Here it is, the supreme formula that took the American market by storm. It started out very modestly; some 68k Cutlass Supreme coupes were sold in 1970. Nine years later, Olds would crank out almost a half million of them. How to explain it? Like many winning formulas, its hard to break it down to its components perfectly, because “luck”, “trends” and “fad” are not so easy to quantify. But let’s take a stab at it.
1970 marked a significant new point of departure in the mid-size coupe market. The long run of the sporty mid-size coupe was running out of compression, as we documented in the 1970 Cutlass S CC. But the real origins of this new era can be credited to the pioneering 1965 Ford LTD, which ushered in affordable luxury and launched the Great Brougham Epoch. The influence of the LTD was near-instantaneous, but it wasn’t until about 1970 that it really started to take off.
The reasons are numerous: the performance golden age fell on the sword of its own decadence (high insurance, social and political backlash) and rapidly tightening emission controls. In 1973, OPEC administered the assisted suicide in the form of spiraling gas prices.
But those were only the more technical factors. The whole socio-political climate went through its biggest convulsion ever between about 1968 and the late seventies. The Vietnam War was the biggest catalyst by far; Watergate, a new regulatory fever, environmental awareness and a general spirit of change, any change – good or bad - was in the air. Lots of younger folks think the sixties was the decade of change, but in terms of actual social, political and regulatory change, the seventies were the zenith or nadir, depending on your perspective and the specific issues. The seventies were the reverberations of the sixties’ vibrations.
And the ’65 Ford LTD was either the prescient prophet or dumb luck gamble, in terms of the car market. Change is intrinsically stressful, except perhaps for those instigating it. To isolate and soothe one’s jangled nerves from all the craziness, folks were drawn powerfully to the idea of a RR-quiet cocoon. And they were getting older, more status conscious, and married, with kids. The clapped-out ’63 Chevy II with a semi-race 327, near-straight pipes and Traction Masters wasn’t cutting it anymore with she-who-must-be-obeyed.
(what’s that on the passenger seat?)
The LTD may have been the St. John the Baptist of the mid-size affordable-luxury coupe decade, but it was St. John DeLorean who really ushered it in with the 1969 Grand Prix. He reincarnated the now-tired formula of the full-size luxury coupe into a medium-sized one, by taking the new-for 1968 coupe A-Body and extending the wheelbase in front of the cowl by six inches. Thus the G-Body was created, and as a consolation, Chevy got to use it too, for its 1970 Monte Carlo.
Olds was left out of the G-Body party, but crafted its own clever solution: it grafted the G-Body’s formal coupe line and rear to the Cutlass A-Body front, creating a hybrid of the two. Here are all four of them:
That extended front wheels/nose is quite apparent in the GP (top) and MC (second). And the GP/MC C-panel and tail, with a distinct break between the roof line and trunk is also quite apparent. Buick (bottom) stayed with the conventional sporty coupe body at its peril. It may have been the key decision as to why the Skylark gave way for the Cutlass’ Supremacy in the mid-price market.
Looking at sales stats from the 1970 – 1984 years, the peak personal coupe years, tells quite a tale. The GP took off slowly in ’69 (66k), had its first peak in 1973 (154k), dipped again after the energy crisis, and enjoyed it s best years from ’76 through ’79, when it topped 200k, peaking at 288k in 1975.
The Monte Carlo started strong in 1970 (146k), and built up quite steadily, cresting at 410k in 1977, a banner year, before its protracted decline.
Buick sales are hard to break out, because the distinct Regal Coupe didn’t arrive until 1974. The Regal started slowly (58k) that year, built up progressively until its peak in 1979, with 273 k units.
And the Cutlass Supreme Coupe also started modestly in 1970 (68k), and didn’t really begin to take off until the new 1973 Colonnade body style (220k). But by 1976, it crested the 300,000 mark (326k), and kept right on going, all the way to 471k in 1979, its all-time peak.
