1995 Oldsmobile Aurora Review - Not As Big Of A Flop As You Think...

[@dylantran8492]

Thanks again to Zack for filming one of my Olds. Love the video!

[@carexpertandy]

Twin girls I went to school with used to drive a dark red 2001 Alero they had named Dylan! When I received a nearly identical Alero from my grandmother, they unofficially named mine “Dylan Jr.”

[@bob-pc4ke]

How reliable is this car for you, still? Saw a 98 aurora for sale $4500 CAD on FB Market. Really like it, but probs rusted cuz in canada.

[@LastOfTheJedi]

I own a 1998 Aurora in deep green metallic, with 75,000 original miles. I bought the car new off the showroom floor. It’s my favorite car ever. I recently had it re-registered as a “classic” at 25 years old. This car is 100% original, without a mark on it, nor is there even a hint of rust on or under it. Not even a crack in the leather. I have maintained it obsessively throughout the years. I consider the Aurora one of the finest cars ever built. Its current valuae according to a licensed car appraiser is over $13,000. Pretty good in my opinion. I put true-spoke Dayton wire wheels on it back in the day as well. A pure joy to drive.

[@WarpedinSpace]

It would be hard to find a taker at 13K.

[@DiscGolfDom23]

People don't like it, but this is actually peak GM. The BEST seats, the BEST ride, so simple and easy to fix and CHEAP to fix.

[@doug6191]

Peak GM was a few decades earlier

[@trumpet12345]

northstar engine separation disagrees.

[@bwofficial1776]

Mid 90s to mid 00s was peak GM. Supremely comfortable, good tech, decent build quality, decent powertrains (Northstar engines and 4L60 transmissions notwithstanding).

[@trumpet12345]

what was the 4l60 in exactly? i thought they put that in the astro/safari (which i know was a downgraded truck tranny) but they seemed stout. Maybe i am thinking of the wrong one, or they was a widespread issue at some point?@@bwofficial1776

[@2006gtobob]

Mid 1960's was peak GM, just look at that line-up, especially Pontiac.

[@prod.domino]

I was just randomly thinking about this random car that nobody talks about anymore today, and suprise suprise you make a video about it the same day

[@Marc816]

I have a 2001 4.0, bought new in 2000. It turned out to be a much faster runner than I had expected. Head gasket problems in the almost 23 years I've been driving it? ZERO!!!!! NONE!!! NONEXISTANT!!!!!

[@jeremiahallyn4603]

I had a 2002 Oldsmobile Alero. That car put up with a lot and really didn't give me any major issues. Too bad Oldsmobile has been gone for almost 20 years now!

[@CsHyper]

Note: there's no Oldsmobile badges on the entire car.

[@choppersports]

Because they were in competitions Lexus Oldsmobile was trying to be the new Lexus in 1995 It was built well

[@MrCBG]

The only one is on the stereo.

[@roberteye7197]

Yes and it's very small.

[@carexpertandy]

The last generation Buick Riviera used this same platform, and that didn’t have any Buick badges on it!

[@betrapvideos]

​@@choppersportshorrible name choice...

[@zayisom6819]

Zack deserves more subscribers. That's it. I love these older forgotten car reviews!

[@dave11686]

6:44, bless you Zach

[@GaryRichards-cb1fc]

The Aurora had to be crash tested on the truck machine, the front end in crash testing broke Consumer Reports and GM car testing machines in crash tests.✔✔✔✔

[@fp5495]

I vaguely remember it being reported, that the only place the Oldsmobile nameplate was shown, was the head unit 4:50. This is when GM was trying to repair its reputation after coming from a decade of downsized, albeit still successful, cookie-cutter sedans, so they attempted to set the Aurora apart from Oldsmobile. It was a special project, but all their nameplates were going through an upgrade period at the same time as this. There was also talk that the Aurora name might spinoff as a separate brand altogether, since, at the time, the newly formed Saturn brand was a hit with its no-haggle pricing strategy. Another weird fact: the Aurora was supposed to be a Cadillac originally. Yes, the Cadillac Aurora. PS: The Aurora's looks were an acquired taste even back then. It was considered good-looking even for 1995.

