Buick vs Oldsmobile

[350Rocket]

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.

Yeah they were used in a lot of stuff, I just didn't want to ramble for too long.
My friend has a 79 Cadillac Seville (and a 77 for parts) both with 350 Oldsmobiles that came with multi point fuel injection.
I also had an 87 caprice 4 door years ago that came with a 307 Oldsmobile from factory. Usually it was the 87-90 wagons that all came with it but in 87 in Canada most of the 4 doors did too.

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.

I think that's just a perfect example of how they are so close to each other that how you optioned it out had more to do with it than whether you got an Oldsmobile or Buick.
And that's into the era where they were all basically Buick engines (the 3800). Either one of those is a good car if you find a nice example of one. Buy one that's been taken care of and rust free.

 

[eljefino]

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.

You're thinking of the downsized "Metric Montes". They cut hundreds of pounds off without reducing rear seat hip room, so they wound up with paper-thin doors with no room for window mechanisms. All the cars of that body style had just the trianglular vent windows open in the rear.

Interesting experiment at the time, AC was becoming commonplace, so GM said "if we got rid of this, would anyone notice?"

Of note, the later dodge neon had front power windows combined with rear crank ones in an exercise of frugality.

 

[Carlostrece]

You're thinking of the downsized "Metric Montes". They cut hundreds of pounds off without reducing rear seat hip room, so they wound up with paper-thin doors with no room for window mechanisms. All the cars of that body style had just the trianglular vent windows open in the rear.

Interesting experiment at the time, AC was becoming commonplace, so GM said "if we got rid of this, would anyone notice?"

Of note, the later dodge neon had front power windows combined with rear crank ones in an exercise of frugality.

My dad owned a Maroon colored 1980s Cutlass with rear windows that didn't roll down. One summer in August (terrible timing) we went for a road trip vacation from Southwest WA, through OR, CA, NV, AZ, and West Texas to El Paso. In the shade temps were over 100F in NV, 120F in AZ, 110F in Texas.

My dad's radiator couldn't keep up. It was too small (made for cooler Northern climates in the cheapskate 1980s). I don't know. He couldn't run the AC and instead had to run the heater on high to keep that POS car from overheating and exploding in the desert.

My sister and I were in the back seat getting heat sickness for days. I got mildly ill. She got very ill because the little fool insisted on clinging to her security blanket (even though she was 8 years old). My mom had to confiscate her blanket to keep her alive.

Thanks a lot GM for making a car with a puny radiator and rear windows that don't roll down. Who'd notice? The diff was way to high geared making it gutless, and the radiator too small. So that Oldsmobile was a lemon, but my grandparents owned a nice 77 Bougham. My dad later owned a nice 1993 Olds Ninety Eight which I loved.

I was young in the 70s, 80s, 90s. I recall that there were a lot of USA made crap cars in the 80s. The Japanese made acceptable cars in the 80s, like my mom's Mazda GLC station wagon was a competant, but under powered car. My dad's 80s Olds Cutlass was an incompetant, under powered POS.

I have a loathings for 80s cars. I don't like them mechanically. Don't like the styling. They vary from a few acceptable ones to many awful ones. Nothing I ever liked. It wasn't until the 90s that I started liking American cars, and the Japanese cars also improved in the 90s. There's a lot of good cars from the mid 90s to 99. IMO

 

[Carlostrece]

Why were most 80s cars lousy?

 

[Opelman]

Cad/ Hummer/ LaSalle
Buick/ Marquette
Olds/ Viking
Pontiac/ Oakland
Chevrolet
The imports
Saab
Opel
Daewoo

 

[350Rocket]

Why were most 80s cars lousy?

EPA regulations is most of it. Plus things typically progress until they don't. We've had 40 years to get better. IMO it peaked around 2000-2006 and things are slowly getting worse as far as reliability and longevity.
Btw I have almost 300k miles on my 1984 Oldsmobile and I would not call it lousy. It's 41 years old and we still take it on long trips in the summer and the AC does work.

 

[fantastic]

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.

I didn't ask for your advice.
I will be moving forward for what's best for my family & you've only proven your intolerance in your statement.
And you know the old saying...
For those that matter don't mind & those that mind don't matter.

Think you pretty much have the hierarchy responses folks have posted here. Anything to add?

Have a great day.

 

[eljefino]

Cad/ Hummer/ LaSalle
Buick/ Marquette
Olds/ Viking
Pontiac/ Oakland
Chevrolet
The imports
Saab
Opel
Daewoo

So the 1989 Lemans sits at the very bottom of the list.

