Say what you will, but at least they were trying to be creative, unlike today’s interiors which, no matter who the manufacturer is, come in one flavor: BLAND.
The Bicentennial was great, a friend and I spent 3 months driving across the country. We went to 46 or 47 of the 50 states. Adam you're correct, the 1973 to 77 looked great. I do remember seeing interiors like that but not very often. Great watch.................
These cars were ubiquitous - not so much the Mojave cloth, which I never recall seeing. Thanks to Adam's fine work on this channel we get to look back at the interesting malaise years of the American auto industry. I know that Adam is no hot rod guy, but the wimpy TH200 led to the still wimpy TH 200 4R - which then led to some interesting aftermarket development. With the Buick Grand National turbo V6 tearing up dragstrips many people found the TH 200 4R as not being up to the task - and so many hot rod guys went with the venerable TH400. This slowed the Turbo V6 cars down, so the aftermarket went in and developed proper internals for the TH200 4R. I ran a Chevelle with a TH 200 4R that had a billet input shaft and a billet forward drum - and I ran 10.80's at 125 mph at the drags. It was completely reliable, licensed and insured and street driven all the time.
Back in the day I was the owner of a '78 Cutlass Calais. As noted ergonomics were not a strong suit. The things I liked about the car were buckets and console, and the rally gage package. The 260 was great on gas. The car spent most of the time during my ownership on the interstate. I experienced the TH 200 transmission failure. The Brougham just didn't appeal to me. It looked upscale but lacked so much in instrumentation. My Calais had power windows and locks, tilt, cruise and rear defogger. It was a pleasant, comfortable car.
"Attention Oldsmobile fans." We are selling our 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. 6 cly engine. White exterior with a maroon interior. 56K miles. We purchased it new. My wife is a nurse and used it to go back and forth to work. Over the years we bought other cars and it just kind of set in the garage. Automatic, Air conditioning, Power steering Power Breaks and rear defrost. No power windows. This vehicle has been maintained from day one. $ 4500 no credit or money orders. Cash, or a cashier's check. We live in Clearwater Beach shores Florida. I have been a subscriber of this gentleman's channel from almost day one. In the beginning I thought he was just a car enthusiast. That may be so , but he is a car collector.
I had a 78 Cutlass V8 260 and it was a real slug😂. It was 1994 and i was 17 years old and was just happy to have a car. I had some good memories of it though. I also had at least 7 or 8 more g-bodies of the era. Another Cutlass, a few Regals, and a Grand Prix. Thanks for the video Adam. It always makes my day better when you post up.
My dream car in 1980 was a beautiful new Cutlass Calais 442 in black & gold. It was on the showroom floor, it had t-tops, every power option including Corning lights & fiber optics. Gorgeous! I was a senior in high school.
We had the 1979 Cutlass Salon Brougham with the Tahoe Trim. I think it was available in the sedans and wagons. Dad, being a loyal GM customer, decided to move up market from our aging Chevy Kingswood wagon to an Oldsmobile, and with rising gas prices, opted for a smaller car. The X-Cars were recently introduced and dealers were charging a premium for them. So after checking the dealer stock, we ended up with a brown Cutlass Salon that was a dealer demo driven 8,000 miles by the service manager. Ironically, we paid less for the demo Cutlass than we did for a brand new VW Rabbit C that year...again owing to the rising gas prices. The fabric itself was very comfortable to sit on...was a velour/terrycloth combo. Our Cutlass had the 260 V8 which was smooth, somewhat economical but Dad would constantly complain about the lack of power. Especially when passing or when we were on a Colorado Rocky Mountain road trip. The transmission was the TH200 which decided to drop reverse gear in 1985 at about 77,000 miles. Dad had a heart attack and was hospitalized at the same time his car was in the shop getting a transmission rebuilt...talk about a stressful week. The Cutlass was used by my brothers an myself as a "college" car and I made some large road trips with it, from the Dakotas to North Carolina where I had an internship. It looked a little out of place in office parks surrounded by Yuppie Mobiles like BMWs, SAABs, Volvos and new Acuras. We sold the car in 1991 with 140,000 miles on it. It did it's job with minimal complaints and the interior was always a conversation starter.
