My sister bought a used one of these in light blue and it got her through some tough times. She's pretty well off now and can afford any vehicle she wants but to this day talks fondly of her blue "fast back" Cutlass!
Worked at an Oldsmobile dealer circa 1978-83. We referred to these as Gutless salamis. You're right, the overall quality of these was much worse than the previous generation, which helped the 75-77 keep their resale value and demand higher, especially the Broughams
“I hate it! I wouldn’t buy it. I wouldn’t drive it. I wouldn’t even say Good Morning to it!” - my 13 year old self loved this quote from a 1979 issue of Motor Trend where they road tested both the 260 and 350 V-8 diesels (in this case the 260 was in a 2-door Cutlass Supreme. That quote cracked me up then, and still makes me giggle to this day.
Yup - I remember reading that article as a kid..I think it was a test of all the diesel cars on the market in 1979. Back in the days when the car mags were entertaining reads and not just extensions of corporate marketing material assembled together by a content algorithm.
Parents had a ‘79 Malibu sedan. Vinyl and no A/C. As a child; being in the back seat in the summer was excruciating with only minimum flow from the manual wing windows.
You could roll the rear door windows down in a 4 door Chevette. I never could understand why they were so cheap and lazy not to do this on the midsize.
Take a '67 Mustang. It had these vent boxes under the dash if you wanted some air to breathe. "Yeah, it has climate control, roll down the dam windows!".
Ain't it stange. The oligarchs that ok,d this car for production are like the present day oligarchs that what us to eat food made of insects. They say we will love it.
Those '78/'79/'80 Cutlasses were ugly ducklings compared to the '77 and before cars but by the mid-'80s Olds got the styling right again and I think they looked pretty good especially the '87s with the euro style front end
Did you know this interesting fact? Yes, the 90 horse 260 V8 Diesel was available for 79 only in the Supreme and Salon, a very rare find if you can located a survivor today. When they self distructed, Oldsmobile was instructed to install replacement 350 D block diesels. Dealerships had piles of broken 260 diesels behind the service shops to be returned to the factory, however, most were just tossed. To find an original 260 diesel today is almost impossible. GM also offered the 260 diesel with a 5 speed manual transmission! According to GM archives, only 265 were built. When it ran right, 35 mpg on the highway was possible in overdrive. I know of a survivor, a beautiful white 79 Salon Brougham coupe with a red interior, fully loaded, power everything, plus the 260 diesel with 5 speed! I asked the owner many times to sell, however the owner will not sell.
I have a '78 Cutlass Salon with a 305/ 4 spd. Its an aguired taste but always liked these from new. Finally bought one two yrs ago. Yes they are rarer than hens teeth.
I bought a new one in 1979 as the first new car for my wife. You forgot to mention that they came equipped with the deadly Firestone “721’ radials that split. Picked it up on a Friday and Sunday when it had 65 miles on it the right front tire exploded. Could have been killed. Mine was maroon and the paint job had no primer/undercoat and since it was not garage kept it faded out to nearly white in a year. Transmission lasted 13,000 miles. I didn’t know the rear windows didn’t open until a friend was riding in the back seat and told me. Dealer said it was designed that way. It was a total p o s. 45 years later I can proudly say that was the last GM car I ever bought.
You are mistaken about the tires. The Firestone tire you are thinking of was their Radial 500, which ended up being recalled, and Firestone was fined a bunch of money for hiding consumer data, a scandal at the time. The 721, which GM did use on their downsized intermediates was an excellent tire, with no history of issues.
@@jamesw1659 That's correct. The 721 was installed on all the vehicles which had Radial 500s on them that were under recall in 1978-1979. I worked at a Firestone dealer during this period. The recall only covered tires that were manufactured from the 35th week of 1975 until the 17th week of 1976.
The early Chrysler K Cars were the same. The early models had fixed rear windows for the 4 door models. The roll down rear windows didn't arrive on the K Car until 1982 or 83.
I'm glad you mentioned the 260 Diesel. Consumer Guide stated in their 1980 Used Car Guide " The Cutlass is overall a great value, but avoid the seldom-ordered 1979 260 Diesel V8 ". And one more thing. Chrysler must have liked the fact the rear doors didn't roll down. The 1981 K-Cars also have no roll down rear windows. But unlike GM, Chrysler, would add roll down rear windows for 1982.
What a color combo on this green example...quintessential 70's! I also didn't know that these had that fixed rear window...a true travesty of a corporate decision that begs the question, why?!?
Because of the intrusion of the rear wheel well into the back door, you can see that if the back windows did go down, they wouldn't be able to travel very far at all. Other manufacturers had similar issues, but they tended to address the problem by putting a fake (fixed) vent window in the rear of the door glass...so now the door glass could pretty much go straight down. My guess is that Olds and Buick didn't want to do that for fear of messing up their well-conceived (???) body design...or perhaps GM was just being cheap.
I’m surprised to learn it didn’t sell well because I remember a lot of them being on the road, but now that I think about it’s probably because they looked so strange and disconcerting that I noticed them every time I saw one. I always wondered why people would want one because they always gave me an uncomfortable feeling when I saw one.
I was the second owner of a '79 Cutlass Cruiser with a 260 V8. Mine had rear door windows that went down, as well as power vent windows in the rear of the wagon. Happily, I didn't experience the quality issues you mentioned, Adam. My "baby V8" towed small trailers reasonably well and, while it WAS gutless, it survived a hard life from my "young and invincible" self, lol! I have fond memories of that car! 😉😎
My dad got a 79 Cutlass Salon as one of his company cars. As I recall, he had the Olds gas powered V6, I assume the 231 cu in with an automatic transmission. I would imagine his company got a very good price on a lease for a fleet of these cars. I am going to push back on some of the things you said Adam. The car was reasonably comfortable, thought certainly not attractive. Dad ended up buying out the lease and put more than 200k miles on the car. When he got rid of it in the mid 80's it did not burn oil and had the original engine and transmission still intact. The car never let him down and he sold it for a few hundred dollars to someone looking for cheap transportation. Dad was very good on keeping up with maintenance, probably was lucky in that he got a good example.
Mom n Dad bought a new 1979 Pontiac LeMans wagon. It had the 231 Buick V6 and TH200 trans. I took my drivers test in it in November 1982. That car got passed to all 4 of us kids and had 143k on it when Dad used it on a trade in when my sister bought a 1991 Beretta. When Pete Rose passed Ty Cobb on September 11, 1985, we all were at the game, so I drove the Lemans wagon. That lack of rear window roll down can be problematic if someone over celebrates at a baseball game.
Oh those rear windows…brings back painful memories of my mom’s 1978 Malibu wagon and my dad’s 1979 Cutlass Cruiser wagon. Having a tendency for carsickness as a kid, this made long road trips miserable. The rear vent windows were next to useless. Fortunately neither car lasted long. The Malibu had the horrible 200 CID V6 and wound up throwing a rod. The Olds had the sluggish 260 V8 that suffered from vapor lock on hot days. That car blew its transmission at 70k, about a year after the Malibu died and to my delight, went away.
While in high school in the late 70’s we had a new cutlass salon used for driver’s ed, and will never forget how trim parts kept falling off. There were so many we just made a pile of them in the trunk.
My mother bought one of these in 78. It was the first and last time she would have a car of her own, bought with money she had saved and registered in her name. She had gone to buy a Malibu, but the salesman offered her a better deal on the Cutlass, and she was thrilled that she would have an OLDSMOBILE. Not just a lowly Chevy. Mum was of an era when such things had meaning, and my parents, who came of age in the depression, had always been very thrifty. So the thought of owning an Oldsmobile was to be a source of pride for her, as long as she owned that car. I thought the car was hideous looking, but I didn’t have a vote. It had the 305 V8 and drove well. It definitely handled better than dad’s Monarch…though I’d rather been seen in the Mercury!
Maybe if someone makes a movie or show about a drug dealer driving one of these cars it will suddenly be discovered by collectors. It worked for the Aztec.
I love a “5-door” body style! I believe the issue was that the Citation and Phoenix X-car sedans and these mid-size sedans were NOT 5-doors? They should have been offered in a “formal” roofline and a 5 door hatchback as an alternative. As for the rear windows? I’ve owned 3 of these models: I never, ever cared because I previously owned “Colonnade” models, including a 1975 Cutlass, where the coupe windows didn’t go down either.
My parents had a 1980 cutlass with the buick 231. My dad rebuilt the engine at one point. I can attest to the gutlessness of it. You could floor it but it seemed to make no difference in acceleration, it just made more noise :D
Soon GM won't be building cars for anyone. Marry Barra will be their last CEO, EVER. Ford won't be far behind them, Chrysler is already gone, although they will soon offer an EV Fiat to complement their ICE Fiats that Americans love. And Stellaris will still sell you a minivan.