 

[Carlostrece]

I didn't ask for your advice.
I will be moving forward for what's best for my family & you've only proven your intolerance in your statement.
And you know the old saying...
For those that matter don't mind & those that mind don't matter.

Think you pretty much have the hierarchy responses folks have posted here. Anything to add?

Have a great day.

Yes, I have somethings to add.

You didn't ask for my advice, but you publicly posted that info on a forum. That was your choice. Publicly posting info on a forum is (obviously) making it available for comment.

If I was an intolerant person, I wouldn't have cared enough to post a reply. I'm not intolerant, but many people are, especially other kids in school. You won't be the one who has to deal with it. Your kid will have to deal it everyday in school. Why set a kid up for that. My point was: think it through.

Have a great day.

 

[JRay’07]

Why were most 80s cars lousy?

Many compromises were made in order to make vehicles more economical and comply with emissions standards. Computers were slow and we were asking too much from the available technology at the time. American manufacturers also lacked critical experience in the small car realm.

 

[Carlostrece]

Many compromises were made in order to make vehicles more economical and comply with emissions standards. Computers were slow and we were asking too much from the available technology at the time. American manufacturers also lacked critical experience in the small car realm.

All ^ correct info I'm sure, but USA car makers weren't just making lousy small cars, but also lousy medium size cars too. I don't know if they were still making large cars.

 

[4WD]

Why were most 80s cars lousy?

Which ones did you own?

 

[Opelman]

So the 1989 Lemans sits at the very bottom of the list.

Yep, but I would drive one.

 

[PF52]

I like 80s cars.

 

[andrew_j]

The last time all those brands existing together they had very little difference to one another and some models by “lower” were equivalent to the “higher” brand. Note I would include Saab in there too.

 

[4WD]

I like 80s cars.

Back then - not like some foreign cars didn’t rust through, drop transmissions, AC was terrible if it even had one etc … Heck, neighbor had 2 full fender rust throughs on a 2000 Taco - 7 years old in Texas
My 1995 GMC was the first year that everything looked proper underneath - what I don’t get now days is things are pretty well coated but they put shocks on with 0.000000001” of paint …

Not sure what the intent of this thread was - but it took the normal twists … Anyone planning to buy 80’s cars? Not me …

 

[4WD]

The last time all those brands existing together they had very little difference to one another and some models by “lower” were equivalent to the “higher” brand. Note I would include Saab in there too.

Our 3rd generation dealership carried all GM product lines - even after GM dropped off brands - they carried what was left.
However, the turning point for them = not willing to stock and service EV - so they have dropped off to Chevy/GMC only - that’s still allot of models …

 

[Kira]

the turning point for them = not willing to stock and service EV

"Them" being the dealership owners?
Does "stock and service EV" mean the EV1?
What year range are you speaking of?

 

[John105]

Back then - not like some foreign cars didn’t rust through, drop transmissions, AC was terrible if it even had one etc … Heck, neighbor had 2 full fender rust throughs on a 2000 Taco - 7 years old in Texas
My 1995 GMC was the first year that everything looked proper underneath - what I don’t get now days is things are pretty well coated but they put shocks on with 0.000000001” of paint …

Not sure what the intent of this thread was - but it took the normal twists … Anyone planning to buy 80’s cars? Not me …

I remember the times....my buddy had a Citation and it was terrible. Blew a head gasket and I honestly don't remember what engine it had. I had a brief gf who had a Buick Century which she let me drive her car and even to her dad's house. They didn't seem to be great cars but I do recall liking the 1987 Buick Electra Estate wagon (I think they made a LeSabre but I liked the Electra). You can see I was all over the place because my dream car was a '87 740 Turbo Volvo wagon. None of these were realistic, just dreams, as I was a broke student.

Again back to the original topic, I did think Buick > Olds because my dad said so. But there was this guy Dennis at my first job who said the reverse. I worked in a Caddy Olds dealer in upstate NY when I was 18-19 and there was a sweet 4-4-2 convertible in the showroom. At the time it was probably only 15 years old. I am not sure, were there Caddy Buick dealers back then?

 

[4WD]

"Them" being the dealership owners?
Does "stock and service EV" mean the EV1?
What year range are you speaking of?

Yes, - they sell lots of larger vehicles here … rare to see an EV and it’s going to be a Tesla …