MotorWeek | Retro Review: 1990 "GM10" Bodies/ W Platforms

A great look at all GM had to offer with the W Platform 1990 cars. Thanks for watching MotorWeek Retro Review and keep an eye out for our new segment currently in the works, Retro ReNew, premiere episode will feature a '67 Pontiac GTO and its rise from the ashes as told by its owner of almost 30 years.

[@CarlosFlores-xf2sn]

Seeing these cars being brand new is just quite amazing.

[@CarlosFlores-xf2sn]

G H lmaooo bruh what 😭💀

[@CarlosFlores-xf2sn]

G H oh wow, that’s freaking crazy lol i dont blame you

[@dfluke1693]

being born in 93 has me nostalgic for what i wasnt around for lol. I love these cars!

[@hakeemsd70m]

@@dfluke1693 I know the feeling! I was born in 96 and I grew up seeing these cars everywhere, especially the Cutlass Supreme variants and the Grand Prix!

[@maverickloggins5470]

That Pontiac steering wheel was outrageous lol. I thought the older Pontiacs had enough buttons and then they just go and cover the whole thing with them lol

[@rodmunch69]

If you like buttons, go checkout the dashboard of the Cadillac Allante. One of my personal favorites.

[@HamsterWheelGaming]

It looks like they stuck a calculator on the steering wheel lol

[@dwilsonjr78]

Out of those four, I would choose the Buick Regal over the other W body GM cars because of the 3800 V6. Not only is that engine powerful, but it's also bulletproof reliable as well. Thank goodness GM offered that engine in the other GM W body cars when most of them got redesigned for the 1997/1998 model year.

[@calvinnickel9995]

The 60 degree was as good or better. The only reason why I say better is because the 3800 was primarily bought by two type of people-enthusiasts and old folks. So they were either lightly driven with very low miles, or they were pushed but also very well maintained. The 60 degrees? 2.8, 3.1, 3100, 3400, 3500, and 3900? They were bought new by hairdressers and shift managers and rental car companies. They were rode hard and put away wet and then flogged for nothing to welfare recipients and college kids. And you still see lots on the road today.

[@robd7365]

I had the olds with the quad 4...great little motor

[@boggy7665]

@@calvinnickel9995 Folks had a Montana minivan with the 3400. Was decent enough but the intake manifold gasket issue caused an early demise. If not for that, I'd be happy to have one to drive. It was powerful enough, worked great with the 4 speed autotrans, quiet, fairly fuel-efficient. Saving $3 or whatever per unit by using sub-par gaskets, was the last straw, my parents (mom by that time) were done with GMs after many such issues in their cars going back decades.

[@kirbyswarp]

That spoiler on the Lumina is beyond cool. So is the full length headlight on the Pontiac, always loved those.

[@elonmust7470]

Do you like dale earnhardt tshirts?

[@dave1135]

I worked as a gm Auto tech in the 90's, and loved the w bodies...well, except changing the brake switch in the lumina. I still have my 1993 olds Cutlass supreme, and drive it daily. Has the original stainless steel exhaust even the muffler, and doing front struts on a w body couldn't be easier, remove the access plate, bounce rubber, nut, then pull the cartridge. Don't even need to remove the tire. I'll drive mine to the day I cant get parts anymore

[@heitorbernardes7977]

I just bought one, there's only 2 in my country (I'm brazilian btw)

[@heitorbernardes7977]

It's a international, dark blue with grey leather interior... Sadly the car set on time, I'm about 2 weeks looking for a windshield lol

[@okjeffy6581]

Do the wipers go opposite directions or the same directions?!

[@dave1135]

@@okjeffy6581 the wiper arms overlap at park and both sweep out to each side when on.

[@okjeffy6581]

@@dave1135 so does that mean they go opposite directions. On egoes left, one goes right.

[@TyEiraMarieMorrisonOsteen]

Lot of Quad 4 hate here, yet the people talking about it can never truly appreciate it for what it was. Glad I'm one of the few people who love to defend and stand by this motor, and have the strong willpower to admit that and be perfectly happy with this motor. All I've been hearing is "this engine is junk" and "good luck with head gaskets"... If it's that bad of a motor, why discourage us current and possibly future enthusiasts who actually play with, tune, breathe, eat, and sleep this Quad 4 passion? It sucks that us Quad 4 owners have to suffer all this hate like this, let us enjoy our cars!

