NINETY EIGHT REGENCY

To quote the ads from back in the day... "Volkswagen does it again!"

Only time will tell. Looks like an Opel for North America just as Bob Lutz promised.

I am truly sorry for what happened to you. I have been there. I remember when it happened to my first Oldsmobile Ninety Eight. It was far worse than that. They destroyed the whole left side and suspension and more. Thankfully you are okay. This is the important thing. I hope you are okay, and just know it is cosmetic damage and the doors can be fixed. I am sorry. We not only have to drive for ourselves as well as others too.

I missed it totally.................

Glad to see you here too Chris. I am glad you are doing well too. You were missed.. I do not post much either. You are not the only one.

Brougham Holiday is correct to a point. It was used from early 80's and up to 1990. The Custom Cruiser used it until its redesign in 1991. The Ninety Eight, Eighty Eight, Cutlass Supreme, Cutlass Ciera all used it. The Toronado used a "T" symbol. The late 1970's Oldsmobiles used a rocket. Custom Cruiser was the last Oldsmobile with a stand up hood ornament.

I am glad you got your car. I must say I enjoyed your story and reading about your car. I actually considered the Fleetwood before I bought my Oldsmobile Ninety Eight. I liked that car too. I am glad you have one. I hope by now you have completed some of the changes you desired to place on your vehicle.

That is when GM was selling cars. GM was doing things right then. I know what happened. This car was designed in the mid to late 1970's when GM was doing this right and had a large market share. Things started to go wrong around 1983-1984 when these designs were being replaced. They were profiting from the work before in 83 and 84. Roger Smith was head of GM, and you saw the results of his work in 1984-1990. This is why you have to give GM time. We will not see the results of what is going on now until a few years from now. Right now what we are seeing is damage control. I remember the glory days of GM back then. Every division had great styling, there was not a car you did not like, the interiors were elegant and had cloth and leather. Pontiac also had some luxurious interiors too. I still prefer the Oldsmobiles. After the distaters of the 1980's, they spent the 1990's trying to correct them. GM right now is trying to break even. I do miss cars like this. The last examples we had were the 1990's B Bodies and the C Body Deville, Park Avenue and Ninety Eight. Sad to say as much as I like the 1997-1999 Deville, they do not even come close to this luxury displayed in the photos. GM was wanting more for less in the 1980's and 1990's. Back in the early 1980's and before that, you paid less and got more. I think there is a market for cars like this still. The only examples we have are Lincoln Town Car and Mercury Grand Marquis. They have become quite dated too. The mission became muttled and the image got lost after this car was downsized in 1984 as a 1985. It happened all across the GM lines. No one had anything anymore after that restructuring. This car in the photos was built when each division was semi independent. You now understand why people are holding on to cars like this and keep them. You now understand why Chrysler 300 is a hit. People want rear drive, V8's and this kind of luxury done in a contemporary way. Not every wants an Accord or Camry. Ford and GM spent the 1990's trying to make the Camry and Accord and lost time, money, and market share. People want cars that will excite them that will energize them. I like the Buick Lucerne, but I would not give up my car for it because personally, it is lacking on the inside and outside. Imagine if Lucerne offered some of the styling cues and that kind of luxury on the inside with a V8 and rear wheel drive in a smart contemporary package? Just to take you back.. Here is Regal Grand National Commercial :