Thank you Adam. You covered it quite well. I was nodding my head watching and listening. I will add they starting getting the 1978 G Body styling corrected in 1980. It was all corrected by 1981 model year for all the G Bodies from all brands. Those are the legends 1981-1988 model years. You are were dead on correct and accurate about the styling when it came out in 1978. The Pontiac Grand Prix was the only one that was decent looking when they came out for 1978. The Cutlass got quad headlights in 1980. They did upgrade the interior over time although control placement did not improve. The Toronado had that seat fabric in 1975-1976 and here it is again in 1978 in the Cutlass. Good video and informative as well. Thank you for another Oldsmobile GM video.
The ‘77 Brougham interiors were gorgeous. I miss those plush, velvety seats that wrapped you in comfort. Had a ‘76 Cutlass Supreme, and despite the rear bumper having rotted out by the time that car was only 6 years old I loved that car.
My best friend's mother bought a new 78 Cutlass Supreme Brougham with every option, trading in her 73 Toronado (a very cool car). It had the 260 V-8, but it didn't seem that underpowered. She gave it to him in 1981 when she bought a Buick Riviera Diesel (you know how that turned out). One thing about the Brougham seats in Phoenix is the metal around the seat buttons got so hot they would burn your legs if you had on shorts, which was most of the time. We had a lot of fun in that car!
I loved interior of this car when it was new. I had a neighbor that had the brown mojave it was so cool. I miss that nowadays, "color stitching" is a big deal.ugh. Bring back some cool colors and appointments! Fun video, and 76-77 was great years and had great dashboards/instrument panels.
1st. The last car my dad owned was a 78 Cutlass he bought new. He loved that car though we poked fun on how slow that 260 V8 was. You are calling these A bodies, but I know one site that calls these cars from 78-88 G bodies. The Grand Prix of the era had the best IP.
If you had a 78 cutlass, it was an A body car. If you had an 83 cutlass, it was a g body car. EXACT same vehicle, just cosmetic updates. They changed platform names because of the fwd cierra, celebrity, century becoming the NEW A body. The RWD cars would be retired soon after
If you had a 78 cutlass, it was an A body car. If you had an 83 cutlass, it was a g body car. EXACT same vehicle, just cosmetic updates. They changed platform names because of the fwd cierra, celebrity, century becoming the NEW A body. The RWD cars would be retired soon after
I like both those custom interiors. While its true that there were some issues such as the automatic transmissions, most people I knew that had these cars liked them.
My aunt had a 78 Cutlass Supreme. Compared to the Colonnade Coupes in the family (Regal, Century, Cutlass, Monte) it definitely had better rear room and those doors were more manageable. I remember hers being kind of sport with white interior, bucket seats, console. My future uncle drove it more briskly than she did and while not fast, it seemed to handle decent.
My family had a 1975 Oldsmobile Omega that my mother inherited from her cousin who passed away in 1981. It was lime green with a vinyl roof top and some damage to it after my mother's cousin hit a pole in the parking garage of her apartment complex. I drove it for four years in college and took care of it. After 14 years of having the car, my father had it towed to a junkyard where it remains today, 35 years later.
I think these cars looked great. The front ends were improved over the years. GM made so many that they really ironed out the nits. Nice cars to drive.
My father had a pastel yellow '79 Cutlass Supreme slick top with sort of ultra suede cloth seats (standard equipment). Color-keyed wheel covers, no pinstripes, the very definition of blah. It did have the 305 V-8, but only had AM/FM, cruise, tilt and A/C and dual mirrors as main options. It was a HUGE come-down from his previous '77 Monte Carlo.
You know secretly I really liked the 1970's funky interiors! You can't call them bland and boring as all new cars!!! I totally agree with you the restyle looked bland and cheap. I am not a big GM fan but between the Big Cutlass and T-Bird, I would had bought the Cutlass with the sport suspension. I tried to get my aunt to order her 1982 Olds Delta 88 Brougham. She did order it with the basic 3 speed Turbo-Hydramatic with no lock up torque converter. Was the only part of the drivetrain that never had issues. The 307 4bbl had little things breaking and the worst was the rear axle ring and pinion failed!!!