[@bwofficial1776]

This is still a good-looking car. Mid 90s-mid 00s GMs were incredibly comfortable, decently well built, and fairly reliable. It's a shame GM neglected Oldsmobile and made it into the old man's brand. Then again, GM had too many brands selling essentially the same car. Never underestimate GM's ability to kill a good thing.

[@DGTelevsionNetwork]

I can't agree with gm quality in that era. Hell, they were selling Grand ams and Malibus with manual locks and crank windows into 2005. I know, I have one.

[@turnne]

The Toyota/Lexus dealers that were so busy would argue with you about mid 90's GM being well built and reliable.

[@BRAINFxck10]

Actually I have seen this engine in other vehicles because it has a huge racing pedigree, first used in the 1992 Oldsmobile Aerotech, the car achieved 47 speed endurance records with a modified Aurora V8 and this gave GM the green light to produce a race version of the V8 for the beautiful Aurora GTS-1 race car, in race configuration the engine produced 650hp and revved to over 10,000 rpm, race constructor Riley & Scott quickly took notice and they adopted the engine for their Mk III endurance racers which were highly successful and around the same time Carrol Shelby was working with GM to resurrect the Shelby Cobra, the new model would be called the Shelby Series 1 but GM didn’t want it to compete with the Corvette so they let Shelby use the Aurora V8, interestingly enough the base engine was supposed to produce 350hp but Oldsmobile refused to help Shelby tune the engines for whatever reason so the base V8 only made 320hp but that didn’t stop Shelby, the X50 package added 50hp bringing it up to 370hp then the supercharged versions came out with numbers varying from 450hp-600hp.

[@zjones9876]

Wow adjusted for inflation this cost as much as a loaded BMW 530ix or even a 540ix today if you don't go crazy with the options.

[@Yearofthebunny63]

I am the proud owner of a’98 Olds AURORA in Pearl Metallic White on a rebuilt 4.0L NorthStar with 61,000ml. I only paid out $1K to the 4th owners but the catch was that there are some mechanical issues that added to the cost of this rare automobile. Since I can afford the extra cost to get this beauty road worthy…I’m looking 👀 at an additional mechanic bill at an estimated value of $4K that will include four brand new tires 🛞 with the alignment and balancing of the tires but the best part…the later mentioned…is complementary…a gift from my mechanic and all of their clients. Now I call this a sweet deal ❤!!!

[@LastOfTheJedi]

I own a 1998 Aurora, with 75,000 miles on it. I bought it new in May of 1998. It’s a dark emerald green, and I put Dayton wire wheels on it. This car literally doesn’t have a mark on it. Not even a crack in the leather. Always garaged, and never driven in snow (I lived in western Wisconsin at the time; I’m in Texas these days.) Last year, I re-registered it as a classic car. I love this car more than any other car I’ve ever owned (I’m 65 years old now.) I thought you might like to hear about a “perfect” one, having done a video on the model.

[@damilolaakanni]

At least it got a second generation, albeit dialed back quite a bit. Yes, it didn't sell well, but it wasn't a huge sales flop if it got a second generation. Not a big of a sales flop as the Lincoln Blackwood that was only on the market for 15 months.

[@doug6191]

If it flopped at anything, it was in achieving the target of revitalizing Oldsmobile. Hard to do that when buyers also found the 1995 Ciera and 88 in the same showroom, not to mention the already-old Cutlass Supreme. The Achieva was running a comparably new design on old-tech N-body hardware. The Silhouette and Bravada were straight clones of Chevrolets. The Aurora flopped at its mission, but not because the car was bad. It flopped because GM was bad.

