1980s vehicles can be hit or miss here but I think this one is a hit. This 1984 Oldsmobile Toronado Caliente is listed on eBay with a buy it now price of $10,900 or you can make an offer. It’s located in Seattle, Washington.
This car appears to be almost museum-quality. The seller says that “Not only is this car the rare, two-year only, top of the line ‘Caliente’ model but it is equipped with literally every factory option Oldsmobile offered. Add to that it is finished in seldom seen beautiful triple ‘Sand Gray’ and you have a one of a kind car.” This car “spent it’s life in the dry Southwest. It has ZERO rust.”
It’s hard to believe that this jewel has 72,900 miles on it. The third-generation Toronado was downsized a significant amount, and by that I mean cutting out a chunk of length equal to 1.5 of my shoes. I know, that’s a lot (20-inches, for the record). This car is a Caliente edition which was made for the 1984 and 1985 model years before the Toronado was downsized yet again and wind-tunnel’d and smoothed over and and and.. 1985 would be the last year of the chunky run of the Toronado.
The Caliente edition included a digital dash, different types of leather upholstery, more trim and it was the Oldsmobile equivalent of the Eldorado Biarritz. This interior looks about as close to new as I could ever imagine. The back seat may be the last decent amount of space offered to passengers in a Toronado. According to the seller, this car has “literally every factory option Oldsmobile offered.”
This is Oldsmobile’s 307 cubic-inch V8 which would have had 140 hp. That’s quite a change from Toronados of the previous two decades. “Mechanically the car is excellent and runs fantastic. I would not hesitate to drive it cross country. Everything works from the cold air conditioning to the power antenna.” Have any of you owned a third-generation Toronado?
This cars a beauty. I am sure it drives well. It’s an American classic that ruled and proudly road along our roads.
Hideous – but one cannot deny condition – if all used cars were this nice…..
Luke,
You obviously have never driven one these Toronados; fantastic driving cars. 1984 was a dark period for USA cars but, this one is an exception.
Beautiful coupe for its era . It is a reasonable size for the luxury level it represents. American cars are American, they are head and shoulders above Euro spec cars. Had both, once my sanity returned I realized that euro cars are prohibitive to repair outside of the warranty where as American cars I can easily repair and afford the parts. I get a similar ride comfort and amenity from them and pay less over the life of the car. Hideous is a individual opinion that only carries weight with the individual.
I sure miss my 80 Toro with a 350. Not too sure about a 307 in this car though.
The 307 wasn’t bad in these, it seemed better than average for its day. Certainly a step down from the 425 in the’79 Caddy and the 403 in the ’77 Electra, but not hugely so.
My father had an ’81 Riviera with the 307. It would walk away from most traffic in its day when running well. However, I took it on a 1500 mile road trip and the computer controlled carb acted up. After struggling through the hills in the slow lane I made it to Houston. It took the Buick dealer there 2-3 days to get it running right again (under warranty, no loaner).
Dad eventually replaced it with a bustle-back Seville with the HT-4100. That one was so underpowered that the cruise control would kick the transmission down to 2nd gear in a vain attempt to maintain 55mph on some highway overpasses.
This is nice.
Gimme the Eldorado-bodied version…with the ragtop.
If this car is grey I’m going color blind.
Too bad it wasn’t ordered with the shearling and leather upholstery
Had the 307 on a 85 Riviera. Decent engine for the car, got decent mpg and was pretty much bullet proof if taken care of.
$11K for an ’84 Toronado??? Aspirational doesn’t even begin to describe this fantasy, although as P.T. Barnum said… well, we all know what he said. Museum quality? What museum would have this thing in its inventory? There is a toilet seat museum somewhere. Hmmm…
While a far cry from the first & second generation Toronados, this car is beautiful.
I may purchase this car for a good friend. She would be ecstatic. Fly out, and drive it back to Indiana. A great long haul cruiser.
Nice
@ JP
I agree with your use of the word “aspirational” as regards the pricing on this Olds. But then again, these were actually a good car — if a bit under-powered with the 307. You would be hard-pressed to find a better cruiser from that era.
