Even though folks in Eugene don’t seem to buy new cars as often as the national average, I do see changes in the driveways of my neighbors, every so often. One of my favorite driveways from a few years back was this pairing of very similar vintage and brown-ish cars, but of very contrasting size. Normally, they always sat snuggled up side by side in the driveway, except for this day, when I got some nice shots of the pristine 88. Such a nice old couple they made indeed. And I always wondered, did they buy them new? And I also assumed they’d be there forever. Not so. And what do you think replaced them, one by one, over a year or so?
The Tercel went first, replaced by a new Fit. Ok, so they want one new economical car; makes sense enough. But then about a year later, the immaculate big Olds gave way to this. Arrgh! Another roach-mobile! I find it hard to imagine making this transaction, so unlikely. But, to each their own.
Perplexing. Maybe the Olds got totalled.
A sad but plausible thought.
Oh, the horror!
The B-body’s fill me with mixed emotions. My favorites are all non-Chevy (Oldsmobile 88, Custom Cruiser, Pontiac Parisienne, Buick LeSabre and Electra Estate) but my favorite engines for actually living with the cars day to day are the Chevy engines. See my dilemma?
Now it’s easy to swap engines, I know that. But from 1977 to 1985 was the last gasp of the uniqueness of the divisions in regard to engines. Swapping the engine removes one of those last bits of divisional-ness of GM.
Guess I’ll just buy a Roadmaster and quit worrying about it. Though a Delta 88 Coupe is what really tugs at my heartstrings.
Back to the subject at hand… you might argue that in many ways the replacement cars still fulfill the original missions of the first two. And depending on which V6 that Buick has the power numbers that are likely very close to the 307V8 in the Oldsmobile.
It’s a later Century, so it either has the short deck 3300 V6 (160hp) or the 3100 evolution of the GM 60 degree V6 (155-160hp in A bodies). In either case they’re zippier than the 307 available in that Delta 88, with 0-60 times right around, if not below 10 seconds.
I’ll probably be the only person that would take a Roach, especially if it is one of the specialty versions or a wagon, over a B-body. I don’t know any B-body that can get to 60 in under 10 seconds and return 25 mpg highway before the bloat set in with the 1991-96 versions. Give me a Cutlass Cruiser with the 3300 and a Leather Interior, wood paneling and wire wheel covers, please.
I’m with you on the roach, these later examples were pretty nice cars and IMO rival the B for comfort while delivering somewhat better performance and greatly-improved fuel mileage. Of course, you do pay the price in durability though…
Dan….you’re in luck. The Pontiac B-body had the Chevy 305 in it!
last spring I came very very close to buying an 85 Parisienne, silver with a dark gray top, maroon interior, with 37K original miles on it for $3500.00. It was in amazing condition…I mean perfect.
unfortunately I hesitated too long. Its probably a good thing, with a 75 mile a day commute I’d be driving the poor car into the ground and it deserved to be preserved better than that.
I like the first two better. Although I did see a Fit in traffic a few months ago that was sharp. It was white with a red interior. I didn’t even know you could get red interiors on them.
Were any of these B-Bodies built with rears any bigger than 10 bolt?
I always thought it would be fun to take one of these a drop a 455 into it-essentially a bolt-in operation-but grenading the rear would be a concern.
And replacing that rear would be no problem. This is GM we’re talking about.
Nothing wrong with the 10 bolt, you just have to make sure to get the right one… They offered 3 different sizes. With the 8.5″ or 8.62 ring gear they’ll take plenty of abuse. It’s the 7.5 that should be avoided for any engine but the 3.8.
I kinda like those B body cars at least they are built the way a proper American car should be maybe they got an offer too good to refuse.
I can see replacing the Toyota with the Fit. But too bad all of the Best and the Brightest who post here couldn’t have somehow staged an intervention to prevent the replacement of that Olds with the Buick Century (sorry Laurence!).
Interestingly, that Delta 88 looks like the special edition that marked the end of the rear-wheel-drive version. It was produced right before the debut of the new front-wheel-drive version. If I recall correctly, Oldsmobile slapped the old Ninety-Eight grille on the Delta 88, and made the wire wheels with the small hubs standard for that final rear-wheel-drive Olds B-body.
Slapped the 98 grille on it… why does that sound familiar? Oh yeah the did the same thing with the 88 Regency at the end of H-body 88 production. History repeated itself.
Right, that was the Luxury Sedan and top of the line in 1985. It was a one year only model and had the Ninety Eight interior, just like the Regency twelve years later. I think this one is just a Royale Brougham though, not an LS. All ’85 Eighty Eights above the base model had this grille, regular Eighty Eights had a horizontal bar grille. And the Royale Brougham interior got recycled in the ’86 Caprice Brougham after the Oldses went to the H body.
So what would make a good modern-day replacement for that Eighty Eight? Hyundai Azera? Toyota Avalon? Chrysler 300?
Probably a modern Impala. I got to drive a white 2010 LS and it was pretty nice. Quiet, lots of room and fake wood on the dash! The tan interior was a pleasant change from the medium gray, charcoal and black interiors you usually see. You can get a late model one for a very good price too.
The last batch of Grand Marquis on Ford lots would be a direct replacement for the Delta 88: Body on Frame, Live Axle, middling fuel economy, pokey V8 that could be left in clouds of smoke by Turbo 4 cylinders…..
