To me, the Oldsmobile Intrigue is one of the more disappointing stories of the last few years of Oldsmobile. Not because it was a bad car – quite the opposite – but because if it had shown up a few years earlier, it might have helped stave off Oldsmobile’s demise for a few years. This Intrigue, unlike so many others, remains in nicely preserved condition with under 40,000 original miles. Find it here on craigslist for $5,475 and thanks to Barn Finds reader Zachman for the find.
The Intrigue was no slouch, either, with the models coming after 1999 equipped with a more powerful version of the “Shortstar” engine, named that way for its relation to the Cadillac Northstar V8. The V6 churned out 215 b.h.p. and 234 lb.-ft. of torque, impressive numbers for a fairly cookie cutter family sedan. The Intrigue had lofty goals to reach, setting out against one of the most established car classes out there, chock full of Accords, Camrys, and Maximas.
The overall design represented a shift for Oldsmobile, sort of when they began realizing they couldn’t count on the blue hair set for many more years if it expected to survive. The cockpit featured improved ergonomics, nicely bolstered seats and a clean, clutter-free layout – a long ways away from the button-laden interiors of the 1980s (I’m looking at you, Pontiac 6000). This one is a lower-tier example with cloth interior but still looks quite nice.
The drivetrain was likely the best part of this car in terms of churning out decent, out-of-the-box performance. The Intrigue, if given time to marinate, would have likely been a formidable competitor to the bread-and-butter family sedan, but Oldsmobile didn’t stick around long enough for it to mature. In my opinion, Buick should have been cut loose long before Olds as the company was beginning to build cars people would actually want to buy – like this one.
Monster truck show? Got to admit, pretty lame, even by BF’s standards. I’ll hand it to Jeff, he remained cordial on even the least most sought after car.
An Oldsmobile intrigue? Really? Wow, I’m pretty disappointed. It’s an oldsmobile intrigue.
Not very “Intriguing”. Posting is gone. :-)
I swear, it seems like every Oldsmobile Intrigue I’ve ever seen was painted this same metallic beige color.
Under the skin, this is the same car as the contemporary Grand Prix and Regal. My dad had a Grand Prix and it was the very definition of vehicular “Meh. It’s ok, I guess.”
What-you got something against “granny panty” beige…? Ha! That’s how I describe my ’04 Z-71 of the same color. But I must admit-it does hide dirt very well…
I had a 1998 Intrigue in red. It had the 3800 series 2 engine and it was no slouch. I have to say, it was about the nicest car I have owned.
Cadillac sure took note of what Olds was trying to do; look at what they are selling now. It is Paul Newman blue hair driving Caddy’s today.
Because Buick = China
Exactly what I was going to say SAW! They were selling ton of Buicks in China.
@Michael – (et al): it is taken down, most probably because it sold. At anywhere near the ask, it represents a LOT of transportation, for pennies (in today’s market).
I had one of these for 180+ thousand miles. It was one of the most reliable, economical cars (not saying much, in view of my auto ownership history) I have ever owned.
As regular readers of BF already know, I have had many Oldsmobiles. Most were convertibles. It is one of my preferred makes. The Intrigue did not disappoint.
Mine was in all ways identical to this featured car; including color, wheels, interior fabrics, etc. I found it to be a decent performer (especially 1 up). Acceleration was very good. Handling was very good. Braking was very good.
It did well, whatever was reasonably asked of it.
All accessories were working as designed the day I sold it, with (approaching) 200,000 miles on the odometer.
The one flaw with this car was anonymity (if you see such as a ‘flaw’). I lost it in parking lots more times than I care to admit. Several times, I had to press the clicker just to make it honk and flash its lights, so I could isolate the general area. One time, it was only 3-4 cars away and it was facing me! With this car, you could definitely hide in plain sight.
I would recommend it to anyone who wants a very good, reliable piece of transportation. This example appears to be particularly clean.
As a special note: The X-Files TV show used one for at least one season.
TPV,
Thanks for the response. Looks like you enjoyed yours. I was going to add that it looks like a decent car but my posting timed out before I could edit. :-(
Why is this here? Would make excellent transportation for someone, but I thought this site was about hobby cars. Can you post my 97 Camry commuter next?