I love the 1978 Monte Carlo. It looks like a smaller version of the 1977. The 1979 and 1980 are a little different, but still have the body lines. In 1981, they made it more boxy and took away from the swooping lines of the previous cars. The downsized GM cars that came out in 1977 and 1978 are probably the best cars to own. They have a lot of the earlier styling in a smaller, lighter package.
In 1978 my father bought this 2-door Cutlass Supreme Brougham with the 260 V8, THM 200, and the 2.29 rear axle ratio. The car was an absolute dog. I called it the Gutless Cutlass, truly an unpleasant vehicle to drive, but it served my parents well, a good grocery getter.
Adam, Only the Cutlass wagon cut the mustard in 1978. The Tahoe cloth eventually inspired a whole new GM model which continues to this day.🤩🤩 Has GM ever built a Mojave? 🤔 Speaking of inspirational, the Mojave cloth is so impressive it should have served as the pattern for the carpet and vinyl roof.😁
My first car in high school was a 7 year old Cutlass Supreme Brougham. Red exterior and red velour interior. 260 V8 was indeed Gutlass. 100 km/h, 60mph was 14 or 16 seconds from a stop. The ride was a great blend of comfort and sportiness. Loved the car and had it until I burned up the main bearings after too many full throttle high speed runs. Oh, and the rear bumper was about to fall off also due to the aluminium bumper support disintegrating. I still have fond memories of this car today. Looking back, I think the next coupe redesign of the Cutlass was not as clean as the 1978 version. Too long. Sold like mad though, and they were everywhere!
Super fun, especially with the contrast color carpet. While I preferred the previous larger generation, I worked at a car rental agency in 1978 and drove quite a few Supreme coupes, and found them to be surprisingly pleasant. The 305 Chevrolet V8 worked well in this application. A friend bought a new 1978 Supreme coupe with the 260, and it was beyond anemic.
My folks had a 1980 Cutlass sedan in Navy blue, with the Olds Rallye wheels. Very handsome car. And I had a 1979 Grand Prix company car. For the era, not bad.
I rented a couple of dozen of these in the late seventies. I found them to be great road burners and remember putting over a thousand miles daily on a maroon two door 'buttless' in comfort. I liked the trim size, and the a/c worked perfectly on every example. I remember well a 4-door with the trunk in triple black that was also a joy to drive. Of course, other than being gasoline I don't know what engines were in the rentals; I'm not an aggressive driver and they had adequate power for me. Interesting interiors, though! Never rented one of these...
First car of my own was a new 1980 Cutlass Calais coupe; Claret Metallic w/gold painted (!) pinstripes, metal roof, super stock wheels and amazing claret interior (IP was simplistic shape) with corduroy velour buckets w/console and floor shifter.The door panels were also heavily trimmed in same fabric with enormous pull straps anchored by beautiful chrome pieces w/woodgrain inlay. Calais (not to be confused with later economy front drivers) was Olds sport-luxury Cutlass model and despite the 260 V8 under hood, it was a beautiful, reliable cruiser that I drove every day for more than seven years and 150,000 miles. Still looked nearly new when I traded for space ship design 1988 Cutlass Supreme LS coupe.A very different but very good car as well. Last Olds was new 1992 Olds 88 LSS “sport” sedan. Beautiful black w/tan leather buckets and a much more sophisticated IP (& button happy) design. Olds was a great GM division even in the malaise era, but you had to choose models and trim wisely!
I knew someone who worked in a transmission shop; he said that these Turbo 200 transmissions were, in a word, garbage. Whenever a vehicle with this transmission came into the shop, they simply swapped it out for the much better Turbo 350 transmission, not bothering with the T200. While we're on the subject of GM transmissions, he also said that the T125 transmissions that came with the front drive vehicles, such as the Chevy Citation, were also junk. Dark days indeed for GM.
