- Joined
- Jul 28, 2024
- Messages
- 1,472
What was Cadillac thinking with the XLR AND XLR-V?
Buick vs Oldsmobile
- Thread starter Carlostrece
- Start date
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
My sister drove one forever - had a peppy Caddy engine … they finally traded it on a nice new Buick Enclave this year …
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Yes
In the late seventies I had several classes at the GM training center in Charlotte. One of the instructors lamented about working in various GM support plants in the late fifties-early sixties. He told about his job as running Harrison air conditioning compressors in a sound proof location. The quietest compressors went to Cadillac, the next went to Buick. Olds, Pontiac, and Chevy got the remaining units. Same scenario for generators and power steering pumps. The same hierarchy for differentials. Buick got the silky quiet units. Then Olds and Pontiac got the rest. Caddy had their own differential as did Chevy.
wow, that seems like a bunch of work. How was it known that one pump would be quieter than the other?
They did that with body panels, too-- the smoothest ones got black paint while the most awful got white.
Awesome! I ripped around in an 02' L200 & put on 23k then gave it to my niece at 150k that she just listed it for sale the other day for $700 w/190k on it. I only gave $1850 for it w/128k on it w/"Prior Salvage" title. Although Honda/Toyota get all the fanfare you know full well that there's plenty of buckets running around folks that last a good length of time. All I did was put shocks on it, ignition coils/spark plugs, & change the oil. Loved that little 2.2L "Ecotec". I was kind of surprised though that it had side curtain airbags (no torso sides though), oil life "reminder", Power everything, & a sunroof
. I still see Saturn's out in the wild regularly. Matter of fact I'm so fond of the name I'm actually going to name my foster son "Saturn" when I adopt him hopefully sometime next year. True story! 
Wow, so much misinformation in this thread. The correct hierarchy is as follows:
Pontiac
Everything else
Pontiac
Everything else
Ran the accessories on a test bench in a sound proof area. This is back during a time in our history when reputations were so important that these things mattered. Yes. Work.
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
You be The JudgeWow, so much misinformation in this thread. The correct hierarchy is as follows:
Pontiac
Everything else
I liked the pontiacs over the chevy cars for sure, much more style, and more power. 325 hp in 2001 was a lot in a street car.Wow, so much misinformation in this thread. The correct hierarchy is as follows:
Pontiac
Everything else
My Dad was a GM engineer and he had always said Buick was #2 behind Caddy, but he wasn't in marketing, so it was probably a guess.
What about Oldsmobuick? Didn't Fletch have one of those?
I think Buick and Oldsmobile were closer to each other than any other others. You could have a nicer Oldsmobile than a Buick or vice versa depending on options but I believe in general Buick may have been slightly above Oldsmobile.
Though if you look to the 80s, the Buicks usually had Oldsmobile engines as well as Oldsmobile (if we don't count here in Canada where both could have Chevy engines depending on the model) since they already stopped making Buick v8's. The Oldsmobile v8 was the better engine by far IMO. Not to mention they used the olds V8 in Cadillacs also.
Depends on what decade you are asking about.
More like this:
Cadillac
Buick
Pontiac
Chevrolet
Saturn
Oldsmobile
You have to remember that for a good section of the 80's and 90's, Oldsmobiles were decontented Buicks or Pontiacs.
Some of their 4 door cars didn't come with rear window cranks, which meant that the rear windows could not be rolled down, when the same car from Buick, Pontiac, or Chevy could roll down the rear windows.
And the brand was folded first, a decade before Saturn and Pontiac were killed, while Buick was spared because of Chinese buyers.
SammyChevelleTypeS3
$50 site donor 2023
Oldsmobile engines even found their way into many of the later / last Pontiac FireBirds and TransAms.... I was just looking at a mint condition "Olds/Turbo/Trans Am that was pulled from storage and cleaned up, painted and put up for auction with only 20,000 miles.
Sad thing is even with an Olds (tough as nails V8) and a Turbo at that , those engines were de-tuned down so much the output for that car is less than 200bhp. SAD.... Nice, sweet car though.
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
Have you considered how an odd name might affect him in school and for the rest of his life? I suggest change your name to Saturn and not inflict that name on the kid.Awesome! I ripped around in an 02' L200 & put on 23k then gave it to my niece at 150k that she just listed it for sale the other day for $700 w/190k on it. I only gave $1850 for it w/128k on it w/"Prior Salvage" title. Although Honda/Toyota get all the fanfare you know full well that there's plenty of buckets running around folks that last a good length of time. All I did was put shocks on it, ignition coils/spark plugs, & change the oil. Loved that little 2.2L "Ecotec". I was kind of surprised though that it had side curtain airbags (no torso sides though), oil life "reminder", Power everything, & a sunroof
Last edited:
What?
