Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Cutlass Supreme represents Oldsmobile’s first convertible model in nearly 20 years. It would also be its last. Let’s see if such heady responsibility also comes at a heady cost.
It’s been said that “Home is where you find it,” and many of you found yesterday’s 1977 Toyota Chinook motorhome to be a homey charmer. Its presentation may have been “shabby chic,” but at a $5,200 asking, most of you seemed able to overlook that. The result was a 59 percent Nice Price win.
To say that Ransom Eli Olds (b. 1864, d. 1950) was a hep cat is an understatement. Not only did Olds start two automotive brands—REO and Oldsmobile—but he was also the first to embrace the assembly line method of automobile manufacturing and gave one of his REO trucks the amazingly cool name of “Speedwagon.” Speaking of names, how awesome a handle is “Ransom?”
Of course, as Miles Davis, Steve McQueen, and Anthony Bourdain, among others, have shown us, once a hep cat is gone, all that’s left is their legacy. For Ransom Olds, that legacy has dwindled to the point of near obscurity, with REO going out of business in 1967 and Oldsmobile getting the heave-ho from parent General Motors in 2004.
Now, all that’s left to remind us of that legacy are cars like this 1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme convertible. This model is a member of the fifth generation of Cutlass Supremes and the only one to feature FWD and a transverse fiberglass spring rear suspension. Based on the GM10 platform shared with the likes of the Chevy Lumina and Pontiac’s Grand Prix, these have a reputation for being solid and reliable outside of certain engine choices.
This one has the 3.1-liter OHV Corporate V6, which offers 140 horsepower and 182 lb-ft of torque along with reasonable fuel economy and no real maintenance gotchas. That’s paired with a four-speed automatic that spins the front wheels and is also a fairly mundane bit of kit.
The real party piece here is the convertible top. These are the only GM10 models to go topless, and it was a pretty successful conversion as the car keeps a central hoop—ala VW’s Rabbit convertible—so it maintains some semblance of decorum running over railroad crossings and rough roads. It also allows the car to keep its iconic beer tap exterior door handles and the door-mounted passive restraint seatbelts. The top itself appears to be in solid shape, and the car laudably looks good with it either up or down.
In fact, the car overall seems in great shape for its age. That’s attributable to the very low—83,000—mileage and the fact that it was in climate-controlled storage for 10 years.
According to the ad, the car was purchased in that state from its original owner and has since been gone through and brought back to life. While the ad doesn’t say so, part of that work appears to be the mounting of new Pirelli tires. Those wrap factory alloys that look to be in excellent shape.
Other plusses here include a leather interior showing only minimal wear and lots of comfort and convenience features in the cabin. The pictures in the ad were seemingly taken right after the car got a bath, but despite that often deceptive wet look, the paint and plastics don’t seem to have any issues either. The title is clean, and the seller says they need to have the car gone by winter. To that end, they have set a $4,300 price tag for its sale.
What do you say to that? Is $4,300 a fair deal for a bit of Olds history? Or would that money be better spent elsewhere?
You decide!
Scranton, Pennsylvania, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Whatsupdohc for the hookup!
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