ricklovin93 Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 Just wondering why olds dropped the cutlass name after 97, and made the intrigue for the w body platform? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake91 Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 because the cutlass name was given to its n body variant and then dropped in 2003 when they were killing olds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2k2cse Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 ^^ what Jake said. The 98+ Cutlass was basically just a rebadged Malibu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euro Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 It should've been just ended in 97. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 98+ it was very ugly and wasn't available in a coupe. I think those N -body cars don't have very good quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuminaPower92 Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 Why was Lumina dropped for Impala? My moms 03 impala and my Luminas look alot alike. Put it like this. Herp Derp Serp Where intrigue came from is beyond me. I do know it debuted in the XFiles movie as the rental car they use to go to the dig site. Effing Olds knowledge like a baus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuminaPower92 Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 Also why was it called a monte carlo, when it is a Lumina Coupe? This goes for every monte front wheel drive. GM were idiots. Should i get some monies, im buy a last gen monte ss, ripping all the badges off, repainting in maui blue, and putting Lumina Z34 badges on it. Should have kept a full size, rwd, chevy as a caprice (like they still did overseas) and had the impala name as it should have been, an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 Should have kept a full size, rwd, chevy as a caprice (like they still did overseas) and had the impala name as it should have been, an option. This. I'm not sure why GM thought Americans wanted FWD Monte SS and Imapalas. Then sell a lumina over seas that has a RWD v8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 Also why was it called a monte carlo, when it is a Lumina Coupe? This goes for every monte front wheel drive. GM were idiots. Should i get some monies, im buy a last gen monte ss, ripping all the badges off, repainting in maui blue, and putting Lumina Z34 badges on it. Should have kept a full size, rwd, chevy as a caprice (like they still did overseas) and had the impala name as it should have been, an option. same reason olds did the nameplate game: they wanted more sales. for whatever reason, they killed off a LOT of classic nameplates to replace them with new ones in an effort to distinguish oldsmobile as being not shitty as everyone made them out to be. chevrolet revived nameplates that formerly sold like crazy in an effort to generate sales as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutlassdude96 Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 n-body Cutlass was 97-99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakdown Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 The Cutlass Supreme was loss was part of GM's re-branding of the Olds division. They changed the logo. They removed virtually all "Oldsmobiles" from the cars (Cutlass Supremes have huge Oldsmobile thingies on the bumpers) and tried to be new and hip. They scrapped just about every name on every platform that was in use prior to 1995. Ciera, Cutlass Supreme, 88 Regency, 98 Whateverthehellit was, Tornado . . . . etc. Then some genius decided to re-badge a Malibu to bolster the line and give it one more entry-level car to go with the Alero. The re-brand failed and the brand folded. The Intrigue and brand as a whole was going to fail Cutlass Supreme name used or not. They were trying to emerge as more than an old person's car brand. I can't say that was a bad idea, it just was way too little, way too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 Rich pretty much hit it spot on. Lutz and his infinite wisdom decided that Oldsmobile should compete with Toyota and decided to rebrand olds. the N body Cutlass was pretty much a stop gap solution till the Intrigue was ready, Look at a 1998 Intrigue, TRY to find a place it says "OLDSMOBILE" anywhere on it. There is only one place. its ghosted in the pass side taillight. Long and short its likely half the reason why Oldsmobile was axed, they killed all their brands with decades of brand recognition. In fact it worked so well they decided to do the same thing with Pontiac... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oilpatch197 Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 (edited) At least they didn't sell the name off... Just let it die was a wise thing. But I have to agree the ideal was to get away from using that name brand, "Oldsmobile". So they just revamped the logo and obscure the name. Didn't work obviously. I'm not surprised about Oldsmobile going down.. but I WAS surprised when Pontiac got axed. Pontiac was a good brand, I loved the Vibe. Edited July 14, 2012 by Oilpatch197 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel87 Posted July 15, 2012 Report Share Posted July 15, 2012 I lost faith in Olds after 1997. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 I completely agree. Olds went down after 97. I loved the Olds through the 80s into the 90s and the only olds newer than 97 that appealed to me was the aurora, then they dropped olds completely. The olds cutlass that came out in 98 was nothing more than a rebadged malibu. Didnt even have any body change. I loved the fact that the early W-bodies were all different, Chevy had the lumina which was also very stylish as a coupe, then the pontiac Grand Prix. very fast and sporty, also available in a coupe, But the cutlass supreme, coupe, sedan, and convertible. They were so goof. All gone. To this day I still love the Cutlass supreme and if I found another one I would buy it. Comparing the newer GMs is like comparing apples and oranges. there is no comparison. I was very upset when they dropped olds but got to thinking the models offered were nothing after 97 and there was no attempt for recovery. Boy do I wish things were different. I have had 5 W-bodies and 4 out of 5 were 88-95. Loved them all. Then I had a 2001 Chevy lumina. (was a fleet only model after 1999) and it was horrible. I got rid of it quick. Very unfortunate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 Problem is, they had been building crap cars that nobody wanted to buy for almost 20-years before trying to change their image. Sure, some of us like the 80s and 90s Oldsmobiles, but we're the exception and not the rule! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricklovin93 Posted July 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 I completely agree. Olds went down after 97. I loved the Olds through the 80s into the 90s and the only olds newer than 97 that appealed to me was the aurora, then they dropped olds completely.The olds cutlass that came out in 98 was nothing more than a rebadged malibu. Didnt even have any body change. I loved the fact that the early W-bodies were all different, Chevy had the lumina which was also very stylish as a coupe, then the pontiac Grand Prix. very fast and sporty, also available in a coupe, But the cutlass supreme, coupe, sedan, and convertible. They were so goof. All gone. To this day I still love the Cutlass supreme and if I found another one I would buy it. Comparing the newer GMs is like comparing apples and oranges. there is no comparison. I was very upset when they dropped olds but got to thinking the models offered were nothing after 97 and there was no attempt for recovery. Boy do I wish things were different. I have had 5 W-bodies and 4 out of 5 were 88-95. Loved them all. Then I had a 2001 Chevy lumina. (was a fleet only model after 1999) and it was horrible. I got rid of it quick. Very unfortunate Hey a fellow utican Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 lol. dont hear that often. my whole life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 Problem is, they had been building crap cars that nobody wanted to buy for almost 20-years before trying to change their image.Sure, some of us like the 80s and 90s Oldsmobiles, but we're the exception and not the rule! you know, almost EVERYONE says that about pretty much everything GM made, but the numbers don't lie. Pontiac sold a TON of Grand Prix' both first and second gen, they sold a massive amount of Grand AMs, the people who say those things don't generally have a care to own a domestic car. Its easy for a Toyota owner to say "if olds was more like Toyota I'd buy one" No. Thats bull. Toyota owners generally don't want a Pontiac or Oldsmobile regardless of how nice/high quality it may have been. They want their Toyota's. So in turn GM trys to appease people who don't want to buy their cars in the first place. While simultaneously alienating their own customer base. A Pontiac buyer wanted a Grand AM, a Grand Prix, a Bonneville not a G3, G5, G6 Granted by 1997 Oldsmobile didn't really have any names left aside of Cutlass which they stuck on the Malibu and ran right into the ground. Intrigue, Aurora, and Alero were all good cars, but they were already lost in the woods by that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 Bob Lutz actually addressed a lot of that in his book on GM. actually a really good read, though kind of short. also: wasn't the ~mid 70s basically the age of the oldsmobile? i seem to remember one of the cutlass models being the highest volume car sold for a while..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 (edited) http://bestsellingcarsblog.com/1976/01/28/usa-1975-oldsmobile-cutlass-and-ford-granada-on-top/ http://bestsellingcarsblog.com/1977/01/21/usa-1976-oldsmobile-cutlass-still-americas-favourite/ 75 and 76, the cutlass was the highest selling vehicle in the US. 324,610, then 495,976 units in 1 year. certain GM execs would probably sacrifice kittens to see those numbers again. EDIT: 77: 527,939, though #1 spot went to the impala/caprice. 78: 406,993, #1 still impala/caprice. 79: 404,068, same as above 80: 210,784, dropped to #8 81: not even on the list. Edited July 16, 2012 by RobertISaar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 you know, almost EVERYONE says that about pretty much everything GM made, but the numbers don't lie. Pontiac sold a TON of Grand Prix' both first and second gen, they sold a massive amount of Grand AMs, the people who say those things don't generally have a care to own a domestic car. Its easy for a Toyota owner to say "if olds was more like Toyota I'd buy one" No. Thats bull. Toyota owners generally don't want a Pontiac or Oldsmobile regardless of how nice/high quality it may have been. They want their Toyota's. I don't completely buy that. I think a great deal of people out there are not brand-loyal and will buy a truly great product if it proves itself. Look at Hyundai, for example. In the 80s, everyone would agree Hyundai is crap. Today, they build quality products with features, looks, quality, reliability, and performance that people are happy with. They couldn't have survived if it wasn't possible to appease people who previously would not have considered their cars in the first place. Same story goes for Kia. Even today, Ford is making great strides, winning over customers that had previously bought imports or other domestic brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricklovin93 Posted July 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 I don't completely buy that. I think a great deal of people out there are not brand-loyal and will buy a truly great product if it proves itself. Look at Hyundai, for example. In the 80s, everyone would agree Hyundai is crap. Today, they build quality products with features, looks, quality, reliability, and performance that people are happy with. They couldn't have survived if it wasn't possible to appease people who previously would not have considered their cars in the first place. Same story goes for Kia. Even today, Ford is making great strides, winning over customers that had previously bought imports or other domestic brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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