This is very interesting. Quite good actually. I mentioned these possibilties before and look what is happening. I did say Chrysler would bring the Imperial back on the 300 platform. Well, it looks like that is going to happen. I said Pontiac would get the Cobalt and that it would be sold in the US from the Candian version. That is going to happen too. I also did say that GM would bring the Holden Statesmen to the US as a Buick or Oldsmobile. Well... It looks like that is a possibility too. The El Camino thing with Holden UTE is a strong possibility because it is already badged as a Chevrolet for the Middle East and South Africa anyway. It is easier and cheaper to build the cars here. GM is getting smart. You have to see the big picture. GM is starting to leverage itself globally instead of locally. Fact: GM North America has tried to build a competent small car. It is not been too successful. Why not use Opel/Vauxhall and Daewoo because they are in the heart of those markets where competent small cars are. Fact: GM walked away from rear drive, and it would be too costly to build and create drive only for North America. Why not use Holden who never stopped building rear drive to build some competent vehicles for North America. Fact: GM has assests it can make good use of. They days of this platform in this region and this one in that region are over. There is no mistake that Saturn has become Opel North America. They could not kill Saturn after the whole Oldsmobile debacle. To kill Saturn is to admit it was a mistake. Why not use Opel which is known globally and in the United States. Why not use Opel as they were here in the US before. GM is trying to cut costs in North America and globally unify all its brands. I see what GM is doing.. Look at GM China. Look At GM Australia. Buick and Pontiac are poised to become Holden North America. It will take time for this change to take place. Right now Pontiac is getting rebadged Chevys to keep them in business until the big changes happen. Holden has a formula that works. Buick and Pontiac at the present do not. This is part of the reason they merged Pontiac and Buick and GMC dealers. The kind of sporty cars Holden sells that Buick cannot or does not can be sold by a smaller Pontiac with some models unique to North America. GM is cutting costs, platform sharing and building unique models for each region. Look at GM Globally: These are the global brands: Chevrolet Opel SAAB Cadillac Hummer Holden Chevrolet and Opel interchange depending on the country SAAB is European luxury. That was no mistake they merged SAAB with Opel and Vauxhall in Europe. It is smart business. Europeans did not accept a high priced Opel or Vauxhall. It was outclassed. With SAAB in that position, people accept it as a luxury car where they did not accept Opel/Vauxhall. Cadillac has to re-istablish itself globally after so many years. It takes time. It is happening. It is the flagship or the "big luxury brand". Hummer is just that. Hummer. Buick is sold outside the United States and is more successful than in the United States. I agree from another thread. The Buicks in China are more luxurious than ours. Some aspects of the designs would not go over well here. I look for Buick to become more like Buick China with the Holden influence. Holden is the middle brand sold globally in many countries as Chevys, Daewoos, Buicks. *** They are launching Cadillac in Australia and thinking about relauching Chevrolet there. That is why Holden is using more Daewoos as lower end cars. It that is succcessful, Holden would be the Buick and Pontiac of Australia. There is no mistaking Holden had redesigned those Buicks in China. Facts are fact again: What could you do with Saturn here before they turned it to Opel North America? What could you do with Pontiac and Buick before these recent changes? GM has realized they do not have 50 % of the market any more, and outside Chevy, Cadillac and Saturn, Buick and Pontiac need to be smaller more focused brands. You combine them in one dealership with GMC, it is one division. Toyota and Honda and others do it. They use fewer platforms and change the cars for different markets global. The Acura TSX is the Honda Accord in Europe. Our Honda Accord is the biggest one in the world. It is on the same platform as that European one. They look like two different cars. Honda and Toyota have global design centers. GM has them now too. Europe Australia Korea United States GM knows it cannot sell Daewoos in the United States or Europe or Australia but it can sell them as Chevrolets and Suzukis and Holdens. If you have someone in your family who can do something better than you, wouldn't you rather have them do it for you than you trying to do it on your own and making a mess of it? I see a limited future for DTS and Lucerne. If Cadillac gets a flagship that is RWD, that eliminates the need for DTS. If Buick gets that Holden/ Buick car why do you need Lucerne? It all comes down to dollars and sense. People have been crying for the Opels/Vauxhall and Holdens to come the states, well you will get them under the guise of Buicks, Chevrolets, Saturns, and Pontiacs. GM Daewoo knew it could not produce a "competent luxury car". Why not use the Holden as it is in that region, and it already there. Pontiac, Saturn and SAAB will get "place holder" vehicles until the real stuff comes. It is better to have something in each segment than not to have anything at all. The goal is more vehicles on fewer platforms that can be built in any plant in the world with fewer parts globally and not just locally. What it comes down to is this: To quote the show Absolutely Fabulous: Names, darling names.....

I said they were going to do this at Chrysler eventually and they were thinking about bringing an Imperial back. No one believed me. Look what happened. Love or hate it, they have GM beat on several accounts: Several cars on the same platform that are rear drive and use V6's and V8's. What do we have?? This car now makes the Lincoln Town Car really outdated. Ford can no longer rest on Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis and Town Car any longer. This is a wake up call for both Ford and GM. Chrysler figured it out. Give the people what they want at an affordable price and they will come. Give Americans American cars. I will give Ford credit for getting it right with a Camry fighter(Fusion and Milan) I hope GM will finally see and give us some rear drive cars on the same platform for several divisions. Chrysler has a Mustang Challenger(oops! pun there) Chrysler has a Lincoln Town Car challenger Chrysler has a Grand Marquis challenger Would have been nice if Sixteen was in production at a cheaper price. GM has... well...... 3 FRONT WHEEL DRIVE sedans with V8's and a Holden Monaro. Love or hate the styling, it does not try to appeal to everyone or be everything to everybody. You know what it is looking at it too. **** in good time.. in good time :CG_all: with the return.

HUH????? :o

Look at : 1995-1996 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight 1995-1999 Oldsmobile LSS(Eighty Eight with sports package) 1995-1999 Eighty Eight 1997-1998 Regency (Eighty Eight with 98 parts) It lasted two years.

The Toronado and Custom Cruiser were dropped at the same time during the 1992 model year due to low sales. They had high inventory plus the fact Oldsmobile was in a lot of trouble at that time. This was the beginning of the revolution of the new Oldsmobile and Jon Rock was about to come on board at Oldsmobile. This was also during the time the rumors started that GM was going to phase out Oldsmobile. The only thing Oldsmobile had on the design boards at that time was a Toronado replacement which became the Aurora. To quote the material I have here in my house: There was a corporate shakeup at GM at the time. Robert Stempel was GM chairman at the time. Various GM car lines as well as bureaucratic layers were cut in an effort to return GM to profability. At that time GM lost 11.7 billion dollars over two years under Lloyd Reuss. They were dismantling the BOC and CPC groups created by Robert Smith. The announcement was May 1, 1992. The decision was based on slow sales . It was to allow building of more Cadillac Sevilles and Cadillac Eldorados in Toronados case and more Buick Roadmasters at the Texas plant in Custom Cruisers case. This was the beginning of Oldsmobiles dramatic change. It was to distance Oldsmobile from Buick to attract younger buyers with more expressive products. At that time, GM had fourteen different car platforms. They were trying to reduce that to 5 or 8 by the mid to late 1990's. ****The time draws closer........

