1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass
A sexy name helped, too. Thus, Mustangs with scoops and spoilers, Barracudas with eye-catching graphics, and Firebirds with big bonnet emblems and even bigger V8s appeared to try & woo buyers with a combination of powerful engines, aggressive styling and macho names.
A California car from new, this Cutlass Supreme is in very good overall condition for its 79,699 miles, the red duco (a respray from the original white) is in very good order, as is the chrome, although some badging is missing. The 15" colour-matched rims appear in extremely good condition, too. The power-assisted black vinyl top is in good working order, although the plastic rear window is starting to go cloudy.
Inside, the original black upholstery on the 'Strato-Bucket' front seats and rear bench has been replaced with white vinyl and is in top order, as is the burl-pattern woodgrain applique trim that adorns the dash and doors. The power steering, air con/heater and radio comfort options are all in working order, the factory 2-spoke steering wheel replaced at some stage with a 4-4-2 wheel.
At around the time of our feature car, the Cutlass carried several labels, from 'Escape Machine' to 'Little Limousine'. There was even a fictional 'Dr. Oldsmobile' character designed to broaden the appeal of the Oldsmobile performance range to younger buyers.
While it certainly found buyers, the Cutlass arguably never found its niche in the market, which may go some of the way to explaining why they can be overlooked as valid American collectibles today. They never laid a huge bombardment on the market when new, thus they are rarely a buyer's first choice when looking for affordable muscle today.
Considering its very good overall condition and the sought after engine option, our feature represents extremely good buying, but a closer inspection and test drive should confirm if the Cutlass Supreme should be your weapon of choice.
WHAT, WHERE, WHEN & HOW MUCH
Model: Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
Year: 1970
Dealer: Toys for Boys
Price: $28,950
0-100 kph: About 9 seconds
Best point: 4-4-2 muscle without the
4-4-2 price. . .
Worst point: . . . but still not a 4-4-2
Recommendation: Definitely worth a 'shot'
Trivia: James Garner, star of 70s TV show The Rockford Files, was a keen race driver and campaigned a special 480hp Cutlass-based off-roader nicknamed the 'Banshee' in desert races in the US.