[@mikecastellon3022]

Quad 4...the king of noise ,vibration, and harshness

[@mihela8167]

I love the Quad 4, but the Ecotecs that replaced them are superior in nearly every way.

[@Bartonovich52]

The Quad 4 was amazing from a specific power standpoint. Better than anything Honda would have for ten years. The problem was that in addition to high specific power, Honda also required their engines to be smooth and reliable.

[@johnnymichael1804]

Why do you let other people's opinions bother you so much? You sound like an insecure baby.

[@COYGunners]

I can’t even tell if this is serious...

[@mrrice1111]

Grey tweed interior is lookin money

[@foch3]

Now you get this Jansport Backpack fabric that's not soft. Those seats look comfy.

[@its.me.christopher3061]

@@foch3 they were terrible

[@Gr8thxAlot]

I agree. The Olds is the best car out of the bunch. Great interior, styling, HO Quad four w/ a manual! That would be my pick if I had a time machine. I'd just make sure I bought the extended warranty.

[@johna.4334]

Wrong. It's lookin' old lady.

[@punchy207]

@@johna.4334 and most old ladies have... MONEY

[@Gr8thxAlot]

Look at the Grand Prix's steering wheel! All those buttons! I remember seeing it as a kid and thinking how odd it looked.

[@Tennesseestorm76]

That 5-speed 4dr Cutlass Supreme is very rare (as he mentioned several times).

[@aiyaemotionaldamage5544]

I got one

[@smirage22]

@@aiyaemotionaldamage5544 you have footage of it?

[@ecosby100]

Tennesseestorm76 I see one almost in my home town it’s old it’s beat but it still screams and the guy drives it hard af. They blow heads like it’s going out of style

[@johnpearson492]

And definitely the coolest car of this lineup. It is a very sharp looking car and I bet the engine is good fun to wind out.

[@mattryan4816]

That would have been standard in a BMW 325i, plus inline 6 cylinder engine and rear wheel drive.

[@revaholic]

Not the worst example of badge engineering since they looked sufficiently different. Looking back it's startling to see all the redundancies in the lineup though

[@92ASC]

It was one thing back when each divison of GM actually built their own motors. Though by the late 70s-early 80s, it was just baffling as to why they had so many different makes and models that were all essentially the same car. I'm shocked at how long Olds and Pontiac lasted.

[@travelseatsyellowlab]

@@92ASC Many of the cars were comfortable, capable and comptent. Also, they were affordable, which is why the divisions lasted so long.

[@hakeemsd70m]

@@92ASC Pontiac's longevity doesn't surprise me for some reason, I think the popularity of niche cars like the Fiero, Firebird, GTO, and Solstice kept them afloat. However, the longevity of Oldsmobile baffles me to new heights even to this day, since they were just so close to Buick in their moderately priced luxury mission. By the year 2001, the only truly unique cars Olds had was the then-new Aurora and Intrigue, they were much different in appearance than any other G or W body, respectively.

[@michaelhungate7506]

@@hakeemsd70m You mentioned the Aurora. If they would have put the effort GM put into the Aurora, which got great reviews, Olds would have survived. The Aurora was an impressive car for sure.

[@samd1405]

@@hakeemsd70m The Ninety-Eight and Eighty-Eight from the 90s were both very popular and sold tons as well as this Cutlass. That's what kept them alive through the 90s.

[@BennyT_3434]

Shocked at the 0 to 60 time of the Olds, under 8 seconds was really moving for an early 90s sedan! That Cutlass has to be one of the biggest sleeper enthusiast sedans of that era, especially with the FE3 and the 5 speed, would love to see numbers on how many of those sold...and what are the odds that a single one is still on the road today??

[@ForceEight]

Grew up in that exact car. Loved it. It didn’t last to my teenage years, though...

[@michaelhungate7506]

The Quad 4 was a good attempt at a really potent 4 cylinder. Performance wise it was impressive for the time. They were noisy almost like some small diesels. It just had alot of problems. I would think there are few and far between, especially one that runs right.

[@rodger7029]

Sold a lot of Quad 4s in the smaller Oldsmobiles. Almost none in the Cutlass

[@BreakStuffClub]

I remember years ago hearing that they only made two quad 4 h.o. sedans and about 500 coupes. I saw a white h.o. Sedan once. I had an Achieva SCX, another rare car.

