In a world awash with SUVs and trucks, the personal luxury coupe has become an endangered species. Automakers sold these plush cruisers by the hundreds of thousands through mainly the seventies and eighties. Yet when this type of vehicle switched to front wheel drive sales began to decline. If you are looking for a top shelf, low mileage personal luxury coupe from the height of their success, then you might want to take a look at this 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham for sale on eBay in Long Beach, California. In showroom condition and with a scant 20,800 miles, this classy Olds is being offered for $23,000. Is that a realistic price in today’s market? Thank you to loyal reader Larry D. for the tip!
I am going to date myself here. When I was in driver’s education class in high school, the local Oldsmobile dealer supplied all of the cars we used. The fleet consisted of two Cutlass Calais, two Cutlass Cieras, and one Cutlass Supreme. I remember the Cutlass Supreme being a light metallic blue with blue cloth interior. We were rabid to get behind the wheel of any car. Yet, when it came time for a group of students to pick the car to drive around in circles in, everyone made a dash for the Cutlass Supreme.
Why? Well, it was obvious to even a gaggle of moronic high school kids that it was the best car of the bunch. The car just looked good, it floated along like it was riding atop a magic carpet, it had rear wheel drive, and it had a V-8. This last fact was not lost on us and was taken advantage of every time Coach Dolce (God rest his patient soul) was not paying attention. While in no way considered fast by today’s standards, this was a car that could move a bit compared to its contemporaries. The car buying public must have felt a similar love for the Olds and what it brought to the table. The rear-wheel-drive Cutlass Supreme was one of Oldsmobile’s best sellers up until the end of production in 1988.
A look at the photographs from this ad brings back a lot of memories. Oldsmobile was a very popular brand all the way up until they lost their way in the end and were put out to pasture. The winning formula for the marque was to provide buyers with good looks, a plush interior, a smooth ride, and a touch of sportiness. As you can see, the car featured in the ad represents all of these qualities. The amazing thing is that it looks so incredibly new.
The reason for its condition is that this is one of those unicorn cars that never saw bad weather, was always garaged, and it even slept under the protection of a car cover when garaged. It left the factory with a plethora of options like the usual power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission, stereo cassette sound system, power antenna, power windows, power locks, and even a rear window defroster. It also can boast of having the infrequently seen options of a leather wrapped steering wheel and factory painted pinstriping.
The picture above shows why Oldsmobile sold a lot of cars. The interior on these cars was as comfortable as it looks in the picture above. The seats on these cars were pillowy soft, and the material felt like a soft velvet. Combined with a sound system that was pretty good for its day and a smooth ride, this was a place that you could activate the cruise control and float along the interstate for miles without feeling any fatigue. New eighties cars, especially rear wheel drive models, had a smooth, floaty feel on the road that no car today can replicate. They were, of course, pigs in the corners, but cars like this were meant for cruising.
This method of travel required the right powerplant, and the 307 Oldsmobile V-8 you see here fit the bill. While not known for having gobs of horsepower and tons of torque, these engines nevertheless could be counted on to be both smooth and reliable. Combined with the standard automatic transmission the engine delivered good gas mileage for the time with little engine noise burrowing its way into the cockpit.
As you can probably tell, I really like this car. It just brings back so many happy memories of a time that I wish all of you could have experienced. Oldsmobiles like this were in a lot of driveways, and customers were loyal to the brand. It is sad to see that the good times finally came to an end, but at least there are a few time machines out there like this car to allow us to remember how good we had it.
Do you have good memories of Oldsmobiles in your past? If so, please share them with us in the comments.
Ha! Had a chuckle looking at that first picture; just beyond the Cutlass in the harbor – that boat just right…er, starboard of the “Island Lure” is retro stylish in a pirate sort of way!
Anyway – nice Cutlass! Black painted rallys look odd on white car – so I zoomed in on build sheet. Originally had wire hubcaps. That explains that. Always think the rally wheels add that sporting touch. Can’t blame the switch.
I don’t believe that is the leather wrapped steering wheel, rather the standard one. Still – no cracks! Disappointed in that it doesn’t have the factory guages. Or power seat. For the money it’s at, I would want an example with them. Oh – and it could be a Calais. Or, I guess, in ’86, a Salon…
We had an 84 Supreme. Great car! It ran well, rode well, and was reliable. Ours had the factory mags painted to match the slate blue color of the car.
GM screwed up by dumping Olds and Pontiac and keeping Buick.
You’re funny Jeff, “a touch of sportiness”. Neat designed but
The only sporty thing i remember on this was when i opened
the fuel filler door. This cars float really but when GM led the
engineering to Opel and invested some more attention to detail
they had sold some more. (Better panel gaps, real wood
inserts, metric gauges, even radio frequency steps)
And they sold this well in Europe. GM always failed in internal
communication not in product design.
This example should be in a museum.
Today a more collectable model of this range is the fwd Toronado
or its upscale variant Trofeo. I had seen only two here and one
had an front accident. Totaled. With similar dasboard form, the classic,
wide Toronado shifter and digital gauges. It felt like in a future aircraft.