[@bwofficial1776]

@@doug6191 GM has this tremendous ability to sabotage promising cars. The Aurora was a good car but Oldsmobile was in the nursing home by that point.

[@TassieLorenzo]

@@doug6191 Where did GM go wrong? Just on the build quality?

[@doug6191]

@@TassieLorenzo GM struggled for YEARS with branding and product decisions. Quality was just part of the problem.

[@ForeverDownByLaw]

I always loved this design, very forward looking for the time. It's a shame that GM seemed to abandon the direction this car was going. This car, and the companion Cadillac (Seville) really seemed to push the brand(s) in a positive direction, but perhaps too advanced for their typical customers.

[@OLDS98]

Thank you for the Oldsmobile Aurora review. There are parts of this car that were shared with the Ninety Eight, Eighty Eight/LSS. You really did a good job and said so much that is true about the brand. You really said it quite well what happened. Management at GM messed up. They did not market the car or the brand correctly, and so many other things. This car should have been called Toronado. There are many other factors, but you did a grand job. Thank you.

[@jamesruiz4005]

Finally!!!! ❤ I’ve been waiting on this review since I discovered your channel. Thank you!

[@celsovera91]

To think at one point, this was sitting in the same showroom as the cutlass ciera. I could imagine customers looking at the car and being weirded out compared to the ciera.

[@PamelaBellOfficial]

They manufactured the cutlass cierra for way too long.

[@tdvandy2]

A fair, honest review of the Aurora. Thank you! Well done!

[@mopargm9329]

I definitely still love these and remember when they were new

[@painful-Jay]

My girlfriend’s mom had an Aurora and it was very comfortable and quick. Great for getting head in too.

[@tomrideout5623]

Head from your girlfriend's mom? Nice!

[@painful-Jay]

@@tomrideout5623 sure Tom.

[@Doctor_Robert]

The Aurora genuinely is my favorite 90s design. I've always loved it. It was Olds's last attempt to regain its identity: be the technology luxury brand. (Ironic how Tesla seized that entire envelop) A lot of boomer-aged guys in relatively successful careers bought these (a friend of my Dad's had one. He was an insurance man). Part of it was, I think, that all GM had in general by the 90s were brand loyalists for their Big 5 (people who "just wanted a car" went to Chevy, if any of the brands) and the old system of "scum to snob--Chevy to Caddy" was well dead. GM's brands were 3 grandma cars, the sporty one, and the breadwinner. One had to go. The one that had Old in its name. And it's a darn shame that corporate decided that. The people actually working at Olds wanted to bring it back, hence this car (and the Achieva, which was bodged a lot but an attempt to go for Accord buyers, and the Intrigue and so on).

[@andyk6796]

I had one of these in a sandy beige color and enjoyed it. It looked and felt like no other GM car at the time which was refreshing after all the body sharing they did in the 1980s. The V8 was definitely underpowered for the weight of the vehicle. Silky smooth but soooo sluggish. Interesting note: The only place you see "Oldsmobile" on the entire car is the radio.

[@J-kade]

This Aurora and the same gen Buick riviera are so incredibly beautiful.

[@sally_the_saturn_sl2]

This is awesome!! Ive actually driven this specific car! I would love to own one someday! Glad to see it here on your channel!

[@pistolsniper7945]

Watching this makes me wanna get my 1999 Aurora running again so bad, Great video Zack! Maybe you can come review mine when I get it running and looking good lol

[@alexanderspenser4960]

Your are among the few who note what killed Olds; inner management. Aurora was a fun driver.👍🏾

[@choppersports]

Also the car had fiber optics to the doors front doors and rear

[@floyd27860]

Besides the paint on the trunk, this think looks pristine on the exterior

[@aquaticko]

Man oh man, what a gorgeous car, still, all these years later. I so deeply miss this kind of understated luxury car; no flash, just solid engineering (Northstar-ish engine excepted) and quiet refinement. Closest thing I can think of to it these days is something like an Ioniq 6.