[@CarCrazy12804]

I had a 1990 Chevy Lumina Euro coupe it was a great car and comfortable to drive! It also reminded me of Nascar race cars of that era and the 3.1 engine was pretty durable too.

[@DNR5586]

The Olds Cutlass Supreme was built at the Doraville, GA assembly plant. I went through that plant several times in the 90's. Sadly that plant has been demolished. Great memories of those tours.

[@jiggity76]

Would have loved to see that!

[@matsuri626]

Another epic jacket from John Davis! For those who criticize Motorweek for being so positive about these W-platform GM cars, well, give them a break, it was 1990, no one knew they were going to turn out to be such bad cars! On paper they seemed fine, with all independent suspension, fairly modern looking styling, and lots of engine choices. Like they say, hindsight is 20/20.

[@talonleevon7929]

César Grau I wish motorweek tested every car model out there. And long term, questioned owners I would love it.

[@BigOldCarChannel]

And now, 25 years later, they've all disappeared. Especially the oddball optioned models outlined here. I don't think I've ever seen a 3.1 turbo V6 in a GM FWD 4-door.

[@ronsmith4325]

The Turbo 3.1 was pretty rare to begin with.. but yeah, a lot of these cars rotted out or found their way to a junkyard. About 10 years ago they were still everywhere... Hardly ever see them around anymore. I miss the sound of GM's 60 degree V6's... nothing else out there like it these days.

[@coltonkazarian1198]

BigOldCar I’ve only seen one Grand Prix with the turbo 3.1. It was for sale at a cash-only car dealership with a severely slipping transmission. Took it for a test drive and that turbo still had a nice whistle.

[@alexsbikesandmotors]

I disagree. You still a ton of early 90s buicks and oldsmobiles. Way more than import cars from the same era.

[@Erik-kp1ux]

I see these cars all the time still. Even the 80s GM cars everyday. Shit even a 50s GM car almost everyday. Japanese cars is what I hardly ever see. Get all excited when I see a 86 Celica or a 90 del sol. 80s and 90s Japanese cars are getting pretty rare.

[@PizzaMan_rips]

I had an 86 celica. an 88 integra too. my step bro has a 91 crx too.

[@mrtyreus0]

The GM W-body was the car of my childhood. From an 89 Buick Regal, to an 91 Olds Cutlass Supreme. Then the 2002 Chevy Impala (my first car) The last W-body was my parent's 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix GT. Wish we still had it.

[@gera117]

A retro review of the Cavalier Z24 Please. The J platform was sold for many years

[@joshthemediocre7824]

I can remember seeing new cars in 1990, 91, 92...time moves so fast man that it seems like yesterday that these were brand new cars and nothing on the road had 400 hp, well hardly anything you would see on a daily basis in Ohio..lol. These videos really take me back. Life was awesome in 1990, i was freaking 10!!

[@johna.4334]

I choose the Olds Cutlass Supreme with a black interior for overall beauty and practicality. That high mounted double-din radio slot is an ideal location and size for an aftermarket Android radio.

[@thethomasj1795]

I took my road test in my Father's 1990 Olds Cutlass Supreme. It was a very nice car for the time. It went through front brakes every 17,000 miles.

[@NAgeetee]

I miss red interiors

[@lifeonbicycles]

same

[@samuelc7852]

+camMDR same

[@Maxpound]

You can get a mustang with a red interior still.

[@zachg9065]

Corvette can get red interior

[@TBird100636]

You can get a red interior in Dodge Charger, Challenger, Dart, and select Chrysler 300's.

[@SantanKGhey1234]

That Quad 4 sounded like it was going to blow up on the 0-60 and 1/4 mile..... Eventually they all blew up anyways

[@jermainec2462]

😅😅😅😅😅😅 truuu !!

[@rodferguson3515]

Yeah it almost did .....a lot of the quad 4 engines had head gasket issues in oil leaks it's a damn shame it could have been a damn good engine just like the North Star in short Star engines

[@thebitlot]

@@rodferguson3515 the 3.1v6 had head gasket issues too, didn't it? Sounds like GM just really phoned it in on head gaskets.

[@markparent7999]

My BIL had a grand am with that motor. Had the manual transmission. Had good pickup but the car was a pile of junk and fell apart quickly (rust).

[@joebrito2066]

My mother had that Olds manual and that was a slick looking car back then.

