CarBrandLogos archive · Oldsmobile · 1961

OldsmobileCutlass

Once the best-selling car in America, then a name stretched past breaking point.

Photo: SterlingWilke at English Wikipedia · Public domain

The story

A defining chapter in Oldsmobile history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Oldsmobile Cutlass, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

It began modestly in 1961 as a trim level on the compact F-85, and grew into the most commercially important nameplate Oldsmobile ever had. The move to General Motors' mid-size A-body in 1964 gave it the proportions that suited it, and through the 1970s the Cutlass Supreme coupe, with its formal roofline and padded vinyl, sold in enormous numbers. For several years in that decade it was the best-selling car in the United States.

'74 Oldsmobile Cutlass Coupe · Bull-Doser · Public domain

Design and engineering

That success created the problem. General Motors began attaching the name to almost anything Oldsmobile built, so that a buyer could face a Cutlass Ciera, a Cutlass Calais and a Cutlass Supreme in the same showroom, on three different platforms, with nothing in common but the badge. The name that had been worth so much stopped meaning anything specific.

1962 Oldsmobile F-85 Club Coupe rear · Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA, cropped and levels adjusted by uploader Mr.choppers · CC BY 2.0

1961 Oldsmobile F-85 De Luxe Station Wagon

In production

The last cars to carry it, in the late 1990s, were rebadged versions of other General Motors mid-size saloons, and the Intrigue replaced it in 1999.

1961 Oldsmobile F-85 De Luxe Station Wagon · Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY 2.0

Legacy

It is now cited as often in marketing courses as in car histories, as the clearest example of what happens when a strong name is asked to cover an entire range.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1961–1999

Technical specification

The Cutlass, in detail.

Production: 1961–1999
Class: Compact (1961–1963); Mid-size (1964–1981, 1997–1999); Personal luxury car (1968–1988)
Manufacturer: Oldsmobile (General Motors)

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