Its secret sauce? Well, we’re getting ahead of ourselves a bit; we’re still in 1970, for now. Need to save something for the next few chapters of the CCCCC. But the basic ingredients are all here in this first year Cutlass Supreme Holiday Hardtop Coupe. Let’s just say there’s something to the idea of a safe, golden middle: the GP was bold and dramatic; maybe too much so. And Pontiac quality fell disproportionally in the seventies. The Regal missed the first boat, and never quite caught up. The Monte Carlo? Well, ultimately, it was still a Chevy. The Olds: none of the above. Or is that not giving it enough credit?
I think that the allure of the Olds name still held great sway at this time, and the concept of one at an “affordable” price was too strong to resist for many. This was also why the downsized 1977-79 T-Birds sold so well. Never mind that in both cases it led to brand dilution in the long run. Even someone like myself who realizes the under-the-skin similarity of all these A-G cars, would have bought a Cutlass at this time. It was the safe choice. The popularity of it ensured the best value in terms of perceived prestige and resale value. Ah Yes, the resale. In the inflation plagued late 70s, it was possible to buy a Cutlass Supreme, drive it for 2 years and get what you paid for it when you sold it.Possibly the only other marque to pull this off was MB.
I always liked the looks of the Olds the best…something about the way everything synced up was just…harmonious…
Buddy of mine in high school drove one…in 2002. And it looked great and held together so well over the years, that I still want one, especially with “just” a 350.
Now it’s time for the good stuff.
Call me crazy but I always liked the Grand Prix best. And that’s the only generation that I can say that for.
The 1970 Cutlass Supreme was a case of making lemonade out of lemons. GM had denied Olds its version of the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Pontiac Grand Prix, just as it had denied Olds a version of the Camaro/Firebird.
So Olds took the Cutlass and added a formal roofline and marketed it heavily. Cutlass sales began increasing during the early 1970s. Even more importantly, while Pontiac and Chevrolet divided their intermediate sales between the “regular” intermediates and the personal luxury coupe, all of the Olds intermediates were grouped under the Cutlass nameplate, boosting sales of that one model and making it seem even more popular. Everyone wants to drive a winner, and by the mid-1970s, the Cutlass was the number-one selling passenger car in the country.
Oldsmobile carried this too far in the 1980s, when it added the “Cutlass” prefix to the Ciera and Calais, thus diluting its impact and leaving customers confused as to what, exactly, a Cutlass was supposed to be.
It’s important to remember that Olds, in general, was on a roll in the 1970s. Its success wasn’t built solely on the Cutlass.
The Delta 88 and Ninety-Eight were extremely popular after the market recovered from the first fuel crunch. Sales of the downsized versions of those cars went even higher. If I recally correctly, by 1979, the Delta 88 was the second-best selling full-size car on the market – behind the Chevrolet Impala/Caprice, but ahead of the Ford LTD! Even the Toronado garnered increased sales after its 1971 redesign, and the downsized 1979 model scored with customers.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, GM’s brand structure still meant something, despite the Omega/Skylark and Starfire/Skyhawk. People still viewed an intermediate or full-size Olds or Buick as a step up from a Chevrolet or Pontiac. And during most of the decade, the intermediate and full-size offerings from those marques did have better quality than their corporate siblings, or the Ford and Chrysler competition.
Oldsmobile had a very good quality reputation by the early 1970s (as did Buick). That, along with the styling, which managed to seem tailored without being overdone, helped propel the brand to the number-three slot by 1972. It also helped that the Olds muscle cars never had quite the impact that the Pontiac GTO, Plymouth Road Runner or Dodge Charger and Coronet R/T did in the 1960s. Olds thus never had to shake off a “juvenile racer” image that went with the muscle cars. Pontiac, Plymouth and Dodge didn’t fare too well throughout most of the 1970s.
GM, of course, was doing everything it could to destroy this.
GM, of course, was doing everything it could to destroy this.
Abso-effing-lutely. A few weeks ago my lady asked me why the Oldsmobile Alero seemed still so popular in our little city of 20,000. I told her the answer was simple, it’s much nice than a Grand Am of the same vintage. She then related the story of a guy she had known back when Oldsmobile was on its last legs who replaced a totaled Alero with… an Alero. GM had a good thing going even toward the end, but hey let’s kill the oldest brand in America.