[@bigbean78]

I always liked the looks of the Lumina over the years. My grandparents bought a new 91 Regal. My mom took it for a test drive, and lit up the tires pulling out of the dealer. 😂Her cars always had a 4 banger, so that 3.8 was a powerhouse compared to what she was used to.

[@rodmunch69]

I always liked the Lumina as well, just not the one they used in this example. They got another video with the Lumina and it's fantastic looking - but this one, not so much.

[@josephpacelli3341]

would love the 1990 Cutlass Supreme with the high output Quad 4 with the getrag 5 speed manual, they are rare and hard to come by

[@commandertaco1762]

Imo, the 1994/5 convertible Cutlass supreme is a nice car

[@jiggity76]

There is one currently for sale on CL. A 90 International Series coupe in the Tennessee area I believe.

[@kingelvis7035]

Wow. The quad 4 was fast 7.8 0-60 was scorching fast in 1990.

[@rexracer7192]

If they had squad 8 it would've made 360 HP lol that was good power for a 4banger 180 not bad.

[@scdevon]

@@rexracer7192 Not bad at all, but these big displacement 4 cylinders sound really buzzy at high RPMs. The reliability was horrible, too. The 3.1 was a better all around engine and really torquey in the low end.

[@rexracer7192]

@@scdevon lol you're right.. They dont like to rev. And yea, you wouldn't drive those cars over 100k with out needing all the engines gaskets and front and rear seals replaced, along with all belt driven accessories. Not to mention the rubbish trans lmfao.. oh shit, order a new one lol

[@halohunter5217]

The manuals were Isuzu or Getrag iirc and were fine, why would you have an auto? Great race motors.

[@Bartonovich52]

QUAD 8 was basically the Northstar V8. It didn’t produce anywhere near that HP because cross plane V8 cranks can’t rev.

[@McBeamer94]

I see a similarity to the first Saturn S in the shape of the Cutlass Supreme's rear glass!

[@charleskosyjana1295]

The first edition Saturn's were pretty much miniaturized versions of the Oldsmobile Cutlass. GM took a lot of engineers from Olds. and installed them at Saturn when they were initially designing the car. The only truly original design was the Saturn wagon. However if any of the GM 10 cars were offered as a wagon it would have probably looked like a large Saturn.

[@dougsmith7908]

My mom had a 90 Cutlass 4door . Pretty Reliable it’s still on the road in 2019. 200k +miles very good car, comfortable ride

[@07wrxtr1]

Yeah my grandmother had one for 15 + years; after two wrecks it kept going! She kept it until the transmission was shot and then finally bought a new Camry.

[@Chitwn81]

Ahhh the good ol days....My second car was a 94 Cutlass Supreme with the 3.4 Dohc engine. I bought it in 2003 with only 66K miles on it...and that car could move. It had all the options on it and was in the pretty teal color with the Heads Up Display. Pretty nice option for that time period. Only thing was nobody liked to work on the 3.4 L so costs for repair were expensive. I'm going to get me another Cutlass this time the Convertible with the 3.4L

[@jasonl5523]

I had one too. I had a 4 door grand prix with the DOHC 3.4 and got a 90k mile one for 1600 in like 00'. It ran but needed a timing belt because it had jumped a tooth. Had the timing belt changed for $250 labor at a local mechanic and never had a problem when I sold it for the same a couple years later. It would outrun v6 mustangs with ease. Hell, it would outrun a lot of stuff back then. All the ricers with wings on their non turbo 4s looked like idiots when I'd blow by in the grandma car. I drove over mountains all the time to college and would race anything that was game.

[@Chitwn81]

Good memories for sure

[@skylinefever]

It takes 8 hours to replace an alternator, that is why people didn't like working with it. In addition, most GM alternators from the 1990s didn't last very long.

[@jasonl5523]

+Skyline Fever actually....if you remove the passenger side subframe bolts and lower it a bit then take the tie rod out and rotate the alternator 180 when removing it can be done in an hour. Go change a ls400 starter and let me know how that goes. Those go bad way more often than gm alternators. Entire intake must be removed. I'm sure you realize theres a lot of stuff. Then you have fucking egr tubes at the back so you can't get the bolts easily so I had to resort to unbolting the driveshaft and transmission mount and lowering the tail end then using really long extensions to get the bolts in and out. Its one of the worst procedures I've ever done and ive done engine swaps. What made Toyota think putting a starter in the v of a v8 that has no access to the bolts. Those starters go bad all the time from heat. Look it up. Its been a penalty on 24 hours of lemons.