We had an 81 Cutlass Cruiser wagon and the rear windows didn't go down, but it did have those stupid little vent windows! lol Fortunately, the air conditioning worked. I wish I would've gotten that wagon for my first car, it was a trooper!
I bought a Cutlass in 1980. I was a 68 model. Rocket 350. That was the car of my youth. As such it remains vivid in my memory. How I drove it from school straight into life as an adult.
Hard to believe Oldsmobile put the 442 name on a version of this. Harder to believe Hot Wheels sold it as the "Flat Out 442". My "Flat Out 442" was Orange.
Something I’m surprised you didn’t mention was that in ‘79, the 442 was available in the Cutlass Salon body style. You may consider it ugly, but one of the coolest looking cars from the Hot Wheels line 1979 was the “Flatout 442”, which was in stock car form and looked great with a tall trunk spoiler, chin spoiler, side pipes, small hood scoop, flared rear fenders and rear window slats. Nice detailing between the black plastic lower body panels, grille and hood scoop, polished metal headlights, taillights and lake pipes, and orange body with racing decals. There’s a mint in package one on fleabay for $250 right now. I still have mine from when I was a kid.
Same non-operable rear windows in the 1980 Malibu wagon I grew up with. Which was an issue when a high school buddy decided to light an M80 and wanted to throw it out the window - he wasn't the brightest bulb, of course.
My great uncle thought it was a hatchback, which he deemed kinda handy. Once he got to the showroom he was rudely awakened. He ended up buying a Supreme coupe with the 305, in triple blue. That car got stolen so many times, that the insurance company dropped him, and the last time he got it back, he sold it.
It is difficult to understand some of the design decisions made during the mid to late 1970's, unless you lived through that period, which I did. The CAFE standards prompted US manufacturers to downsize their cars. The 1973 oil crisis had passed, but people even 5-10 years later had vivid memories of it and there were periodic price spikes during the late 1970's and early 80's which kept the fear of another oil crisis alive in car buyer's minds. Even when adjusted for inflation, oil prices on average never dropped down to what they were before 1973. And, perhaps most important, there was a prolonged period of "stagflation" (combined price inflation and stagnant growth) that was eating into almost all Americans pocketbooks and making them settle for smaller cars. Manufacturers were under great pressure to cut both weight and content, to save fuel but also to decrease their costs. There was overall a mood of austarity that lasted well into President Reagan's first term. And, it was a time of diminished expectations with regard to family cars. The mood really didn't change until the mid to late 1980's, when more advanced cars that were both more powerful and economical began to appear.
There is a solution to the CAFE standards (apart from avoiding them through SUV's) and that is aerodynamics. But no, they kept making boxy designs with large and heavy engines with heavy automatic transmissions. Overall, no willingness to innovate cost them their market. Look at the Japanese (and later Tesla) what to do.
There was that second oil crunch in 79, but not as bad as 73. I have a receipt from my dad that I found among his things after he passed, dated 5/79. Regular fuel was $1.10, and he scribbled on it, "1st time paying over a dollar per gallon for reg gas" I assume it was leaded fuel.
I remember my parents buying a 1980 VW Rabbit in the Fall of 1979. It was a nearly loaded car with air conditioning, sunroof, automatic and the deluxe interior. It was a rather expensive little car and by far, the smallest car our family had ever owned. But there was the fear of high gas prices continuing, along with economic uncertainty, which motivated even middle class US consumers buy cars which were smaller and less substantial than purchased before. To me, the 1978 Cutlass perfectly fits the mood of lowered automotive expectations during that time. However, most of the people I knew drove the Cutlass Supreme 2 door coupes, which as I recall were generally well liked, perhaps because they were more stylish than the 2 and 4 door sedans.@@adamtrombino106
I was starting law school as an adult, I was dead broke, and I needed a car. Found a 1979 Cutlass 2Dr sedan. The owner thought the engine was going because the oil sending light was on. But the engine was quiet and there was no blow by from the oil cap, so I knew it was the oil sending unit. Bought the car for a hundred bucks, twenty dollars for an oil sending unit, and after a tune up and filters, I was good to go. In three years, that Cutlass did not miss a beat! It had the 231 V6, never burned oil, and started on the first turn of the key, even in bitter cold. Never spent a dime on her. One day I drove through a puddle which concelaed a huge pot hole, and the rear bumper came off. There was too much rot to weld the bumper back on, so I could not renew my plates. I almost cried when I had to junk her. What a great car - dollar for dollar, best car I ever owned!
Knew a salvage yard owner that had one of the 442 versions of the hatchback coupe towed in with a rusty frame and the 305 chevy tick and miss and some rust/ faded paint, deals and chrome. Later he swapped a frame from a retired chevy malibu police car with a 350 police v8 and th350 that ran in enduros and everything bolted in. The cutlass ran good and he drove it around for few months but the inner door handle clips and heater/defroster broke and then later ran it in stock drags and then enduros, it surprised many people but at 105k the original 305 had 'the tick' and the trans had already been replaced with a rebuilt tag and original 442 owner replaced with it a used 85 cutlass v8 salon sport coupe and felt that was the car this one should've been but it got him thru college and was still better than the new x cars gm pushed in dec 79. Great video, saw one for sale years ago and had seen one since. that green paint looks good on the car.
My mother bought a new 78 cutlass supreme with some help from my grandparents. It went 7 years without too many major problems. It had the 6 cylinder and had trouble maintaining speed of 55 up hills. By the time I was 15 in 1985, the car probably had 80k miles and was about worn out. We had gotten a used little buick and my mother asked me to sell the Cutlass. I negotiated a price and sold it in front of our house. It was already a little bit of a hoopdy cheep collector car. Those Salon cars were so obviously ugly - everyone thought that it was made by mistake or something.
I've seen so many reviews of the beak-nosed Skylark that say the car was very attractive. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but in my opinion, the Skylark with the ungainly beak on the front end and the equally-ungainly "built-in rear fender skirts" was nothing short of nauseating.
@@bobcarlino7280 Buick called the 1992 Skylark “Lyrical”…. “Ludicrous” was more like it. As it happens I rented one in May 1992 and was embarrassed to be seen in it. The thing was just plain ugly.
I owned a ‘78 Cutlass Salon 30 years ago. Styling was polarizing but, mechanically, it was exactly the same as the rest of the Cutlass line. The 260 was a bit underpowered and the automatic transmission was a little fragile and really needed to be “nursed along” to make it last. The same transmission was later shipped of to GM of Europe who beefed it up slightly and tacked a fourth gear overdrive onto it. My ‘95 BMW E36 has one … and I nurse it along, also. Yeah, I can remember hating them when I was a kid and they first came out but as they got older and rarely seen on the road by the early 1990s, I began to like them more. I always assumed that the lack of the movable rear door windows was done to “encouage” customers of low end models to option up into buying air conditioning. Other than being underpowered, I didn’t find the construction quality to be bad at all. My car had nearly 200,000 miles on it when I sold it and it still looked and ran good at the time. While that doesn’t sound impressive today, for a 1978 American car, that was not bad at all! Would I like to own another one? You bet I would! You never, ever see them anymore! I wouldn’t, however, be willing to pay the bloated price I would have to part with to buy a clean, well cared for low mileage car these days … but if I located a “deal” on a nice one, I’d have it! I believe the features you were picking on, especially the interior features like dashboard and instrument designs and seats, were used GM wide and not just on the Cutlass Salon. You must understand when comparing the pre 1978 Cutlass to the post 1977 Cutlass is that the downsizing was done to meet customer demand. Had Olds retained the massive 1977 body and larger engines, sales would have completely fallen off a cliff when the ‘78 gas crisis began. The smaller Cutlass bodies kept Oldsmobiles selling well through the early 1980s with a variety of smaller engines (yes, they were all underpowered but even the Corvettes were underpowered and emissions choked during this period) which is exactly what buyers demanded at the time. I will concede that the 1978-81 Cutlass Salons had love it or hate it styling with the buying public and probably everybody who wanted one had bought one by the end of the second production year. Today, I kind of see them today as a 1970s rendition of the old Hudson Hornet and I applaud Olds for taking the risk of making them. As far as the entire 1978-87 rear wheel drive Cutlass line, I believe the downsize (not unlike the downsized Mustang II in 1974) had to happen to keep Olds profitable and in step with the competition. Those cars, as well as the downsized Eighty-Eight and Ninety-Eight cars of 1985 were tremendously popular and made Olds one of the top selling US brands in the mid to late 1980s. Those not old enough to have been around and of a certain age might not be able to appreciate how popular Oldsmobile’s cars really were back then! The reality of what happened to Oldsmobile between then and the early 2000s was a tragedy!
