1991 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Elite: The Park Avenue's Forgotten Sister-car

[@amarsta]

When I was younger I thought these looked goofy. Now I'm old and love that couch on wheels

[@Ayianalopezmae]

😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂

[@groovy1937]

My parents had a 91 Olds Regency Elite which they bought brand new. My dad traded our 1985 Olds 98 for it on a whim. Our 1985 was perfect, but he saw the 1991 and decided to buy it. It had every option except for moon roof and the adjustable suspension (button on dash). It even had a CD player which was rare for the time (had cassette standard). It had the digital dash. It was a nice car and a great car - they had it for 25 years and It was like new. Then he bought a Cadillac DTS which my mom still has (like new). I love these older GM cars. They never had one problem with the Olds, perfect car. Never ever need a front end alighnment either. These were great cars. You are young, I lived back then, people loved the GM cars back then and they sold well. You are wrong that young didn't buy them. These were expensive, I think the sticker on ours was $28,000.

[@melvinharris7859]

GM cars definitely did have strong sales back then despite how people today like to act like they didn't. Take for example the original 1985 FWD C-Body, a car people pan nowadays as being a huge failure for GM. That car sold over 500,000 units in its first year between just 3 cars, compared to around 300,000 for 1984 RWD C-Bodies. The new 1986 H-Body LeSabre and Olds 88 sold over 320,000 units just in that year. Sales remained strong through the rest of the 80s. The car was anything but a failure for GM, especially considering they would continue using the platform for 14 years after its release, and go on to make a total of over 6 million FWD C/H body cars.

[@groovy1937]

@@melvinharris7859 Yes, GM had a dominant market share and produced some very popular cars that everyone had. When my one sister graduated in 1979, my Dad bought her a brand new Olds Cutlass Brougham, that car was amazing, never had a problem with it and she had it for years. My oldest sister still has her 1969 Chevelle that my dad bought her for college! I had a 1982 Z-28 for high school and college and drove that for 10 years and only replaced it with a 1992 Camaro R/S because it was that last model year of that body and the 305 V8 had fuel injection - I love that car and it was so reliable - I put over 150,000 miles on it - only ever need tires and brakes, was still awesome when I sold it years later. GM had been a target of suspect "bad" ratings in Consumer Reports for many years starting in the 1970's. There was a concerted effort to smear them - a lot of American companies have been targets by the Anti-American progressive agenda to be destroyed. They have taught younger generations false history of what actual was. The result is the America we have now - totally different from what I remember growing up and the youth, for the most part, has been taught the opposite of what was.

[@lklpalka]

Beautiful! one of my most admired platforms ever. Reliable, clean timeless styling, comfortable luxury. Thanks for this, well done.

[@ManujaDeSilva-cf3mx]

This is such an awesome car. The front bench seat especially is a great feature that I think a lot of people would be happy to have on modern cars today. I wish I saw more of these around.

[@CalvinP420]

My great uncle had one of these in the 90s. Very fond memories riding in that leather interior with the (gasp) power passenger seats!

[@bestrnlynzeep]

Nicely done Michael. Fun watching this and so entertaining from the perspective of someone my age who still considers 1990s as not long ago.

[@edevanko160]

Beautiful car keep her on the road keep the Oldsmobile name alive !!!! hopefully you can find a front bumper for her

[@Morgorn1]

I owned a '92 Regency Elite. It was white and silver, a beautiful car that was surprisingly comfortable and got decent gas mileage. It was destroyed in 1995 by a red light runner, I thankfully was not injured. It was a sad loss.

[@craigchally5942]

The previous generation of 98, especially the Touring Sedan, had a much more sumptuous interior. This generation interior always struck me as too plastic fantastic.

[@ennsma]

I agree. And I always found that previous generation’s exterior design to be elegant and formal. Matched the sumptuous interior nicely. This generation always looked to me like it was designed by first taking a ruler, drawing a long horizontal line, and building the rest from there.

[@keithblevins5093]

That electric trunk closer is nice until it breaks.

[@TwoDollarGararge]

Just fix it then no big deal

[@keithblevins5093]

It's an expensive repair

[@TwoDollarGararge]

@keithblevins5093 Then pull one from a junkyard. You can find these things there is 8 of them in my local yards. I'm sure it's a generic gm part used in many models because 90s gm. That or it's easy to retrofit a manual lock

[@averyparticularsetofskills]

THAT Was immensely entertaining 👌🏽 Would love to see more of Michael's antics 😂 But I have to admit, that Roadmaster stole the show....anyway like I said more antics please and thank you ✌🏽

[@mopargm9329]

Such a beauty even still. I loved all these late 80s-90s GMs growing up. And as a lifelong mechanic I love the 3800!! Owned very many and currently and till I die own a beautiful 04 Dale Jr L67 3800 supercharged Monte Carlo SS. I'll never let this one go. But I am gonna start buying GTPs as well to add. Owned many in my teens and 20s and now I'm 35 and still in love with the sound of the 3800 to this day lol. Especially L67 and L32s

[@mikeyurek9960]

Great car and great review

[@DSP1968]

I'm very glad you found this car and appreciate it so much! My '73 Marquis Brougham has that same automatic rear self-leveling system and the cornering lights, as did a '99 Grand Marquis I had. Keep it going and enjoy it!

[@manofthehour6856]

Excellent presentation! GM cars really went downhill with the 1980s wholesale changeover to FWD. Between various engineering requirements to meet safety and fuel standards, Roger Smith becoming CEO had the company move its C-suite focus away from cars and on acquisitions, like Ross Perot's EDS and Hughes. The new FWD cars just seemed tinny and were riding the legacy of GM's glory years or say, the 1960s. Oddly being from a GM family and more interested in Olds than Buick, I remember the first 1991 Park Avenue I ever saw on the highway around Springfield, Illinois, circa August 1990. I can't recall when I first saw the comparable 98. GM was seeing the fruits of addressing the ridicule of badge engineering that was on a Fortune magazine cover depicting four A-body cars, and a 1985 Lincoln Town Car commercial where the valets and car onwers were all confusing Cadillacs, Buicks,.and Oldsmobiles. I really appreciate the approach taken in this video in that it is presented matter-of-factly, sharing some likes and dislikes as personal preferences rather than some pompous critique. Colors became seriously limited through the 1980s and 1990s because Japanese car companies like Honda were using a "KISS" (keep it simple, stupid) method of a smaller color pallet to simplify assembly, and mitigate any quality problems at the factory. It was easier to have a choice of two colors, or maybe not even a choice! That compares to the 1960s where certain American cars sold in volumes in the 100,000s, and it was possible that not one would be the same because of the combination of options available. The single color looks a bit stark these days with nothing to interrupt all the blue, other than the faux wood trim. I actually think this wood trim looks ok as it is a thick piece of plastic mimicking a section of wood rather than some vinyl design epoxyed to the dash. It won't be mistaken for a Rolls-Royce interior, but it works. Great presentation that was a refresher to me, and possibly a history lesson for people born the year this car was manufactured.

[@melvinharris7859]

I think the 1991/1992 redesigned FWD C/H body cars really fixed a lot of the teething problems the original 1985/1986 C/H body had, particularly the styling. Though even the first generation cars had turned into a relatively decent vehicle by the late 80s once they got the 3800 and the issues with the TH400-T4 had been worked out. Sure GM was still somewhat riding on the legacy of their 60s vehicles, but the FWD C/H body cars really did have a lot of engineering and advancements put into them, perhaps the biggest single leap ever made to fullsize General Motors cars. They had great space efficiency (even by todays standards), a fully indepedent suspension, rack and pinion steering, a transverse engine design, tons of legroom, hiproom, shoulder room, and headroom, all in a car which was under 200" long and had a wheelbase a little under 111". They had a lot going for them at the time, which is why they sold pretty well, even if the first few years aren't remembered fondly now due to the quality and reliability issues. I'm not sure if I agree on the 80s models seeming tinny though. I mean, they were, as they were 80s GM products, but I wouldn't say any moreso than the RWD cars they replaced, which were also pretty flimsy if not even moreso if I'm honest. The original 1977-1979 cars were particularly bad in this regard, even if I do prefer the styling on those to the revised 1980 models. The downsized 1979 fullsize Ford cars were even worse. I can't say I've seen a 1985/1986 C/H body car with a buckled hood from somebody shutting it too hard. I can however say I've seen that many times on the downsized B-Body. The 91/92 models were of course better in this regard, as GM loosened up with the weight savings measures so they were able to put a bit more steel into the body structure and use standard thickness sheetmetal again as opposed to that thin 22 gauge stuff. The cars also grew in size allowing a larger trunk and more balanced proportions.

[@Jasona1976]

Michael did a good job and he is very cute too!

[@rorybellamy2533]

i wanted one of these, had the Delta 88 and a Buick , not my favorite or the best model year but the 3.8 engine was very reliable

[@WesleyNC91]

Great video! Love these classic Oldsmobiles.

[@scottdavis_34]

Nice review! This one is a survivor. Take good care of her!

[@markbehr88]

I just bought a white one of these. Great looking cars. 👍

[@smacdiesel]

Back in the 90's my church pastor drove one of these! Even though he was independently wealthy and refused a church salary, he didn't want to live above his congregation. Thus, he drove these cars instead of Cadillacs which he loved. Later he drove used Cadillacs. He was a great man and I miss him.

[@manofthehour6856]

That reminds me of the opening to the late 1980s NBC sitcom "Amen" with Sherman Helmsley playing an inner city pastor. He pulls up to his parking space in a 98 which just seemed tasteful and respectful for a Minister to have.

[@Jonathanlobo2910]

Excellent video!

[@trey3ful]

My grandparents use to own a black metallic 1991 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Regency Elite with the 50th Anniversary Gold Edition package. Which reminds me, there is a an Anniversary Gold Edition package for the 1991 model year. Not to mention that 1991 marks the year Oldsmobile celebrates the Ninety Eight’s 50th Anniversary.

[@jeffreymarshall2875]

Great video. I recall these cars well. Although they may have been "good" cars, quite frankly, I did not care for the styling at all - either then or now; they turned my head but in the opposite direction. At that time, the Acura Legend, Lexus LS 400, and Infiniti Q45 were the cars to aspire to.

[@rickymack2611]

I had a little car once that had 13 inch wheels

[@moonbeamskies3346]

The Geo Metro and Ford Festiva came with 12" wheels.

[@jeffshadow2407]

I sold these for all six model years and sold Oldsmobiles for fourteen years. In 2006 I bought a 1995 at our local dealer auction for $1,995. It was owned by people I had spoken to but decided to buy elsewhere (Peninsula Pontiac Oldsmobile). It had VIN # 00003! Yes, I should have kept it.

[@DJDost]

Love the video bro.. brings back so many memories although the 1983 98 is the one we loved.. anyway Sending you mad love From Newark Brick City NJ.. stay safe out there and God bless you and your family..✌️

[@mikelathen8397]

Nice.

[@sterlinsilver]

Perhaps my most unpopular opinion of all time is that THIS is the BEST looking car of the 1990s. Really. This car. I dont know why but i think these are BEAUTIFUL. Every time i see one in public i just stare at them... All yours needs is some thin stripe white walls!

[@Preston_Dickerson]

Bro. You are literally personifying me right now. I have a 1983 Pontiac Grand Prix Brougham and it love rocking the land yachts too!😂

[@TeddyBearGaming999]

Have driven, can confirm it is quality vehicle

[@mikelathen8397]

Excellent.

[@davidd1692]

I currently have a 1990 olds 98

[@dshaak1]

I miss mine, should have kept it.

[@moonbeamskies3346]

I love it! I wish I had an Oldsmobile like that.

[@barrykochverts4149]

You're like a young Doug DeMuro without the histrionics. Low key humor needs to make a comeback. Annywayyy...I've a friend who asks me how I hope to score with the ladies in a '98 Olds '88 LS. When her Fit goes into the shop, she refuses the offer of lending her my car. The original owner was 70 when he bought it new, and I was 70 when it came into my hands. Time to fall into big, soft seats and a smooth ride at the speed limit on a long sweeper, enjoying the scenery and getting in the way of stepmoms in Suburbans. These cars were geared for EPA figures, and most driving happens well below the revs that produce 100 hp, so 3rd gear is where it lives best. 4th is overdrive, and its pretty gutless, but on a level surface it's really loping along. Just watch out for internal intake manifold coolant leaks that can lead to a blown engine; the telltale is if you smell antifreeze but nothing it leaking. Other than that, they are bulletproof.

[@silversubaru9888]

If I am not mistaken this car has the metal intake manifold and the engine is a series 1...kinda. So far its been extremely easy to work on

[@anthonyrusnock1868]

Awesome, I had a 92 98.

[@johncollinge9338]

Awesome car I love it

[@troytrexler5459]

15” wheels are normal for 80’s and 90’s full size American cars.

[@westhavenor9513]

Even 1/2 ton trucks had 15" wheels in the early 90's

[@moonbeamskies3346]

Some big cars came with 14" wheels in the early to mid 80s.

[@colinschmitz8297]

The sizes TRUE luxury cars should have as the large profile cushions and isolates the driver from the harshness of the rough roads

[@vortire6040]

Have a park avenue ultra myself, saw one of these in great condition for 1k with a disengaging gear in the trans at stops.

[@selenelacaze9883]

Awesome car !

[@BrokebackBob]

You should be able to find a nearly perfect front bumper at an auto salvage yard.

[@silversubaru9888]

I wish I could find a 98 but all I find are Park Avenues

[@melvinharris7859]

These were a controversial car when they came out. Sales for the new '91 Olds 98 actually decreased compared to 1990, whereas Park Avenue sales increased over 220%. Sales would never really recover for this car, and GM discontinued it after 96, despite giving the Park Avenue a second generation. I actually like the design of this car, but a lot of buyers didn't at the time. The Park Avenue by contrast was a huge hit and people loved it and its new design. The new Olds 98 unfortunately wasn't the same story. But it was just as good a car as the Park Avenue.

[@SCORPION89199]

Yeah I did some research it turns out there were only 54,000 that were sold in 1991 the first year of the big body style the first year they made cars this big in Oldsmobile since about 1984 and 85 to 1990 was really short cars about the size of a Bonneville or a Buick at the time in the mid-1980s until the 90 model year I don't like those versions the 91 to 96 is similar to the ones from the late 70s until 1984 but obviously this has a V6 and it's better on gas than the late 70s and early 80s ones. From 92 to 96 they probably sold a lot more but yes in 1991 Oldsmobile only made 54,000 the first year of the final 12th Jen Oldsmobile 98, in a 1991 it had been 50 years since the first Oldsmobile 98 have been built in 1941 so there was a 50th anniversary edition which I think was part of the touring edition but I'm not sure.

[@melvinharris7859]

@@SCORPION89199 The low sales figures for the '91 Olds 98 are due to its controversial design, not its size. The new Park Avenue for '91 was a big hit, and it was the exact same size as the new Olds 98.

[@70brine]

My parents had a 94 Olds 98. They weren’t bad and rode really well.

[@billymcmanus9642]

He's making me feel so old describing this car and how everything works it's kinda hilarious in a away because that car is nothing like today's junk on the road lol i graduated from high school when this car came out and I think they need to start making cars like that again because nothing today will give you the ride or comfort of cars from the past. I call today's cars toasters on wheels lol

[@mopargm9329]

You're also wrong about a lot of cars not having air vents in the rear in the 90s the 1993-2004 Dodge Intrepid when equiped with bucket seats and center console and same for the Chrysler Concorde, Eagle Vision, 1994 Chrysler LHS and in 99 the Chrysler 300M all did. Also the first car to have the manumatic aka Autostick in chrysler terms was the 1996 Dodge Intrepid ES and 1996 Eagle Vision TSI

[@alecfromminnenowhere2089]

Or the seat belt would brand "GM" on peoples backsides when they didn't buckle up.

[@mikelathen8397]

Cool.

[@TwoDollarGararge]

These are neat now because they are extinct. Even 20 years ago, this was the old man's car owned by 87 year Olds.

[@SCORPION89199]

I bought the same year as his it needs a little bit of paint work and the radio and Horn aren't working right now and I need new screws for the door on the glove compartment but other than that it runs fine and it's not bad on gas like people would think 27 mi to the gallon, but it turns out I'm the fourth owner the guy before me that I bought it from in may he was a groundskeeper he bought it from another guy named Mr farmer who bought it from a lady who was the original purchaser who was born February of 1916 so I guess she would have been in her 70s or 80s when she bought this car and it only had $150 mi on it when I first bought it what's the address to Tennessee and back last weekend and now it has a little bit over $155,000 on it but it did well it didn't have any problems I do need a new catalytic converter but other than that it works really well so I need to get some kind of leather restorer for the seats.

[@patrickmoore4921]

I had a 1983 98 Regency Brougham dark blue with dark blue vinyl ragtop and dark blue plush velvet interior

[@uncledavid31]

One of the last vehicles that my late uncle owned or drove was a beige Oldsmobile Ninety Eight of this style.

[@joshuanichols381]

That car has a lot of features my 1984 Cadillac eldorado had. I had an entire digital dash tho with the digital fuel economy gauge and ac controls. GM did a good job on comforts of Thier cars even as far back as the early 80s or further back

[@Cartier_specialist]

Believe it or not Cadillac had the soft close motorized trunk latch in 1955. The first time I saw a car with it was a mid 80s Camaro.

[@michaelcoffey7362]

Cool 😀

[@westhavenor9513]

Doug DeMuro's mini-me ;)

[@moonbeamskies3346]

But not condescending to the car or those who like them.

[@colinschmitz8297]

I agree with the idea cars like this should come back and the comparison with BMW being like Civic on coil overs.

[@mopargm9329]

Also your air shocks do not work if the car is not running so throwing your friend in the trunk naturally would naturally would still lower a little

[@giuliopedrali4794]

Oldsmobile, my favourite modern times american brand, closed for the too american styled cars, but this thing is amazing

[@Barbie12656]

This exact colour was my grandfather’s last car

[@silversubaru9888]

This car now belongs to me and I am doing my best to fix everything Michel couldn't get to. Now needs a new harmonic balancer and it should be fixed soon. Maybe see it in another video @TopherParkerCars

[@patrickmaloy5262]

All of the GM full size cars looked similar. There wasn't much difference in trim, or engines. These cars were sold to a population who considered themselves to be Oldsmobile people.

[@pitahe]

I'm looking for an old Buick or Oldsmobile, they are so comfortable and reliable with that 3800

[@j7h7]

singed my butt many a time on those GM seatbelt buckles

[@TopherParkerCars]

🤣🤣🤣

[@Travis25601]

Shouldn’t we all be demanding this standard of comfort in our modern cars that are 3 or 4 times as much ? It seems like the technology ruined our quality.

[@ralphabreu5022]

That Oldsmobile was when General Motors was General Motors. Today's GM stands for General Mechanic. A real car!!! Not today's plastic fantastic car's or SUVs... That car was built to last....

[@ahoneyman]

These may or may not reach 100 mph in central Indiana.

[@robbicu]

Cute!

[@jamesdennis2058]

It’s a pretty car but unfortunately it’s a GM product. After my experience with a very sour 1985 Cutlass lemon, I haven’t have a GM product since. My son had a horribly expensive 2020 Silverado that was equally as bad. No more GM junk in this family.

[@gm12551]

9:04 GM wasn’t going bankrupt yet. Roger Smith put financial strain back in the 80’s and a lot of things GM did made them go bankrupt. Automakers finances are always up and down. They didn’t go belly up for another 16 years…

[@landonbenford8369]

According to Motor Trend's July 2023 Edition "Back To The 90's", then GM C.E.O. Roger Smith was one of the few in Detroit who actually saw Toyota and Honda coming!! He invested $5 Billion American with a B to create The Saturn Motor Division, which was going to recreate GM! Back in the 80's GM had more money than GOD!😎But Smith retired literally the day after Saturn assembly began. Saturn was the new baby in the house. And the jealous older brothers; Olds, Buick, Pontiac, and Chevy; conspired to destroy the new baby! And we All Know how THAT story ended!! Now GM Might Still be in trouble even If Saturn had reinvented the wheel. But we'll never know. And I find it ironic that two of the older brothers who conspired to kill Saturn; again created to save THEM; are they themselves gone!🧐🤢🤧😭😭And yes, you guessed it! Between me and my in-laws, we've owned SIX Saturns and were VERY HAPPY with All of them!!!😎😎

[@jimmya2578]

Fresh struts will take care of alot of that bouncing….normal for this platform.

[@TopherParkerCars]

He’s replaced them since then, doesn’t ride quite as cloud-like but now it’s self leveling!

[@melvinharris7859]

Yeah, the shocks on the old C/H body cars don't have a particularly long lifespan. My '95 Park Avenue has the original ones and it rides pretty poorly. Very floaty and bouncy and it shakes and shudders over bumps.

[@markcollins457]

OLDSMOBILE of the 90's had some of the ugliest cars. The Aurora was a typical GM last chance effort but the rest of OLDSMOBILE was the best that Buick & Pontiac had to offer. Plymouth & Dodge hade the same identity crisis.

[@Travis25601]

All of the money spent building modern luxury cars is toward technology instead of comfort. They assume we want to spend more money on the tech instead of cushion and tufting and floaty suspension… or eeeeeasy fluid-like steering. A few years ago Lincoln even removed all of the buttons for a “minimalist” approach. They’re all so bland now. Buick is dying because they lost their way and their designs are plain and blah. I think the automotive industry would make a huge comeback if they would introduce vintage luxury comfort like hood ornaments, chrome, Cushion, tufting, color rich carpets and seats, and burl wood interior accents. Now it’s all a matte black interior with nothing to look at.

[@bernardmyers9722]

Fake Lincoln