Average. Nobody likes average today. People today want special. They want unique. They don’t want coffee, they want something at Starbucks that takes as long to say as it takes to make. They don’t want bourbon, they want spirits crafted in a particular way, with a particular variety of grain, barrel char and aging. But it wasn’t always so.
In the years of my youth average was good. People drank their coffee from Folgers or Maxwell House. Cutty Sark scotch was the good stuff. And so was Oldsmobile.
I grew up around Oldsmobiles. And rebelled early. Oldsmobile was for parents. Female parents, actually. Oldsmobile occupied the same place in my mind as old bits of advice like “eat your dinner before you get dessert.” Oldsmobile was good for you.
The result of all this is that while I was steeped in a world of Oldsmobiles, I didn’t really pay attention to them. Why bother – they were everywhere. If I ever got in a spot where I needed an Olds, finding one would be a cinch. But that was for fuddy-duddies.
When Oldsmobile (and the rest of GM’s big car lines) were put on a diet for the 1977 model year I found them yawn-worthy. I liked my big cars big, and these no longer were. Big Lincolns and Chryslers were exotic to me, with presence. But looking back now after all these years I realize two things: Oldsmobile’s kind of normal was good. And I had no way of knowing that this kind of normal was on the brink of disappearing forever.
Let’s think about what normal was in 1979. Until summer of that year (pretty much the end of 1979 model year production) cars were just cars. Cubic inches still ruled and sixteen or seventeen miles per gallon on the highway out of a big, heavy American sedan was the kind of thing people bragged about. CAFE was coming and took some of the biggest engines out of some lineups by 1979 but you still had some decent powertrains available.
A good big American car started right up when you turned the key and didn’t make you think about it until you shut it off again. When you stepped on the gas it went faster and when you stepped on the brakes it went slower. Yes, there had been a learning curve in dealing with emissions hardware, but by 1979 the engineers had gotten pretty much back on their game.
Take this Oldsmobile. A 4 bbl 350 V8 was still considered a God-given right. But we could see a world of compromise coming across the horizon. This was the year you could also get a V6, a diesel, an Olds 260 V8 and a (gasp) Pontiac 301. If you wanted to tow a trailer or just wanted a little more scoot a 403 was easily available. If you bought a used ’78 model, anyway. At least you still got the good old Turbo HydraMatic 3 speed transmission.
But more ‘change was a-brewin’. By 1980 the traditional big American car started to die. CAFE was the new law of the land and weight was the enemy. Displacement and axle ratios raced to lower numbers. Overdrive automatics of increasing cost and complexity (and decreased driving pleasure) started to show themselves. And cars would no longer be styled just to look good. At GM at least, these big B/C body cars would get the aero treatment forced on them, so that new Oldsmobiles looked like big doorstops on wheels.
This is another set of pictures pulled from my marinated and aged stash of cars I never got around to writing up. I’ve got a million of ’em, so if I never see another CC I still have a couple of years worth of material to cover. And had I figured out that there has never before been a proper CC of a 1977-79 Delta 88 I might have gotten back to this one sooner.
These shots reminded me of a couple of things. First, I was delighted to see this color jump back to near the top of popularity after its early 1970’s disappearance. I am not sure I noticed it at the time but this is actually a two-tone paint job – and with a vinyl roof thrown in for fun. That slightly darker blue on the body sides is an interesting color (imaginatively called “medium blue”) that seems to have been offered in only 1977 and 1979 and only as part of a two tone on Oldsmobiles and Buicks.
The second thing these photos made me think about was that this was, to my eyes, the best styling job of the four B body cars that GM offered in 1977-79.
Everyone loves the Chevy, but it never did a thing for me. The Pontiac was OK if you were in the mood for lots of chrome and some fender skirts, and the Buick was fine until you got around to what might have been the least inspired rear end of a car since the 1920’s. The Olds carried its big-boned, square-jawed looks well. The shape was good, the details were right and there was nothing wrong with it. And as a bonus, it sounded like an Oldsmobile should.
I eventually owned an Oldsmobile that was built five years after this one – a 1984 Ninety-Eight Regency coupe. The interior was nice and it sounded like an Oldsmobile, but that was where the similarities ended. The shape was not quite right, the engine was too small, the axle was too tall and the glass-jaw transmission required a rebuild at 54,000 miles. This car was not American-style-1970’s-normal but the 1980’s-style basket of compromises that made you painfully aware of each and every one of them with every single drive.
Stepping on the gas no longer guaranteed an immediate increase in speed and the car’s shovel-nose styling was not the kind of no-apologies-here-I-am kind of attitude I had come to expect from an Oldsmobile.
It is now forty years since this car was new. Which is a long time. And admittedly, what is “normal” or “average” for one age group is not the same as for another. But for those of us old enough to remember Oldsmobile during its glory days, this car would be in the running for the last of the big Oldsmobiles that could be described as great cars. This aging former-Oldsmophobe now misses cars like this and would happily welcome one into his garage. Because “normal” is under-appreciated.
Note: a rerun of an older post.
