I think anyone with gasoline in their veins was a little sad when Oldsmobile closed its doors for the last time. It doesn’t make any difference that General Motors’ sales couldn’t really support so many brands as their market penetration diminished; when a badge is around for 107 years, people are going to feel the sting when it goes away. A big part of that is the cars…ah, those big luxurious cars, such as this baroque 1973 Toronado that Barn Finds reader Barney sent our way from here on craigslist in Hesperia, California. With just over 60,000 miles and a reasonable price tag of $9,200, I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody discovered that this is just the car to soothe those Oldsmobile blues.
I do appreciate when a seller posts a shot of the odometer, although in this case, the general condition of the car seems to verify the mileage claim (I’d like if the pictures, however, were a little less grainy).
The seller doesn’t mention it, but the upholstery pattern matches the “Brougham” package in the factory literature. The paint color seems to be a Toronado-exclusive shade of “Honey Beige,” which fits the car’s 1970s idiom better than almost any other hue on the palette—it was the era of the Harvest Gold appliance, after all. The seller says that everything works except for…you guessed it…the air conditioning.
The powertrain was the long-running Oldsmobile “Rocket 455,” which was rated at a still-potent 250 horsepower and 375 lb./ft. of torque. This one’s been treated to a recent tune-up and exhaust system, and it “drives and runs like a dream.” It also has a new set of tires, as you might have gathered by the “blue walls” that show up in the car’s pictures.
By 1973, the Toronado’s front-wheel-drive powertrain was a known quantity, and it was strong enough that GMC used it lock, stock, and barrel in its big, aerodynamic motor homes.
Perhaps the best thing about the early 1970s Toronados was the rear view. With unique, twin high-mounted signal lamps and a deeply chiseled trunk lid, the Toronado didn’t look like anything else on the road. Sure, it wasn’t quite as bold as the first Toronado of 1966, and few went ga-ga over its styling like they did in that inaugural year; still, this Toronado is a nice-looking picture of its place and time. And considering its nice, original condition and period styling (and colors), it’s almost a no-brainer for those who miss that good old nameplate from Lansing.
I imagine that this is what my grandfather would have driven if he was alive in 1973, because he was a cool guy…
Beautiful yellow exterior. New cars have silver, gray, black and maybe white like all the cheerful colors of the rainbow suddenly vanished under storm clouds. The personal luxury coupe design is distinctive. Nothing like that today with jelly bean sedans and pickup trucks and SUVs. There is the 455 V8 on the Toronado. Where has my displacement and smooth performance gone? So as a collector car this is really nice. The long hood and sheer bulk would make it hard to maneuver then try to park in today’s smaller spaces and the miles per gallon is low as a daily driver. But cruising to a car show would make me feel like a King and remember how great cars used to look.
I had similar thoughts. Can you imagine a luxury car today, in yellow? I like the contrasting “blue” whitewalls (ha).
This car has a small feature I had forgotten about. Look at the speedometer, it has one of those “set my own speed limit reminder” needle bars.
Great car representing a different era.
man, that color does not work on this car. its clean for sure. i feel it will be a hard sell due to the color but maybe not. i would pass because of it. 6k. these are not big sellers
You are right on
No, not as space age as the original ’66 but ideal for the 70s formula trend. Still a Brougham with roll down quarter glass before being replaced by the opera window and landau top. Color? My goodness. In one breath we grouse about today’s gray scale and in the next become triggered by what our parents and grandparents liked. I guess we just can’t have it both ways.
*70s FORMAL trend. Artificial intelligence my foot!
I actually really like the color, but I drive a lime green Challenger as my daily driver.
It’s a great color!! But I’d love to see a lime green challenger as well!!
Honey Beige? More like Mustard Yellow. Nice car but that color…..
Yeah, I’m not convinced of the color. The only other chip that comes close to matching is “Omega Yellow,” and the materials I found said that that color was only available (unsurprisingly) on the Omega. Of course, you could get your car painted almost any color back then.
This is the source I was using: https://xr793.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/1973-Oldsmobile-Exterior-Colors.pdf
If anyone has any ideas, we’d love to hear them.
In ’73 Olds Honey Beige was the same as Chevys Chamois. This is that color. F, H & X-car yellow was an actual lemon yellow. Corvette yellow may have been a shade darker. Interesting time when the pallet was all golds, greens and blues. Maybe two reds, silver and white mixed in. Black was reserved for intermediate and large cars only. Plus Olds and Buick usually got a few Cadillac Firemist colors at an extra charge.
Back then, at the service station where I was employed, leaving the blue on the whitewall was cause for a severe dress-down. Tire sticker too.
What was the extra needle on the speedometer for?