[@davinp]

GM also mismanaged Saturn. The Aurora didn't sell as high as GM had hoped.

[@carexpertandy]

Funny that Dylan is the name of the owner of this Aurora and Alero. Twin girls I went to school with drove a dark red 2001 Alero, which they had named Dylan! When I received a nearly identical Alero from my grandmother, they unofficially named my car “Dylan Jr.”

[@theheadone]

I owned one of these back in the early 2000's while I was in college, I loved it! At least until the electronics failed and the headgasket blew on it. I had an exhaust system on it and it sounded pretty good.

[@jessalanfields]

My grandma had a similar Oldsmobile model. It was blue - not sky blue, not royal blue. Grandma blue. That faded, grandma look. All of the Oldsmobile really worked hard to put Olds in the name. Now there are no more Oldsmobiles for the olds, and I’m getting old, and where’s MY Oldsmobile? Come on GM…

[@juliusreed6233]

If GM would’ve placed a 3.8 v6 supercharged engine in all Auroras they would’ve Soared!!!! And you’d still see it driving the streets today

[@tommywatterson5276]

This car eventually turned into a Cadillac a while after Olds was closed. Cadillac turned into the futuristic non- traditional car that GM unsuccessfully tried with Oldsmobile trying to save the brand.

[@thebitlot]

So interesting to think that in 1995 you could go car shopping and find "new luxury" like this being sold right alongside "old luxury" like a Fleetwood or Roadmaster

[@nolahahnshouse3389]

A lot of these features that are in the Oldsmobile aurora were in my 1991 Oldsmobile Park Avenue that I owned eons ago.

[@SulikTrucker95]

Power seats, which is cool option nowadays

[@Where2bub]

I was a simple child when I saw this car in showrooms and auto shows. the tail lights, headlights, the shape of the car, but the icing on the cake? those Cupholders!!! still smooth open and shut for those front cup holders! I think Chrysler motors might've done it first with their LH platform intrepid, vision, concord.. but those were also cars of my dreams.. I think the Aurora (this first gen model) definitely made a better car then those Chryslers.

[@EnthusiastCarHangar]

Thanks for another great video. You are an inspiration for when I produce my own car reviews.

[@brianbeswick3646]

Always loved the look of this car. It was futuristic for the time.

[@Roddy_Zeh]

I love the Aurora. If I lived in the US and had the money, I'd probably be buying all the examples I could find just to restore, maintain and tweak them.

[@KhrissyDaDon]

The dark cherry color was also use by Kia on the 2nd generation Sorento!

[@coltonphillips1]

I always loved these. I love how much newer they look considering it’s a 1995.

[@Metalodeath]

I always loved the way these looked! So luxurious from gm!

[@Low760]

The colour looks like cherry mica that holden used too in the same time period.

[@VladimirBlarp]

I always thought that GM should have kept Oldsmobile and dumped Buick. And 20 yrs after Olds left us look what Buick has become, a small variety of mundane and uninspiring crossovers.

[@jeffshadow2407]

Only the Enclave is built in the USA. The rest are from South Korea and China.

[@zacherz13]

I freaking love this car! I always wanted to sister-swap my 98 Riviera for one, even after the body change. Just somethin about them.

[@choppersports]

At the Oldsmobile dealership where I worked at we called the short star because of it being 4.0 litre

[@dylantran8492]

The 3.5 V6 that was in the Intrigue was referred to as the Shortstar. Not the 4.0.

[@azaz911c]

6:42 Hilarious

[@ae747sp5]

I had one. FUN CAR but engine leaked lots of oil.

[@kwaza8574]

Nice review. Although, surprised it wasn’t rear wheel drive.

[@jacobyo99]

One of the most beautiful sedans ever made

[@WeisserAudi]

Why do the front of these remind me of the 4th Gen Honda Prelude??