I had several Cutlass models as a teenager and loved them all. My favorite was a 1979 Cutlass Calais with the Hurst/Olds package. That car had an Olds 350 V8 and T-tops. While not saying much, it was faster than the mid-eighties Monte Carlo SS's that were popular at the time. I miss that car, they only made slightly over 2000 of them and not many of them were as loaded with equipment as mine was.
My Dad nailed it when he first saw the car. "That car is the meaning of basic mode of transportation". I was a kid and couldn't have agreed with him more.
I remember when the 79 Cutlass Salon came out, it really put the "UG" in Ugly.... It was worse than the Aztek, at least with the Aztek one could go camping and mild off-roading.
It seems to me that one of the bigger problems is that Oldsmobile put the Cutlass name on almost everything they made. "Let's take the name of our powerful luxury muscle car land yacht and slap it on our 4 cylinder front wheel drive econobox!". This Cutlass Salon was one of the steps in between.
10:02 . . . Olds 260 V8.... *110 HP* ... 7.5:1 compression ratio. Is that the most anemic engine in automotive history??? From eight cylinders?? Why not just get the Buick 231 V6 with 105 HP and call it a day ?
I remember getting my driver's license in '79 so I was looking at cars in 78. I couldnt beleive they put "442" on one of these turds and had it on the display ramps at the local Olds dealer. 260 2 barrel carb. The 73-77 had low compression smog motors but at least they looked cool and you could get a 350 engine or 455 in 73-76 which both had a lot of potential
I remember a rendering of this model in Car & Driver magazine that showed the car with forward canted tail-fins. It was going to be the first GM car with fins in 15-years. The fins gave the car a more conventional profile compared to the production model.
Sounds like same basic dimensions as the AMC Concord. Assisted in the increased sales of AMC Concord/Hornet sales volume. Good job Adam on all your videos.
I had the 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass, Calais, pastel blue with all the chrome trimmings, bucket seats and "T" handle shifter with the Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. Too bad it came with the 231 buick V-6 with all the smog pumps. The car was sporty looking, two door, with a trunk. It was just way too heavy for one hundred horses to move it around, especially with the 2.71/1 rear axle ratio. The dash cracked and things broke constantly. The valves got weak and "floated" at anything over 4,000 rpm. Just a real piece of junk. I never bought a new GM vehicle again, ever.
The only Buick I had was 78 LeSabre sedan with the 231. This car had a/c and a radio, that was it.Not even dual outside mirrors. The 231 was 'manageable' around town, but if I had 4 people in it and wanted to merge onto an expressway, well, I needed a lot of room, and forget about having that a/c on in the process. That engine looked completely lost in the bay. As a result of the oil filter sticking way out in front and hanging low, they would get packed with snow in our Chicago winters and the filter would freeze. My friends that worked at a local Buick dealer told me that during the 79 blizzard, they replaced several engines that got starved for oil. What killed my Buick at just 80ish K was indeed a broken exhaust valve that its cylinder beat snot out of. I was on I57 when that happened. It destroyed the head and that cylinder. I junked the car because I was so angry. Mistake, rust had not gotten hold of it yet. I should've dropped a Buick 350 and 350 trans in it and called it a day. The tan interior was perfect.
For some reason, I had misremembered these downsized '78 fastbacks as being called "aerobacks," but I went to the dealer brochures for Oldsmobile and Buick for that year and didn't find that term. I did correctly remember, though, that the Cutlass Salon name dates back to 1973 and didn't start with the '78 model year.
At 3:40 the passenger side tail light is crooked which was common on these cars. I had a two door version and both tail lights were crooked. I got a bonus edition Cutlass Salon where the rear bumper was mounted crooked also.
It's fugly. That dash in baby poop green with regular poop accents fits it perfectly. GM really had to hate their soon-to-be-lost customers a lot to do that much work to make a V-8 with only 90 hp. WTF?
I worked for a big insurance company in the late 70s. They bought the Cutlass 4 doors sedans with the V6 for the claims agents cars. They were reliable but frumpy compared to the coupes.
The lack of roll down windows was also to get the car into a lower weight class and into a better fuel mileage class and get them a better overall lower average corporate MPG rating.
Love the concept pictures of the Aero Salon. Your focus '79 had the rare cornering light and turn sentinel, very rare option. Typically it was only myself driving my 79, same light green as the Olds, Malibu. AC worked great, but those stationary windows were a thorn. I added 73 Monte Carlo Landau 15" wheels, and a whip antenna, and traffic would part. Should have added 9C1 springs to give a better stance, because the original were weak. Keep doing what you do. 👍🏾🇺🇸🏁
My Dad had a ‘77 Delta 88 company car and needed to buy something economical for his new job and his new commute. I remember being with him at the at the showroom looking at the ‘78 Cutlass Salon. He couldn’t get over the fact that the rear windows didn’t roll down. He ended up with a bright yellow ‘78 Datsun B210. Much better choice…maybe not any better looking, but definitely more interesting……
I remember riding my bicycle up to the local OBO dealer and seeing that exact green car for sale and trying to get my parents to buy it. And yes, I remember those diesel engines because, like I’ve said before our shop specialized in them, so I worked on more than I ever wanna remember.
Thank You Adam. This was quite interesting for the concept drawings. I thought it was interesting what you stated and shared about the design sketches. A lot of people thought these were ugly. Buick had one too. I rode in a Buick Century version of this design. They used to call these "slant backs" like the Cadillac Seville. The Seville was at least attractive looking. The information about the rear doors is true. My aunt had a 1984 Pontiac Bonneville LE and it had power everything. The rear windows only were power vents. They have talked about the cost being taken out and why the rear windows did to operate on the G Body sedans. These cars as you have shared were awkward in appearance. They for told the X- Bodies as you said. Thank you Adam.
I changed numerous heater cores in the A/G body coupes and they weren't difficult at all and in fact way easier than any of the garbage on the road today that often requires dismantling the entire dash and all the electronics. Was there something different for the sedans? The first year 1978's indeed had some hiccups with quality control and the 200 Metric transmission was best avoided. 1979 improved a little save the ridiculous 260 diesel or its problematic 350 brother with the 231 Buick V6 gaining 10 HP now up to 115 with free breathing refinements making it a peppier base engine in these Oldsmobile's than what Ford/Mercury and Chrysler was using at the time. The 305 was offered with a 2 BBL and 4 BBL for 1978 and 4BBL only in 1979 for the Olds so power was more than adequate and about the same as the previous much heavier generation with the 350 Rocket so power was not as bad as people make out and better than some competitors. Note that the 305 4BBL made far more HP than Ford's 302 or Chryslers 318 as used in the Granada and Lebaron. The two tricks with the 260 gas V8 was to order them with the optional 2.93 rear gears and to bump up the factory base timing to where it was supposed to be as often it was tuned from the factory retarded as much as 10 degrees to pass crazy emissions testing. The styling was homely for sure but that two tone green one does look pretty neat!
Me and my friends used to joke that old ladies would pick up hair stylist and they would get in the back while the grannies would ride around getting their hair done up front.
My friends Mom had the sister car a Buick Century, Brown, we always thought if we screwed some plywood to the back of it, it would make a great Bicycle Ramp
Nonetheless I do remember seeing quite a few of these when I was a little kid in the '80s. Or maybe at that age, the strange shape simply stood out more to me than other cars, just like the bustleback Seville.
It appears to me that the rear windows weren’t movable because the design of the rear door didn’t allow a place for the glass to go to. The view with the open rear door shows the inner door to be much smaller than the outer door skin. The cost & weight save was simply a bi product of this design feature.
With all the cheap cost cutting GM did with all their cars its a miracle they are still in business. This video is a great example why I haven't bought another GM car in many years and never will.
My aunt's mother had one with a V6. What a piece of junk. No power and broken down in the shop all the time. Was completely worn out by 80,000 miles. On the flip side my uncle had a 87 Coupe with a V8 and 4bbl and that car was absolutely fantastic in every way possible!!!!!
When I got out of the U.S. Air Force in January 1981 I wanted a newer car to attend college. That summer I found a 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon 442. It had a fancy two tone paint job with a big “442” sticker on the side. It had only 6,000 miles on it and listed for $6,000! ($21,270 adjusted for inflation) It had the 260 V-8, with a 2 barrel carburetor, with single exhaust. Totally NOT a real 442. It was “All show and no go!” The 200 series transmission never failed, but it always shifted funny. It got me through college, but was never a good car. P.S. You said Oldsmobile made 430,000 Cutlass cars, but failed to mention the Oldsmobile slapped “Cutlass” on nearly every car they made. They had the; Cutlass, the Cutlass S, the Cutlass Salon (with 442 sticker), the Cutlass Sierra, and Cutlass Brougham. Hell, there were probably more. It was joked that the Oldsmobile division was actually the Cutlass Division.
