Before the failure, I found the Intrigue GLS to be disappointing overall.
Awesome and very informative video. I remember first being "intrigued" by the Oldsmobile Intrigue TV commercials way back then. I was not looking to buy a car at that time, but I always liked it. Years later, I bought a 2001 Grand Prix which as you said in this video shares a lot with the Intrigue since they're all GM cars. I loved my Grand Prix. My parents used to have a new 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and as a kid, I thought it was a luxury car because of the smooth powerful and quiet ride. That was an awesome car as well. :)
Yeah I liked them a lot back then too. All three actually, the Intrigue, Alero and Aurora. I think they still look great even by today’s standards.
I love your videos - the right data
I’m glad you like ‘em dude
Great Video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Looks like an actual good attempt by GM of competing against the Japanese only for GM to sabatoge Oldsmobile themselves. Ironically, Oldsmobile lettering is on the back despite their huge effort to remove the naming on the car. Anyway, has anyone ever done a 3800 supercharge swap on one of these?
I’m sure someone has put a 3800 supercharged engine in an Oldsmobile Intrigue at some point.
The Antares looks good but again the fwd was doomed a failure for a real sports sedan from the start. Should’ve kept the car rear wheel since the start
I have one and yea its pretty fast i have the gl 01
Awesome glad to hear you still have it. Nice car, indeed.
I still say that Oldsmobile and Pontiac were starved of resources because of Saturn, which never turned a profit. If these resources had been allocated to Oldsmobile, things may have been different
Perhaps so 🤔
I HAVE ONE AND I LIKE It!!!! ITRUNS SO SMOTH AND KINDA QUICK FOR A GRAND PA CAR!!
Glad to hear your a proud owner of one.
I've driven the Intrigue, It's too big and it sucks gas. Olds should have focused a bit more on efficiency. They could have had a production supercharged motor option. At least if it was supercharged, you'd have something to show for this beasts weight. Engine has good numbers but body is too heavy to feel them numbers. Wonder what this thing would be like if it had remote mount turbo? (since the engine is sooo HUGE in the engine bay a rego mounted turbo wont fit)
Agreed. At least it offered the reliable 3800 engine at some point.
I had a '99 intrigue with the 3.5 V6. The car had good build quality and excellent road performance. Way better than the Buicks or the Pontiac's of the time. I think olds was setup for failure near the end by corporate. The plan was already in place to kill off the brand but didn't say anything until the very last minute. Olds could've survived if they were given a little more room to develop new cars and platforms also someone should've stood up and sacked whoever came up with that silly ad campaign "start something"
Haha, yes and there were a few ad campaigns that shouldn’t have been allowed to go “on air”
Thanks for the comment.
General Motors Should keep Buick Regal and Century Redesigned them and Park Avenue New Body Style keep Oldsmobile to new Models Middized
i rent an intrigue an it was wondaful to drive I always thought it was a hit
U mean the 6th gen Grand Prix from 97-03 the 7th gen was from 04-08 a completely different model and look
Yeah you’re right 😉
I have a 2002
Cool
15:48 See, this was the problem with Olds, and GM in general. A 550 hp Intrigue is attractive to a few people, but irrelevant to most. Why waste resources on something like that?
At that time, the Accord and Camry were killing it in the mid-size market. Why? Because of their reputation for frugality and reliability.
Instead of focusing so much on muscle cars, I wish the domestics had focused instead on making their cars more reliable.
When I would buy a Toyota or Honda, I would assume it would likely last at least 200,000 miles. And that’s why I bought them. I have a 2007 Toyota Avalon with over 300,000 miles and the engine and transmission drive fine.
I’ve bought domestics as well, but always with a worry: How many miles before something goes?
Agreed. 500+ horsepower is irrelevant to most drivers. The 3800 Oldsmobile Intrigue was good car nevertheless.
Glad to hear you have the Avalon with over 300k miles. Those cars run forever.
I drove one for a year with a knocking engine & A blown head gasket, Junk
Sorry to hear that.
I'm glad they only call Autobahn package because if they take this car to Germany on the Autobahn they probably have pissed a lot German drivers
Lol
They should it keep the concept model instead of the agley fucking intrigue I can believe they try to sale that to younger generation it looks like a grandpa car pathetic
A lot of younger people actually purchased it (age 45-55) compared to the typical 70+ Oldsmobile buyer.
That concept car was awesome...but it was probably still a front wheel drive though...(if it even had a drivetrain/engine)
@@MotorMaster_StunticonI sold many Intrigues to buyers in their twenties!
GM can't make a cool small engine with 4 valves per cylinders because they have to rape there customers that's why every V6 GM car comes with that 3.8 don't give me wrong it's good I had a nice regal the engine and transmission last me but the fucking key system they put on those cars they only last so long I used to be GM guy but I finally found out the Ford it's got more luxury and technology on all of their cars and plain and simple they look pretty and awesome and they don't give you that stupid key system problem so sorry if I offended someone from GM it's not like they give a fuck about their customers anyway...
Interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing.