Nostalgia city. My first real car was an 89 Cutlass Calais Quad 4. Maybe not the 442 W41 but it was a damn fun car for a teenager to tool around in. I still miss it.
I had one for 16 years. Sold it in 2009 and just picked up another one this year with 32,000 miles. Very fun to drive. If you are really driving hard it you need to keep the RPM's up on it.
I had a black ‘89 Olds Calais. It came with ground effects and low profile tires! Totally my favorite car! It looked like a small Grand National! So much fun to drive!!!
Awesome video my man! I had both a Quad 442 (W40 High Output) and an Achieva SCX. There aren't words for how much fun these cars were and I thoroughly appreciate you capturing what this car offered!
I own a 1990 Calais W30 Quad 442 with about 125k miles on it and don't understand the negative comments about the clutch and shifting. My clutch and shifter work smooth as butter... maybe because I have replaced the shifting cables and clutch plates along with having the flywheel resurfaced. I bought it way back in 1998 for only $1200 at a highway patrol auction, it only had 106k miles on it then and it was forfeited because of too many DUI's- LoL! It is extremely fun to drive and eats the ol' Mustang 5.0's for lunch- LoL!
Congrats on the big 600! This car is a blast from the past for me, I used to have one of these! Totally agree on the clutch and shifter, worst ever but you could rev the hell out of this motor and it would just go!
Sweet ride. I had a 1988 Grand Am sportin' a Quad-4 and really liked it even though it was an automatic. It was the first time I had 4 matching brand new tires, A/C and shiny paint on any car I owned. Unfortunately, It was totaled after getting rear-ended.
I had my clock cleaned by one of these in Detroit, circa 1991. I was driving a Dodge Shadow VNT (Turbo IV) feeling pretty salty. The W-41 had a Michigan manufacturer’s plate. Respect.
I love nothing more than odd weird rare cars. Everyone always leaves out one that has always baffled me. The Envoy XUV. If you get the chance for the love of all oddities please do it for us.
Love this car (and its successor, the Achieva SCX)! The door-mounted seatbelts were GM's preferred way of meeting the government's "passive restraint" mandate; the other options for OEMs were the power operated "mouse belt" shoulder straps that moved along the top and back of the front door openings or, of course, airbags. Even the last few years of the boxy Cadillac Brougham (1990-'92) had them!
The seatbelts on the door were a regulation placeholder until they could fit the cars with airbags. They were designed to be left buckled ad you stepped into them, the dealerships were even instructed to demonstrate them as such
a little perspective is in order. this car was running mid 14s in 1991. the next 4 banger that could touch it didnt hit US shores until 1997, the integra type-r. the W41 was WAY ahead of its time.
The B/L setting on the HVAC controls splits airflow between the dash and floor vents. I think that all of the 2 door N-bodies of this generation had the seatbelts in the door. It was a way for GM to delay installing airbags. These were fast cars in the early 90's. V8s twice their size were only putting out 30-40 more hp. I had a '90 Pontiac Grand AM SE - coupe. It had the 180 hp H.O. version of the Quad4 and was only available with the Getrag 5 speed. I beat that car like a rental for 150k miles. It did blow a head gasket and needed a water pump and alternator over those miles. Also, LOTS of tires. I regularly saw 30mpg combined. The shifter also a had a vague feel. I think that the engineers were more concerned with effort vs feel. I think that the Quad4 combined with the '88 suspension improvements could have saved the Fiero. GM management could mess up a semi-trailer full of free money.
Off subject but want to put this out there, great video! Camera pans, close ups and the sounds. This guy seems like an average Joe that loves cars and doesn't spend half video pushing product and/or sponsors. New subscriber and fan
Congrats my friend! I still remember your early videos, the earliest one i can remember was the one on the 94 f150 i think it was lol. Keep up the great work and never stop to the next 600 heck yeah!!!!.
The Oldsmobile's type R, with the 1st twin cam 4 GM ever made, which is very powerful back then! TBH I'm not a fan of its design especially the butt that looks like stairs, although the lines are softened.
American cars in the 90's still saw manual transmissions as the pervue of the poor, they believed automatics were unilaterally superior and universally more desirable
Those seatbelts were a GM thing. Friends new Buick Park avenue had them, moms Buick century, my own Pontiac sunbird in 1992 had them. GM got sued when doors came open in accidents and passengers fell out from under the seat belts mounted to the open doors.
I enjoyed this! Seems like a few well placed mods could make it fun-ner...Shifter-clutch upgrade-Turb?? Best of luck in the future, hope it’s healthy and prosperous for you!