I had the Buick Century. Almost a twin to the Cutlass. I did not know the rear windows didn't open in the back for about 3 months. The engine eventually just blew. Also had the Pontiac Phoenix with the same thing. All were used cars, under $500. A lot of people thought the Buick was an unmarked cop car.
When I first saw the fastback styling on these and the Buicks back in the day, I thought they were trying to bring the fastback style of the Seville down to the lesser brands. Though of course not as grand, they were sharing the "Love" so to speak. The fact that Olds and Buick went back to the more formal notchback style of the previous Seville kind of proves my point.
An aunt & uncle had one of these back in the day, light blue with the gas V8, probably the Chevy 305. He had been sent to USA from Europe on a temporary stint (of several years) as a plant director at a large factory owned by a European company. From what I remember, the one they had never gave them any major issues? His position was in central Ohio so the car only lasted for a few years due to road salt. I only saw it one time in the early 80's. Its garage mate was a 1977 Pontiac LeMans 4-door, already very rusty.. that part really struck me, coming from a road salt free area. They were not remotely 'car people' but always had GM vehicles. In this case I think they may have been attracted to the Cutlass Salon as it was somewhat more 'European' in shape and (smaller) size compared to other US cars of that era.
We had a 80 Buick Century 4 door when I was a kid and it drove me crazy that the window didnt go down. I had a 78 Cutlass Supreme in high school. It had a 260 v8 and I couldnt reach 75mph even. I called it the gutless cutlass!
15:25: You can also ID this engine as a Chevrolet since the A/C compressor was on the driver's side, resulting in very long coolant hoses (not a good idea). Other GM engines had the compressor on the psgr side, with shorter hoses.
My brother had a 74 Olds cutlass salon 4 door. I think it was a 74. It was the most luxurious mid size car i have ever seen. I kinda remember a rocket decal on the air cleaner. Gm designers from 79 on.....never adapted to the times. Gm became a 2nd rate car manufacturer company. And...it still has not recovered.
I disliked this style myself when they came out. I bought and sold cars along side of my restaurant and I came across a 1979 White 4 door with rally wheels and I thought I get to drive one of these now. It only had 20K miles. Like new in and out. After 2 days of driving it and finding a new home for it I knew there was no hard feeling selling this car other then the low miles and condition. Trucks were weird shaped too.
In that era I had a ‘77 Cutlass Salon, for ‘77 Salon was the top of the Cutlass Supreme line up. Dark Green with buckskin landau top and matching vinyl buckets with console. 350 4 barrel. Not fast but just an exceedingly pleasant cruiser. I worked for a boutique leasing and rental outfit in Miami, a lot of European and South American clients as well as our lease customers who received a loaner from the rental fleet when their car was being serviced. In 1977 a lot of our fleet was VW’s, Rabbits and Dashers mostly as the owner of the company was friends with the VW dealer. We also had some full-size Olds, 88s and a couple wagons. The VWs were predictably problematic and sold off quickly. In their place we ordered 60 new Cutlass and Regals, half 4dr and half 4dr. All with the pathetic 231 V6. The owner told me the sedans were Cutlass Salon’s, the coupes were Supreme’s. Cool I thought, 4 Dr with buckets, F41 suspension, etc. WRONG. The 2drs were ok, slow and poorly designed and built, but not offensive. When the 4 doors came in, we couldn’t give them away. The customer would hear “Cutlass” and think, oh, an upgrade! Then this pig would roll up in seafoam green or pastel beige. If the customer accepted it, they were back in 30 minutes because of how slow and rough they were. As soon as the conventional 4 doors came out we dumped the whole ‘78 fleet and ordered new Regal coupes and sedans with the 301 Pontiac V8. Not great but 100 times better than the awful 78-79 sedans.
From the time table on this black cutlass 1:15 to 1:36 wow what a sharp car it is the color the lines wheels glass the rear window split down the middle the overall handling it wasn't a sports car or a luxury car it was a perfect car for all kinds of people and outings. I had a few cutlass models and the 88s and 98 models also and 3cutlass models a 67 2door,4door añd 2door that was my daily runner , the other were very dependable all around running olds
We had a grey 2 door my step father got new. I learned how to drive in it & passed my first driver test with a 100% in it. It was a very good car, very reliable & trustworthy. Slightly underpowered like everything of the period. It was a 1978
Pretty sure my aunt had one of these that somehow ended up at my parent's house out back and I just remember playing in it a lot when i was a kid and still remember the sticky steering wheel and the smell of the sunbaked interior.
My sister bought a used one of these in light blue and it got her through some tough times. She's pretty well off now and can afford any vehicle she wants but to this day talks fondly of her blue "fast back" Cutlass!
My sister had one as well and I remember she never had any real problems with it. I always liked them.
They were a lot better car than most believe.
Just kidding. These were among the worst cars ever made.
@@eriklarson9137
Yes the 6 cylinder ones were trash. The V8 ones held up well.
She OWNED a ROLLING MIRACLE!
Worked at an Oldsmobile dealer circa 1978-83. We referred to these as Gutless salamis. You're right, the overall quality of these was much worse than the previous generation, which helped the 75-77 keep their resale value and demand higher, especially the Broughams
"Gutless Salamis" 😂😂😂 I literally busted a gut laughing.
@@jrussellcase The '73-'75 and '76-'77 were much more substantial cars, regardless of quality, as well.
@@DanEBoyd I owned a 73 Cutlass back in the early 90s, and it was a beast. I loved that Rocket 350. Wish I still had it.
I owned a BEATEN, UGLY '76 Cutlass! After this, I had an '81 and '83 Cutlass! The '76 WAS GREAT! The '81 and '83 were GUTLESS CRAP!
“I hate it! I wouldn’t buy it. I wouldn’t drive it. I wouldn’t even say Good Morning to it!” - my 13 year old self loved this quote from a 1979 issue of Motor Trend where they road tested both the 260 and 350 V-8 diesels (in this case the 260 was in a 2-door Cutlass Supreme. That quote cracked me up then, and still makes me giggle to this day.
Those cars were fine. However, the 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 was better.
…but that baby poop green interior is SO attractive!
@@NorthernChev hahahaha - I think the color on the GM order sheet was “Bile Duct Green”
@@kcindc5539 Stop! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yup - I remember reading that article as a kid..I think it was a test of all the diesel cars on the market in 1979. Back in the days when the car mags were entertaining reads and not just extensions of corporate marketing material assembled together by a content algorithm.
Parents had a ‘79 Malibu sedan. Vinyl and no A/C. As a child; being in the back seat in the summer was excruciating with only minimum flow from the manual wing windows.
Like being in a cop car....😎
I’m with you. I took a 3 week trip to Louisiana in ‘84 with my grandparents in their Impala. Was a dealer demo with vinyl…no AC.
My parents bought a 1980 malibu wagon with the vinyl seats and the rear windows would only go half way down and of course no AC
You could roll the rear door windows down in a 4 door Chevette. I never could understand why they were so cheap and lazy not to do this on the midsize.
Take a '67 Mustang. It had these vent boxes under the dash if you wanted some air to breathe. "Yeah, it has climate control, roll down the dam windows!".
GM management: "Hey, Oldsmobile! See all the good ideas in this 77 Cutlass? Let's NOT do that for 78. Okay? They'll LOVE it!"
They fixed something that wasn't broken and by fixing it they broke it.
Ain't it stange. The oligarchs that ok,d this car for production are like the present day oligarchs that what us to eat food made of insects. They say we will love it.
Those '78/'79/'80 Cutlasses were ugly ducklings compared to the '77 and before cars but by the mid-'80s Olds got the styling right again and I think they looked pretty good especially the '87s with the euro style front end
LOL!
GM being GM.
Did you know this interesting fact? Yes, the 90 horse 260 V8 Diesel was available for 79 only in the Supreme and Salon, a very rare find if you can located a survivor today. When they self distructed, Oldsmobile was instructed to install replacement 350 D block diesels. Dealerships had piles of broken 260 diesels behind the service shops to be returned to the factory, however, most were just tossed. To find an original 260 diesel today is almost impossible.
GM also offered the 260 diesel with a 5 speed manual transmission! According to GM archives, only 265 were built.
When it ran right, 35 mpg on the highway was possible in overdrive.