Don't know where you're getting "discontented buick or Pontiac" from....
As far as the rear windows that was every 4 door g body in the 80s, not specifically Oldsmobile. It seemed like the 4 door was an afterthought for the g body. Very odd design decision but I only ever cared about the 2 door g body and that's what I've been driving for 25 years now.
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
The reason I thought Oldsmobile was higher than Cadillac is my experiences with a 1993 Olds Ninety Eight with leather seats that my parents owned, and my 1997 Buick Park Ave base model which has leather seats from an Ultra, and a 2002 Ultra that I test drove. Also a 1970s Cadillac Eldorado my dad owned.
The 93 Olds Ninety Eighty had the most comfortable seats for me. The Olds Ninety Eight seats were more padded than Buick Ultra seats, and fit me better than Cadillac seats. Olds Ninety Eight seats were a slice of heaven.
That 1993 Olds Ninety Eight had the best combination of comfort and handling. It had a more comfortable ride than Park Ave and better handling than Cadillac Eldo.
I like both Olds Ninety Eight and Buick Park Ave a lot, but I'd rather have Olds for comfort due to cushier seats, softer ride, more headroom (due to windshield having less slope) and maybe slightly more trunk room.
There's no denying that the Olds Ninety Eight looks old school fancy, but also more dated by older styling. The Buick Park Ave looks (and is) my more sleek and aerodynamic. Park Ave is more sporty.
I care about comfort the most. I wanted a 1990s Olds Ninety Eight with low miles, but couldn't find one. So I bought a 1997 Buick Park Ave with (at the time) 50K miles on it. I've learned to love my Park Ave, but I always wanted the Ninety Eight.
I always thought Olds was higher than Buick because for me the 1990s Olds Ninety Eight were the most comfortable cars I've ever ridden in. Also, I assumed old people liked Olds Ninety Eight because it's very comfortable and just below Cadillac.
I was shocked to learn Buick is higher than Olds. But really, it's just supposed to be higher according to GM. According to the public is what matters most.
Park Ave Ultra is beloved by people wanting a sporty luxury car. Olds Ninety Eight is beloved by people wanting maximum comfort who don't care about power (usually no super charger) and those people probably don't want a supercharger. That describes most old folks who have some money. I'm only 56, but I like the same things that old folks did/do.
It's shame that USA luxury sedans died out. They're comfy, practical (way better mpg than SUVs), and some are sporty. They also have better high speed handling and stability than SUVs.
The 93 Olds Ninety Eighty had the most comfortable seats for me. The Olds Ninety Eight seats were more padded than Buick Ultra seats, and fit me better than Cadillac seats. Olds Ninety Eight seats were a slice of heaven.
That 1993 Olds Ninety Eight had the best combination of comfort and handling. It had a more comfortable ride than Park Ave and better handling than Cadillac Eldo.
I like both Olds Ninety Eight and Buick Park Ave a lot, but I'd rather have Olds for comfort due to cushier seats, softer ride, more headroom (due to windshield having less slope) and maybe slightly more trunk room.
There's no denying that the Olds Ninety Eight looks old school fancy, but also more dated by older styling. The Buick Park Ave looks (and is) my more sleek and aerodynamic. Park Ave is more sporty.
I care about comfort the most. I wanted a 1990s Olds Ninety Eight with low miles, but couldn't find one. So I bought a 1997 Buick Park Ave with (at the time) 50K miles on it. I've learned to love my Park Ave, but I always wanted the Ninety Eight.
I always thought Olds was higher than Buick because for me the 1990s Olds Ninety Eight were the most comfortable cars I've ever ridden in. Also, I assumed old people liked Olds Ninety Eight because it's very comfortable and just below Cadillac.
I was shocked to learn Buick is higher than Olds. But really, it's just supposed to be higher according to GM. According to the public is what matters most.
Park Ave Ultra is beloved by people wanting a sporty luxury car. Olds Ninety Eight is beloved by people wanting maximum comfort who don't care about power (usually no super charger) and those people probably don't want a supercharger. That describes most old folks who have some money. I'm only 56, but I like the same things that old folks did/do.
It's shame that USA luxury sedans died out. They're comfy, practical (way better mpg than SUVs), and some are sporty. They also have better high speed handling and stability than SUVs.
Last edited:
Similar threads