[@davidsoto7114]

That car was about 45,000$$$ in its time. What a beautiful comfortable car, what I would do to get this car brand new

[@jeffshadow2407]

I leased a brand new 1998 in June of '98. It was released from the factory one day before the trucking strike! It was the third new Oldsmobile I had leased since 1995. Since I worked for an Olds dealership, I received employee pricing on the capitalized cost of each vehicle. With $800 down, the Aurora payment, with tax, was exactly $442!

[@joeseeking3572]

Underappreciated then, even more so now. Better car than you thought or think. 2nd gen isn't bad either, though it sacrificed some individuality. Almost bought a 2nd gen 4.0 but went with the Lincoln LS V8 Sport, partially because of RWD and better handling. Black Cherry was a great choice and contrary to our reviewer, I would say this had both very distinctive nd very attractive design. I believe reviewers at the time agreed.

[@Daniel-xg3ul]

My first car at 16. It was 6 years old and had a 100,000 miles on it, but I loved it.

[@brigham2150]

6:42 Bless you!

[@jlang8213]

I think I may be in the minority here, but I always preferred the styling of the second generation.

[@trumpet12345]

That shifter is such a Big Chungus.

[@doug6191]

The Aurora wowed everyone back then, but it absolutely did not fit into the Oldsmobile lineup. It didn't fit into any GM lineup. Maybe it would have worked better as a Pontiac. 🤔

[@aliengoth]

Every car fails your big freaking bottle test I've got one that won't because I have one and I have the bottle. 2000 Mercedes-Benz E320

[@mrdaykurutakuchannel]

Love the looks especially the nose and mk4 Supra-like dash!

[@TassieLorenzo]

The styling is nothing if not unique! It looks very cool.

[@tristankelsey1746]

I could your videos all day brother we have similar taste in cars and in my opinion your videos are way better and more entertaining than Doug Demuro' s. Keep it going buddy

[@mauricesoulis1590]

Hey zack- dig this; I was finance mgr in Bay Area for a 5 line store then n had one as a demo. Smooth as silk, nice torque, awful build quality but sexy as Hell. I wanted the STS but couldn’t swing the payments after my Olds went away n sadly picked the new Catera. Fast n well made but no parts n no one knew how to fix them. Great channel u have as I’m 63 btw the car that was really a flop?! The Olds intrigue💩👍

[@PintoPopProductions]

I always liked the Intrigue, one of my favorite W-bodies aside from the engine being kind of unremarkable. My family looked at the STS also but didn't like the V8 fuel economy. They bought a Regal GS instead. I always wondered why GM randomly put a 3.5 V6 in the Intrigue instead of the 3.8 that worked so well for Buick and Pontiac. Curious which Bay Area dealer group you were at. Our Buick came from Los Gatos.

[@mauricesoulis1590]

@@PintoPopProductions crown Cadillac Buick geo Isuzu n Chevy -we had the tv show I forget the name come to us to meet the actor David Duchovny- I think olds was a sponsor- We sold the best product gm had then- Buicks were diamonds- sold my pop a road master wagon luxe with wood trim I’m 94’ 👍 The regals, parks n lasabres all moved fast as they were sales reps faves- btw the park ultra was my fave - bullet proof n well built - Camaros were horrid then n I leased 2 vettes- goofy cars with manuals n brutes too. Crappy quality too. I had 8 fiats n Alfas b4 I got into the biz so i knew suffering but the s10 pick ups take the prize for trash- anything geo made was like a singer sewing machine tho quite dull. I stayed in for 4 years n got out n my wife (now) was a gm for Hayward Pontiac gmc. She lasted 9 years n split. Those were the crazy days boy!🕺🙌🏆🏁😂

[@bwofficial1776]

@@PintoPopProductions My grandmother had a supercharged Regal GS. I'm sad she traded it in on a POS Chevy Cruze right before I got my driver's license. From what I've heard the supercharged 3800 was a sleeper engine.