I could see how this car could be an Oldsmobile. I am stating this based on what Bobo said. It would have been one of those "what if" scenarios. You could turn this car into an Oldsmobile Ninety Eight very easily. The taillamps and grille and headlights would have to change. The instrumentation panel would have to change. Other than that and removing the venti-ports and putting the last Bravada front end design on this car and changing the taillamps to some "Oldsmobile" familiar ones, this car is set. I think the trunk should be bigger and the seat controls should be placed on the doors. I noticed this: When did this car start using a 4.0 Liter V8? The only 4.0 liter V8 I remember is the Aurora V8. I thought the Northstar V8 was 4.6 Liters... They could put digital gauges in this car too if they wanted to. They should have put wood trim around the radio and climate controls. They also should have used less of that dark plastic here. The styling on this car grows on you. I still would not buy it because it has things that "I would prefer" that are missing. From this angle : and this angle It somewhat looks like this car with a modern update: **** Not time yet........I due season I will return.

History is "repeating" itself again: From Buick History: Once the Great Depression was well underway, Buick had a horrible dilemma. While Buicks were a substantial part of the medium-price range, the entire class was being squeezed out. In the early 30’s, rumors were circulating that the Buick nameplate was about to cease. However, Harlow Curtice (the new Buick general manager) saw otherwise. In May of 1934, he introduced the Series 40, which was essentially a Chevrolet body mounted on a Buick straight-8 chassis. This car accomplished two major goals. Its phenomenal sales assured the continuation of the Buick name and it became the springboard for the hottest-performing car in the medium-price class. With the Series 40, Buick had 2 overhead-valve straight-8 engines. The Series 90 had a 344 c.i.d. engine, the Series 60 used a 278 c.i.d. engine, the Series 50 used a 235 c.i.d. engine and the Series 40 used a 233 c.i.d. engine. In 1935, the series were given names. The Series 40 became the Special, the Series 50 became the Super, the Series 60 became the Century and the Series 90 became the Limited. In 1936, the three larger engines were all replaced by a 320 c.i.d. unit that would be the mainstay of Buick engines until 1953. Also, the Super series was renamed Roadmaster. With this engine consolidation, the Century became the hot ticket, and the series earned its name. It could hold a steady 100 mph, a feat that few cars of this price class could duplicate. As time went on, this engine went from 120 hp in 1936 to 165 hp in 1941. With the engine upgrades, the Century line was always at the head of its class for performance, right up to the cessation of auto production for World War II. After the war, the Century line disappeared, as Buick filled the demand with the larger (and more profitable) Supers and Roadmasters. In 1953, the 322 c.i.d. nailhead V-8 was introduced. In 1954, the Century returned, using the same idea as had been developed in the ‘30’s. The new Century was again essentially a Special with a Roadmaster engine dropped in. However, performance was hindered by the inclusion of the first-generation Dynaflow transmission, which was grossly inefficient. Buick reworked the transmission for 1955, with the result that the entire fleet of pursuit cars purchased by the California Highway Patrol for 1955 had a common nameplate: Century. The Century line was essentially carried over into 1956, as was the entire Buick line. However, in 1957, the tide shifted to heavier, softer cars and away from performance as a goal in itself. It was in this era that the Buick reputation for a soft ride with less-than-crisp handling was started. Buicks were still powerful, just more subdued. The 1960’s brought a reawakening. First, there were the Wildcats. Introduced in mid-year 1962, the Wildcat coupe was Buick’s entry into the high-performance field. Competing with the Impala Super Sport, and Pontiac Grand Prix, it gave Buick bottom-end punch to this burgeoning field. Next were the Gran Sports. Introduced at the start of the 1965 model run on the Riviera, the package included, among other things, a 425 c.i.d. engine with dual-quad carbs and a firmer suspension. This was followed by inclusion of similar packages on the Skylark (in mid-year 1965) and the Wildcat (in 1966). In 1967, the Skylark Gran Sport became the GS series. This part of Buick’s history is well-told in a number of other places. **** I found this online... Fast forward to 2005: Buick is in trouble again, and they need to revive the line. Fitting the name Super is being used on LaCrosse being that It replaced Century in the CX trim level. Everything comes full circle. Also note that Buick is considering a rwd sedan. The project has the name "Roadmaster". Buick is reaching back in its past in order to go forward. Notice the Century line was phased out again. Buick is trying to shake the image it created in the late 1950's. I posted this to show you where Buick is, and where it is headed. It is going back in order to go forward. Those that do not learn from the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat them. Buick is repeating. It did not learn. *** I have been watching and reading. It is not yet time for my return. I will be back when it is time.