I know of a survivor, a beautiful white 79 Salon Brougham coupe with a red interior, fully loaded, power everything, plus the 260 diesel with 5 speed! I asked the owner many times to sell, however the owner will not sell.
I have a '78 Cutlass Salon with a 305/ 4 spd. Its an aguired taste but always liked these from new. Finally bought one two yrs ago. Yes they are rarer than hens teeth.
I always liked them from new too and drive one for 2 decades now. Everyone loves it.
I bought a new one in 1979 as the first new car for my wife. You forgot to mention that they came equipped with the deadly Firestone “721’ radials that split. Picked it up on a Friday and Sunday when it had 65 miles on it the right front tire exploded. Could have been killed. Mine was maroon and the paint job had no primer/undercoat and since it was not garage kept it faded out to nearly white in a year. Transmission lasted 13,000 miles. I didn’t know the rear windows didn’t open until a friend was riding in the back seat and told me. Dealer said it was designed that way. It was a total p o s. 45 years later I can proudly say that was the last GM car I ever bought.
Typical GM experience in the late 70s through 80s.
My folks had the Buick version and the transmission died at 20,000 miles. Last American car my WWII vet father ever owned.
I call BS.
You are mistaken about the tires. The Firestone tire you are thinking of was their Radial 500, which ended up being recalled, and Firestone was fined a bunch of money for hiding consumer data, a scandal at the time. The 721, which GM did use on their downsized intermediates was an excellent tire, with no history of issues.
@@jamesw1659 That's correct. The 721 was installed on all the vehicles which had Radial 500s on them that were under recall in 1978-1979. I worked at a Firestone dealer during this period.
The recall only covered tires that were manufactured from the 35th week of 1975 until the 17th week of 1976.
My aunt bought a new 78 Malibu that had the fixed rear door glass. I remember my dad and I being shocked by it. It just screamed "cheap".
Starting in 1974 many US cars had fixed rear seat windows.
The early Chrysler K Cars were the same. The early models had fixed rear windows for the 4 door models. The roll down rear windows didn't arrive on the K Car until 1982 or 83.
They did this on a fkuking 4 DOOR SEDAN. @@randyc8171
@@donaldwilson2620 The first year for the K car was in 1981. My parents bought a 82 K car 4 door and the windows did roll down.
I'm glad you mentioned the 260 Diesel.
Consumer Guide stated in their 1980 Used Car Guide
" The Cutlass is overall a great value, but avoid the seldom-ordered 1979 260 Diesel V8 ".
And one more thing. Chrysler must have liked the fact the rear doors didn't roll down. The 1981 K-Cars also have no roll down rear windows.
But unlike GM, Chrysler, would add roll down rear windows for 1982.
90 horsepower was the published rating for the '59-'60 Studebaker Larl VI (pronounced _six_ )
These make the Gremlin and Pacer look like the best looking cars I've ever seen.
LOL...but I couldn't agree more! The fastback Olds and Buick intermediates of the late 70's were unbelievably ugly.
Indeed. 👍
Agee, I'm glad that the Cutlass went back to the much better-looking formal sedan in 1980.
Yeah, they really should’ve made them as standard sedans, then they would’ve probably sold better.
@CoolCars1-jl7rh Yes, my 1978 Buick Regals are so plush and comfy
What a color combo on this green example...quintessential 70's! I also didn't know that these had that fixed rear window...a true travesty of a corporate decision that begs the question, why?!?
Starting in 1974 many US cars had fixed rear seat windows.
The color matches the Avocado Green appliances found in homes across America at the time.
Because of the intrusion of the rear wheel well into the back door, you can see that if the back windows did go down, they wouldn't be able to travel very far at all. Other manufacturers had similar issues, but they tended to address the problem by putting a fake (fixed) vent window in the rear of the door glass...so now the door glass could pretty much go straight down. My guess is that Olds and Buick didn't want to do that for fear of messing up their well-conceived (???) body design...or perhaps GM was just being cheap.
I’m surprised to learn it didn’t sell well because I remember a lot of them being on the road, but now that I think about it’s probably because they looked so strange and disconcerting that I noticed them every time I saw one. I always wondered why people would want one because they always gave me an uncomfortable feeling when I saw one.
Yeah, they stuck out like a sore thumb.
The general shape was also followed by the Citation. Which originally, at least, sold really well.
Probably a lot of factory rebates helped dealers unload them onto less than enthusiastic customers 😆
I was the second owner of a '79 Cutlass Cruiser with a 260 V8. Mine had rear door windows that went down, as well as power vent windows in the rear of the wagon.
Happily, I didn't experience the quality issues you mentioned, Adam. My "baby V8" towed small trailers reasonably well and, while it WAS gutless, it survived a hard life from my "young and invincible" self, lol!
I have fond memories of that car! 😉😎
A 79 Cutlass Cruiser with roll down rear door windows was not built by GM.
That 260 was bulletproof. Essentially a slimmed down Olds 350 which was a great engine itself. The 260 made so little power it couldn’t hurt itself!
My dad got a 79 Cutlass Salon as one of his company cars. As I recall, he had the Olds gas powered V6, I assume the 231 cu in with an automatic transmission. I would imagine his company got a very good price on a lease for a fleet of these cars. I am going to push back on some of the things you said Adam. The car was reasonably comfortable, thought certainly not attractive. Dad ended up buying out the lease and put more than 200k miles on the car. When he got rid of it in the mid 80's it did not burn oil and had the original engine and transmission still intact. The car never let him down and he sold it for a few hundred dollars to someone looking for cheap transportation. Dad was very good on keeping up with maintenance, probably was lucky in that he got a good example.
The V6 that Olds used was the 231 Buick V6.
Thanks I never knew that.@@randyc8171
My FIL had one as a company car for a while. He threatened to quit, I recall.
Mom n Dad bought a new 1979 Pontiac LeMans wagon. It had the 231 Buick V6 and TH200 trans. I took my drivers test in it in November 1982. That car got passed to all 4 of us kids and had 143k on it when Dad used it on a trade in when my sister bought a 1991 Beretta. When Pete Rose passed Ty Cobb on September 11, 1985, we all were at the game, so I drove the Lemans wagon. That lack of rear window roll down can be problematic if someone over celebrates at a baseball game.
I loved the 77 Cutlass so much I had 2 of them at the same time. A Supreme and a Salon with buckets and console.
Oh those rear windows…brings back painful memories of my mom’s 1978 Malibu wagon and my dad’s 1979 Cutlass Cruiser wagon. Having a tendency for carsickness as a kid, this made long road trips miserable. The rear vent windows were next to useless.
Fortunately neither car lasted long. The Malibu had the horrible 200 CID V6 and wound up throwing a rod. The Olds had the sluggish 260 V8 that suffered from vapor lock on hot days. That car blew its transmission at 70k, about a year after the Malibu died and to my delight, went away.
While in high school in the late 70’s we had a new cutlass salon used for driver’s ed, and will never forget how trim parts kept falling off. There were so many we just made a pile of them in the trunk.
😂😂😂😂
I was getting some nice trim in high school.
The students were breaking the turn signal stalks off on them.
The Cutlass Salon name was used before 1978. I owned a 1977 Cutlass Salon with the Hurst T-Tops
@jacknapier7740 Yes it was, although I've replaced it with something cooler since then with my 69 lol.
My mother bought one of these in 78. It was the first and last time she would have a car of her own, bought with money she had saved and registered in her name. She had gone to buy a Malibu, but the salesman offered her a better deal on the Cutlass, and she was thrilled that she would have an OLDSMOBILE. Not just a lowly Chevy. Mum was of an era when such things had meaning, and my parents, who came of age in the depression, had always been very thrifty. So the thought of owning an Oldsmobile was to be a source of pride for her, as long as she owned that car.
I thought the car was hideous looking, but I didn’t have a vote. It had the 305 V8 and drove well. It definitely handled better than dad’s Monarch…though I’d rather been seen in the Mercury!
Poor sales then = highly collectible later. I almost forgot about these cars, it has been so long since I have seen one (even at a car show).
Never going to be highly collectible.
Not desireable when new = not desireable when old!🤷
Maybe if someone makes a movie or show about a drug dealer driving one of these cars it will suddenly be discovered by collectors. It worked for the Aztec.
I never buy power windows no wonder Olds went away!
I love a “5-door” body style! I believe the issue was that the Citation and Phoenix X-car sedans and these mid-size sedans were NOT 5-doors? They should have been offered in a “formal” roofline and a 5 door hatchback as an alternative. As for the rear windows? I’ve owned 3 of these models: I never, ever cared because I previously owned “Colonnade” models, including a 1975 Cutlass, where the coupe windows didn’t go down either.
