The Oldsmobile Aurora remains one of the more impressive vehicles GM has made in recent memory, but also a cautionary tale of how brand identity and engineering still rule the day at the upper end of the market. The Aurora was a bit of a moonshot from GM, and would have potentially done better if it was a Cadillac – but it was a heroic Hail Mary if there ever was one with four-doors and a Northstar V8. The Aurora shown here on Facebook Marketplace is not being repaired but likely undergoing routine service, as it’s offered for sale by the older owner’s mechanic. It’s also equipped with the intriguing Autobahn package.

The asking price is $4,500, which seems reasonable for a clean car with 112,000 miles. The Aurora was tasked with making luxury car shoppers who had never before considered an Oldsmobile suddenly want to walk in the showroom. The only problem was they were being asked to do this for the first time in recent memory after GM decided Cadillac was the gold standard of domestic luxury. If you considered an American luxury car over a German one, you went to the Cadillac dealership. Being told you now needed to shop at Oldsmobile was a curve ball many consumers didn’t see coming, and as a result, expectations of the Aurora were high.

And even with the car being quite expensive to build and seemingly having all the good stuff thrown at it, quality simply didn’t bear out against the competition. There were still rattles and panel gaps and buttons that didn’t click the way they did in a Mercedes-Benz, and this kept the import buyers away; meanwhile, the price was too high for the Oldsmobile faithful, and Cadillac buyers kept buying Cadillacs. It starts to make sense why GM began killing off brands as it simply had too many to choose from. The Autobahn package was a nifty idea, however, as it raised the Aurora’s top speed to around 140 thanks to 3.71 transaxle ratio and high-speed rated tires.

The Aurora still looks quite handsome today, and the Northstar V8 remains a powerful engine that can provide reliable performance when maintained. This could be the right car to buy, if the maintenance history bears out, and mature ownership is always a plus. Northstar engines can have their foibles, of course, especially if not looked after. With 250 horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. of torque, combined with the Autobahn specs, this should be a fun car to drive and one you won’t feel badly about driving in everyday traffic. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Jack M. for the tip.