[@travisp11]

+Jason L Dang, I was looking at a 1990 LS400 but I think I will pass now.

[@hottew_twat3963]

Buick Regal with the 3800 was the cream of the crop!

[@manthony225]

And a few months later GM introduces the Saturn sedan that looks like a shrunken Olds.

[@Bartonovich52]

The Chevy Corsica and Pontiac Tempest also shared those styling cues of a rounded front and square back.

[@carwrtr1]

Say what you want about Saturn, but they helped improve GM as a whole. Saturn took folks from Oldsmobile to help, and it worked. Saturn and Oldsmobile were underrated products. Chevrolet was mass market, Pontiac was performance, Buick was luxury, and Oldsmobile was a division that was more upscale than Chevrolet, and they were a better car. Each version of these GM10 models had their own personality, and my pick would have been the Buick or Oldsmobile, for they had the best rides. Pontiac had too much exterior plastic, and Chevrolet had a low budget feel. Chevrolet has improved over the years, though.

[@hakeemsd70m]

@@Bartonovich52 you know what, you're absolutely right. As a matter of fact, when I click on this video I actually thought now confirmed Cutlass Supreme was a Chevy Beretta! I guess I didn't pay attention to the extra doors.

[@hakeemsd70m]

@@Bartonovich52 oh.. plus the Beretta is not a W body.. "duh" on me... 🙄

[@RobertNES816]

Out of all of these GM10 cars the Olds Cutlass looked the best in my opinion. The coupe looked the best with the mini quad headlights.

[@ericbritton9346]

I like the Pontiac Grand Prix STE, but its missing a power sunroof. And didn't know about the 3.1 V6 Turbocharged engine. The Chevy Lumina was popular car at its time; I use to own a 1993 Lumima Z34 in black in 2007. Love all the W Body designs in the 90s.

[@MidnightinSavannah]

I'm surprised the Quad 4 didn't blow a head gasket in the 1/4 test. Changing the oil in one was a PITA.

[@dennismattson8383]

I got a pristine rust free '96 Regal 3800 sedan last year for $1000 on Marketplace. A true granny car from So-Cal w/65k miles. It's like a time capsule.. I'd Love to put a manual trans, bucket seats, and console in, if possible.. Gonna look into it.

[@wranglercody8422]

That deck lid luggage rack on the olds tho. That’s the shit.

[@ScottaHemi440]

the cutlass looked the best of these cars!

[@shawnwhite2572]

I think people are getting the 1990-1993 3.1 'Multi-Port' engine confused with the 1994-2004 3100 'SFI'. Those older ones were just enlarged 2.8 engines and didn't have all of the gasket problems, it was mostly just fuel injection related stuff.

[@jonathonhicks2369]

Can u explain more details

[@jonlavezza2364]

I wanna go back in time and buy that Olds Cutlass from the test

[@m.stewart7208]

For the first time in my life I see how redundant those awesome looking buttons on the steering wheel are. For example, FADE, BALANCE? Those are probably buttons I use twice a year, once by accident. They were really cool, but so inefficient, ie. volume up/down, and mute. We combined those into half that size. I love you technology.

[@TheZProtocol]

MORE W BODIES!!!

[@jarrodmcmillian1747]

GM w bodies are amazing! Ive had 2. 95 Z34 monte & 97 gtp

[@chadharmon5716]

Took my drivers test in a lumina 😂 remember how the dash looked and thinking it was cool

[@talonleevon7929]

chad harmon my drivers test was a Pontiac grand am. I thought the dash was cool too...I miss Pontiac. I wanted to design for them.

[@bigdaddyvince182]

Notice how the oldsmobile and the pontiac are the coolest cars of the bunch but those two companies are also out of buisness... gm really should have kept olds and pontiac and scrapped buick

[@mikecastellon3022]

Quad 4 motto: we don’t blow up as fast as a yugo.

[@SnarkyRC]

That Pontiac headlight design is beast.

[@pcluvvw7129]

Had a 91 Cutlass Supreme looking just like the one in the review. It ran nice drove nice and man you could pack that sucker full! But those freaking gaskets once one went you'd be replacing the rest pretty soon after. Loved everything else about it. Except that engine!

