Not a fan of the Cadillac Fleetwood 75? Here’s an alternative, although its very boxy roof makes for quite a contrast to it curvaceous lower body.
Vintage Ad: 1967 Oldsmobile Cotington 7-Passenger Limousine – The Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Alternative
– Posted on December 24, 2021
More than a whiff of Mercedes 600 about the chromium greenhouse!
I’m having trouble parsing the (expressed or implied) meaning of the first sentence.
Best I can come up with is that it’s imploring the fleet buyer to pick a car that will make his boss happy, because the boss’ friends and family are being transported by something “deluxe”??
I suspect it’s directed at the independent limousine owner/operator and funeral home directors, and not fleet-buyer employees. I expect an Oldsmobile limo, like Buick and Mercury limousines cost less to buy than a Cadillac or Lincoln. Likely they believed their clients wouldn’t care what brand of limousine appeared to pick them up.
The base price of a 1967 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 limo was over $10K. An Olds 98 sedan was $4K. There was a lot of headroom (so to speak) to deliver a converted Olds or Buick at a significantly lower price and make money.
As today, professional car converters operated in low wage and low overhead locations to maximize unit profit on their low production numbers.
The ad says “transport family and friends of those you serve” but the roof line says fedoras still ruled the heads of the well-dressed business traveler in 1967? In the middle of the GM lineup, was the idea here to use this as an airport shuttle for the emerging class of middle to upper management?
The cost might have been less, but the status was much lower. Olds was never GM’s luxury or limo brand. If the rider was trying to impress by renting a limo, the targets of his impression would know the difference.
I grew up in a Ford/Mopar family, so naturally had an anti-GM bias. Of the 5 main GM brands though, Olds to me always seemed to be the most attractive – middle of the road, best engines, low key but sensible style. Except for the label, is there anything that the Cadillac offered that the Olds 98 Regency didn’t?
I guess Buick had the toehold in China when the decision came to close a brand down. To me, Olds had a lot more going for it when it was shut.
Of those you serve…
It’s a cook book!
Perfect!
Who in their right mind would buy a new car called Oldsmobile anyway? Sounds like something that’s out of date before you’ve even driven it off the lot.
I know, because of this site, that Oldsmobile had a very lofty sales position back in the 70’s, when the Cutlass was the best selling Camry before there was even a Camry; but growing up in the 90’s/00’s the name perplexed me, and combined with the struggles they faced I am not surprised the division was axed in 2005; I believe that even though some of the cars by then were truly appealing, the name alone in the new millenium was a huge detriment to the image and turned many away, especially younger buyers they so desperately needed.
As to the subject car, it almost seems like it’s a well used in the rendering, like a one-off modification found in a barn a couple decades later.
My recollection of the 70s era, and having driven a high-mileage battered daily driver 1969 Cutlass back then, was that the Oldsmobile Rocket 350 engine and its accessories was just better – quieter, more powerful seeming, longer-lived, less troublesome – than the equivalent Chevrolet engine. Regardless of the name and styling and status, this would’ve been a factor in my buying decision had I been a buyer of a new car then.
It says a lot about the decline of our society that people became emotionally affected by a man’s name.
I think this car was primarily aimed at funeral homes.
I’m 57 years old and I’ve never even seen this version of Oldsmobile before! Kinda cool to say the least. I wonder how many of these were built? I’m guessing it probably has a 455 in it? Would love to see some more pictures of this limo. Who knows, it could really be a collector “ Limo”, if there are any left.
It would have a 425; the 455 first appeared in 1968.
Here’s one I photographed at a swap meet in Englishtown NJ a few years ago:
This Olds 98 limousine has been shown at Hershey for a number of years.
The top gives off a Russian vibe, (perhaps ZIL?)
The relative costs of the matched hearse and limousine/mourner coach fleet for small funeral operations were the target market for Cotner-Bevington division of Divco-Wayne Corporation Oldsmobile 98-based limousines. Comparing its image with the hearses and ambulances from the same company reveal how the limousine was designed: i.e. simply the greenhouse and rear deck, lower height sedan-limousine style. The basics of all models are the same below the beltline.
Ever since the motorized funeral coaches and limousines became the norm, funeral directors have preferred to present a unified make fleet. As such, whether S&S, Meteor, Cunningham or Packard, all offered matching professional cars to accompany their hearse or limousine models.
*VERY* nice .
Yes, the BOP 350 CID engine wasn’t the same as Chevrolet’s small block 350 .
Glad to see the red one survived, thank you for the picture .
-Nate
Here’s an ad for one currently for sale in Yellowknife, North West Territories. Says it was built by Cotner & Bevington, Same company?
https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1357051/1967-oldsmobile-98-for-sale-in-yellowknife-nwt-x1a-2h8
Here’s another picture of one: