MotorWeek | Retro Review: 1982 Olds 98 Regency Diesel

This has to be the first time a car has ever been compared to a home heating system.

[@adammarkowitz7944]

0-60 times will not be posted as there were no downhill sections on our test track.

[@jamesengland7461]

Right?

[@VAspeed3]

If it took 10 seconds to go 40 to 55, imagine what 0 to 60 would be. Probably 30 seconds, when very average cars now do it in 7 or 8.

[@craigroth8710]

0 to 60mph..... eventually!!!

[@darrenrussell3695]

@@craigroth8710 maybe

[@my67falcon]

0-60 was measured with a sundial.

[@GRosa250]

It’s still trying to get up to 60 MPH right now

[@alexander1485]

its at 59.5

[@dragonbutt]

38 years later, no such luck :D

[@GRosa250]

Jack Napier did it really “do great?” I find that highly unlikely. It’s more likely that it was turned into scrap metal much sooner than other vehicles from the time because they were junk the day they rolled off the assembly line.

[@stanmarcusgtv]

@Jack Napier until the engine blew up

[@pl5624]

The crank broke before it made it...

[@terracethornhill]

I love big old American cars. I like their design philosophy "luxury means being completely isolated from the road", they're like driving a 2 ton magic carpet. Fantastic.

[@chrisreynolds6391]

Cadillac Escalade? Yay or nay?

[@rexracer7192]

@@chrisreynolds6391 nay, it's just a suburban in reality.

[@horseplop9]

i had 8 of these. All Went,500K I just bought my 9thbYesterday

[@harleymitchelly5542]

@@chrisreynolds6391 Escalade, nay. Don't get me wrong, if I was going to get a platform to base my big SUV on, I'd pick a Suburban for being built like a Panzer, but the Escalade has lost a lot of luster being based on something so... plebeian. But yeah. Best seats I have ever sat in on a car was a 90's Olds with a velour bench. No idea why more companies don't fit sofas in their cars anymore.

[@CTN-dj7fr]

Except it's a diesel.

[@Dan23_7]

"Rules for diesel emissions not that stringent" Wow how times have changed here in 2020

[@TimothyOnline]

Volkswagen AG agrees

[@Dan23_7]

TimothyOnline dotnet haha

[@dragonbutt]

No diesel emissions in my state. Just gotta pass safety. Go ahead and delete that DEF system if you want :P

[@Dan23_7]

Dragon Butt What state ?

[@dragonbutt]

@@Dan23_7 Texas. Be it a diesel jetta or a class A semi, no emissions.

[@martinmller7410]

7- person car... (6 in the cabin, 1 in the trunk)

[@jamesgarrisonii1410]

Great drive-in car!

[@josephgaviota]

@@jamesgarrisonii1410 DANG, stole my line!

[@alexander1485]

TBH, its a 9 person car.

[@anijp9275]

yep that's how I would give my friends a ride to the park to go play basketball lol 1 or 2 in the trunk besides they where skinny lol

[@pianofry1138]

Yeah it's more like 3 maybe 5 if it's kids. (I mean in the trunk you could probably fit 8 in the cabin)

[@weirdshibainu]

I really like how easy it is to screw and unscrew the wing nut on the air filter cover....that will help close the deal

lol

[@Ithinkiwill66]

weirdshibainu that's what I miss about my '92 Sonoma...easy maintenance

[@DeLorean4]

Changing the filter on my newer car: Must. not. break. plastic. clip..... aaaaaand it's broken.

[@weirdshibainu]

ganymedeIV4 right? I had an aunt and uncle that bought a brand new chevette in detriot, in the shadow of the factory that built it...a freaking nightmare: on the drive home, it started to rain...windshield wipers didn't work...they got it back to the dealership and three days later they get it back...my aunt stops at the grocery store...won't go into reverse...back to the dealership...one week later a new transmission...it went on and on...electrical issues, brake issues, first snow and after it melted, it sprung leaks everywhere. ...but that was ok, because it started to rust that first winter....they had money and it was the third car in the household. ..they bought it on a whim and thinking they would give it to a niece who was going to turn 16 in a couple of years. ..didn't last that long..

[@weirdshibainu]

a friend of mine had an mg sports car..a maintenance nightmare...especially electrical, particularly it'd it got damp....we live outside Portland Oregon , so do the math....we tore that freaking thing apart three times over the course of a couple of years. ..it'd swear that thing was possessed. ..and engineered with the express intent of destroying knuckles. ..and parts? cheap and easy to find

[@jameswillett7186]

My father had a 1982 Oldsmobile 98 Regency. It had a gasoline engine. I once drove it up to Toronto from just outside NYC. I had to call him on the phone because when I filled up the car I figured out I was getting 19 mpg! That was considered excellent mpg for that car. It was ridiculously comfortable. They don't make cars like that anymore.

[@samodio586]

And then what happened? Men in black sedans gave you a new Cadillac and took he car back because you accidentally got one of those water carburetors?

[@benjaminturrano6485]

We had an 83 Olds 98 in the 1990s. I too was getting 18-21 mpg on the highways. Interstate cruiser and you absolutely nailed it.... RIDICULOUSLY Comfortable. Quiet, smooth, ate up rough pavement. Felt like the suspension was made of clouds!

[@TraveladvRajanSRai]

Can get more tuned up w more air. Esp a coupe

[@nlpnt]

Come back, baby-blue crushed velour interiors, we miss you!

[@elonmust7470]

VELOUR

[@hellkitty1014]

Pillowtop, no less!

[@Karmy.]

I love the red velour like in my bf's dad's Plymouth Acclaim

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

The 5.7 diesel's reputation may have improved somewhat by 1982, but many people still had dark thoughts hanging over their heads regarding the earlier (1978-80) units and so sales did not really improve and Oldsmobile finally pulled the plug on the option in January 1985.

[@incompetentdiplomat3716]

you mean they pulled the glow plug

[@geemanbmw]

​@@incompetentdiplomat3716 🤣

[@livingchutoy5422]

The 98 used GM's LF9 350 V8 diesel. The horsepower actually dropped from 120hp to a meek 105hp after 1981 and many of the issues that plagued the earlier versions still persisted. by the time GM had solved many of the diesel's issues, the head bolts and stretchy timing chain being the main ones, it was far too late. So no. The reputation did not improve.

[@lexmaximaguy8788]

extend the life? LOL GM practically killed the diesel car market with this POS in the 80's

[@jackallen6261]

+LEX Maximaguy87 Yeah to this day I still talk to older people that tell me I'm nuts for driving a POS diesel car (VW New Beetle) I can't convince most that the Olds diesels from the eighties were just junk, lol.

[@jmjfanss]

I blame the EPA for this

[@nottiification]

Rather than design a diesel engine from the ground up, GM just took one of their V8 gas engines & put different heads on it. The greater compression needed for a diesel engine meant they didnt last long.

[@sluggo1515]

nottiification Exactly. My dad bought one of the first ones: 1978 Delta 88 Royal DIESEL. Headgasket. Fuel pump. Injectors. Always something. He swapped a 350 gas in it and it was indestructible.

[@sluggo1515]

nottiification Exactly. My dad bought one of the first ones: 1978 Delta 88 Royal DIESEL. Headgasket. Fuel pump. Injectors. Always something. He swapped a 350 gas in it and it was indestructible.

[@kwb377]

Was it common to test air cleaner wingnuts back in the early 80's?

[@RFJersey]

kwb377 Yes, and kick tires.

[@low87dawg86]

Lol

[@sidceaser6815]

Yes. Any debris being sucked through the intake will cause immediate and permanent engine damage and those wing nuts were known to vibrate loose, or even vibrate the threads off the posts

[@ronaldvermeulen9561]

There alloy high performance wingnuts... expensive option!😁

[@christhomas835]

Only with diesels. Get used to truck stop restrooms too

[@ohboy2592]

My grandfather had one of these. Put over 250,000 miles on it. That thing rode like a Cadillac. Definitely didn’t win any acceleration contests but was a good car for him.

[@joemaloney1019]

Somebody's wife complained about that so he put an LT1 engine in it. It became her favorite car.

[@natehawkins2910]

Grandma had one of these and I can still remember the smell of it. It was heavenly... I remember it was so soft riding and quiet inside. And the black smoke it blew when we followed her was so fascinating to me (I was only 9) and I never knew until I was older that it was in the shop all the time for fuel pumps and trouble with its glow plug system.

[@josephgaviota]

great memories ;-)

[@johnmccallister1869]

Yeah that injection pump was the weakest link of that engine.

[@pianofry1138]

My grandpa said it wasn't as bad as people thought it was but it was still a pos. He knew a guy who gave him transmissions for it and he installed them himself and by the third he scraped it.

[@myolox]

I grew up with this land yacht in the 80s. It fit my whole family of eight to church. Those wire hubcaps caught thieves attention. To this day I miss it and still have the hood ornament after it caught on fire 12 yrs later.

[@moparecodiesel]

+joe ly Very true. We had the green one. ugh. but those seats are so comfortable.

[@moparecodiesel]

+joe ly Very true. We had the green one. ugh. but those seats are so comfortable.

[@eltonjohn3236]

+joe ly Was yours a diesel?

[@mr.butterworth]

+joe ly Forget the fire extinguisher, get the hood ornament mane!

[@myolox]

Not sure even he doesn't remember, but my dad said the car needed lots of maintenance under the hood.

[@2006gtobob]

Imagine the possibilities with proper R&D, turbocharging and intercooling and high pressure fuel rails.

[@mattlane2282]

Yeah garbage that breaks down and gets half the MPG while costing 20k to repair

[@mediocreman2]

Yes then the car would be twice the price.

[@earlygail]

I feel you. But if a pig had webbed feet and feathers he’d be a duck.

[@ponchoman49]

My neighbor had this exact same year and color car but with the gas 307. Each year they drove it to Florida and most always averaged 24 on the open road which is good going for such a huge comfortable car. They put over 200,000 miles on it and it was a very good car!

[@Tennesseestorm76]

In the early 90s, I had a '83 Olds 98 Regency, but it was a gasser. It was a great car.

[@freya_andolini7423]

Tennesseestorm76 I've had 2 '83 regency's, the first was a brougham. great cars, lots of room, and plenty of get up and go when needed. Plus the look of them always got attention.

[@vrmmmm]

First thing I do when I click on one of these retro reviews . . thumbs up!

[@josephgaviota]

And, that's a good idea. That helps keep 'em coming!

[@JonasRosenven]

I wish cars still looked like this.

[@griffinmackenzie]

I don’t

[@MasterJim2020]

Griffin Mackenzie Me neither. However I do like the looks of some old cars. But times have changed and for most things like cars, their manufacturers need to make new designs to get younger and older buyers to buy, depending on the type of car and what age that specific company is going for.

[@Bartonovich52]

I don’t. These cars just ooze ‘malaise’

[@terrypresnell7874]

@@griffinmackenzie these older cars look better than this shit they call cars today

[@robeconrad87]

Eww gross. They look whitetrash and why would you want a fucking 18 foot long sedan?

[@markwagner4909]

My parents had one It was beautiful and ran without any issues until the dealership put gas in it. The dealership wanted to put a gas engine in it but my dad wanted Diesel (he was a trucker) they drove it until 1994 when they got a cougar

[@SteveHolsten]

I loved these after I started buying them used with the upgraded 350DX Diesel engine. They were almost bulletproof. I wish today I could still have a couple more.

[@klwthe3rd]

With all the negative comments on here you can tell so many people are uneducated about GM diesels. What year did the DX block replace the notorious bad D block? 1981?

[@JDKline]

@@klwthe3rd I'm late, but from what research I've done I think you're right. 1981. The year I was born. Man, that sounds like a long time ago now!

[@JASONHJEFFERSON]

drop a duramax in there lol

[@gregorymalchuk272]

@@JDKline Did they change form the torque-to-yield head bolts when they chagnged the block?

[@b.jlovett]

I have always loved this 1980-84 generation of the 98.....A true American classic

[@mattikiukas2523]

I had a gasoline 98 Regency when I was studying there. It was a lot of fun, it took me to Florida, New York, Chicago, New Orleans etc. I didn’t have problems with it. Well, the water pump broke once.

[@melrose9252]

HUSKEY BOY These cars were junk. Sorry.

[@MisterMikeTexas]

@@melrose9252 Only the diesels were. My dad bought a former fleet 1980 Buick Electra with the gas 350. It was a good car.

[@strangerdanger1271]

Gutless emission riddled junk!

[@ahuehuete4703]

@@strangerdanger1271- 1980's were the dark age of cars.

[@SilvioManfredDante85]

I'd love to have one of these today with a *dependable* diesel in it.

[@taunuslunatic404]

That engine can be modified to be reliable with ARP head studs and a fuel/ water separator.

[@snoopytheace4487]

@@taunuslunatic404 ya. I would love to get my hands on a 4.3 v6-4.3v8 and 5.7 v8 diesels and build them up properly for a vehicle. my plan is the have an original 79 4.8 v8 car, have the 5.7 in a gmc 1500 and put the 4.3 v6 in an earlier model el camino.

[@toronado455]

@@taunuslunatic404 Wow awesome. I didn't know about that.

[@242HP]

My Dad had one of these for a while in the early 80s. It was the first and only diesel car we ever owned, and I thought it was pretty cool at the time with that diesel sound the engine made. It was a very comfortable and luxurious car. I remember one time when driving it in our neighborhood, we encountered some neighbors that we didn't like walking around the block. We gunned the engine and our neighbors were left in a big puff of black smoke, lol.

[@brettcannon7741]

I used to do the exact same thing with mine

[@eightosaurusspelunk1598]

242HP You guys sound really high-class.

[@sedanman91]

Eightosaurus Spelunk you must have been the neighbors.

[@georgedoughly6344]

242HP Hahahaha 😅🤣

[@kennethsouthard6042]

Rollin coal in an Oldsmobile

[@kimchipig]

I drove a few back in the day and the diesel was slow as molasses in January. They never sold well here on the West Coast of Canada due to the lack of power in our hilly terrain and the diesel was a ticking time bomb. We used to buy burned out diesels 98's for peanuts and then swap in a 307 and paint them up as taxi cabs.

[@raymondhaley8156]

Yeah I guess you could say gm did some rather outrageous things back in the day, but the 98 regency brougham diesel was my dream car, other guys dream of owning ferraris and lamborghinis and bentlys or rolls royce, me on the other hand, a 4dr 98 regency with it,s plush interior, and 5.7 diesel was my car and engine

[@klwthe3rd]

I agree.

[@aaronbays4]

This was my Uncle Doug's last car, although he bought the Olds 98 with the gas engine. It was a really nice car, 1980-1985ish Oldsmobile 98, navy blue, every damn option on it, navy blue leather, split bench seat with dual power option, vinyl roof, spoke hubcaps, I remember my Aunt E driving that boat all over the place. After uncle Doug passed away in 1986 or 1987, my Aunt E drove that old huge ass boat Olds 98 with every option including the leather seats until 1994 or so, she sold it for a miser Plymouth Acclaim, figured my Grandpa(her brother in law that lived 6 blocks over) had a good experience with that car.

[@romatrixwiper9354]

Ameica in 82 has elecric seats.... Eurooe in 2005 what is an electronic seat..... Europe in 2016 uuuu we invented the nevest techilogy electric seats..... I dont want to talk about AC and heated seats beacose some 2018 cars dont have it.... But diesel its been here aince forever 😂😂😂😂

[@Carstuff111]

And then, it was found that the diesel engine in the car was complete and total junk.....

[@erikhertzer8434]

I’ll vouch for that...my folks had one of these and the engine failed...the problem was because it was a gas engine modified into a diesel engine...not a true diesel engine.

[@101Volts]

Note he said "The Diesel engine in the car was complete and total junk." He's referring to the infamous 5.7 or rather, 350 G.M. Diesel also known as the L9. The L9 had one problem after another besides the fact that they had less power than G.M.'s V6 for their Caprice models. Why didn't G.M. just stick their larger 6.2 Diesel in these cars from day one?

[@tcpnetworks]

And? THIS car engine was shit..

[@SteveHolsten]

Carstuff111, they were junk at first, but the GM Goodwrench DX350 Diesel was almost bulletproof.

[@tcpnetworks]

Experimenting on your customers, developing an engine whilst you were selling it, is a really bad idea. This is what GM did. It failed comprehensively and ruined their reputation so much that they didn't put another diesel into a production car for years. It sounded like a tractor, used tractor injection systems, was comprehensively unreliable and was typically GM reliable. So yeah. They were reliable(ish) after much work - except for heads, valve spaces, pumps, injectors etc...

[@1956MercM260]

Diesel or not, I miss the hell out of nice US luxury cars. My parents had a '78 Regency sedan in this color...though theirs had a gasoline Rocket 350. Nice cruiser.

[@JohnnyAloha69]

I took my uncles then new caddy diesel (with the same engine as this olds and the power) on a 600 mile road trip. Staggeringly gutless acceleration but in its defense it got over 30mpg on the trip, Same as my friends civic that followed us on that trip.

[@TheJeffMiller]

My dad had one of those. Borrowed it for a trip from Omaha to Rapid City (500+ miles) and got there on a single tank of fuel with plenty left over to spare. Truth it, it was grossly underpowered. Anything remotely like a hill was brutal. Driving one in the mountains? Forget it. But point it down the interstate, set the cruise control, and that thing would go forever.

[@bradiverson8231]

I drove a gas powered one up and down the Bozeman Pass. Not recommended for the faint of heart or loose of bowel.

[@HenrySomeone]

Base gas models were no better though...

[@MrVernonSmall]

A great GM car, and at least it got a decent review. Thumbs up for Oldsmobile.

[@tenfourproductionsllc]

Resale value on these dropped 70% after just 6 months.

[@bilalahmed2123]

seriously ?

[@novaman3509]

Bilal Ahmed They were trash. The engines were very unreliable, and there was absolutely zero diesel market. Even pickup trucks still used all gas engines. The GM 5.7 diesel never had a chance.

[@MrTheHillfolk]

NovaMan 350 yea Vw crapped all over em at the time. My mom had a rabbit diesel, you saw those things everywhere.

[@kirksway1]

yes, terribly unreliable!

[@MrCarguy2]

Had it been a good diesel and today we would all riding on diesel cars, but GM/Oldsmobile had to fuck it up for everyone

[@Doobie1975]

While the 1980-84 GM C-bodies were nice cars but I prefer the 1977-79 version's more because it had the bigger V8 engine's they still had that big car look to them.

[@marco1173]

That was a handsome ride! I've always had a soft spot for Oldsmobiles

[@Janet71990]

The Oldsmobile 105th Anniversary in 2002 🎊 🚙

[@adamtrombino106]

I remember back in the mid 80's pulling a bunch of these detonated diesels and tossing in either 307s or 350 Olds engines, since they did not have to be tested for emissions.. still registered as diesels.. No air pumps, no restrictive pellet type cats, no vacuum hardware, just a 1 wire HEI distributor and an updated electric choke Rochester 4bbl. Ran forever, and every customer thanked us kindly!

[@Fucknuts4u]

And the environment thanked you too, as do coming generations.

[@LynxStarAuto]

Fucknuts 🙄

[@PunksloveTrumpys]

@@Fucknuts4u I bet you're real fun at parties, mate....

[@Fucknuts4u]

@@PunksloveTrumpys A party with billows of thick toxic diesel smoke?? I don't know what parties you go to.

[@chrisj197438]

Fucknuts You have had homosexual relationships haven’t you 😂

[@creekhed1]

I really miss OLDSMOBILE! To abandon the Olds division was a LAME MOVE.

[@diedonner299]

creekhed1 possibly so but only on emotional grounds. Which is always painful. From an economic standpoint the automotive market where Olds positioned itself was gone. Impossible to compete in a market that doesn’t even exist for your product. For good business reasons they shut it down but I agree with you it was lame and emotionally painful to see it go. Same for Pontiac.

[@klwthe3rd]

@@diedonner299 that's not true. Oldsmobile suffered because parent company GM kept cutting funding to the division each and ever year forcing Oldsmobile to do what it could with less and less money. The market was ripe for the vehicles they were producing but the vehicles became cheaper, junker and less attractive as time went by. There was little money to innovate as Oldsmobile was always the innovation division of GM. GM ruined Oldsmobile, not the market.

[@barryervin8536]

I always liked the Oldsmobiles, often their version of a GM car was the nicest. I always figured Buick would be the division to get the axe since they were aimed at an older demographic which would die off sooner. When GM cancelled Olds I figured, well they know more about the sales situation than I do, I guess they know what they are doing. Now we know that GM didn't know what they were doing about anything.

[@doug112244]

@@barryervin8536 one of the reasons Buick survived and the others didn't was that Buick.has a big presence in China and thus makes the company quite a lot of money. Once they went the corporate motor route it was only a matter of of time before some of the divisions when done to.

[@brinx8634]

Shoulda been Buick.

[@raymondhaley2419]

I❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ Oldsmobile diesels, let the birdbrains bemoan the engine, I'm a mechanic, I look at it this way, one man,s junk is a nother man,s treasure, my treasure❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤.😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@raymondhaley8156]

I know I'm alone for saying this,as a grease monkey since the 70,s when Oldsmobile diesels first appeared they've really impressed me why I really don't know but seeing the cars with that engine fascinated me and still do any mechanic could have worked out it's durability problems because, many of the items that were needed for long term use were sold separately and not standard and have GM given exact and truthful information about routine maintenance many of engines would still be running today, I already knew in 1978 that 7 quarts of oil meant nothing to an oil burner and without all the necessary equipment for the engine it's lifespan would be cut drastically short and it was sadly enough

[@jhomrich89]

If only they had just used the 6.2 diesel many of the issues associated with the 5.7 would have never came about and would have saved them the headache this became, not to say the 6.2 was terrific but at least it didn't have the never ending issues this had.

[@CarDietrich]

I really like the look of this thing.

[@gioiacobucci]

I like how this car is so ridiculously of its time that even the reviewer back then seemed to be cracking jokes about just how much of a self-parody it’s styling choices are

[@maniyan_wanagi]

Best, most comfortable car I ever owned.

[@krazi77]

I had an 84 buick lesabre with the 5.7 diesel. lowest mileage car I owned, mint condition and for a bargain at just $500. drove until the brakes got screwy. that hydro assist power brake system was unreliable. kinda felt like stepping on a plum. sometimes the brake pedal would go to the floor. I ended up giving the car away just to get rid of it.

[@OLDS98]

Thank you for posting this video! I smiled as I watched this and the Lincoln Continental video. I really appreciate these gems like this. I hope it continues. I hope to see more old GM and Lincoln footage .

[@jonathanjackson9208]

My family had two of these Diesel GM LandYatchs and they were fantastic diesel cars

[@scottenser464]

They where shit and gm lost their shirts. Trade in value on a 2 year old was 75% loss. Couldn't move them off the used car lots

[@silvernail6]

Well they were diesels...and had to be treated as such....ordered the heavy duty batteries, suspension and cooling...added a water separator and it lasted a long time....10 years.....leather interior .....

[@ohboy2592]

If you knew how to maintain them they lasted a long time. Even back then you still had people who didn’t know how to care for cars. Even worse today.

[@Monsta2592]

Would love to have 28mpg right about now

[@1VaDude]

I had a 1978 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight 2dr. However, it was not a diesel. It had the 403 gasoline V8 engine and truly was a lead sled!

[@TheCarCrazyGuy]

Legend has it this car is still trying to reach 60 mph.

[@steveespinola7652]

Carry six people in a car? When was the the last time can you do that in car? LoL 😁.

[@BHUFF]

Had a 82 i bought with a bad engine, put a 403 olds engine in it was a great car for several yrs

[@brewcrew5854]

i remember those days i did a few converts . had to relocate right side motor mount on engine to accommodate the monster starter . remove some electric from fuel tank . nice ride !

[@Abszurdista-fatalista]

0-60 time? Did it reach 60?

[@taunuslunatic404]

∞

[@robertgary3561]

If your kid asks you to buy him a car that's what you want to get him.

[@jessieharbinjr.6589]

If I had one of these, I’d gut the powertrain, slap in a small block LS, updated 4 or 6 speed automatic, and 3:55s. I had an 85 with a 307. It was very reliable, but slow, and thirsty.

[@randomrazr]

3:50 cant do that in todays "full size car"

[@chieftp]

back when diesel fuel was 50 cents per gallon

[@stuartbear922]

You're right, diesel was ALWAYS ten cents a gallon cheaper than unleaded back then. It's a fuel by-product not refined like gas. Don't ask me what happened to today's diesel prices. They're sky high!

[@natehawkins2910]

Stuart Bear “What happened” was EPA mandated de-sulfurization. Easily added 40 cents to a gallon to produce under 15ppm sulfur content diesel. And fuel taxes went up. And crude went up. The end.

[@natehawkins2910]

chieftp ...and minimum wage was $1.00 ...meaning today’s fuel is actually cheaper!

[@Bartonovich52]

Lol “A fuel byproduct” No.... just... no. Kerosene has to be separated from crude in a fractioning tower just like gasoline and naphtha and bunker fuel and asphalt. Each is refined and sold at rates the market dictates. With the sheer number of uses for Diesel... from ships to tractor trailer to farm implements to locomotives to gen sets it is far far from a ‘byproduct of gasoline production’. Even in the low sulphur era it was cheaper because of supply and demand. Then a bunch of people got the idea to turn diesel pickup truck into the family car and TDi turned into a major car market vs being expensive curiousities for the smug. Then diesel prices rose in the early 2000s and haven’t really come down. Now it’s just people who can’t do math who buy diesels for the savings. They don’t last any longer... any gas vehicle will go 500,000 miles with less maintenance. The break even point on a diesel is like 200,000 miles at which point they need very expensive maintenance and are burning oil like crazy.

[@cindytepper8878]

@@natehawkins2910 In 82 the minimum wage was like 3 something an hour. Even at my first high school job in 77 the min was $2.50

[@chevykillfords09]

you guys wouldn't have a review on the same car with a 307 or a Delta 88

[@u686st7]

I still can't believe that they came up with something like this. It's not like there wasn't anyone at GM that knew about diesels, not with Detroit Diesel and Electro-Motive in house.

[@thehighlife1320]

Thanks Motor Week. Now I want one.

[@blessindia1]

I just wish they brought back the land yatch cars again. Now this might be possible because car manufacturers are switching to EVs and plyg in hybrids which might solve the fuel efficiency crisis

[@LCR]

Beautiful styling inside and out. Would prefer gasoline however.

[@postersm7141]

So basically what they’re saying is “ besides the fact that it sucks, it’s mostly non-sucky”. I remember this car and it was a total shit machine

[@unitedcity_mc4421]

My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined…because of your terrible comment about such a beautiful car.

[@postersm7141]

@@unitedcity_mc4421 Unfortunately we had one in the family and it was mostly a decent car to be fair until it started having major problems and they had to get rid of it. don’t get me wrong I like old GM cars in fact I’ve owned more GM cars than any other make.

[@charleslalonde2324]

the 350 diesel was so bad it wrecked the market for diesels in the U.S , so bad that other manufacturers dropped diesels even though theirs was a good product, . GM continued to sell these engines for years ,though they were junk as built. many dealers sold these to long time customers , who found their car broke down continueously . many had to trade it back in after a few months, the dealers bragged about taking these cars back for only $2500 and putting a gas crate engine in and selling them as a very low mileage trade in, for ten grand or more. many of these were long time customers who had always bought olds as did their parents,the cadillac v8 was also a piece of junk as built and thy knew it befor they put it in production. the forman of the toolroom was given the blueprints and he told them this wont work . they told him to just build it. you can find those cadillacs in pretty good shape as they have sat in peoples garages being passed from one unsuspecting owner to the next, people fix them or doctor them up just to get rid of them

[@moejr1974]

The later ones like this were much improved. The early ones were very trouble prone.

[@rondrake3720]

I always thought the gasoline Olds 98 was the best value of the early 80s GM large car lineup

[@wademckenney6610]

the fuel economy surprised me

[@242HP]

+wade mckenney Me too! Whoever thought it would be possible to get 22 city, 33 highway out of such a large and heavy car?

[@default919]

+242HP lol plenty of cars do that now sane weight with out a diesel even done v8's

[@242HP]

+default919 Examples please? What cars over 4300 lbs today can get 33mpg on the highway AND have a V8 engine? My 4 cyl Hyundai Sonata is only rated at 35 mpg highway.

The world has moved on. They just don't make cars like that anymore, and for a reason. Sticking a V8 into a car that's only supposed to be economical and not fast at all would be utterly stupid. If a car like that was made today, it would probably have a four cylinder turbodiesel engine not bigger than two litres, maybe even smaller. It would be easy to match the performance and fuel economy. Of course it would have to be quite a bit faster than the Olds, no one would buy a car that slow today. Here's a modern example: BMW 730d (G11): 265 hp, 0-100 km/h 6,1 s. Combined EU cycle fuel consumption: 52 mpg. 3 litre six cylinder diesel. And yes, there's a gasoline V8 that can match the mpg of the diesel Regency: BMW 750i combined 29 mpg. It just packs a tad more grunt than the Olds: 450 hp... 0-100 km/h in 4,7 s...

[@dmcnamara9859]

+242HP Cars back in these days had fraudulent EPA numbers. Pops had a Cutlass Diesel as a "free" company car.....it rarely got more than 25 mpg on the highway. And if you took it to Tahoe/Reno...it struggled-up the big grades belching out very black smoke. And if it was winter,forget about it starting if left outside. We had to have that car towed to a warm shop and with a battery charger hooked-up to get it to start on more than 1 occasion. That is, when it was not in the shop having its blow-up engine replaced.That particular car went through 4 engines in the 2 years we had it. The build quality on that car was a joke....not one panel lined-up and its paint texture resembled that of a orange.

[@landyachtfan79]

The Oldsmobile 5.7-liter Diesel V-8 proved to be one of the worst engines ever, but how about those wires & whitewalls?!!!!!

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

Even worse in California that that state ceased sales of the engine after the end of the 1983 model year.

[@chrisc3584]

the engines fine if well maintained , it didn't help the us had poor quality diesel in those days. my caddy diesel is 39 years old stil on original engine

[@stuartbear922]

I've heard if GM only installed a water separator, the engines would have been much easier to live with. Anyone else?

[@snoopytheace4487]

@@stuartbear922 for the 5.7 it was a water separator and head studs will fix most of its issues. I also know that later they went to the DX block that was much better. but they are like all old diesels, you change the oil often, don't expect to go anywhere fast and remember that its not a gas engine and they are good.

[@snoopytheace4487]

@@chrisc3584 thats awesome that you still have your diesel car. I would love to get my hands on a few. also at least back then diesel still had sulfer in it. now I have to buy diesel fuel lubricators to put into my tanks to ensure that my old diesel still has the lubrication that it needs.

[@karlsmith9536]

that good ole oldsmobile gets great gas mileage

[@johnmccallister1869]

Fuel mileage

[@2006gtobob]

If Cadillac and Buick really want to ramp up sales, they need to offer RWD full frame square cruisers like this again. 5.3liter LS V8 and 10 speed auto, super plush ride, ta da a sales winner. I am only 48 and have 2 sports/muscle cars already, for my daily I'd want brand new version of this.

[@michaelvaus]

I would buy a new one of these if they offered it. Like you said with a 5.3. I dont like the new cadillacs, they lost their roots.

[@boss12]

Always liked the early 80’s GM full size styling

[@stuartbear922]

My father purchased a Pontiac Parisienne Wagon back in 1984. It had this engine. Even said 5.7 on the tailgate. Let me tell you the problems. The biggest headache was lack of fuel infrastructure. To purchase diesel fuel back in the day, you had to go to the interstate truck stops or find the lone gas station that sold it. The fuel smelled atrociously bad. It got on your hands. So bad that the Gulf station gave away free plastic "mits" to keep your hands clean. Starting the beast in wintertime was awful. We lived in Alabama and it was a nightmare. We were told to stockpile STP diesel treatment BEFORE wintertime. The truck drivers would buy up all the supply mid-winter. I don't believe GM ever put a water separator on this car, which I've been told would have helped. Not having a block heater, we placed space heaters under the car to keep it warm and prevent fuel gelling. The fit and finish of the vehicle was very good, notwithstanding the engine. Mother never complained of the acceleration, but lamented over the brakes. Dad loved the fuel economy. It achieved 25 mpg routinely. The funniest memory of this car was the BLACK spot on the garage wall that formed after 3 years of starting this thing. After 55,000 miles of ownership, we traded it in for a brand new Dodge Caravan with the Mitsubishi 4-cylinder. However, the dealership DEDUCTED $2,000 from our trade because it had the diesel engine. The NADA Guide had a $2,000 deduct for GAS engine conversion. It was a line item on the deductions page along with mileage, wear and tear, etc. UNBELIEVABLE. Calling this engine garbage may be too extreme, but our experience was horrific. We never bought another GM product ever again.

[@tedschmitt178]

1982: when fuel prices were supposed to be $5 a gallon in ten years.

[@CannonFodder873]

I owned a 1973 '98 Regency with the 455 big block. It would pass everything....except a gas station.

[@MrCarguy2]

1992 would prove to be a big surprise

[@jamesfrench7299]

Interesting B body. It's like a Chevrolet Caprice wanting to be a Cadillac and mostly succeeding. Those power seat controls. Sexy!

[@bennetfox]

I miss cars like this.

[@DeadKoby]

It's no mystery that the earliest years of this Diesel Olds were technical issue's galore. My Uncle got a LATE one (last year they made it) and by that point, it was NOT the mechanic's best friend that the earlier years were.

[@joshbacon8241]

When you say “mechanic’s best friend”, you mean “keeping mechanics in business”?

[@crist67mustang]

When American cars looked like American product. I say this, because actually American cars look like Korean Hyundai manufacture. For example, Chrysler 200, Dodge Dart, Ford Fusion and others.

[@Bartonovich52]

It’s called the modern times. Ford made the swoopy aerodynamic Taurus in 1986 when Hyundai was still making a version of the Morris Marina they called the Hyundai Pony. The Taurus was the end of the Malaise Era when cars looked like this one... and it had nothing to do with Europe or Japan or Korea.

[@doug112244]

It's one of the things I despise the most about current cars. European ideas about seats and such have crept into the American market. This means it's possible for me to find a car I find comfortable. Many like the VWs and particularly the Golf GTI are so miserable that I wouldn't ride in one if I had two broken legs and was sliding my on my ass backwards using my hands heading to the hospital.

[@dougc190]

I've read up on these diesels. They were not a gas conversion, most people do not understand how to start a diesel back then,and it didn't help that the diesel fuel quality was not that good. They needed fuel water separator is on them. . I've read the DX models were bulletproof, and they make great dragster motors for gasoline

[@thehappytexan]

Why aren’t today’s reviews this honest? Seems like every car they show is a winner.

[@Slimecrazy234]

Modern cars are universally excellent with not much separating them.

[@tdgreenbay]

Miss these oldsmobiles....love the diesels. I just bought me a new GMC Terrain but I still miss my father's Oldsmobile

[@luxuriouslexusland-yacht2164]

Now, the B-body GM from this time period was FOOKIN' AWESOME!!!!!!!! However...that motor.... ...sigh... Large, comfy, and in charge. However...pay the extra monies for the 307 or non-diesel 350. These things blow head gaskets more often than a Parhumph, NV, "professional".

[@kirbyswarp]

+Cool Cadillac Cat (C³) The Diesel cost "the extra monies" over the gas V8's. It would be saving money by not checking that option.

[@luxuriouslexusland-yacht2164]

Not then, or now, it would not. This motor, and the 4.3L which was recalled, were very, very different than pretty much every other diesel engine. Diesel motors are about 30% more efficient than gas, cost less to 'service', and we'll not discuss how well made ones can go close to a million miles and not be opened. "But gasoline is cheaper than diesel!" Yeah, but it is 30% less expensive, because *_that_* is the break-even point. No. No it is not.

[@kirbyswarp]

Cool Cadillac Cat I just meant that the diesel in this Olds was an 800$ option.

[@luxuriouslexusland-yacht2164]

Oh, I see. Still, it'd have paid for itself eventually. Break-even was probably around 100K miles, in the mid-80s. I remember paying about 65-70 cents/gallon in '85 for gasoline, but diesel was only about 45. That is, when you could find it. Other than commercial trucks and a slew of Mercedes automobiles, there still weren't a lot of diesels by this time, so in many parts of town (Dallas, TX), it was a challenge to find.

[@TeeroyHammermill]

+Cool Cadillac Cat (C³) Gas 350 not available in 82. You'd have to settle for a 80 model if you wanted a gas 350.

[@mikewasfaret9563]

5.7s were good for one thing....fuel mileage.

[@crossbow1203]

I bought one at the car auction for my wife. Low mileage, beautiful interior, Wire hubcaps, Loaded. Bought it and went to pay for it as the driver drove it out of the auction garage. As I am walking across the parking lot to the office the kid comes past me with my "New" Olds and POW!!!!!! It threw a rod through the side of the block! You couldn't hardly hear it run and it blew up in the lot. I snuck out of the auction and went home. I never even got to drive it! I like diesels but the 5.7 was a joke.

[@75aces97]

you'd think GM, having years of experience with trucks & buses by then, could have mated a decent diesel mill into a passenger car, but no.

[@lfsracer79]

40-55 mph in just 10 seconds, yay!

[@dave1956]

I had a 1980 Delta 88 with a diesel. I bought the car when it was a year old and kept it 3 months. It was the worst piece of crap I ever owned. I next bought a new 1981 Cutlass Supreme Brougham with the 3.8 litre V6. It was the second worst. I haven’t owned a GM car since.

[@georgelee7282]

I want to find one of these and do a gas conversion, then throw huge boost at the ultra tough block. I know an LS would be easier but...the idea of trying something different and succeeding makes me happy.

[@GyroPyro121212]

10 seconds 40-55. God what an awful car this must’ve been to drive every day. Merging on the highway would’ve been painful even back then.

[@eldo59]

Cool! Still looking for an '80s Impala or Caprice video or more of the G-Body cars.

[@filthyanimal874]

That's not a car!.....It's an automobile. Rolling art.

[@scottkrafft6830]

Art that consists of 3 boxes slapped together. I guess it's like modern art. xD The 1950s were true art works of cars imo.

[@robinatkins1292]

As a youngster I loved these big domestic cars, but my parents preferred Volvos and the like. They bought a used '76 or '77 Volvo 242 DL and had an expensive paint job done on it. As a gesture of goodwill, the shop was going to put a fresh tank of gas in it and deliver to my parents personally in all its newly painted burgundy splendor. But they thought the DL meant diesel (it didn't) and filled the tank accordingly. The gasoline engine was shot and they had to replace it. No good deed goes unpunished...

[@fuddrucker74]

What? No 0-60, or 1/4 mile times? I'm shocked (shocked)!!

[@sidceaser6815]

The first production from 78 to 80 weren't that bad as far as performance, at least compared to the 2nd generation. In 1980 they changed injectors causing a 20 horsepower drop but an increase in fuel economy.

[@keithlowe1982]

Measured on a calendar, instead of stopwatch .

[@maniacattack8426]

i miss the big body yachts!

[@bigman55434]

28 mpg in mixed driving, in a tank that will seat 6. Only happened before the stupid EPA ruined engines.

[@ICrane88]

they don't build em like this anymore

[@r.i.pyoutube6881]

I could say the same about your mother

[@StevieinSF]

Had two of these C Body Oldsmobiles. Had the bulletproof 307 V8. Too bad the diesel variant weren't bulletproof, would've been a great large economically comfortable car.

[@novaman3509]

StevieinSF Ah, the old 3-sl-0-w-7 . I actually wanted a 307 over a 350 in my 73 Nova. Thought it would be cool.

[@davidh1249]

@@novaman3509 ,Jesus are you crazy?The 307 was the worst V8 Chevrolet ever made.Designed as a more fuel efficient replacement for the 327,it got awful gas mileage while being grossly underpowered.

[@MacTechG4]

Ahh yes, the car that singularly crippled the market for diesel passenger cars.... As an owner of a ‘12 VW Golf TDI, I truly loathe what this crappy GM abomination did to diesels. They didn’t even build the engine properly, they just changed the fuel system and ignition system on the gasoline engine block... Diesels need an overbuilt block as they operate at significantly higher pressure than gasoline engines, the gasoline block couldn’t handle the pressure needed for compression ignition.

[@LynxStarAuto]

Diesel engine aside, this Olds was attractive.

[@CFG39]

GM’s awful 5.7L V8 Diesel engine is what made Americans hate diesels. It was so underpowered, loud, smelly and problem prone it had a terrible reputation. Really, only Mercedes and VW and later BMW were able to make diesel posh enough to fit in with their brands, but we all know how that turned out for VW.

[@richardunicorn7879]

Cool. Looks better than anything on the road today.

[@jayholley3252]

Amen Richard