Right up to Oldsmobile’s last year, there were a ton of Aleros in my area and there are still many around today. They sold quite well here in the Quad Cities, even after the announcement that Olds was toast. There were a bunch of Eighty Eights sold here too. I’m madder at Oldsmobile being axed than Pontiac, Plymouth or Saturn, for that matter.
I think that of the four the Cutlass works best. Simple, understated styling, yet clearly recognizable as a Oldsmobile from every angle. And it really was an Oldsmobile–still had a Rocket under the hood. I like the two shorter wheelbase cars the best, but the Olds’ styling seems like a natural progression from the youth market of the 1960s.
Buick may have held steady because they had just reskinned the Skylark for 1970, cleaning the car up considerably from the rather bizarre styling of 1968-69, and they may have felt that they had get some more return out of the tooling.
But, to be honest, I like all four.
+1 on the Alero. It’s years since production stopped, and I still see lots of them tooling around Metro New Orleans.
I often wonder if interbrand jealousy killed Olds. Around that time, GM was shovelling money into Cadillac, blowing smoke about building Caddy into a Jack-the-giant-import-killer and fighting the German brands on their own turf (remember that?), and here was Olds with the Aurora and its V8, building momentum on a shoestring by compari-son . The Aurora V8 even had its own racing series. Otherwise, it seemed odd to kill Olds while retaining Buick.
That’s an interesting take, but didn’t Buick sell much better than Olds in the late 90s – early 00s? It seemed to be the default choice for older folks if they had to pick between the two. So maybe sales numbers were the big reason for the decision to kill Olds? I love both equally and would have needed Solomon to make that call.
Nice 84-87 Cutlass ad on the pass. seat.
Very informative comparison of the four GM mid-sizers! It’s always interesting to highlight Oldsmobile’s spectacular rise and sad fall. Also, the 4-up comparison makes me wonder what Cadillac would have done with the A/G platform — I’m sure it was considered even though they ultimately used the Nova (X) to create the Seville.
In the summer of 1972, my mother decided that it was time to replace the trusty 64 Cutlass. The 64 had been such a good car, so there was no question that it would be replaced by a 72 Cutlass (much to the chagrin of a 13 year old kid smitten with the new Gran Torino). I spent a lot of time sitting in 1972 Oldsmobiles that summer while mom looked and dickered. I tried to get her into the Viking Blue Cutlass Supreme convertible on the showroom floor (with all white interior, of course) but she was too practical for this.
It was the end of the model year, so the pickings were starting to get slim. The salesman found a Pinehurst Green (light green) Cutlass Supreme 2 door hardtop with buckets, a console and air. The air conditioning was huge, as this was mom’s first car with a/c. The car also came with (gasp) power windows!
She only kept the car for 2 years. She had not figured out what a pain 2 doors are with a family of growing teenagers and their friends. I remember that the car had a feel of quality to it, although I still liked the 64 better. I do recall a couple of rattles that the dealer could never find. Otherwise, the car was trouble-free, and the 4 barrel 350 was pretty swift. The Olds engine had a unique sound, and the mufflers let a bit more exhaust burble out the back than a lot of other cars. The biggest gripe about it was that it was EXTREMELY light in the back. Not nearly as good in the snow as the 64. This was a trait that would continue into the next generation.
I consider the 70-72 Cutlass Supreme 2 doors as the best looking of all of the 68-72 GM intermediates. This car has almost flawless proportions and a perfect balance between lightness and heft. The car just looked right. Of all of them, I liked the 72 the best.
Great story thank you for sharing. Do you own the C/S in the photos above? I spotted the car in springfield oregon, and never got to talk with the owner. I don’t know what ever happened to it.
I am still in shock after several years that olds and pontiac are no longer with us….that GM dumped them……like mercury dropped Johnny Cash….its like telling your own children to kiss off….really GM also killed the traditional caddies with their (lets go after the BMW Cars)…..I dont understand……why???