I know I mention it every time your content covers gm diesels but now you've covered the generation of my first car... the 1979 Cutlass Supreme diesel! Otherwise known as the gutless. It had been converted to another terrible engine, the 4.3l v8. I broke the th200 transmission and had a th350 put in it early in my adventure with the vehicle. At least I could not get in trouble with the car even though I was a high-school age male with a rwd v8😅. Thanks for taking me back!
I Owned a new 1978 cutlass 4 door v6, I believe the transmission was a 350 not a 200. The rear bumpers were mounted using some aluminum part. You might think not using steel would be good since steel parts rust badly in northern salted roads. But the aluminum touching steel was worst. When aluminum and steel live together bathed in salt, the aluminum turns to white dust. My car, and many others actually had the rear bumpers fall off and repairs were difficult. I don't have a picture of a failing bumper. Maybe you can find one. In 78 GMs ability to produce superior US built cars began it's slide into Chrysler quality and then bankruptcy. It"s a sad think to happen to company once able to produce excellent products.
Thank goodness you could pull the 260 and put something decent in its place! My '78 Monte I had when I was 16 had the console and floor shift and a similar configuration on the radio and HVAC controls. That made fiddling with the radio a breeze. Great feature!!
A gauge story; sold a Chevy 350, strong 350. Got a call from the buyer some four months later complaining the motor blew up, and he wanted his money back. Naturally, I listened, asked what happened and told him, 'not happening'. Got a call little later from the buyers friend who said, his friend ran the vehicle low on oil and did not know how to read an oil gauge on the series 3500. Idiot lights are for, well, let me say, are properly labeled.
I had forgotten about this one. It made me think of the "Basketry Print" upholstery in mid-seventies AMC Pacers. It's funny to think of indigenous people's handiwork replicated in seventies velour.
I had a 1976 Olds Omega SX with the 260 in it, in the A body it has a pretty decent amount of power. Mine had a 3 spd manual on the floor with white buckets no center console! Silver with the black accent color on the bottom, i remember painting the rally wheels black, they were originally silver. Then put white raised letter Dunlop GT Qualifiers on them. Good times.
Wild West Design! Pretty Cool, My 63 Nova 400 hardtop coupe had a houndstooth style red, white black Aztek design that was pretty loud! Great video! Back seat, Date wouldnt notice in that time period at the drive in,
To my eye, both coupe sedan versions were "buttless". These were much more attractive after the styling refresh in the 80's, with the return of quad headlamps and straightening of the sagging, downcurved rear quarter profile. Thankfully, these cars handled and braked well, with a decent ride quality. Engine choices were lackluster, and the THM200 was certainly a weak link. Thanks for featuring these mostly unloved cars, they deserve their moment in the sun😁
The 76/77 Cutlass was one of the few mid to late seventies American cars that I liked. They really went downhill in 78. I had a 77 Cutlass and I really liked it. It was very reliable and the 350 4bbl engine was quite peppy. It was probably a Chevy engine but that’s ok with me. The Chevy 350 is a good engine. I sold it because I didn’t like the color (green ) and it had a bench seat and a column shifter. It was also lacking some options I wanted. I wanted a fully loaded black one with buckets and a center console. It was a good car. The only problem I ever had with it was a leaking rear main seal which I replaced myself. I never did get the black one but if I ever find one in good shape for a decent price, I’ll probably buy it. I might not even hold out for black if everything else is what I want and if it’s a color that I like, maybe a dark burgundy or red.
