When it was introduced in 1966, the Olds Toronado was the first U.S production car built with front-wheel-drive since the Cord in 1937. Fast forward to 1983 and the car was in the middle of its third generation. A personal luxury car from the beginning, this ’83 Toronado has been owned by the same family since new and earned just 18,000 miles during that time. A rare survivor, this beauty needs very little and can be found in Cincinnati, Ohio, and here on eBay where the no reserve auction stands at $7,400.

When Oldsmobile got into the market populated by the likes of the Ford Thunderbird, they went a different route than Buick had done with the Riviera. The Toronado was a FWD car, so it blazed territory that U.S. automakers had stayed away from for 30 years. The car was unique because of its transaxle version of the GM Turbo-Hydramatic transmission which later found practical use in the RV world. The car shared the E-platform used by both the Riviera and Cadillac Eldorado, a kinship that would last until the Toronado was retired in 1992. The auto’s name was borrowed from a 1963 Chevrolet show car.

Third-generation Toronado’s (1979-85) were smaller than their predecessors as GM was downsizing everything for better fuel economy. As such, the cars were 1,000 lbs. lighter and sixteen inches shorter, so the need for huge engines was gone. The ‘83 Toronado, like the seller’s car, could get by with a 307 cubic inch V8 that produced 140 hp SAE net. As the story goes, this car was purchased new by a little old lady and it stayed in the same family until recently. The seller is helping to sell the car and – given the flashy wording in parts of the listing — he might be a dealer, not that it would change the quality of the vehicle.

The body and original two-tone paint are impressive after 38 years and there is no rust or dings to be found. The only physical flaw the car has is that the plastics bumpers fillers have cracked (which is common) and should be replaced. The interior looks as though it has hardly been used, which is almost true with a reported 18-19,000 miles on the odometer. We’re told it smells like a new car.

Although the seller says you could drive the car anywhere, I wouldn’t go past the nearest tire store without getting a new set of rubbers as those are original and ancient. Once that matter is corrected, you should be able to hop in, start it up, and cruise to all points north, south, east, and west. While the auction has no reserve, the seller says you can submit an offer at any time yet didn’t activate the Make Offer feature on eBay. Oldsmobile had a great sales year in 1983, producing nearly one million cars. Of those, just shy of 40,000 were Toronado’s like this one, and its unlikely the number remaining in this condition at that mileage is very high. NADA doesn’t place a resale premium on these ‘80s cars, so the current high bid exceeds what they think its worth by nearly 50%.