Nice video. You said that it failed the bottle test, but didn't explain it. A video for an oldr car might be best with the back drop of what else was being sold at hte time, with some market pricing stuff; What you neglected to mention was that at the time that this car was released, most vehicles on the road were 150hp V8's, or sub-100hp four bangers - and some V6's with power out puts right in the middle - so this was a four cylinder making more power than most of the V8 powered vehicles on the road at the time. The Quad4 HO, not matter which platfrom, was a fun drivetrain. Also, the only items which distinguished a W41 Quad442 from a W40 Quad442 (or any other Quad4HO car) was: 1) cam shafts 2) EEPROM (aka: computer chip) The cams were larger, and the tune was a little more aggressive with a higher rev limiter. I'd love to have a Quad442-W41 coupe, but own a Grand Am becasue I always prefered the stylings that Pontiac chose of the same time (1991 Quad4 Grand Am's even received a short throw shifter, which further sets them apart).
I do wish you wouldnt add to the narrative of gm cars always being subpar quality. I own over 20 80s and 90s collectors, gm, ford, imports and they ALL have their areas of weakness. Gm.had their headliner and trim issues but i never hear anyone talk about how robust their body structures were engineered compared to say honda. Now how their plastics, fabrics, and material quality was way way ahead of say toyota. Seems like people only focus on their particular weak areas and gloss over or ignore the strong points. I sure enjoy my hondas from back then but their chassis rigidity and soundness leave a lot to be desired and flex like crazy.
My dad had one for a bit before he wrecked it coming down an off ramp and slamming into the guard rail on the driver side, totaling the thing. Whole right front was smashed in so was the side. Only came out with a bruise on his leg. Lucky fucker. *Edit* I don't think it was a W41 tho
Yeah, the Quad-4 was a very clearly performance-oriented mill. Proper intakes and exhaust headers, big bore, twin cams - and no balance shafts. That's why it was so rough. GM eventually had to cave to customer complaints and tone the engine down, which is why it ended up making a mere 150 hp by the end of its life cycle
!!! Why is there a pulley on the back side of the cam?? There is a timing belt/chain cover on the correct side, but it also looks like a drive belt is on the back side of the engine?? Did they drive all the accessories off the backside of the cam? That's super quirky and cool
@@quad4297 ah! So it looks like the power steering pump is driven off the back side of the cam? I've never seen that done, but given the layout of a transverse engine, I'm surprised I've never seen it before. It's inspired.
Quote "The Clutch pedal feels like I'm kicking a bucket of Rocks" and the Shifter isn't much better". A 442 in a Chevrolet Citation body isn’t very appealing. So I assume this reincarnation of the iconic 442 stands for 4 cylinders, 4 seats, 2 doors? This competed with the Toyota MR2 and Supra, Nissan 280ZX and the Honda Prelude Si. And You wonder why Toyota is the worlds largest auto maker today?
Yes you do get to decide where the air goes. That's the upper slider. The one that turns it off and activates the A/C, so the same slider directs air, turns the system off, and activates recirc and a/c. Off, self explanatory. MAX- AC on, dash vents, recirc. NORM- AC on, dash vents, not recirc. B/L- AC on, dash AND foot vents, not recirc. VENT- AC off, dash vents, not recirc. HTR- AC off, foot vents, not recirc. Its very possible the heater core is not in the same location as the AC evaporator, meaning that it is impossible to get heat unless using the foot vents, but I can't tell if that is the case from behind my phone screen. In any case, no, the car does not choose for you where to put the air.
I used to drive a '90 HO version with the 5 speed. I loved that car! It was fast and mean, and I consistently got mid to high 20s mpg in town, and over 40 on the highway, even with the A/C on. The only downside was that cruising on the highway at around 75 to 80 it would have a loud exhaust rumble. I think it was the mechanics of the exhaust system and the noises of the engine/tranny, all combined. It was on the loud side. But it loved to rev and could corner impressively for a FWD car. That HO Quad 4 was the little engine that could.
Been here since your sub count was in the hundreds I believe. Been watching for 3 or 4 years now and I'm glad to see how your content and channel has grown.
My wife drove an '89 model back in 1992-93 that was this same GM Torch Red, but the beltline trim had a gold inlay that really made the car stand out. She was always getting compliments on the looks of the car, and even though it wasn't a 442, it was pretty fun with the 170hp Quad. Life goes on and little ones come along, and we needed a bigger ride for car seats, so....
Congrats on 600 reviews! Here’s to 600 more! Are you interested in reviewing a 1986 Pontiac Gran Prix 2+2? Future father in law has owned 2 of these in his lifetime (only 1,118 were built). The 86 2+2 is very similar to this Oldsmobile W41 where it was offered for homologation as well. We’re located in Cleveland, OH