Like SAW retorted, the ChiComs are the reason Oldsmobile had to go. They sell a boatload of Buicks in China, kind of a status symbol I suppose. I didn’t mind Pontiac and Saturn going away, but I always liked Oldsmobile.
What is a ChiComs? That is the reason Oldsmobile went away!!!!!!!!
I don’t see why there’s such hatred for the Olds Intrigue on here. It won a ton of initial quality awards and magazine comparisons against both the Camry and Accord…and did it with more horsepower and better handling. So before commenters malign an automobile based on personal biases, mayhap they should do a modicum of research. This was the era when Olds had put out the 1st and 2nd gen Aurora too which was an excellent car.
It’s not that we dislike the car, per se, all Oldsmobiles are good cars, it’s just it’s a bit unusual to see one of this era show up here, where most of the readers tune in find Ramblers and Packards,,and such. To find cars like this, auto auctions are full of these cars from dealers, that not many people want, especially as they age.
I don’t think anyone has anything against it as a car, it just doesn’t fit in with the scope of the website.
I’ve got 1999 now, 200,000 miles on it, runs great, no oil leaks even. I ts an extra car at this point. I know I should get rid of it, pass it on to a starving college student or something…. But it rides so nice…
The best all around and most reliable car I have ever owned (and there have been hundreds) was a 98 Intrigue. It was my company car and I purchased it for $600 with 120,000 miles on it in 2006. I drove that car until 2009 when I was T-boned by an old woman in a PT Cruiser. Car had 250,000 miles at that time and still felt like a new car. Mine had the 3.8 in it and ran great and trouble free. I loved and miss that car.
Does the Shortstar V6 manage to avoid all the common problems of the Northstar V8 ?
Much better than the rage inducing badge whoring Malibu cloning so called “Cutlass” that preceded it.Should have been called the Oldsmobile Stop Gap.
The ad campaign was just dumb: “Start Something”. WTH was that supposed to mean.
A good looking car though and I love the ignition set in the dash.
Cloth is an asset to me. Leather is as common as vinyl was these days, it’s no longer special or connotes anything “premium”.
Now this is intriguing:
http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/oldsmobile/intrigue/2104944.html
@Daved – WOW! What a find… Cool.
If any one missed out on this one, there’s a one-owner 2001 GLS/leather on Autotrader with 21k miles for only $4995 ;)
1. I have a Northstar in my ’93 Allante, 140,000 miles, works OK so far, so, with proper care, (read changing oil and filter every 5000 miles) they are OK.
2. Mother-in-law, in her late 80’s, refusing help from son or me, bought the real cheap Olds (Aurora?) in the early 2000’s, the WORST car of the time, 4 cylinder, no guts, barely passable brakes, windup windows, cardboard interior wherever possible, rusted easily, exposed screw heads, cheap upholstery, worn well at 30,000 old lady miles. Cars like this ruined Olds. Son drove it another 50,000 miles, maintained it, but engine was toast, body was toast, but windup windows still worked.
The Aurora was Olds top of the line car and was not available with a 4cyl. She had a much lesser model.
I too noticed that the craigslist ad disappeared but I now see that it has been relisted……. might have deleted to change their ad (new price), or…?
https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/6662730601.html?lang=en&cc=us.
The price has dropped significantly…. It’s by far a better deal now than it was already….. those miles are like a 2-3 year old car. That’s a good bit of car for small money compared to what’s out there on CL (most with 100k plus miles). If I were in the market for a nice driver this one might fit the bill. Maybe he’s still a little negotiable and I should reconsider…….
I am also in Phoenix if anyone would need someone to go take a look at it up close and personal……
Daily driver yes, collectible no…
I was a fan, owned a couple nice ones but iin Michigan they had rust problems around the gas door on the quarter panel due to bad drainage and the twin cam engine was and bad design, the 3800 was much better. When they came out in ’98 they were ahead of time for about a year. Long live Oldsmobile !
I put 180k miles on mine with the 3800 s2. Strong, quiet, and reliable.
At one point in our driving days we had an Intrigue and a Supercharged Buick Regal. All the drivers in our house felt the Intrigue was a much better car than the Regal