I’m gonna be the outlier and say the Hyundai Azera, although the Hyundai Azera may be the finest Buick LeSabre that Buick never built.
I test drove an Azera a couple years ago and thought it was pretty nice. How about the Hyundai Genesis? You can even get a V8.
Now you’ve got me wondering where the Kia Amanit fits into this. 🙂 It looks like a fusion between a Jag and a Mercedes.
Kia Amanti breaks the strict rule that a car or truck *must* display its brand logo on the front center, either mid-grill or at the top. Look at what’s coming down the road sometime and you’ll see it might as well be a federal standard.
The Amanti looks like an upscale Asian car, but it’s traveling incognito. Like it’s the wedding crasher.
Hyundai used to do this IIRC, but now the logo is out there.
Consumer Reports said that this was the worst handling car they ever tested.
a Buick LaCrosse , pun intended, hahaha… But personally
I could stand a 2012 Dodge Charger in some bright color…
I kind of like the taillight and revisions to the 2011 Fascia.
Import wise, the Avalon has Delta 88’s old turf covered handily I presume.
Car Buddy Zach’s parents had a Tercel of that vintage. As proper flinty Mainers they only bought radio-delete no-AC cars. That thing was fun – I remember the shifter felt like a floppy joystick and you had to keep it up around 5k rpm to get anywhere. Of course the body rusted away long before the mechanicals had any problems.
I guess at one point we had a similar “downgrade” to this in our small family.
In 2000 or so, the front axle on our 79 Caprice Classic Landau split in two, backing onto a busy street at rush hour, in one of my rare turns behind the wheel.
It was during times like theres, where a quick $1200 bid on a 88 Celebrity won us a 2.8 well used silver base model celebrity, or was it a CL?
It over heated on the short 6 mile ride to where it would get looked over. But proved to be a reliable replacement for “Buella” the blue bomber. It had no Power Moonroof, Seats, Windows, Mirrors or Locks, that had been std. and still working on the Caprice. THAT was a CAR. The likes of which I wonder if we will ever see anything like it again.
Yeah It was a downgrade, but so was my Downgrade, from a 93 Mazda Mx6 to a 89 Toronado Trofeo, to a 86 Marc Cross Le Baron Convertible… In quick succession in a rough year. I really miss the Trofeo, which I had running for a total of all of 2 months, after waiting a decade+ to own one. Now Where can you even find one? There can’t be many of these left running.
Local vato has a Trofeo but I don’t anticipate it lasting long as his “big pimpin'” car.
Remember, people, not all people see cars as we do…as slices of history, our own and automotive. To many they’re appliances; to others, symbols of status or success. People change; their needs change; their budgets change.
Perhaps the Olds’ appetite for fuel became more unattractive, as did the Toyota’s appetite for replacement parts. And perhaps an elderly couple decided the risks of being stranded on the road, outweighed the satisfaction of saving money with paid-for iron.
I have done some trading down. In 2007, I scored a buy on one of the last Chrysler T&C minivans. It was the right car at the right time, at the right price – courtesy of a $4000 rebate to close out inventory. It was in that car that I left to take a new job, leaving my hometown forever…the new job turning into a succession of short-notice transfers, endless open-ended stays in motels that have only recently seemed to end…the perfect vehicle for the nomadic.
To say I abused that car, is to say Britney Spears has somewhat different moral standards. I beat the snot out of that rig…towed my YJ to Madison, Wisconsin, then to Duluth; and then to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I was chasing a crew that I was assigned to work with, down, being delayed by “biological needs” and running late…chased them over a rutted forest trail in a late-fall blizzard. Hit ruts, eight inches of water…got stuck and “rocked” it out, knowing that the transmission was anything but robust. So…with it still looking good and running fine, I traded it in.
On a Toyota Yaris. Why THAT? I KNEW gas prices were going to rise. To say why is to delve into forbidden areas…specifically politics. But it was destined to be; and I wanted a fuel sipper.
To replace the minivan’s usefulness, I picked up a rock-solid full-size van…as a work truck. A 2003 Dodge, to move my goods and tow my Toyota. Paid three large for it, and it’s been worth every penny. Even allowing for $65 fillups. I don’t use it as a daily driver.
So it is…so it happens. Lifestyle changes; interests and needs change. The Jeep, my pride and joy, became a burden. The Toyota, a bore to drive, is a joy to live with. And for thrills on the road, I have my newest toy…a BMW cycle…
Downsized.
Nice, but notice the white early 80’s Toyota Tercel behind the Olds?
I remember seeing these and it’s ilk all over the place, still do, namely the Caprice variant and many of then donked/blinged out by certain types out there.
I have to admit, the Fit is an OK car, one that while I liked the look, it’s not overly sporting, especially with the automatic as it’s slow to downshift for starters.
I once owned an ’82 Delta. Worst piece of junk I ever had. I know these is a lot of love for these cars nowadays, but at the time I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. So… no surprise.
The sad truth is that it takes very little damage to total a 20 year old American car.
A bumper and a fender will probably do it.
A new door just about TL’ed my 92 Vic. It was looking hopeless until I presented a mountain of receipts to show that it wasn’t some old POS just because of its age.
I guess the salvage value actually worked to keep it out of the junkyard.
Actually, blending the tricoat pearlescent paint brought the estimate up considerably.
Maybe she got a new boyfriend.