[@Jac2Mac]

Imagine if Lexus had a version of this Oldsmobile Aurora?

[@doug6191]

🤨 Why? They had a GS, which would soon have the 4.0L V8, RWD, and genuine quality.

[@Jac2Mac]

Or, if the 1995 Toyota Avalon was a rebadged version of the Oldsmobile Aurora?@@doug6191

[@breed8912]

I had the exact car a 1996 in 2000, same exterior color but my interior was black, love thar car for that time

[@bazilwreckerloughead]

My uncle used to have one of these, same color as well.

[@Clement.V]

This car is beautiful, the color is very original.

[@11.9lsupercharged4]

Same year as my roadmaster. Crazy

[@dave11686]

Buicks had the twilight sentinel as well

[@1KonArtis]

Im here for the BFB TEST! lol

[@nickgee7291]

I really liked the first gen exterior

[@carlos-m20]

90s luxury babyy

[@RavenDaSergalOwO]

Aurora Borialis at this time of year?

[@21DegrassiStreet]

Zack, that's so freaking weird. I was watching reviews of this car a couple days ago

[@ajesuale]

That first generation is beautiful bar none

[@Ericstrains]

Really a car that was ahead of its time in a lot of ways, but just the victim of a dying nameplate that nobody cared about anymore.

[@gabrielcastellano2678]

that bottle fail almost😝 90% cars you show us 😏😂😂😂😂

[@alexdemartine4758]

Good video, I do like the style of 90's Auroras the most however that cherry red does not do this type of car much justice. Looks like a raisin on wheels.

[@maxdm1583]

I've owned a used ’99 Autobahn Edition purchased in late 2007. I love the exterior style and interior aergonomics. The quality of the interior in my opinion was not good at all and that Northstar derivative was a POS indeed. GM had great vision that wasn't backed up by quality to match.

[@jordanstrang8535]

Neat looking car!

[@TheSDB13]

I miss mine especially since I have the money to fix it nowadays

[@johnhaynes6656]

You were able to take the lighter out and charge your phone with a carcharger that plugged in.

[@choppersports]

Also antifreeze leaking

[@MyerShift7]

This was huge in my area. Certainly not a flop. I thought they were too ugly versus Chrysler's LH cars as a youth.

[@ShootingCars]

Funny you mention the LH… I filmed one today! It’ll be up on the channel near the end of the year!

[@Dankcatvacs]

i love oldsmobiles

[@christophersmith1155]

I WISH I HAD THE MONEY FOR THIS CAR BACK IN 1995.

[@skeleguns10oooooo10]

The engine is what killed it. Earlier Northstar engines had serious problems

[@floyd27860]

Definitely checkout my boy Jake @ Northstar Performance. He is true to the craft & lives these motors

[@user-iz3gv5vo6b]

Still running OK after 182,631 miles is a feat for a GM product of that era. Thanks for the video.

[@MyerShift7]

Most GM cars run longer than most run at all.

[@dylantran8492]

This car has been exceptionally well maintained. I got really lucky with it. That binder you see in the trunk is full of service records dating way back to 1997. This car was very loved. Still is.

[@2006gtobob]

The exterior is a beauty and a set of proper wheels and tires away from being totally modern. Unfortunately, the interior is typical GM Fisher-Price plastics with poor fit. To me, the interior was a total letdown, and the main reason I wasn't too interested when they were new.

[@raysimth6276]

This was one bad as car in the mid nineties. I had so much fun in mines every day

[@keepitthoro6768]

That car was a total success.i would take a clean one now in 2025

[@keepitthoro6768]

Crazy to think that car is 25+ Years old,STILL LOOK Beautiful

[@rjkubr]

The Cutlass was the number one selling car in the U.S. for a number of years in the 80s. Oldsmobile died because GM took all of the profits out of the company to fund the creation of the Saturn brand, which eventually failed.