Very nice. Shift! As far i remember they offered it also with a 3.8 V6
compressor engine known from the Buick Electra Park Avenue.
When I was in High School my dad’s best friend had a Black 1982 Olds Calais with T-Tops and burgundy interior with bucket seats. The car was loaded with options and so sharp. Being 16 I was in love with that car! My dad was a mechanic at an Oldsmobile Dealer and when I was a teen helped me get a job getting the new Oldsmobiles ready to display on the lot. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Lots of great memories and so glad I was able to experience the fun of driving those sharp Oldsmobiles!
If this car were at a show or meet, I’d spend way more time checking it out than another damn Mustang.
And I have to disagree about “a sound system that was pretty good for its day.” Those cheap paper speakers were hot garbage.
I agree. I’ve owned several GM G-bodies, and while it was easy to get a replacement radio, finding the 4X10 speakers for the rear shelf was a chore. Many people hacked up their interior to fit 6x9s
I had an 87 2 door Brougham, dark gold with a beige landau top and velour interior, 307 V8 with the automatic overdrive. Bought it in November 1990 with 18,000 miles and traded it in with 64,000 miles for a new 94 Buick Regal Custom coupe, mainly because being RWD, that Cutlass was one of the worst cars I’ve ever driven in the snow, and the winter of 93 – 94 was one of the snowiest we’d had in Long Island NY in a long time. So I wanted FWD.
I still have that 94 Regal. It became a second car for me in 1998 because I couldn’t bear to run my first brand new car into the ground. Today it has 85,000 miles on it, looks like new, and drives just as good as it looks. But if I knew then what I know now, I would have kept the Cutlass and made it my second car. There’s a decent following for the G body cars, so it’d be worth far more money than the 94 Regal ever will, because there’s virtually no following for it at all. As such, trim and body hardware parts are virtually non existent. I’m probably one of the only people around who decided to preserve my Regal, and it’s sharp looking with a chrome luggage rack on the trunk, and has the desirable 3.8 engine, so it’s peppy. The factory alloy wheels shine like new-I had them refinished a few years back. But yet it might as well not exist if I bring it to a cruise night or cars and coffee, whereas many people crowd around the 2 door Cutlass Broughams I see there. And while my Regal’s leather bucket seats are quite attractive and well preserved, there’s nothing that matches the looks and comfort of those Cutlass Brougham’s 60/40 seats in the front.
We grow too soon old and too late smart…
My parents second new car they ever bought was a 1982 Cutlass Supreme Brougham, same body style as this one. It was charcoal gray metallic with lighter gray cloth/velour interior and wire wheels. Engine was the 3.8L V6. Ran good for many years, but did show to be underpowered. Overall, it was a good looking car like this one.
My parents first new car they ever bought was a 1974 Cutlass Supreme, that I still have today. Both cars were my mom’s back in the day.
I always loved these cars. I still want one, and think I will get one someday. I almost bought an 87 Cutlass Supreme coupe used in 2003. It was very nice, had the 307, but unfortunately it had a rebuilt transmission which the shifts in didn’t feel right to me, so I passed on it. I remember when it was announced in December of 2000 that Oldsmobile was going to be cut, I was in disbelief and was a bit indignant about it. I could not fathom how Oldsmobile could sell over 1 million cars per year in 1977, 1978, 1984, 1985, and 1986, had been sometimes the #3 best selling brand (once was #2, outselling even Ford in 1982, I think) and by 2000 things had declined so much that they were cutting the brand. How could the likes of Hyundai and Kia sell cars, and Oldsmobile could not? Though I think GM pulled the plug too soon, I think the brand would have been ultimately cut anyway – since Pontiac also went away in 2009. Though we owned many more Buicks than Oldsmobiles, we had a 65 Olds F-85 and a 90 Cutlass Ciera, the latter of which was driven 365,000 miles. I’ve always considered that to be the best car I’ve ever owned. Everyone else went over to the Japanese sedans or went to some type of SUV. I still haven’t and I don’t think I ever will.
23K crazy. The car barely cost that new.
Nice, but a hefty price tag. A mint ’86 442 might bring that.
I had an 84 Cutlass Supreme Brougham and it was a great cruising car. Loved to take it out for a drive. If I had the room, I’d give this one a look.
Oh to have a plutonium filled Delorian to go back to the days of my 84 “Special Edition” Supreme. When the 3.8 Buick gave up , I stuffed a 455 and TH400 from a 69 Vista Cruiser in that charcoal gray cream puff. With the 2.56 open rear it would cook the right rear tire for days. I even kept the wire caps and whitewalls on the car. Had a lot of fun with that sleeper
The sister had a ’86 Buick Regal…which was the same platform of this.
Her’s could have used the V-8, as it’s 6 cylinder made it a putt-putt car going up hills. It was pretty easy to siphon gas out of ….however.
i worked for a local olds dealer for 15yrs out of high school when these cars were new.we would sell 50-80 of these per year.a lot for a mom & pop dealer. great cars. most were v6 though. really miss those days.