[@2steaksandwiches665]

I love Olds. I was an import kid but got an Alero 20 years ago. Loved it. Went back to imports but still appreciated olds. Good history and Gramps had a 60s 442 that was bad ass. The alero was decent but needed new lower intake gaskets at 75,000 like they all do. Still worth it.

[@GregK1247]

‘92 Cutlass Supreme is what I grew up in

[@pjames8077]

Once had a maroon '90 Lumina Euro just like that one with red interior and the 3.1 engine. There's still a few of those w-body cars on the road; didn't know the 90 cutlass had a manual option. Like the digital layout. Interior and exterior styling changed on some of those w body's for the 95 model year.

[@Yophillips3272]

I think those cutlass Supremes are sexy, not this particular year though.

[@SearchEast2069]

I fucking love these cars. Those digital gauges at 1:00....

[@SearchEast2069]

Update: bought a 91 old's cutlass supreme, 74K miles, one owner, clean. Completely forgot I left this comment! lmao yes it has the digital cluster and I got it CHEAP, but jokes on me I think because the PS pump is leaking and the rust might be a little worse than I thought. SMH...cant have nice things here in NY

[@B0xlife1]

Wow 180hp out of the quad with a 5 speed manual? Bet that puppy was fun, i was surprised about the power out of the 3.8 Buick, but damn Oldsmobile lol obviously that 3.8 would run circles around it in reliability in the long run!

[@jamesfrench7299]

Australia's luxury Holden Statesman adopted the Cutlass rear end for its 1994 -1997 models. I knew it looked familiar.

[@MrFister84]

Same.

[@djhartbeatnofilter]

I am absolutely obsessed with retro cars that you normally don't see with a manual trans, If I could own em all I would!!

[@CarlosFlores-xf2sn]

DjhartbeatProd same here tbh. Easy to fix too I bet compared to crap today

[@jiggity76]

Man, after reading these posts, I'm a little nervous about my 3 W's now. Nope, just kiddin, still love them and so proud of the rarity of them.

[@broderp]

@ 6:00 ..WTF is that hanging from the bottom of the car? GM quality - the ultimate oxymoron🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.

[@fredaydaybae8450]

WHY is this guy so HEAVY handed with the shifter? DAMN

[@bilalahmed2123]

The lumina and Grand Prix were beautiful ! Don't even see this car anymore. Shame.

[@FerrariCarr]

That Lumina interior at 1:35 looked awful compared to its competition, the Ford Taurus.

[@jermainec2462]

All that shit look awful 🤣

[@lesterrojas2656]

First time to see a 1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with manual transmission 😳

[@benjochs]

I’d take the Oldsmobile. That interior is the bomb. It did sound like the engine was about to grenade though.

[@area51isreal71]

Hmmmm. The Oldsmobile tail lights and rear window looked familiar to me. Yep, got it. The Australian Holden Statesman VS series of 1995. I do remember reading an Australian motoring magazine around that time that reported the Statesman was to use some Oldsmobile parts. Makes sense. Here Holden is part of GM. Google VS Statesman and compare the tail lights.

[@halohunter5217]

Definitely not interchangeable parts. Similar styling but that's about it.

[@utetv7512]

EA Falcon ain't far off

[@giantenemycrabX]

hahah that grand prix steering wheel is horrible

[@clydedonovan4240]

I remember growing up my parents had a 92 SE Grand-Prix and it had the all buttons on the steering wheel and that was my favorite thing about the car.. I don't know why though.. XD

[@theKevronHarris]

Judging by the look of the steering wheel of the Grand Prix, it looks cluttered to me.

[@davidschleyhahn1610]

Kevron Harris 0

[@HulkSmash86]

I remember a friends parent had a bonneville in the 90s with the almost the same steering wheel! I think it's a cool sign of the times but I would not want that now.

[@will2993]

Steve Allen nice b8 m8.

[@jmc6000]

Wow that Quad 4 in that Cutless sounded horrid.

[@Matt_Dagostino]

Sounded like a freakin vacuum cleaner

[@Chevroldsmobuiac]

Yes, in person the Quad 4 engine sounded like a blender full of ball bearings. I was always surprised they sold as many as they did.

