This big 98 gliding through those suburban streets, lined with late '70s residential architecture, basketball hoops, etc. just takes me straight back to childhood. A different world.
I LOVE this comment. It so resonates with me. I was about 6 years old in 1980, and seeing big luxury sedans float through suburban residential streets was commonplace back then. Our parents weren't rich, and I remember fantasizing about having a luxury car like this someday. Trouble is, in those days, the luxury sedans of the time seemed to be the pinnacle of luxury motoring. Nowadays they don't feel quite as soft and opulent like they did when they were new because of the advancements in ride technology.
Park Avenue was a trim on the Electra. My parents had the Electra Limited, 1982, same body as this car, with a V6. The Park Avenue trim compared to the Brougham version of the 98 Regency.
The 1980-84 GM "C" bodies are my favorites of the era. While OTHER "guys" had Camaros, Mustangs and such on their walls, I PROUDLY had the 1983 Oldsmobile 98 brochure (Toro, 98 & 88) cover on MY garage wall. (I "only" had a Chevette at the time!) I am STILL a GM "Big Car" guy (a 2011 Buick Lucerne CXL is my current ride!)
Oh my! What a wonderful trip back to the early 80s! My mom had an ‘83. It was luxurious, quiet, so comfortable and dependable. It wasn’t a Trans Am or a 280Z but it had something else…a quiet and understated elegance and feel about it 😌. I miss that that car..and I’m nostalgic and wistful for that by gone era 😊. So nice to relive it through these old videos.
I love how the smaller 1980 Cutlass 4 door sedan captured some of the elegant cues of the 98. Oldsmobile is my favorite GM brand. Thank you for this video.
My mom and dad's neighbor had one a new one with the diesel engine, nothing but trouble, had a hard time trying to get it to start, they loved the car so they ordered a new Oldsmobile V8 gas engine from the factory, after it was installed they had no problems
These were the cars people bought because they were rich and could afford a nice car, but felt a Cadillac was too flashy. Olds 98s were bought new by clergy, judges, bankers (although by 1980 the era of the Oldsmobile Banker was coming to a close), realtors and the like.
We weren't rich and had one. Then we had to sell it because Jimmy Carter and the EPA ruined the car and the economy....and the realtors lost their jobs because of all the foreclosures he created because the interest rates went to 18%
Had two Delta 88's from this time - actually, very reliable both had the 307 V8. These cars really needed a 350 to provide the right amount of grunt to move it.
I had a 1978. Canadian model. It has the 400ci ( or 401??) it wasn't a chevy block. I changed it for a 1981 with the 307. Accelerations were painfully slow. They were ninety-eight. Not delta 88. The only car I had similar to the 88 was a police package 1990 chevy caprice with a 350 tbi. It didn't lack power.
Ninety eight regency/ brougham luxurious accomodations sporty and nimble ride and handling a car 🚗 I could spent a lot of time in during my teenage years.
Blvd cruisers, yes style most definitely, and being the 1st C body cars to use loose pillow velour seating, combined with engine performance and handling, along with a comfortable, this one/ Oldsmobile ninety eight, were the first luxury cars that had it's hotrod nature under the skin.
The 77 - 79 98's were pretty but the 1980 - 1984 98's are dowright gorgeous. Either 4 door or the rare 2 door models are both ravishing and totally eyecatching. I want one.
my 307 84 oldsmobile 98 (which i hold wide open constantly) gets a solid 20-25mpg after sitting in a yard for 13 years (last tagged in 2010) and all i did to get it going was change the gas tank get tires and get a battery probably got 700 in it all in all and its mine forever
Yeah I'm a fan of oldsmobile ninety eight regency since I was 15 ⛽ 2dr4dr gas/diesel engines don't bother me, luxury car appointments and roominess and yet nimble and precise ride and handling, yeppers that's my olds.
Interesting! I was selling these cars back from 78-80. Never remember seeing this video. Product knowledge was stressed at that dealership at that time
Yup. All pickups, SUV's and mommy wagons look the same, have the same features and 2 choices of styling: Brick with a window air conditioner grille -or- a reverse teardrop.
I remember being a kid and my grandmom had one of these probably bought new. They gave it to a drug addict uncle and I remember him riding me and his son around (we walked around car backseat no car seats etc) and my Uncle said you kids want to go 100 mph and we said yes. He proceeded to wind it out a country road and hit 100 mph.
Mine was about 25 to 28. Still too much for the EPA not to diddle with back then, hence the rattle traps from Japan took over America and you couldn't get the beer cans to go past 60 without hitting a tree and getting killed.
If "Cadillac Style" wasn't your cup of tea or it didn't quite fit into your budget, then the Oldsmobile 98 Regency would be the next best thing to it, if you were a loyal GM customer. Growing up in the 1970's, my parents drove Cadillacs while my best friend's parents always had a 98 Regency in their driveway. After my best friend and I got our driver's licenses, there were occasions when we both had our parents cars at the same time. Well, as 16 year old boys will do, we figured out which car had better performance. In the straight out drag race from the red light on Woodland Drive, the Cadillac Fleetwoods always won the race but the 98 Regency was only 4 or 5 seconds behind it. The 4 wheel disc brakes on both cars had almost exactly the same stopping distance. (Below 80 miles per hour) Above 80, the 98 Regency would fishtail as it came to a stop. The Cadillac held a straight line with the brake pedal to the floor but it wore out those shiny brake discs, especially the front ones, a lot sooner than the Oldsmobile. The Cadillac had significantly better handling and cornering than the 98 but the difference was only really noticeable when it was a 16 year old boy driving the car. The comfort and ride was pretty much the same.
The '80 coupe was the second car my sister destroyed; the first being a '73 Caprice wagon. Third, '78 Pontiac Sun Bird, Fourth '83 Renault Le Car. Wish the studio had mixed the sound better.
My aunt and uncle had a 73 and a 76 which were tanks 77 and later they shrunk but still a little decent size Late 80s really shrunk even more didn't care for them
I had an '80 with the small 307 V8 block. Even when they were downsizing cars the 98s were still a heavy road cruiser that just shed some pounds and gave you 18 mpg. These puppies were not cheap. My '80 still had the sticker in the glove box and it was $10, 750.
Only because of Jimmy Carter's high interest rates...on everything. Including houses when they hit 18% interest rate. If you were a realtor you sold HUD homes because everyone was moving out of their homes in the middle of the night.
My parents had a 1980 Delta 88. Dark Green Metallic. The paint chipped terribly, especially on the lower doors. It had a loop in the windshield gasket that allowed air in at 55mph and it hummed. Had to put tape on the outside to stop it. Dad traded it in on a 1984 Olds Custom Cruiser and later my supervisor at work ran into it at a bank drive-thru. Exact same car.
I’m pretty sure they’ve been electric since the mid 30’s. I work at a car museum and we’ve got a 1939 Oldsmobile and the clock is electric unless it’s been converted which I’m sure it was
@@MrThomas2587 Yes, But Oldsmobile was a bit up market from Chevy (Especially the Ninety-Eight model pushing almost Caddy money!) Even in 1952 An Olds 98 would have had an electric clock. Oddly today a wind-up clock would cost MORE to make than the most accurate quartz digital or analog electric clock!
@@Carguy-sp8xj Most likely NOT converted. Olds the division that GM liked to use to show of the latest tech, Often getting features (Like the Hydramatic) before even Cadillac.
my parents had a 1983 Oldsmobile 98 Regency. Worst car they ever had!! Multiple transmission failures, multiple A/C compressor failures. The 307 V8 was a gas hog because you constantly had to floor it to make it move. It was a far cry from the Oldsmobile Cutlass they traded in which never had any problems.
My mom and dad's neighbor had one a new one with the diesel engine, nothing but trouble, had a hard time trying to get it to start, they loved the car so they ordered a new Oldsmobile V8 gas engine from the factory, after it was installed they had no problems