"hideous" is a wonderful description of these cars.
Not quite…
I had a 1978 cutlass salon with a 260 v8 loved that car
I had a girlfriend that had one I drove it a lot, it was a nice driving car good build quality
If you think that the Buick 231 was slow, the Centurys of the same era had a 196-cubic inch V6 standard.
6:45 ah, the broken GM door strap. I remember using the biggest self-tapping screw I could find to fix my old Grand Prix.
My parents had a 1980 cutlass with the buick 231. My dad rebuilt the engine at one point. I can attest to the gutlessness of it. You could floor it but it seemed to make no difference in acceleration, it just made more noise :D
Adam, I think it is safe to say that you are not going to "Have One Built For You" 😉
Soon GM won't be building cars for anyone. Marry Barra will be their last CEO,
EVER.
Ford won't be far behind them, Chrysler is already gone, although they will soon offer an EV Fiat to complement their ICE Fiats that Americans love.
And Stellaris will still sell you a minivan.
My dad got the Buick Century with a 4.9 litre V8 on the cheap. Beautiful riding car that you couldn’t kill. I loved it.
We had an 81 Cutlass Cruiser wagon and the rear windows didn't go down, but it did have those stupid little vent windows! lol Fortunately, the air conditioning worked. I wish I would've gotten that wagon for my first car, it was a trooper!
I bought a Cutlass in 1980. I was a 68 model. Rocket 350. That was the car of my youth. As such it remains vivid in my memory. How I drove it from school straight into life as an adult.
Hard to believe Oldsmobile put the 442 name on a version of this. Harder to believe Hot Wheels sold it as the "Flat Out 442".
My "Flat Out 442" was Orange.
I think I have that too!
WTF moment here
Oh yeah…. Had one too! 😂
I had one too, but mines was gold colored.
Something I’m surprised you didn’t mention was that in ‘79, the 442 was available in the Cutlass Salon body style. You may consider it ugly, but one of the coolest looking cars from the Hot Wheels line 1979 was the “Flatout 442”, which was in stock car form and looked great with a tall trunk spoiler, chin spoiler, side pipes, small hood scoop, flared rear fenders and rear window slats. Nice detailing between the black plastic lower body panels, grille and hood scoop, polished metal headlights, taillights and lake pipes, and orange body with racing decals. There’s a mint in package one on fleabay for $250 right now. I still have mine from when I was a kid.
Same non-operable rear windows in the 1980 Malibu wagon I grew up with. Which was an issue when a high school buddy decided to light an M80 and wanted to throw it out the window - he wasn't the brightest bulb, of course.
My great uncle thought it was a hatchback, which he deemed kinda handy. Once he got to the showroom he was rudely awakened. He ended up buying a Supreme coupe with the 305, in triple blue. That car got stolen so many times, that the insurance company dropped him, and the last time he got it back, he sold it.
i remember seeing a 442 w/ram air model on the show room floor as a kid rear spoiler was a neat touch
They actually made a Hot Wheels of that one... the "Flat Out 442".
@@buckykattnjmissed it
It is difficult to understand some of the design decisions made during the mid to late 1970's, unless you lived through that period, which I did. The CAFE standards prompted US manufacturers to downsize their cars. The 1973 oil crisis had passed, but people even 5-10 years later had vivid memories of it and there were periodic price spikes during the late 1970's and early 80's which kept the fear of another oil crisis alive in car buyer's minds. Even when adjusted for inflation, oil prices on average never dropped down to what they were before 1973. And, perhaps most important, there was a prolonged period of "stagflation" (combined price inflation and stagnant growth) that was eating into almost all Americans pocketbooks and making them settle for smaller cars. Manufacturers were under great pressure to cut both weight and content, to save fuel but also to decrease their costs. There was overall a mood of austarity that lasted well into President Reagan's first term. And, it was a time of diminished expectations with regard to family cars. The mood really didn't change until the mid to late 1980's, when more advanced cars that were both more powerful and economical began to appear.
There is a solution to the CAFE standards (apart from avoiding them through SUV's) and that is aerodynamics. But no, they kept making boxy designs with large and heavy engines with heavy automatic transmissions. Overall, no willingness to innovate cost them their market. Look at the Japanese (and later Tesla) what to do.
There was that second oil crunch in 79, but not as bad as 73. I have a receipt from my dad that I found among his things after he passed, dated 5/79. Regular fuel was $1.10, and he scribbled on it, "1st time paying over a dollar per gallon for reg gas" I assume it was leaded fuel.
I remember my parents buying a 1980 VW Rabbit in the Fall of 1979. It was a nearly loaded car with air conditioning, sunroof, automatic and the deluxe interior. It was a rather expensive little car and by far, the smallest car our family had ever owned. But there was the fear of high gas prices continuing, along with economic uncertainty, which motivated even middle class US consumers buy cars which were smaller and less substantial than purchased before. To me, the 1978 Cutlass perfectly fits the mood of lowered automotive expectations during that time. However, most of the people I knew drove the Cutlass Supreme 2 door coupes, which as I recall were generally well liked, perhaps because they were more stylish than the 2 and 4 door sedans.@@adamtrombino106
Perfectly explained
@@ronaldderooij17741% drive electric, probably the same drive manual. That won't effect CAFE minimums.
Your narration is silky smooth and very easy to listen to !
I've always enjoyed that about all of Adam's videos!
I just recently subscribed after seeing your videos pop up in my feed; been enjoying the hell out of em. Keep up the great work!
I was starting law school as an adult, I was dead broke, and I needed a car. Found a 1979 Cutlass 2Dr sedan. The owner thought the engine was going because the oil sending light was on. But the engine was quiet and there was no blow by from the oil cap, so I knew it was the oil sending unit. Bought the car for a hundred bucks, twenty dollars for an oil sending unit, and after a tune up and filters, I was good to go. In three years, that Cutlass did not miss a beat! It had the 231 V6, never burned oil, and started on the first turn of the key, even in bitter cold. Never spent a dime on her. One day I drove through a puddle which concelaed a huge pot hole, and the rear bumper came off. There was too much rot to weld the bumper back on, so I could not renew my plates. I almost cried when I had to junk her. What a great car - dollar for dollar, best car I ever owned!
it was a poor, old man and you took advantage of him.
You remember what year this was?
@@tommurphy4307 Actually I bought it from a teenage kid.
@@crazyhomer777 Yep. 1996
I am so sorry for your lose!! I am praying that you seek comfort and peace of mind!!!
Great video, well scripted, consistently interesting and informed. My favorite kind of car history video.
Thanks Adam. I love any Oldsmobile!
Knew a salvage yard owner that had one of the 442 versions of the hatchback coupe towed in with a rusty frame and the 305 chevy tick and miss and some rust/ faded paint, deals and chrome. Later he swapped a frame from a retired chevy malibu police car with a 350 police v8 and th350 that ran in enduros and everything bolted in. The cutlass ran good and he drove it around for few months but the inner door handle clips and heater/defroster broke and then later ran it in stock drags and then enduros, it surprised many people but at 105k the original 305 had 'the tick' and the trans had already been replaced with a rebuilt tag and original 442 owner replaced with it a used 85 cutlass v8 salon sport coupe and felt that was the car this one should've been but it got him thru college and was still better than the new x cars gm pushed in dec 79. Great video, saw one for sale years ago and had seen one since. that green paint looks good on the car.
My mother bought a new 78 cutlass supreme with some help from my grandparents. It went 7 years without too many major problems. It had the 6 cylinder and had trouble maintaining speed of 55 up hills. By the time I was 15 in 1985, the car probably had 80k miles and was about worn out. We had gotten a used little buick and my mother asked me to sell the Cutlass. I negotiated a price and sold it in front of our house. It was already a little bit of a hoopdy cheep collector car. Those Salon cars were so obviously ugly - everyone thought that it was made by mistake or something.
When Pete Estes retired from GM he had a list of regrets, one was that the Cutlass Salon and Buick Century were not hatchbacks.
3:21 It looks like a Citroen SM and a Toronado had a good night behind the barn..
We used to call that body style “The Batmobile”. Then in 1992 we applied the same derogatory nickname to the bird-beak Buick Skylark
I've seen so many reviews of the beak-nosed Skylark that say the car was very attractive. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but in my opinion, the Skylark with the ungainly beak on the front end and the equally-ungainly "built-in rear fender skirts" was nothing short of nauseating.
@@bobcarlino7280 Buick called the 1992 Skylark “Lyrical”…. “Ludicrous” was more like it. As it happens I rented one in May 1992 and was embarrassed to be seen in it. The thing was just plain ugly.