[@billgateskilledmyuncle23]

My dad had the V6 version of that Cutlass Oldsmobile. The instrument cluster was really neat, but the climate control was an utter and complete piece of crap. It was broken when he bought it. In the winter time it would blow ice cold air onto the windshield and freeze it worse and in the summertime it would blast heat at full blast. You would have to roll the windows down. You could press any button you wanted, it would just ignore you and do whatever it wanted to do. Had it not been for that, it would have been one of the best cars he had ever had.

[@markparent7999]

The buttons on that steering wheel are beyond horrible. Like something out of star trek. My bro had an olds cutlass supreme. Nice smooth driving car..plenty of power and got good gas mileage...handled like crap.

[@kurt8327]

impressive power on that 4cyl cutlass

[@karlsmith4160]

That Quad 4 Was Big Trouble

[@RhinoXpress]

they were still cookie cutter cars, but at least they did a better job trying to make them less cookie cutter to one another than their 80s counterparts.

[@Bartonovich52]

The story of a bumbling platform. GMs personal luxury cars like the Cutlass and Regal were good selling staples in the 1980s... but without the cohesive following that prevented them from being turned into front drivers in 1988 like what happened with the Mustang/Probe the previous year. Plus the upscale Toronado, Riviera, and Eldorado had been FWD for 20 years by that point. The result was a poor sales showing. Coincidentally, GMs A bodies were looking long in the tooth in comparison to the new Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable. A new 4 door FWD platform was needed. So the W body was made 4 door for 1990 and sales took off... though production for four GM divisions would never match the two Ford Divisions. What’s interesting is that the A body soldiered on almost without redesign on until 1996, though mostly for fleet sales.

[@herrgolf]

I kinda love late 80s/early 90s GM. You could get lots of whimsical gee whiz optional equipment and big engines w lots of torque were cheap

[@demerrillspencer3860]

Love it 💯

[@stevenbalekic5683]

Holden in Australia basically made these with rear wheel drive v6 and v8.

[@LeftIsBest001]

I liked that Cutlass Supreme. 😊

[@griffinsavoy]

Had a 1997 Cutlass Supreme SL in the family since new until somebody wrecked it at 222k.

[@johncollins7423]

Dburger62 I have a '97 LeSabre with the 3800 Series II V-6. 274,000 miles so far & not a bit of trouble out of it.

[@bradleymeyer9775]

I like the red Oldsmobile.

[@REPOMAN24722]

5:57, That looks so much like a Holden VR statesman.

[@nessuno5403]

Super_Slav because Holden was a GM parts bin project :)

[@test143000]

a favourite car in boganstan

[@jacobbarros8849]

Motor Week has always been very optimistic seeing little fault and making minimal criticism. The cars are cookie cutter we know this, and they never got better until very recently although you'd never know it by John's comments. Still love the show just know this going in.

[@toyoscio]

They've "dinged" a few cars

[@07wrxtr1]

They could only get 170 hp out of 3.8ltrs?! we've come a long way since then!

[@lightningbuster]

Back in the day, my mom had the Lumina, my grandma had the Grand Prix, and the neighbor lady across the street had the Cutlass Supreme

[@TheDodgefan9]

Will you post any retro reviews of Pontiac GXP models such as the Bonneville?

[@juelzm149]

I second that!

[@clydedonovan4240]

I'd love to see an '04-'06 GTO retro review as well..

[@pbfloyd13]

I'll give GM this the 3.8 OHV V6 are good engines (especially with forced induction) but the cars that they're put into are pretty crap.

[@aaronbays4]

Maybe I'm jaded, but I thought the Regal was the best of these 1st gen W-body sedans. Of course our family bought a new 1991 Regal sedan, first year model. I must say it did all the typical "upscale" American car things very well, plush velour interior(fit/ finish was very good btw), good power from the 3.8 V6(IMO the best engine option on the w-body), very quiet, plush ride but it didn't drive/handle like a boat compared to cars from 10 years earlier. It was a pretty car for 1991 as well IMO, had the very up to date "round" styling with a lot of chrome so you knew it was still a Buick. This was my first car when I turned 16. At that point it was 10 years old, had at least 140,000 miles on it(not sure odometer broke like 3-4 years earlier). It just literally fell apart within a year or so at that 10 year old mark. Up until then it was a really nice, reliable, great looking car. Its almost like GM designed every part to fail within a certain mile/time period.