Further Reading:
My dad bought a brand new triple green 1977 Olds Regency 98 (2 door) from GSL in Calgary back in the day. It eventually became my car and I loved it 😍
I still miss that car the most of all the cars I’ve bought and sold 🥲
It’s probably common to like or dislike cars based on the people you associate with them. When I was a kid there were two very creepy people (both in positions of authority) who drove 1960s Cadillacs, and I’ve never been able to break that association and like these cars. Conversely, several cars driven by friends; friends’ parents, or anyone I thought to be cool moved up a notch in desirability for me.
I like the ’79 88 but don’t rank it higher than its GM siblings – or lower for that matter. The exterior styling doesn’t excite me – the rear view is especially generic with nothing that says “Oldsmobile”, except the two (two?) rocket emblems.
These were indeed great cars, certainly in the American idiom and in my opinion in any context of large car. I drove a ’77 88 Royale for several years as my commuter car and not only did it never have an out-of-ordinary repair, but was comfortable, ran strong (350 4bbl), and handled well, again in the big US rwd context. It lacked for nothing except gas mileage (14-15 on average). I was much chagrined when it was totaled by a deer collision, after which it ran for 5 miles home with essentially no rad fluid. What a great car, greatly missed. I’d have another any day.
To be fair, that 14 MPG (which is pretty much exactly what got) is a lot better than the 10-12 MPG of the previous generation.
They were indeed great cars.
Waaay above average imo. A great iteration of the classic American car, I drove a ’77 88 Royale or several years as a commuter car. Ran strong with it’s 350 4bbl, handled well for what it was, and solid as a brick. Sadly totaled by a deer,
Times have changed. In 1966 or 67 I was in an Olds used, not to old and the owner driver was a young lawyer, married with a couple of kids. He had just bought an older house in an old money subdivision. We were on the way to check out the house and he couldn’t get over how much he liked his Olds. Today how many people up and coming would buy an used American car?
In 1978 we bought the only new vehicle we ever owned, an Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale with the new for 1978 350 Diesel. Our youngest son was 1 year old. He was driving that car when a drunk turned in front of him totaling it. I had been down to the local dealer and test drove a 98 Regency Diesel and my wife and I decided we wanted one. No one was offereing any sort of deals on the Diesel cars, they were selling as fast as they came in. Having seen the long term effect of a vinyl top, I wanted no part of it.
Dealer’s son, probably mid 20s, called me and said they had a car come in I might be interested in, Delta 88 Royale, 4 dr, Diesel, loaded, no vinyl roof. I had speced out the F41 handling package and one size up tires. This car had the one size up tires, but no F41 package. He made me an attractive offer on it (I owned a well know locally carburetor and ignition shop, so selling me a Diesel was good for his business). They ordered the F41 sway bars and the rear control arm reinforcements for the police package. When the original Delco shocks went, I put Konis on. We could do double the posted safe speed on highway ramps with that car.
When we first got the car, it was a dog and got 10-11 mpg in town with lots of near black smoke. I found where the internal timing marks were located on the Roosamaster pump and since they are not visible once the pump is installed, I put a rubber wedge in and with the engine on TDC #1 loaded the pmp against the drive gears and marked the adapter. Car quit smoking, had decent power and high 20s for fuel mileage in town, 30-31 highway. Service manager called one day, there was a TSB on improperly timed and marked Diesel engines. My mark was dead on when they checked.
I do love these “big GMs”. But the Diesel?, no thanks.
“Our youngest son was 1 year old. He was driving that car when a drunk turned in front of him totaling it…”
I swear I must be reading this the wrong way, I’m almost certain a 1-year-old wasn’t driving.. not a big Olds 88 anyway.
🙂
Also, Oldsmobile tried to bring back some “sportier-luxury” feeling for the Delta 88 line-up with the Holiday coupe but it didn’t worked as they hoped despite being also offered in the 1980 and 1981 model years and being stuck between the Toronado and the Cutlass Calais coupe.
https://oldcarbrochures.org/United%20States/Oldsmobile/1979%20Oldsmobile/1979%20Oldsmobile%20Full%20Size/slides/1979_Oldsmobile__Lg_-15.html
What I like about the late-’70s to early-’80s GM ABCs were their straightforward suspensions – ULCA(Upper-Lower-Control Arms), and I’m not sure if they were live out back?
What messed with the handling was the decision to go with hyper-boosted power steering. Who said everyone wants steering so easy you just blow on the steeringwheel?
A Heidt valve might be the cure for that.
Speaking of Olds, I have been watching the internet for years for a 1988 to 1991 Delta 88 Royale coupe two dooe. They never come up for sale!
1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 that’s been in the family since new. Fully loaded with a 350 Oldsmobile (Code R) engine. Nothing average about it in a world of overpriced electric trucks currently made by GM. I’m always asked if I would like to sell it.
Good to see some love for these .
-Nate
“If I ever got in a spot where I needed an Olds, finding one would be a cinch.”
This made me laugh, as I wondered, what exactly is a “spot” where one NEEDs an Oldsmobile?
I love my ’79 Holiday 88, a fully optioned upgrade to the Delta 88 with bucket seats, console shift, rallye suspension etc.
Red Vinyl interior – rather than velour plush upholstery – makes for a comfortable ride. She’s for sale listed on cars-on-line.com if anyone is interested.