Take a 1997 model, give it the front and rear fascias, bumpers, and bodyside moldings of the same car from 1995, add in the chrome grille, wheels, and interior from a different 1996 car, and sell it as a new model. Sound like a logical plan? Well, that is just what Oldsmobile did for the 1997-1998 Regency.
You see, the 1990s were a very rough time for Oldsmobile. The “Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile” campaign clearly backfired, failing to attract younger buyers and turning away some of Oldsmobile’s loyal older buyers. There was also mass Cutlass confusion, and in general, Olds’ models were consistently redundant and unremarkable compared to related cars from other GM brands. Buick had clearly emerged as the champion of the “premium American road car” duel against Olds, and by the mid-1990s, it was clear that sticking to the same game plan, or lack thereof, was a sentence to death.
With severely eroded brand identity and value, Oldsmobile took a final stand at completely reinventing itself by unveiling the Centennial Plan. With the target on younger, import-conscious consumers, the Centennial Plan was aimed at giving Oldsmobile a clearer purpose to buyers by eliminating aged and overlapping models, streamlining its product portfolio, and introducing new vehicles that better fit the appeal Oldsmobile was going for.
These new models featured clean and elegant Aurora-inspired styling, and attempted to provide the interior, ride, and handling refinements that were drawing younger buyers mostly to Japanese and German brands.
Yet even with this defined initiative, Olds found it hard to make a clean break from the past. This struggle was made no more apparent by any car than the 1997-1998 Regency, which was basically an amalgamation of leftover parts from the previous two model years.
If the face-lifted 1996-1999 Eighty-Eight was the nicotine patch on Olds’ arm as it made strides to break old habits, the 1997-1998 Regency was a security pack of Camels.
With wide, soft, and flat leather bench seats, plenty of exterior gingerbread, white walls and even the old logos which Oldsmobile ceased using the previous year, the Regency was a clear attempt to hang onto any “traditional” buyers that might be alienated by Oldsmobile’s new marketing strategy. It was somewhat a surprise that the car didn’t bear a factory vinyl roof and wire wheel discs.
Apart from the softer seats, interiors were typical Eighty-Eight/Ninety-Eight (as the two shared the same dash and door panels). In fact, aside from a few standard features which were extra-cost options on the regular Eighty-Eight, the Regency didn’t offer much uniqueness besides its less progressive appearance and packaging.
In light of its confusing regressive nature, the 1997-1998 Regency didn’t seem to excite buyers looking for a “traditional American luxury sedan” with “understated luxury and smooth road manners”. Sales of the Regency were only 8,219 for 1997 and 7,958 for 1998, substantially less than both the Aurora and the regular Eighty-Eight, and even less than the Ninety-Eight’s final year sales in 1996. “Traditional” buyers, like my own grandfather who traded his ’92 Ninety-Eight Regency in for a ’97 Eighty-Eight LS, were either satisfied with the more contemporary Oldsmobiles, or otherwise went to Buick.
Note: a rerun of an older post.
Related Reading:
1991 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight (GM Deadly Sin)
I don’t believe this is a Regency, which was based on the 98 body. This looks like an 88, which would make it a Royale.
After doing some research, I stand corrected. Apparently, after the 98 was discontinued in 1996, the Regency name was moved to the 88 body for 1997 and 1998. I just learned something new!
Very intriguing. I never knew there was an “Olds Regency”, without the Ninety-Eight or Eighty-Eight attached. The last stand of the Brougham? Was it the last new car to arrive from the factory in whitewalls?
The Lincoln Town Car offered whitewalls well into the 2000s, maybe even the 2010s. Very narrow white stripe that looked like part of the wheel if you didn’t look closely.
Dead brand rolling by then, GM had milked any value Oldsmobile had by then, Ford were building traditional US BOF cars in that era, GM doesnt seem to know what it was doing.
In hindsight, it’s a handsome car. But then, it seemed utterly unremarkable.
Always thought of Oldsmobile of the 90s as an uglier version of a Buick. Was it management’s intent to chase the same geezer crowd as Buick???
I tend to think not, just that the Olds division was run by a bunch of incompetent, unimaginative group think corporate drones. Emphasis on the incompetent part by approving that “not your father’s Oldsmobile” ad campaign yet your bread and butter cars are aimed exclusively at your dads generation.
There was also a (slightly) sporty version of the 88 called the LSS (for Luxury Sport Sedan), meaning there were three versions of this car on the market at that time (88, LSS, and Regency).
The Regency was a play to hold onto previous Ninety-Eight Regency customers, or people who would have bought a 98 had they not been discontinued after 1996. The 88-based Regency was fitted with seats and interior trim from the previous top-line 98, as well as some exterior trim formerly used only on the 98 like the chrome grille. This is not the first time Olds used this strategy; after the old rear-drive, V8 98 was replaced by a smaller front-drive V6 version in 1985, a new top-line 88, still on the old RWD platform for one last year in ’85 called the (take a breath) Delta 88 Royale Brougham LS joined the top of the lineup. This was fitted with the plush seats formerly used only on the 98, as well as some of the 98’s exterior trim.
“Existed only in minds of an elite cadre of automotive engineers.”
Cadre??? Aren’t they communists?
Couldn’t resist the ridiculous text.
I guess I’ll be the only one ever to say that I prefer some rear wheel cover like fender skirts. I know everyone prefers the wide open look, but it’s never appealed to me.
Now I’m not one to add such things onto a car that isn’t meant to have them. That’s why I never cared for this model. But that’s just me.