[@95blahblahhaha]

GM W- Bodies: We are going to be the best selling most cutting edge car of the 90's Ford Taurus: Hold my beer

[@joseoctaviomorenorodriguez9541]

At least they weren't as boring as the Taurus, which screams rental from the get-go. Except for the Lumina, it was utter garbage

[@robsrandomness7824]

And blue, and burgundy, and even the dark green that Taurus/Sable offered in the mid 90s on the light green exteriors.

[@BogattheMoon]

Wow, didn't know you could get a Cutlass Supreme Sedan with a 5sp manual and the Quad 4 HO. I just remember it being available in the Achieva and 442.

[@TheSimonhammond]

Ah love 90's American car styling.

[@howtobebasic2122]

the w bodies where made from 1986 to 2016, for nearly 30 years the w body went through many improvements and changes, the very last w body was the fleet edition Chevy impala that lasted until 2016.

[@catjudo1]

GM said that these cars were never engineered for airbags, hence the door mounted idiocy, yet Chrysler could fit airbags to their K car derived junk. My dad would bring home a Cutlass Supreme sedan from his company's fleet sometimes and when I drove it I was always afraid of falling out the door in an accident. Although being found as far away as possible might not have been such a bad thing.

[@rodmunch69]

Give me the Regal front end, and the Olds backend, and you got a really nice looking car.

[@jordanhedlund]

That Cutlass 💙

[@mihela8167]

That Regal was my first car. They still look good today.

[@cgreenfield6655]

Dude I just plow through retro reviews.

[@adamtrombino106]

Man, I remember working on these horrid W cars in the mid to late 90s by the metric ton! Steering/suspension, injector, ignition, virtually every electronic system, brakes, alignment, etc etc problems were abundant. These were not good cars! The 1's with the 3.8 were better, but still inherited a crap design. These cars would eventually have TSBs and recall lists longer than my leg. Sure, they were a vast departure in both size, styling and comfortable space than anything GM had ever tried before, and they did sell like crazy, but they surely weren't ever a good car. Despite the literally 100s I've worked on, I've only seen a couple Cutlass' with the Quad Whore, and never a manual. I did see several of the Buicks with the 3.8, and most all had the 3.1. Never saw a turbo model either. It's funny, because the basic W platform would go on to serve mid size sedan GM buyers for many yrs after the 1988 design, and they did eventually fix most problems from the factory as time went on. Redesigned rear brakes that actually worked, rear strut suspension that used conventional coil springs to replace the fiberglass rear leaf that cracked easily, the 3.1 T engine got replaced by the 3.1 M which solved much of the fuel problems, but retained the coolant leak issues, redesigned simpler front struts that got rid of the cartridges, better front end geometry that ate ball joints less often, ( though still beat the crap out of outter tie rods) and of course, better electronics. It's always funny to me how we praise something new as great, then find out within a couple of yrs that they're garbage!

[@ss-zt7en]

Learned to turn wrenches on these cars and they were terrible. Even had a 93 Cutlass with the DOHC 3.4l. It was pretty quick but a bitch to work on.

[@DAUNTLESSDIVERS]

I worked on them at Olds as well. I had a Cutlass supreme with the DOHC 3.4 "X" engine and a 5 speed manual. Neat car. Replacing the alternator was a feat!

[@halohunter5217]

All FWD cars eat steering/suspension parts in comparison to RWD.

[@smirage22]

the best has to be when the ignition rake breaks you just swap in a whole new steering column in also Turn signal levers that kept failing

[@ce9345]

Nice car. Too bad it was attached to a crappy engine. The Quad 4 was not known for reliability and smoothness.

[@mikecastellon3022]

That’s correct. What they were known for was self destruction right after the warranty expired. Road and track commented that this engine excelled at noise,vibration, and harshness. I pity the fools who bought these steaming piles

[@chriscornelius2518]

Buick cars are known to last a long time, at least the 3800 engines were known. I often wondered if it was due to demographics.

[@morrismerritt7923]

Had a 94 and 95 Grand Prix SE coupe, a 97 Monte Carlo Z34, and a 97 Grand Prix GT coupe. Currently looking for a 02 GTP coupe.

[@dezlondes7106]

Ah, the 3.8L was the engine to have, there was very little a guy couldn't do to fix it in the parking lot of your apartment complex and a haynes manual from the auto parts store. No problems were ever "catastrophic", just a few bucks from your paycheck, a little time and forget about it until next year.

[@billgateskilledmyuncle23]

Air bags did away with that crazy button covered steering wheel.