In the Spring of 1980, my parents traded in our 1976 Chevrolet Malibu Classic Estate Wagon for a brand new 1980 Olds Cutlass Sedan. It was one of the GM cars that was design inspired by the 1976-79 Cadillac Seville. It was a deep cranberry with matching cloth interior Very distinct white pinstripe. It was a very eye catching car especially with the rally wheels Chrome rings. However, It was also a GM car that had didn't have roll down rear windows ... only those stupid little vertical vent windows! A couple of months later We were evacuating My hometown because of a hurricane approaching. On that terrible day, we learned just how useless those tiny windows were and how uncomfortable it could be for those sat in the back seat! San Antonio is A little over 2 hours away from my hometown Of Corpus Christi. It took us over 9 hours to get into San Antonio! The fact that so many people waited until The very last minute To evacuate and that there was only one evacuation route! We spent hours Sitting on the highway completely Locked up in traffic Although my parents would turn the engine off, There were people in large trucks around us Who didn't! So there we were in the back seat In sweltering and humid heat And overwhelming choking exhaust and My father wouldn't let us get out of the car!! That 1 experience Induced a weird Induced a weird PTSD claustrophobia That lasted years! I hated that car for the duration of my mom's ownership! Whenever we took it in for service I would Give exceedingly Critical feedback about how GM really screwed that up!! LoL
the WK2 RPO code might be the Brougham option.. it's an obscure code and the only reference I've found lists it as Delta Royale Brougham but obviously this is a Cutlass.. according to Hagerty's the Brougham package for the Cutlass coupe added floating-pillow style seats, Brougham emblems, fancier door panels, and other extras.. so it looks like the Mojave trim required the Brougham upgrade
13:10 That catalytic converter calls to mind a problem that was endemic to nearly all GM models by this time. Look at how much higher the passenger's floor is than the driver's, a "feature" that made the passenger's seat nearly uninhabitable for anyone over 5'6". It was a bit of a dilemma, since converters in these carbureted cars tended to get quite hot and could burn carpeting. But, by putting the converter into the transmission tunnel, Ford at least left a little room for the passenger to stretch, as GM eventually did when they put the converter into a lump-on-the-floor in their 1982 Camaro and Firebird.
Genuine GM junk I had a 79 Cutlass Cruiser wagon w/ 231 V 6 I had to have that car towed many times 2 engines 3 transmissions 4 differentials many brake jobs & shocks & springs & exhaust & tires & steering gear & draglink & pitman arms & endless wheel bearings & radiators & water pumps & fuel pumps well the list is end less I was afraid of a commitment to a car payment but I would have been better off with the money I dropped on that Cutlass to keep it rolling for Work but when I finally saved for a down payment & woke up & smelled the coffee in October of 1990 I just got curious & drifted into my local G M C dealer who by the way sold the big 9500 Brigadiers & Generals that I was already familiar with from being a Truck driver well I had my eye on this new black Sierra day cab long bed 4x2 fully equipped they were having a year end clearance and I got a better deal than on this Jimmy than the comparable Silverado at Chevy dealer up the street LOL
As for car interiors: I always like the lyrics from Blue Oyster Cult's "Maserati GT (I Ain't Got You)" - "... I got a Maserati GT with snakeskin upholstery ..."
The Big 3 answer to more reliable, smaller, more fuel efficient Japanese cars: Landau roofs, Mojave interior, Pierre Jardin and Levi’s editions. Lovely.
thank you. I'm not sure the native american would be appropriate in an advertisement today. that is a wild style of design for an interior though. I'm still hoping you will do a review about the 1974 buick apollo interior. I did mention one wild design in your community post section. It is from the last community post section from seven months ago. I don't mean to keep mentioning it to you, I'm just not sure if you've seen what I wrote. I just find it to be an interesting design. I also did email you about it also. I did cut and paste photographs of what I could find of this one particular interior back and front seat design. Anyway, it is up to you. I know you are very busy. Thank you.
The issue with the four-door cars inability to roll down the rear window has little to do with cost and everything to do with physical limitations. The window glass will not physically fit down into the door due to the deep rear door wheel opening intrusion. I have had many of these cars including my 1982 Malibu Classic that we have had since new. You don't see a lot of 42 year old one owner cars!
@@RareClassicCars The glass doesn't physically fit into the door cavity. I know this as I've had to remove the glass on several occasions. There is no space for the glass let alone channel and regulator. I suppose I could post a video on my channel and demonstrate this. It was kind of a running joke back in the '90s at the the Buick Pontiac dealership that I worked at as a kid. Both body shop and service department guys came to the same conclusion. I'm sure that you have a lot of knowledge based on your vocation, however, your assumptions are not accurate in this case.