I owned a ‘78 Cutlass Salon 30 years ago. Styling was polarizing but, mechanically, it was exactly the same as the rest of the Cutlass line. The 260 was a bit underpowered and the automatic transmission was a little fragile and really needed to be “nursed along” to make it last. The same transmission was later shipped of to GM of Europe who beefed it up slightly and tacked a fourth gear overdrive onto it. My ‘95 BMW E36 has one … and I nurse it along, also. Yeah, I can remember hating them when I was a kid and they first came out but as they got older and rarely seen on the road by the early 1990s, I began to like them more. I always assumed that the lack of the movable rear door windows was done to “encouage” customers of low end models to option up into buying air conditioning. Other than being underpowered, I didn’t find the construction quality to be bad at all. My car had nearly 200,000 miles on it when I sold it and it still looked and ran good at the time. While that doesn’t sound impressive today, for a 1978 American car, that was not bad at all! Would I like to own another one? You bet I would! You never, ever see them anymore! I wouldn’t, however, be willing to pay the bloated price I would have to part with to buy a clean, well cared for low mileage car these days … but if I located a “deal” on a nice one, I’d have it! I believe the features you were picking on, especially the interior features like dashboard and instrument designs and seats, were used GM wide and not just on the Cutlass Salon. You must understand when comparing the pre 1978 Cutlass to the post 1977 Cutlass is that the downsizing was done to meet customer demand. Had Olds retained the massive 1977 body and larger engines, sales would have completely fallen off a cliff when the ‘78 gas crisis began. The smaller Cutlass bodies kept Oldsmobiles selling well through the early 1980s with a variety of smaller engines (yes, they were all underpowered but even the Corvettes were underpowered and emissions choked during this period) which is exactly what buyers demanded at the time. I will concede that the 1978-81 Cutlass Salons had love it or hate it styling with the buying public and probably everybody who wanted one had bought one by the end of the second production year. Today, I kind of see them today as a 1970s rendition of the old Hudson Hornet and I applaud Olds for taking the risk of making them. As far as the entire 1978-87 rear wheel drive Cutlass line, I believe the downsize (not unlike the downsized Mustang II in 1974) had to happen to keep Olds profitable and in step with the competition. Those cars, as well as the downsized Eighty-Eight and Ninety-Eight cars of 1985 were tremendously popular and made Olds one of the top selling US brands in the mid to late 1980s. Those not old enough to have been around and of a certain age might not be able to appreciate how popular Oldsmobile’s cars really were back then! The reality of what happened to Oldsmobile between then and the early 2000s was a tragedy!
Really. You really have no life, do you.
I had several Cutlass models as a teenager and loved them all. My favorite was a 1979 Cutlass Calais with the Hurst/Olds package. That car had an Olds 350 V8 and T-tops. While not saying much, it was faster than the mid-eighties Monte Carlo SS's that were popular at the time. I miss that car, they only made slightly over 2000 of them and not many of them were as loaded with equipment as mine was.
I like how whoever ordered this example apparently thought the car wasn't ugly enough so they picked the most hideous color combination available.
LOL You're correct, my Dad had an Impala with those colors that we called Grandpa's Green Machine.
This would be the perfect sleeper car though. Turbo LS and tremec 6 speed and some susp mods. Would be hilarious.
The color was the best part of it.
I love the two tone green. Far far far superior to the "colors" offered today
I like it 👌
@0:36 I usually hate big, modern rims on classic cars, but DAMN… those actually look really good.
My Dad nailed it when he first saw the car. "That car is the meaning of basic mode of transportation". I was a kid and couldn't have agreed with him more.
I remember when the 79 Cutlass Salon came out, it really put the "UG" in Ugly.... It was worse than the Aztek, at least with the Aztek one could go camping and mild off-roading.
My parents had the Buick version. Century Four door,3.8 turbo . It had velour interior. Gray and silver and it had great looking factory wheels.
The management where I work takes this same MO, "If it's not broke, BREAK IT!"
That two tone green one with mag wheels would be awesome to have today I think cause they are so rare
It seems to me that one of the bigger problems is that Oldsmobile put the Cutlass name on almost everything they made. "Let's take the name of our powerful luxury muscle car land yacht and slap it on our 4 cylinder front wheel drive econobox!". This Cutlass Salon was one of the steps in between.
10:02 . . . Olds 260 V8.... *110 HP* ... 7.5:1 compression ratio. Is that the most anemic engine in automotive history??? From eight cylinders?? Why not just get the Buick 231 V6 with 105 HP and call it a day ?
I remember getting my driver's license in '79 so I was looking at cars in 78. I couldnt beleive they put "442" on one of these turds and had it on the display ramps at the local Olds dealer. 260 2 barrel carb. The 73-77 had low compression smog motors but at least they looked cool and you could get a 350 engine or 455 in 73-76 which both had a lot of potential
I remember a rendering of this model in Car & Driver magazine that showed the car with forward canted tail-fins. It was going to be the first GM car with fins in 15-years. The fins gave the car a more conventional profile compared to the production model.
Sounds like same basic dimensions as the AMC Concord. Assisted in the increased sales of AMC Concord/Hornet sales volume. Good job Adam on all your videos.
I had the 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass, Calais, pastel blue with all the chrome trimmings, bucket seats and "T" handle shifter with the Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. Too bad it came with the 231 buick V-6 with all the smog pumps. The car was sporty looking, two door, with a trunk. It was just way too heavy for one hundred horses to move it around, especially with the 2.71/1 rear axle ratio. The dash cracked and things broke constantly. The valves got weak and "floated" at anything over 4,000 rpm. Just a real piece of junk. I never bought a new GM vehicle again, ever.
The only Buick I had was 78 LeSabre sedan with the 231. This car had a/c and a radio, that was it.Not even dual outside mirrors. The 231 was 'manageable' around town, but if I had 4 people in it and wanted to merge onto an expressway, well, I needed a lot of room, and forget about having that a/c on in the process. That engine looked completely lost in the bay. As a result of the oil filter sticking way out in front and hanging low, they would get packed with snow in our Chicago winters and the filter would freeze. My friends that worked at a local Buick dealer told me that during the 79 blizzard, they replaced several engines that got starved for oil. What killed my Buick at just 80ish K was indeed a broken exhaust valve that its cylinder beat snot out of. I was on I57 when that happened. It destroyed the head and that cylinder. I junked the car because I was so angry. Mistake, rust had not gotten hold of it yet. I should've dropped a Buick 350 and 350 trans in it and called it a day. The tan interior was perfect.
For some reason, I had misremembered these downsized '78 fastbacks as being called "aerobacks," but I went to the dealer brochures for Oldsmobile and Buick for that year and didn't find that term. I did correctly remember, though, that the Cutlass Salon name dates back to 1973 and didn't start with the '78 model year.
At 3:40 the passenger side tail light is crooked which was common on these cars. I had a two door version and both tail lights were crooked. I got a bonus edition Cutlass Salon where the rear bumper was mounted crooked also.
My mom loved her 1978 Cutlass Supreme 2 door with the 260 V8
It's fugly. That dash in baby poop green with regular poop accents fits it perfectly. GM really had to hate their soon-to-be-lost customers a lot to do that much work to make a V-8 with only 90 hp. WTF?
I worked for a big insurance company in the late 70s. They bought the Cutlass 4 doors sedans with the V6 for the claims agents cars. They were reliable but frumpy compared to the coupes.
The lack of roll down windows was also to get the car into a lower weight class and into a better fuel mileage class and get them a better overall lower average corporate MPG rating.
Love the concept pictures of the Aero Salon. Your focus '79 had the rare cornering light and turn sentinel, very rare option. Typically it was only myself driving my 79, same light green as the Olds, Malibu. AC worked great, but those stationary windows were a thorn. I added 73 Monte Carlo Landau 15" wheels, and a whip antenna, and traffic would part. Should have added 9C1 springs to give a better stance, because the original were weak. Keep doing what you do. 👍🏾🇺🇸🏁
My Dad had a ‘77 Delta 88 company car and needed to buy something economical for his new job and his new commute. I remember being with him at the at the showroom looking at the ‘78 Cutlass Salon. He couldn’t get over the fact that the rear windows didn’t roll down. He ended up with a bright yellow ‘78 Datsun B210. Much better choice…maybe not any better looking, but definitely more interesting……
I'lll take the Delta
I remember riding my bicycle up to the local OBO dealer and seeing that exact green car for sale and trying to get my parents to buy it.
And yes, I remember those diesel engines because, like I’ve said before our shop specialized in them, so I worked on more than I ever wanna remember.