C3 system carburetors could be somewhat of a problem but only if your car was being serviced by a mechanic who thought they were the same “beast” as the original non-C3 carbs. and was too lazy to “word-up” on how to set them up properly or couldn’t be bothered drilling out the various plugs and using the correct tools to do the adjustments (which were invariably out-of-whack from the factory.)
Exactly, the idle mixture screws were covered by hardened caps…fixible with some tools though.
But just think of the truly great cars you can buy for $11k, ones which might actually appreciate over time. This PoS is just gonna depreciate from its current $3k (maybe) value. It ain’t no Holy Grail, but I suppose there’s someone out there with nostalgia and a fat bank account who doesn’t care.
Had a 1984 Buick Riviera, same color, 307, and every option known to man. This car was elegance personified, you just felt special when you drove this car. This vehicle never tried to be something that it wasn’t, which was a problem for many cars at this time. But that would come to an end in 1986 when GM ruined the platform by butchering it. I really loved that car.
I had a 1979 Toronado. It was the only year with the different front end.
My front bumper got hit by lightning one night.
Ah, good times.
Way back in days of old my boss had a 4 year old one. I drove it quite often. I can’t deny that it was in excellent condition and drove extremely well but it never ‘rang my bell’ and they still don’t. That’s why the car companies made so many completely different models of cars. What doesn’t work for some people is a dream car for other people.
I love my 1980 XSC (also a 2 yr only model), the sport suspension really transforms this car with better control and stability, the package also included full analog guages, bucket seats, sport mirrors, and GR70x15 tires…I have 46k miles but add to that as often as I can.
I bought one of these at an impound auction once.
The hood cable had broken and there was no way to get to the latch from underneath the car.
That was a bad design.
I just left it at the mechanic shop.
This car is far from hot (caliente), moreso tepid.
I had a 1980 , 1981 and 1982 with the Olds diesel. Wonderful highway cruisers. I got 30 mpg with the 3 speed auto and 32 mpg with the 4 speed in 1982. The three speed felt better when driving in city traffic. Fortunately I sold each of them before the reputation of the diesel was ruined. Great cars in the Michigan snow, unstoppable even on unplowed roads. However totally underpowered. I used fuel oil from home heating systems when the home owners switched over to natural gas and wanted their tank emptied and removed. Diesel was cheaper than regular back then, sometimes even under $1.00 a gallon, but free was the best. Good times when I was younger and enjoying a busy life. I now have a Riviera convertible with the 307 it too is way underpowered by today’s standards, but a great cruiser with the top down. I wish I had room for this car so I could live in the past when I felt like it, which is most of the time now.
gorgeous example except the exhaust ruins it
I too had a ’79 Toro but it was converted from diesel to gas. It is true… more of a cruiser than a speedster. I loved the color of my Toro…dark blue iridium with a palomino leather interior and same colored landau roof. My brother had a ’83 Hurst/Olds (15th Anniversary Edition) and it was stated it was 5.0…under the hood was an Olds 307. It was a heavy car and it was kind of sluggish. I had a Ford Mustang GT that could run rings around it. Ah… memories.
Not every option, doesn’t have the diesel
The 5.0 Liter and the 5.7 Liter were both extra cost options (a 4.1 liter V6 was standard). It could only have one of the optional engines.
The 4.1 liter V6 was standard. The 5.0 liter gas V8 or 5.7 liter diesel were both optional. This car has the optional 5.0.
I can tell you this car drives great. I drove it Sunday right before it sold. The F41 Suspension package makes it controlled and firm without the float and wallowing. And every options means Every. Single. Option. Car is now headed to the east coast. Stunning car in every respect.
Glad to hear it found a new home!
Time to sell mine…
If it only had a better motor, I owned a 1983 Riviera, same horrible 307, last GM car I bought new, junk
I own a 1984 Riveria in the same color Light Sand Grey with under 17,000 original miles and the 307 V-8.