I can also tell you that the little wing window either in manual or optional power form is not light and most definitely contains more individual pieces than would be seen if it were a one-piece window as is more typically seen on the rear door. Being born in the late '70's afforded me the ability to live with these cars as daily drivers for the majority of my formative years. Growing up riding around in the backseat of these cars was definitely a sub-optimal experience at times. I have an old spare door in my basement that is off of my 82 G-body. My mother damaged the door back in '85 necessitating its replacement. Fortunately I asked my parents to keep the door at that time and I still have it to this day. I believe I also have some spare G-Body glass as well. Stay tuned for an informative video! I suppose I could weigh the parts too.
My first car was a 1976 Oldsmobile Omega 2-door Brogham. It had about 4 shades of blue throughout, and white bucket seats. What were they thinking when they had the hood release installed in the front bumper, so if you saw it, you could steal any parts from under the hood.
Smaller makes them not look as rich. But they sold a ton of them and they didn't rust like the 76 and 77 models. The interior looks good except I would have not used seat material on door panels. The four door you show was to have been a hatchback but it didn't happen that way. It got a trunk.
Hard disagree on the '78 Monte. My cousin and I used to cruise around in one and we felt like Kings. The ones you have shown in this video may be similar under the skin but the Monte had class and I really think hit the mark as far as downsizing while keeping it classy and stylish which is the effect that GM designers were looking to accomplish.
I am outspoken by you in my adoration of the downsized generation of General Motors, I for 30 years have seen what designers had intended for these cars. Aluminum in lieu of cast chromium or zinc, Mylar in lieu of aluminum etc. I had long known of these interiors, I had encountered a 1980 over 20 years ago. The Buick Somerset Regal is similar 1980 is particularly gaudy. 81 was actually stylish. In my opinion. I understand your feelings on these cars. It’s beyond understandable, especially compared to a 1965 Cadillac or Pontiac. I would actually really like to have that car, my grandfather was in Lansing assembly. My uncle had a lovely Colonial yellow 80 T-top floor shift fully loaded Calais with white padded landau and Camel vinyl for many years also in my youth. Thanks for the sheer look malaise video on a car that I know most don’t know about.
If you ordered a clock, it would be in a cutout on the lower half of the fake wood plate (with a smaller Olds logo above it). If you ordered the rear window defrost, the switch would be in a cutout on the upper half of the fake wood plate (again, with a smaller Olds logo below it). If you ordered both, you got a fake wood plate with two cutouts and no Olds logo.
I think it was a class action lawsuit. I remember my parents getting a notification in the mail about it....we exceeded the mileage limit for it though and paid out of pocket for a transmission rebuild. The shop that rebuilt the transmission noted that we took excellent care of the car and that extended the life of the transmission, which disqualified us for any compensation.
8:45 In some years, Toyota put the tuning knob on the left and the volume knob on the right, making it much easier for an American driver to adjust the tuning. I don't know if they had it that way on the cars they sold in Japan, or reversed them again to make it easier for Japanese drivers, who were on the right hand side. Of course, Cadillac went for years in the 1960s with both knobs on the left. It seems Olds put a higher priority on styling in these years, and I have to admit, the '78s, especially the slopeback models, were more attractive inside than outside.
It wasn't horrid. It is an example of GM's insistence on a full-frame body on such a small car. They could have gone to a unit-body to keep weight down while increasing width to allow roll-down rear windows and a slightly longer wheelbase for better proportions.
I much prefer the 78 models and their cousins over the prior models. They had all the interior space in a much smaller package and still kept distinct styling.
I could never understand why the speedometer was not centered with the steering column/wheel on these cars. That would drive me crazy. But I do think the Mojave Print is as cool as could be in 1978.
What ?..no matching Mojave floor mats?... OF course the good thing about the Mojave seat fabric was that you could drop a McDonalds Big Mac on it and never be able to find it.