Thank You Adam. This was quite interesting for the concept drawings. I thought it was interesting what you stated and shared about the design sketches. A lot of people thought these were ugly. Buick had one too. I rode in a Buick Century version of this design. They used to call these "slant backs" like the Cadillac Seville. The Seville was at least attractive looking. The information about the rear doors is true. My aunt had a 1984 Pontiac Bonneville LE and it had power everything. The rear windows only were power vents. They have talked about the cost being taken out and why the rear windows did to operate on the G Body sedans. These cars as you have shared were awkward in appearance. They for told the X- Bodies as you said. Thank you Adam.
I changed numerous heater cores in the A/G body coupes and they weren't difficult at all and in fact way easier than any of the garbage on the road today that often requires dismantling the entire dash and all the electronics. Was there something different for the sedans? The first year 1978's indeed had some hiccups with quality control and the 200 Metric transmission was best avoided. 1979 improved a little save the ridiculous 260 diesel or its problematic 350 brother with the 231 Buick V6 gaining 10 HP now up to 115 with free breathing refinements making it a peppier base engine in these Oldsmobile's than what Ford/Mercury and Chrysler was using at the time. The 305 was offered with a 2 BBL and 4 BBL for 1978 and 4BBL only in 1979 for the Olds so power was more than adequate and about the same as the previous much heavier generation with the 350 Rocket so power was not as bad as people make out and better than some competitors. Note that the 305 4BBL made far more HP than Ford's 302 or Chryslers 318 as used in the Granada and Lebaron. The two tricks with the 260 gas V8 was to order them with the optional 2.93 rear gears and to bump up the factory base timing to where it was supposed to be as often it was tuned from the factory retarded as much as 10 degrees to pass crazy emissions testing. The styling was homely for sure but that two tone green one does look pretty neat!
Me and my friends used to joke that old ladies would pick up hair stylist and they would get in the back while the grannies would ride around getting their hair done up front.
To be honest, I'd love one. And that color green would be perfect.
They made up for it with the mid 80s cutlass supreme. They were everywhere and looked gorgeous
My friends Mom had the sister car a Buick Century, Brown, we always thought if we screwed some plywood to the back of it, it would make a great Bicycle Ramp
Nonetheless I do remember seeing quite a few of these when I was a little kid in the '80s. Or maybe at that age, the strange shape simply stood out more to me than other cars, just like the bustleback Seville.
It appears to me that the rear windows weren’t movable because the design of the rear door didn’t allow a place for the glass to go to. The view with the open rear door shows the inner door to be much smaller than the outer door skin. The cost & weight save was simply a bi product of this design feature.
With all the cheap cost cutting GM did with all their cars its a miracle they are still in business. This video is a great example why I haven't bought another GM car in many years and never will.
You had me at "Buttless Cutlass"
I had one 1979 Cutlass salon with the 260 cid and I just loved it. I kept it over 20 years. I would like to buy one other if I find one in good shape
"The Hunchback Cutlass" very ugly, for sure.
My aunt's mother had one with a V6. What a piece of junk. No power and broken down in the shop all the time. Was completely worn out by 80,000 miles. On the flip side my uncle had a 87 Coupe with a V8 and 4bbl and that car was absolutely fantastic in every way possible!!!!!
When I got out of the U.S. Air Force in January 1981 I wanted a newer car to attend college. That summer I found a 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon 442. It had a fancy two tone paint job with a big “442” sticker on the side. It had only 6,000 miles on it and listed for $6,000! ($21,270 adjusted for inflation)
It had the 260 V-8, with a 2 barrel carburetor, with single exhaust. Totally NOT a real 442. It was “All show and no go!”
The 200 series transmission never failed, but it always shifted funny.
It got me through college, but was never a good car.
P.S. You said Oldsmobile made 430,000 Cutlass cars, but failed to mention the Oldsmobile slapped
“Cutlass” on nearly every car they made. They had the; Cutlass, the Cutlass S, the Cutlass Salon (with 442 sticker), the Cutlass Sierra, and Cutlass Brougham. Hell, there were probably more.
It was joked that the Oldsmobile division was actually the Cutlass Division.
I had the Buick Century. Almost a twin to the Cutlass.
I did not know the rear windows didn't open in the back for about 3 months.
The engine eventually just blew.
Also had the Pontiac Phoenix with the same thing.
All were used cars, under $500.
A lot of people thought the Buick was an unmarked cop car.
When I first saw the fastback styling on these and the Buicks back in the day, I thought they were trying to bring the fastback style of the Seville down to the lesser brands. Though of course not as grand, they were sharing the "Love" so to speak. The fact that Olds and Buick went back to the more formal notchback style of the previous Seville kind of proves my point.
I love the shape and optic of these cars, the colors, too!!!
There were ideas of making the bonnet/ hood just a service hatch too. Another rationale was to prevent rust. 🤣
An aunt & uncle had one of these back in the day, light blue with the gas V8, probably the Chevy 305. He had been sent to USA from Europe on a temporary stint (of several years) as a plant director at a large factory owned by a European company. From what I remember, the one they had never gave them any major issues? His position was in central Ohio so the car only lasted for a few years due to road salt. I only saw it one time in the early 80's. Its garage mate was a 1977 Pontiac LeMans 4-door, already very rusty.. that part really struck me, coming from a road salt free area. They were not remotely 'car people' but always had GM vehicles. In this case I think they may have been attracted to the Cutlass Salon as it was somewhat more 'European' in shape and (smaller) size compared to other US cars of that era.
We had a 80 Buick Century 4 door when I was a kid and it drove me crazy that the window didnt go down. I had a 78 Cutlass Supreme in high school. It had a 260 v8 and I couldnt reach 75mph even. I called it the gutless cutlass!
15:25: You can also ID this engine as a Chevrolet since the A/C compressor was on the driver's side, resulting in very long coolant hoses (not a good idea). Other GM engines had the compressor on the psgr side, with shorter hoses.
My brother had a 74 Olds cutlass salon 4 door. I think it was a 74. It was the most luxurious mid size car i have ever seen. I kinda remember a rocket decal on the air cleaner.
Gm designers from 79 on.....never adapted to the times. Gm became a 2nd rate car manufacturer company. And...it still has not recovered.
I disliked this style myself when they came out. I bought and sold cars along side of my restaurant and I came across a 1979 White 4 door with rally wheels and I thought I get to drive one of these now. It only had 20K miles. Like new in and out. After 2 days of driving it and finding a new home for it I knew there was no hard feeling selling this car other then the low miles and condition. Trucks were weird shaped too.
In that era I had a ‘77 Cutlass Salon, for ‘77 Salon was the top of the Cutlass Supreme line up. Dark Green with buckskin landau top and matching vinyl buckets with console. 350 4 barrel. Not fast but just an exceedingly pleasant cruiser. I worked for a boutique leasing and rental outfit in Miami, a lot of European and South American clients as well as our lease customers who received a loaner from the rental fleet when their car was being serviced. In 1977 a lot of our fleet was VW’s, Rabbits and Dashers mostly as the owner of the company was friends with the VW dealer. We also had some full-size Olds, 88s and a couple wagons. The VWs were predictably problematic and sold off quickly. In their place we ordered 60 new Cutlass and Regals, half 4dr and half 4dr. All with the pathetic 231 V6. The owner told me the sedans were Cutlass Salon’s, the coupes were Supreme’s. Cool I thought, 4 Dr with buckets, F41 suspension, etc. WRONG. The 2drs were ok, slow and poorly designed and built, but not offensive. When the 4 doors came in, we couldn’t give them away. The customer would hear “Cutlass” and think, oh, an upgrade! Then this pig would roll up in seafoam green or pastel beige. If the customer accepted it, they were back in 30 minutes because of how slow and rough they were. As soon as the conventional 4 doors came out we dumped the whole ‘78 fleet and ordered new Regal coupes and sedans with the 301 Pontiac V8. Not great but 100 times better than the awful 78-79 sedans.
From the time table on this black cutlass 1:15 to 1:36 wow what a sharp car it is the color the lines wheels glass the rear window split down the middle the overall handling it wasn't a sports car or a luxury car it was a perfect car for all kinds of people and outings. I had a few cutlass models and the 88s and 98 models also and 3cutlass models a 67 2door,4door añd 2door that was my daily runner , the other were very dependable all around running olds
We had a grey 2 door my step father got new. I learned how to drive in it & passed my first driver test with a 100% in it. It was a very good car, very reliable & trustworthy. Slightly underpowered like everything of the period. It was a 1978
Pretty sure my aunt had one of these that somehow ended up at my parent's house out back and I just remember playing in it a lot when i was a kid and still remember the sticky steering wheel and the smell of the sunbaked interior.
GM had done well for this country and its people from the beginning to about 1978 when bastardisation took hold . Thank you Adam